Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
- November 03, 2004 08:51 AM PST
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Up Your Arsenal is the place to be if you seek thumb-blistering shoot-em-up action that doesn't take itself too seriously.
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Mo' Better Blasting
As is the goal of most PS2 sequels these days, Up Your Arsenal is bigger and badder than the previous two installments. Ratchet and his side-bot, Clank, are chasing after Dr. Nefarious who has unleashed a robot scourge to rid the universe of the organic life, he calls "squishies." The game covers mucho territory across 18 worlds with 29 single-player missions. Online, you get 10 maps and three types of games to play. It's monstrous.
The online game is new territory for Ratchet and Clank, but the guys have it down. You can play deathmatches (of course), capture the flag, and a siege, where you try to overrun an opponent's fortress. Eight players can compete at a time, but you can set up 64-person clans, too. You fly two-man vehicles for spectacular dive-bombing attacks, too. Multiple skins are unlockable, including the snowman, so the battles can be crazy looking and fun as well.
Nefarious Schemes
The Nefarious army of mechanical soldiers and yucky space creatures is similarly numerically awesome, not to mention aggressive and bloodthirsty. You take them on with the biggest R&C arsenal, yet--20 weapons that can be upgraded five levels.
The firefights are intense, but the workmanlike controls do their duty. A new and improved weapons interface enables you to set up an inventory of 16 weapons and gadgets and quickly cycle through three at time with a single button press. This firing system works pretty well, which you need because (as with the other Ratchet games) the 360-degree game cam still backs you into some hard-to-manage viewing angles, particularly during fierce ambushes and the challenging boss battles.
Up Your Fun
At least you'll enjoy the scenery. The colorful extraterrestrial environments make this an eye-catching animated romp through outer space. There are some excellent and funny comic book-style storyboards, and a whopping three hours of topnotch cinemas to move the wacky tale along. Ratchet-regulars like the egomaniacal Captain Quark and laid-back Skidd McMarxx are back for laughs, and you know the humor-o-meter's set to "goofy" when space monkeys are on the prowl.
There's enough cartoon carnage going on to warrant a Congressional investigation, albeit by a jury of 'toons, of course, but Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal is a glorious blastfest that only asks that you loosen up your thumbs, put your mind in park, and have a good time. Remember: it's fun to blow stuff up!
