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Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus
PlayStation 3
A Fitting Bookend for the PS3
4.5/5 stars
“Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction” was the first game to grace my newly purchased PS3 back in 2008. Granted, the game was released in 2007, but ONE sequel in a good franchise was not enough to convince me to spend $600 on a new game console with so little promise. Regardless of my lack of faith in Sony’s 7th Generation effort, I thoroughly enjoyed “Tools of Destruction,” and quickly snatched up every other ‘Ratchet & Clank’ game to grace the PS3, as the franchise provided an oasis of quality and exclusivity in a Hell of multi-platform saminess… or at least it should have provided such an oasis. Instead the franchise’s developer, Insomniac, decided to get a little bit experimental during the upheaval of the 7th Generation.
While “Tools of Destruction” stood tall as a paradigm of 3D platforming and the excellence of its franchise, it was followed by a bite-sized prelude to its sequel “A Crack in Time,” which, while still good, just felt a bit off. Insomniac followed up the missteps of “A Crack in Time” with two bite-sized spinoff titles – “All 4 One” and “Full-Frontal Assault” – featuring unorthodox gameplay that just didn’t work particularly well.
Thankfully, Insomniac was willing to listen to long-time series fans who cried out for a return to form for the franchise they loved. Thus “Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus” (“ItN”) was created using the same bite-sized form-factor of the more experimental games in the series, but with a more traditional set of story and gameplay mechanics. But after so many misfires, had Insomniac lost track of what made its signature series good in the first place?
Presentation
While both “All 4 One” and “Full-Frontal Assault” looked a bit on the blurry-and-low-res side of the spectrum, “ItN” surprised me with its sharp graphics and incredibly well-animated characters. None of the game’s numerous cutscenes are pre-rendered, but instead use the game engine’s graphics, and manage to look – if not quite amazing – as one would expect a sequel to “Tools of Destruction” and “A Crack in Time” to look.
Really, the only problem with “ItN” is the fact that the audio isn’t particularly great. While the voiceacting is all just as solid as ever, with the full cast returning to reprise their characters, the audio mixing itself is inconsistent, with wildly varying volume levels and occasionally out-of-place echo effects. Likewise, the soundtrack is fairly unspectacular, with many of the stages completely unaccompanied.
Story
Carrying on the series tradition, “ItN” features an all-new villain but continues the story of the titular heroes where “A Crack in Time” left off. One of the things I always enjoyed so much about ‘Ratchet & Clank’ compared to other quality platforming franchises, like, say, ‘Super Mario,’ is that there is never a giant reset button between games, nor a return to a boring, static status quo. Instead, Ratchet & Clank have had their backstories revealed throughout their various games, and accumulate increasing amounts of in-world lore as their adventures continue, providing a much appreciated layering of depth upon the narrative in a genre where depth is usually lacking.
“ItN” opens with Ratchet, Clank, Cronk, Zephyr, and Talwyn all in the employ of the Polaris Defense Force. Their task at hand is a simple escort mission to take a dangerous ‘Space Witch’ named Vendra Prog to a high-security prison. Of course, their ‘easy’ mission is disrupted by Vendra’s brother, Neftin, staging a jailbreak with the help of the Thugs 4 Less mercenary company.
Vendra and Neftin escape the prison ship, destroying it in the process and leaving Ratchet and Clank stranded in a ‘haunted’ sector of the galaxy. The duo’s investigations soon reveal that the Progs have been working on an interdimensional science project that could put the entire galaxy at risk by unleashing a race of beings known as Nethers from a parallel universe called the Netherverse (indeed, based on the sexual innuendo included in the titles of every other ‘Ratchet & Clank’ game, it would have made more sense to call the game “Into the Nether Regions” than “Into the Nexus”).
While “ItN” is quite short for a ‘Ratchett & Clank’ game – spanning only 5 planets and 12 hours of play time – it manages to capture the unique essence of the franchise while cutting out a lot of superfluous fluff. There are plenty of humorous moments, plenty of plot twists, and permanent consequences for numerous characters, as well as a nicely resolved ending that still leaves room for another sequel. However, with the amount of back-looking and nostalgia crammed into “ItN” (specifically the museum segment), it almost feels like Insomniac is putting the franchise to bed.
Gameplay
“ItN” returns to the traditional gameplay mechanics that made ‘Ratchet & Clank’ a great franchise in the first place: A fusion of 3D platforming and third-person shooting with some RPG elements thrown in for good measure.
Ratchet is, as usual, the main controllable character, while Clank usually hangs out on Ratchet’s back and acts as a gadgety toolkit. While some earlier ‘Ratchet & Clank’ games stagnated a bit with Clank’s functions, “ItN” provides him with several new ones that are quite spiffy. First, and most simple, is the fact that Clank now sports a strobe light, allowing for a more interesting use of darkness as an in-level mechanic. Second, Clank’s returning helicopter function has finally been differentiated from his jetpack function. In most ‘Ratchet & Clank’ games (since the very first one on PS2), Clank’s hovering abilities between helicopter and jetpack were only different cosmetically. Now the jetpack has a fuel gauge and allows free roaming exploration in jetpack-enabled stages that adds to the franchise’s platforming in a truly meaningful way. Finally, Clank gains an upgrade that lets him travel into the titular nexus (i.e., Netherverse) for a few relatively short platforming puzzles that involve fiddling with gravity as a core mechanic.
Ratchet’s arsenal of zany weapons returns with a mix of new and old. Each weapon can be leveled-up through use to level 3 (or level 6 in the traditional, optional Challenge Mode), while Ratchet’s nanotech supply (health) can be upgraded by killing enemies. The arsenal included in “ItN” has a lot of diverse and useful weapons, ranging from practical guns and rocket launchers (and, yes, there is a new RYNO to assemble) to the Winterizer (which turns enemies into exploding snowmen whilst playing “Jingle Bells”), to a monster box that literally scares enemies to death (while handily keeping their attention focused away from Ratchet), to the return of the fan-favorite deathbot, Mr. Zurkon (who has brought his whole family along for the ride this time). These weapons are fun to use and allow for some creative, deadly combos.
Overall
“Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus” doesn’t really do anything revolutionary for its franchise. Instead, it plays to the strengths that made ‘Ratchet & Clank’ an amazing fusion of 3D platforming and third-person shooting in the first place, adding more lore to the franchise’s universe, and subtly expanding the gameplay mechanics in fun ways. Bookending the PS3 with excellent ‘Ratchet & Clank’ games just feels right, and if “ItN” is indeed going to be Insomniac’s last hurrah with a great series, it’s good to see it close on a high note.
Presentation: 4.5/5
Story: 5/5
Gameplay: 5/5
Overall (not an average): 4.5/5
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