Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters – Completed

This is the first Ratchet and Clank game that I have played, even though I have one for the PS2 I have yet to pop it in and try it. Now it is far and few between that I find a PSP game I would actually tell my friends to play. This would be one of those games.

R&C is a mascot plat former for the play station brand. Think of a Mario game with guns and a giant wrench. The premise of the story is Ratchet is taking a well deserved vacation when a child who wishes to see him in action gets kid napped. He of course being a hero goes into the depths of space in order to save her and of course things are never as they seems. The story is a touch thin but has a sense of humor with out being childish. I really did not care what would happen next, but I was not annoyed either.

The majority of play is spent jumping and shooting like a normal plat former. Though there are occasions where you can race, fight through space as giant clank, mini games that resemble robot wars, and a few other mini games one of which is a lemmings clone. What seemed to give me the most enjoyment was the weapon selection. There have been many of commercials for these games where a few guys are in there front yard playing with one of these weapons, the outcome is pretty entertaining most of the time. The game has over 10 weapons/gadgets to choose from and use. Most of the weapons upgrade through use as well as purchases. The variety ranges from a regular blaster to little robots that fire lasers and missiles. Ammo is plentiful and bolts which is the source of money seem to be fairly accessible.

One of the let downs in this game was the armor. The first set I completed through regular game play and the effects were great, as you walk you leave burn marks and when hitting enemies with your wrench it sets them a flame. This was short lived when I upgraded my armor for protection but was unable to easily complete any of the other sets. In a programmers mind I could see how this would create reply for the game and it almost did for me. But seeing how the armor had to be acquired (via walk through) appeared to be more work then fun.

The last point I want to make is lately in most games there has been a serious lack of boss battles from yesteryear. All the boss battles in R&C:SM are not epic, but take some work and strategy, not just balls to the wall firing for 30 seconds (looking at you halo 3).

The game is a solid 8 out of 10 for me. It’s not to short with decent graphics and really just down to the nit and grit the game is fun to play.