ame journalists have been beating the drum for next-gen innovation for the past few years. You know how we always say that it’s not enough to make a prettier version of a last-generation title – that you really need to offer us something that wasn’t possible five years ago? Well, leave it to Insomniac to make me a liar. Because, in all reality, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction sticks extremely close to the formula that made the series one of the PS2’s best. There’s not much here I haven’t seen before. But I don’t care, and neither will you, because this is an adventure packed to the brim with vivid characters, amazing gameplay, and heartfelt humor. In a way, it’s the ultimate in video game comfort food – a familiar old favorite for those times when you’re hungry for nothing but an expertly crafted good time.
Unsurprisingly, this title takes our heroes around the galaxies to a variety of different planets in search of a deadly device that, in the hands of Lombox-hating arch villain Emperor Percival Tachyon, threatens the very fabric of the universe itself. As the adventure proceeds, you’ll learn some of the interesting history behind Ratchet’s origins and the fate of the Lombox race.
What is surprising is just how beautiful each world looks. The PS3 is a powerful system, and this is one of the first games that really shows it off. There’s an incredible amount of detail packed in the environment: cars floating by in the far background, fantastical flying creatures, huge dinosaurs, and lush foliage. After so many bleak, gray FPSs, it’s a joy to step into these colorful worlds, and even more of a joy to blow them to bits with the game’s awe-inspiring particle and explosive effects. In particular, some of the space shooter sequences are jaw droppingly gorgeous.
Most important, of course, is the gameplay, and Tools of Destruction does not disappoint in this department. From magnetic nets to disco bombs, this is the most diverse set of armaments we’ve seen in an R&C game. It’s also the best balanced; one thing I appreciated was how the enemies (especially in the more challenging final third of the game) force you to make use of your entire set of destructive gadgets. In the past, I would tend to rely on three or four standby weapons; this time I was forced to dig deep into my bag of tricks. Of course, all the weapons can be improved both by leveling up and by purchasing upgrades in a new enhancement system, a hexagonal grid that’s even deeper than the character power-up system so rightly lauded in BioShock.
While there’s much to praise here, there are signs that the developers of this beloved series might not exactly have many new ideas for the future. A vast majority of this game is straight out of the last trilogy: running and gunning, rail sliding, and platforming. Again, this is all extremely well done, but it’s not the drastic step forward some might have been hoping for.
The new ideas that are here are a mixed bag. The Clank solo missions, a highlight of past titles, are oddly dull. They are essentially the old Lemmings-style levels with new companions (“Zonis”), and are a bit of a letdown compared to the awesome spherical levels of old. The use of the Sixaxis is novel, and works better than in any other game to date, particularly in the cool new hacking minigames. I could take it or leave it for the skydiving and flying sequences, but it’s hardly a detriment, which is more than you can say for Lair.
In sum, Tools of Destruction proves that there’s a lot of life left in the platformer. It succeeds simply by delivering gameplay that’s perfectly executed along with a story that lovingly advances the saga of characters I’ve known and loved for years. Could it have done more to push the envelope? Sure, but that’s not what I’ll think of when I remember playing this game. I’m just going to remember all the fun I had – and that’s the point, isn’t it?