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Hands-on with Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

09/28/2009

Tags: PAX 2009
Posted in: Preview, PS3

In the Sony room at PAX, a man tries to introduce himself to me. That man is Brian Allgeier, and it’s all I can do to keep from stuttering as I less than gracefully blurt out “I know who you are.” I love Ratchet and Clank, more than most games, so I was practically shaking with geek excitement that not only was I playing Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, I was playing it with Brian Allgeier. Actually, the whole thing still makes me geek out. For my fellow fans, I really want to keep this spoiler-free so I will address plot points only in the broadest of terms and instead focus on the game’s other elements.

Wanna read this on ZTGD?

For those that didn’t tune in to the Quest for Booty chapter, a little catch up is in order, courtesy of Captain Qwark. Since Clank has been whisked away by the Zoni and deposited in the clutches of the evil-doing Dr. Nefarious it’s only natural that A Crack in Time is going to feature a fair amount of Ratchet and Clank divided gameplay. So, with Clank on a reluctant vacation, Ratchet is seeking him out with the help of Qwark.

I got to play two rather distinct parts of the game. In the first Ratchet is navigating some moons, fighting some enemies and engaging in some platforming fun. In true Ratchet form, the gameplay delivers adventure, platforming, lively combat and humor. What really impresses me is that at this stage of the franchise Insomniac keeps moving forward. They seem to really examine every aspect of what makes a Ratchet game work, and what makes a Ratchet game better. It only took me a few seconds to re-acclimate to the controls, but there are some new weapons in play (For more info on the weapons making an appearance, check out my piece on the PAX Weapons Panel) that are not only true to the Ratchet arsenal, but also take it to the next level as at least one of them (the Rift Inducer) is a weapon the team was not able to include in prior games due to tech limitations.

New to the Ratchet-verse is how much open space there is to explore, though you still auto-leap between sectors like past inter-planetary travel. There are five space sectors in the game, each with its own moons and planets. The moon thing does have a touch of Super Mario Galaxy to it. On each moon and planet there will be different objectives like clearing enemies, finding Zoni and helping out the locals, and as you roam around the spheres you can press Select to zoom out and spin the planet around to get your bearings. Associated with all that space exploration is combat and flight, which incorporates barrel rolls and flips, and gives you unlimited blasters and missiles.

I’ve always liked Clank – as a sidekick. In truth, I’ve never really reveled in the Clank portions of gameplay. They always stood out as quirky little experiments to see how long I could stand not playing as Ratchet. For me, this is an issue of power. Playing as Ratchet is fun because you’re jumping, strafing, and firing amazing weapons with the potential to seriously destroy your enemies. With Clank, you get to punch. In Quest For Booty, the downloadable tide-me-over, Clank began to acquire some time-altering powers, and I tentatively stepped out on the ice floe. In A Crack in Time the bulk of what I played, with Allgeier providing some back story, was Clank gameplay – and it was really cool. Platforming and puzzling, in A Crack in Time Clank has a history, and very real powers.

With Clank captive in the Great Clock, time paradox just may play a role in this game! Clank has buddied up with Sigmund who is teaching him about the Chronoscepter, a silver staff with a whirligig top that gives Clank the ability to toss out time-slowing bubbles. On a self-congratulatory and not completely unrelated note, I commented that Sigmund’s voice sounded familiar and sure enough, Allgeier confirmed that the robot is voiced by Nolan North. The man is everywhere. Clank retains his punch-in-a-pinch defense as well as hover for jumps, though in a marvelous addition you can now jump three times for extra lift. Where the Ratchet gameplay is satisfying and tuned for increased awesome (it is what players love, expect and want) the Clank gameplay is most notable and innovative. In addition to the Chronoscepter, Clank makes puzzle-solving use of Time Pads. I was a little nervous about tackling the Time Pads while keeping my cool and not making a puzzle-failure of myself à la Portal. Sigmund explains things, however, and it is probably more clear in practice than it’s going to appear here in type.

There are different color pads, and initiating one records your movements for a minute or so until you tell them to stop recording and replay. Upon replay, a ghost version of Clank repeats the movements you just did. At its simplest level, this comes in handy when you need to stand on two buttons to open a door, and is a little more interesting than sending little dispensable robots to do your bidding. In the first example, there’s a blue and green time pad, a big red button and a door. The door won’t stay open, so Clank steps on one pad and hits record, recording himself going and standing on the button. Then, stop recording and take the real Clank to the green pad and hit record again. The blue pad Clank goes to the red button and you are now free to walk through the door. The only trick would be remembering which button you hit – and don’t worry, if you stand on a button it will show you the ghost image of what you recorded there. The puzzles do ramp up from there with some serious traps and Chronoscepter wielding. It’s some satisfying puzzling action, and a step above all prior Clank gameplay. By largely removing combat from the equation and instead establishing a pattern of strong puzzles and even stronger puzzle-solving tools, Clank gameplay really comes into its own.

Unlike Ratchet, Clank has the power to put broken things right. So instead of bashing things to bits, he will encounter something broken and be rewarded with bolts for setting it right. It’s a lovely way of illustrating the Ratchet-Clank dichotomy that’s been in play since they first met, united by a common purpose. It’s clever, even downright sneaky, how Insomniac disguises character development within a genuinely funny story and engaging game.

The game looks amazing, just beautiful, and while everyone is eager to say it looks like a PIXAR movie, I think that’s the sort of graphics praise only PIXAR movies earn. It is, however, very reminiscent of a PIXAR movie. Not just the cut-scenes, either, the in-game stuff is really good-looking and the frame rate doesn’t stutter. At this stage Insomniac shows the benefit of its familiarity with developing for the system. A bright palette and an epic score are paired with a great script. With snappy dialog and clever rapport, the game makes story-telling look a breeze.

During the course of our time together, Allgeier said of A Crack in Time, “This is a great game to wrap a lot of things up and give the players a sense of closure.” Nobody is going to talk about their next game when their current game hasn’t even launched, but he couldn’t help but strike fear into my Ratchet-loving heart. Regardless of the franchise’s future, with the amount of getting back to Ratchet and Clank roots, from gameplay to their literal family history, this game really is one for the fans. With some GOTY heavy-hitters coming out this fall, I hope A Crack in Time doesn’t get overlooked, it is a wonderful game. The seventh in the series, the team at Insomniac shows that what Ratchet and Clank does, it does exceedingly well.