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PSP | Action | Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters

Boxart for Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters 38 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.25
  • SOUND: 4.25
  • CONTROL: 4.50
  • FUN FACTOR 4.25
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.4
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 4.2

Hands-On: Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters

Hands-On by Chris Morell | 01/11/2007 | 13:32:11 PM PST

Sony's dynamic cartoon duo storm the PSP with a slew of crazy weapons and online multiplayer!

With Resistance: Fall of Man on the shelf and Insomniac hard at work on the PlayStation 3 version of the only Lombax and robot duo in video games, the first PSP Ratchet & Clank game will fill the space between. Coined Size Matters, the pair's latest action-platforming adventure is the first by High-Impact Games, a studio fashioned by former Insomniac employees. But if you're worried about a potential quality drop, don't--Size Matters looks and plays like it was spewed right from the horse's mouth.

FPS mode allows Ratchet to aim gadgets precisely.

FPS mode allows Ratchet to aim gadgets precisely.

Perfectly Portable

With the platforming genre wearing thin on console systems and the Nintendo DS supporting quirkier gameplay, the PSP is the prime place for action-oriented games like Ratchet & Clank. Taking place after Deadlocked, Ratchet & Clank hit the beaches of Pokitaru for a little time in the sun, but things turn cloudy when a little girl named Luna gets kidnapped right in front of our heroic pair. Fortunately, tracking her down will require the use of some over-the-top firepower fueled by bizarre Ratchet-patented weapons. For where else could an excessively furry gunner sport a Bee Mine Glove and an Acid Bomb?

The whole experience looks and feels similar to Ratchet & Clank games on the PS2, with right-stick camera movement being replaced by the L1 and R1 buttons. Plus, a great auto targeting system means there's no wonky precision aiming to be had, and with the PSP's often jumpy analog stick, that's a good thing.

Sticky boots make for a gravitational maze

Sticky boots make for a gravitational maze

In typical Ratchet fashion, Size Matters will sport a number of upgradeable weapons that increase in ability the more they are used. And we're not just talking about an ammo boost; leveling up guns drastically changes their function and capability to where each upgrade can feel like a completely different weapon.

Multiplayer Matters

Size Matters supports both off and online wireless game modes via Ad Hoc and Infrastructure modes, respectively, with variations of deathmatch and CTF including Iron Lombax mode, an objective based team competition that challenges players to capture opposing team homing beacons by bombing them with hover mines. And as a bonus, the massive maps will have hidden multiplayer-only weapon mods to add a little bit more destruction to an already overly explosive game.

Your trigger finger will thank you.

Your trigger finger will thank you.


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