Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal is the third installment in the Ratchet and Clank series. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the series, at first glance it is simply another entry in the “buddy platformer” genre, in which a hero and his sidekick team up together to take on the world a la Banjo-Kazooie and Jak & Daxter. Ratchet is a rodent-like Lombax and Clank is a proper British robot who rides on Ratchet’s back and helps him jump higher and cross chasms.
The game picks up shortly after the end of the second game. Fans of the first two games will appreciate that Clank is now the star of a series of James Bond style films while Ratchet plays Clank’s bumbling chauffeur. But of course, when the nefarious robot Doctor…Nefarious bursts onto the scene with an evil plot to destroy all organic life forms, it is up to the dynamic duo to save the galaxy again with the help of the bumbling superhero Captain Qwark.
Ratchet and Clank: UYA is much more than a buddy platformer; it is a sophisticated action-adventure game that just happens to star a cute furry creature and his robot butler. Ratchet has access to a significant arsenal of weapons. When the game begins, Ratchet’s arsenal is limited to a couple of basic guns, but as the game progresses, the player has the opportunity to purchase new weapons. The currency in this game is simple everyday bolts that one might find at a hardware store; enemies drop them like crazy when they are killed, but this makes sense since many of the enemies are robots. The weapons tend to fall into two categories: utilitarian and kitschy. The utilitarian weapons will make short work of enemy forces in a variety of creative ways ranging from metal discs to a vortex that just sucks up enemies into an alternate dimension. On the other hand, using a gun that turns enemies into rubber ducks is funny in theory, but not always practical in a heated firefight. Fortunately, the game features a VR arena in which Ratchet can test weapons before buying them. This allows the player to satisfy the curiosity of what it would be like to use a weapon that turns enemies into duckies without having to spend the money to actually purchase said weapon. Additionally, each weapon that Ratchet uses has an experience meter. When the meter fills up, the weapon becomes more powerful. At the fifth incarnation of a particular weapon, that weapon morphs into a new weapon, which is significantly more powerful than the previous version. Ratchet also has an experience meter that increases his life points each time it fills up which is quite frequently. The player can also purchase armor that helps considerably to cut back on a lot of the damage that Ratchet receives.
Players will still find themselves getting from one end of a level to the other with the aid of one or more puzzle-solving gadgets, but there is much more of a variety of missions in this game than there was in the previous two Ratchet and Clank games. In UYA, players will find themselves embarking on combat missions with specific goals such as pushing back enemy offensives, activating anti-aircraft guns and providing cover for mechanical repair crews. The player can also embark on a mining expedition to recover sewer crystals that can be exchanged for valuable bolts. Finally, there are several segments in which the player has to complete a Captain Qwark video game. These levels are traditional 2D side scrolling platformers, and while they weren’t nearly as much fun as the main game, they were quite a pleasant diversion.
The game takes about 15 hours to complete, but the fun doesn’t end there. After the end credits roll, players have the opportunity to enter “Challenge” mode. This allows the player to go through the game a second time with all the weapons, armor and bolts that they had at the end of the game. Also, the amount of bolts that Ratchet picks up increases drastically with a bolt multiplier that will go as high as 20 if the player can kill enough enemies while not taking any damage. You might be wondering, gentle reader, what exactly one might do with all of those bolts. The answer is quite simple: the vendors now offer “ultra” versions of each weapon, so even if a player has leveled up their weapons to the highest possible level, there are now much more powerful weapons available. The game is a pleasure to complete a second time; I daresay it just might be even more fun than the first time.
Part of the charm of Ratchet and Clank are the whimsical graphics. They have a cartoon-like appearance that fits in nicely with the outer space background. I did not notice any slowdown during the game, even when there were dozens of enemies on the screen and everyone was firing their weapons.
The voice acting in the game is also very well done. The actors are believable and convincing and at times, their accents add considerably to the humor value. For instance, the galactic president sounds eerily like former President Clinton. The sound effects are also top-notch; if you’re going to have powerful weapons that shoot sharp discs at enemies and suck them into alternate dimensions, then you’re going to have to have convincing sounds. The sounds do not fail to deliver; there is something intensely satisfying about the sound of those little discs ricocheting off the wall.
Chances are, this is a title that is going to be popular with the younger set, but it should be noted that this game has earned a T rating. As far as I can tell, the game is rated T because Ratchet spends a good deal of his time shooting guns. However, Ratchet’s enemies are all robots or space monsters, so there is absolutely no blood being shed (just bolts). Besides, everyone knows that robots are inherently evil. In all seriousness, if a parent has no qualms about their child shooting evil robots, then this is an excellent game. If a parent does have a problem with guns, then this really isn’t the game for your family because they really are unavoidable in this game.
Overall, Ratchet and Clank: UYA is absolutely a must-have title. It is one of the best games of the year. The gameplay is highly addictive and the cut scenes are hilarious- especially Captain Qwark’s hand-drawn battle plans. Pick this game up today- you won’t be disappointed.
