Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time

I think I've more than satisfied my Ratchet & Clank fix, what with me playing the entire Future arc to 100% completion in under a month. A Crack in Time is easily the best of the PS3 entries, and probably my favorite game in the series after Up Your Arsenal. The PS3 games didn't do much to reinvent the series. Really, they just upped the graphics and decided to tell a more engaging storyline, but the core gameplay that's been more or less the same since the second game "Going Commando" is still enjoyable. I know I've said this before but the Ratchet games, like the Mario games, are games that can released every couple of years and I'll be happily obliged to play them. At this point the Ratchet gameplay isn't as engrossing as it used to be but A Crack in Time came pretty close to wowing me like the older games did.

A Crack in Time, for the most part concludes the story that began in Tools of Destruction and was pretty much glazed over in Quest for Booty, about the origins of both the titular heroes. The majority of the game splits off between taking control of Ratchet and playing as Clank by his lonesome. Clank gets about four levels to himself throughout the duration of the game, and for the better half of the game, the two stay separated. Clank gains the power to control time as he can toss time bombs that slow down fast-moving platforms and he also uses a temporal staff that will allow him to reflect enemy attacks back at baddies as well as fix broken down machines. But, the meat and potatoes of Clank's stages are the special time puzzles. These are rather clever as they have Clank recording copies of himself to perform actions such as stepping on a button to open a door or lower platforms. It's very ingenious how the puzzles work and they increase in difficultly very smoothly and the tougher ones succeed in making you feel smart without being too frustrating. Its a shame then, that the main puzzles stopped right when they were really getting good. Overall though Clank's solo portions of the game are much stronger than the controlling robots/zoni gameplay they normal stick him with.

Meanwhile, Ratchet does the usual thing of going to various planets, gaining various weapons and blowing everything up. His gameplay is just as solid as its always been, though I wish there was bit more enemy variety. The space exploration from select previous entries has returned in a big way. Instead of directly traveling to each planet they're grouped into small sectors that can be flown through. Apart from a few space battles, this portion of the game mostly exists to explore the tiny spherical planets that house the game's many, many bonus items and they're a joy to search for. The Ratchet and Clank games have always been good at motivating me in searching every nook and cranny for every tiny little bonus.

The story is intriguing and though a few things are left unresolved by the game conclusion, I felt that it was fairly epic close to this chapter of the franchise. There were plenty of surprises in the plot to keep me interested and entertained and there is some legitimately strong subject matter this time around and it handled surprisingly well. While I've never found the Ratchet and Clank games to be that hilarious, there were parts that made me laugh. The return of Dr Nefarious, one of my favorite characters in the series, was a treat even if his ultimate scheme wasn't that impressive and Captain Quark is always good for a cheap laugh or two. I'm not sure what's next for Ratchet and Clank, what with there being talks that this is either the final game in the Future arc or the final game overall. While I hope to see more from the series, I'll be somewhat satisfied if this is the last they ever do.