Preview: Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
The new Ratchet may look like it's just more of the same, but it's a whole lot more
We don't know who said it first, but it's true: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. It's an idea that Insomniac Games obviously believes, as the latest Ratchet & Clank isn't much different from any of the others in this cartoon-ish, platforming/shooting series. Though as we learned from a recent visit to its HQ, Insomniac obviously doesn't buy the idea that if it ain't broke, don't tweak it.
As any longtime Ratchet lover would expect, Tools features an all-new arsenal with more than twenty new weapons that include the missile-launching Negotiator, the saw shooting Buzz Blades, and the self-explanatory Fusion Grenades. And all are augmented by a new, non-linear upgrade system that uses linked hexagons to let players chose how they'd like to improve their killing power.
But the game also adds "Combat Devices," which the game's Creative Director Brian Allgeier describes as being, "Very powerful weapons that are also very rare, so you have to save them for key moments." Among these smart bomb-like weapons are the Groovitron, a floating disco ball that forces enemies to dance, and thus not fight back, and the Visi-Copter, which is a remote-controlled helicopter with real weapons.
Just look at that detail. Me wantee
The Visi-copter is piloted by using the Sixaxis controller's motion-sensitive abilities, but it's not the only one to employ it. "We've also got the Tornado Launcher," notes Allgeier, "which lets you fire up a tornado and control it with the Sixaxis while still controlling Ratchet with the thumbsticks, which we've always wanted to do."
Using the Sixaxis isn't the only addition that came about in the series' move to the PS3. Where Ratchet's entire body had about a hundred "bones" for articulation when he was on the PS2, Tools has him sporting nearly that many in just his face. There are also some very wide open spaces, upgraded graphics, and many new animations, including Groovitron-inspired dance moves for every enemy.
Though amid all those additions, there is one glaring omission: multiplayer. "We felt that, by doing a multiplayer mode, it would've cost the single-player one," Allgeier explains. "and we really wanted to put all our efforts into the single-player mode. Besides, a huge percentage of Ratchet players just play the single-player game; that's what our fans want."
Whether that's still true in this online multiplayer-obsessed world, we're not sure, but we - and Insomniac - will certainly find out when the game comes out on October 23rd.
Check out the November issue of GamePro for more on Ratchet!
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