Ratchet And Clank Quest For Booty
Review of Ratchet And Clank Quest For Booty
Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty, the swashbuckling new Ratchet & Clank mini-adventure for PLAYSTATION 3 is a hilarious follow-up to Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, that will take you into the space-age pirate world of Planet Merdegraw on a quest to find booty - and Ratchet’s missing shipmate Clank - battling hordes of futuristic enemies on the way. This wallet-friendly expansion to the Ratchet and Clank universe challenges you to battle shiploads of deadly enemies, negotiate the treacherous Viper Caverns, survive the dark caves of Hoolefar Island and more, in the hope of laying your hands on the Fulcrum Star- a lost mystical treasure that will point you to the whereabouts of Ratchet’s ‘First Mate’ Clank. However, Planet Merdegraw hides many secrets. In this unforgettable mini title, you’ll encounter Undead Robotic Pirates and even another new archenemy - the evil Captain Angstrom Darkwater, a swaggering, surly buccaneer who was already killed once by Ratchet & Clank nemesis Captain Slag.
Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty contains up to five hours of action-packed, signature Ratchet and Clank gameplay in a tiny treasure-chest of an adventure, which fans and newcomers alike will be sure to enjoy.
Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty picks up sometime after the epic events of Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction. Our Lombax hero Ratchet has been busy, desperately trying to unearth any clues as to his best mate’s whereabouts and the inconspicuous Zoni. After much searching, Ratchet, and accomplice Talwyn, finally manage to gather some valuable information in their search for Clank from the IRIS Supercomputer. With this new small shed of hope, they set course to the distant and isolated Planet Merdegraw in search of the infamous Captain Darkwater and the mystical Fulcrum Star. Both may hold the key to finding the missing Clank and the unknown home of the Zoni- the only question is, what will stand in Ratchet’s way?
Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty begins with a blast! You find yourself as Ratchet, hot on the trail of Captain Darkwater and the Fulcrum Star. The beginning, in particular, proves to be a great introduction to the Ratchet and Clank series in general, which was one of the main aims of this mini- title. The opening cut scene contains a generous helping of the signature Ratchet and Clank humour, involving Rusty Pete and the decapitated head of Captain Slag to those fans of Tools of Destruction. When the gameplay begins you find yourself fending off hordes of robotic pirates with an array of weapons from Tools of Destruction, and of course Ratchet’s famous wrench. Fans in particular will find themselves right at home. Quest for Booty feels and plays like every Ratchet and Clank game before it- which is brilliant, in case you were wondering. This means the controls are just as responsive and easy to master as every other title. You’ll find yourself double jumping, wrench-swinging and gathering bolts (the in-game currency) like never before. Newcomers to the series will be sure to notice the huge amount of fun to be had in combat with Ratchet as well as the vibrant and imaginative weapons, enemies and environments that the game contains. The game’s mini-budget seems to have had no effect on the quality of the title this far.
The game proceeds to take you through a well- thought out, highly prepared set-piece of events aboard a space-age pirate fleet. This is again, a great introduction to the game and the series as a whole. In this time, the game also introduces you to a new concept and gameplay mechanic that the developers are ‘testing out’ in Quest for Booty. Ratchet’s wrench now has a new ‘kinetic tether’, a kind of energy rope that you can attach to various objects in the game and use to pull or push them into useful positions. It proves to be a very intuitive and effective tool with the puzzle/ platforming elements of the game. Another new gameplay mechanic used by Insomniac this time around is Ratchet’s ability to pick up objects, such as explosive rock and luminous grubs, with his wrench and use them to interact in a number of ways with the environment. This, just like the Kinetic Tether, is put to very good use in the game and adds a very fresh feel to the title for veterans of the Ratchet and Clank series.
The level design and environments in the game prove themselves very early on. The highlight of the 4 locations you’ll encounter in Quest for Booty is without question, Hoolefar Island. Hoolefar Island puts the whole Ratchet and Clank experience into a nutshell, for me. This level provides you with, for a downloadable game, an expansive area to explore as well as a rich, colourful, jungle-like environment to set your eyes upon. The level also provides you with the best moments in the entire game, which is solely linked to the platforming and puzzle elements of Quest for Booty. The first use of Hoolefar Island entails Ratchet having to run around the level fixing Wind Turbines and completing a list of jobs for Mayor Worley. Hoolefar Island, by far, provides you with the best opportunities to use the new Kinetic Tether and Ratchet’s new ‘pick-up’ ability. The Kinetic Tether is used excellently with the Wind Turbines of Hoolefar Island; while vertically climbing the turbines with the old school Gravity Boots the kinetic tether is used to considerable effect in bridging gaps and creating pathways along the dangerous Gravity Ramps. Ratchet’s pick-up ability is also integrated beautifully into the Grind Rail areas of the level; the explosive rocks being used as bombs which Ratchet can chuck to blow up gates blocking the path. Altogether, one of the best segments of a Ratchet and Clank game I’ve ever played!
Where as Hoolefar Island, as a level, is simply a lot of fun, one of the downfalls of Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty, and maybe a result of the significantly lower budget of the game, is the slightly lower quality of the other locations. Half of Quest for Booty will be spent navigating the dark, dull Morrow Caverns which do the game no justice at all. The signature rich and colourful environments and the classic Ratchet and Clank feel and formula is cast away a little with these Caverns. Morrow Caverns in particular is, at times, a hugely frustrating, not-so impressive 1 and a half hour test of your grit and determination. Navigating this location is nigh on impossible with the brightness of your TV at a normal setting and the platforming, puzzle and combat sequences throughout the caverns are below par compared to locations such as Hoolefar Island. The new gameplay mechanics, such as the luminous Grub pick-ups, are used well here and the location is not particularly boring, but to be honest, Morrow Caverns displays why Ratchet and Clank does not suit the form of a mini-title. From there on, the initial beauty and quality of the title seemed to drop hugely and I found myself feeling a little under- impressed. Relief did come at the very end of the game with a significantly more exciting Darkwater Cove area and a brilliant last boss battle, but the locations and game quality took a reasonable drop!
Another big disappointment of Quest for Booty is the usually above standard Ratchet and Clank weapon structure. Don’t get me wrong, the weapons in Quest for Booty are some of the best from the series. This includes greats such as the Tornado Launcher, Shock Ravager, Alpha Cannon and the trusty Combustor, but Quest for Booty fails to offer anything new in this department. It’s probable that this is another setback due to the mini-budget for Quest for Booty, but the absence of any new weapons is a major factor against the game. Also, the lack of any deep upgradeable system really lets the title down as the upgradeable systems of previous Ratchet iterations have become highlights of the series. The ‘attempt’ at this in Quest for Booty is a lousy 2-level upgradeable system with no continuation at all after you complete the game.
This, in turn, affects the combat in Quest for Booty. The combat formula itself is as fun as ever, disposing of your enemies with guns is brilliant, the wrench is as effective as ever, but there’s something missing, just like the entire game makes me feel there’s something missing. It could be the little variety in enemies- this consists of pretty much Robotic Pirates, Undead Pirates and the usual small bug-vermin-like enemy. It could be the lack of a quality upgradeable system. In my opinion, I think it’s the way the Platforming and Puzzle sequences are separated from the combat throughout Quest for Booty. Both elements come in individual big chunks, not the usual integration of both throughout planets in ‘full’ Ratchet and Clank games. This allows for too much time with each and gives that impression of an under-developed, lesser quality game.
Thankfully the usual array of Gadgets is on offer in Quest for Booty, and this does add to the game. The Swingshot, Grind Boots and Gravity Boots, for example, are available for use in the game- these along with the new additions of the Kinetic Tether and Ratchet’s new pick-up ability, shows this area of the game has taken a step in the right direction. This will hopefully mean a lot for the next Ratchet and Clank game in the latter half of 2009.
A big factor in Quest for Booty is the absence of Clank himself. As fans can imagine, this changes the way the game can be played quite significantly. No more quirky comments from Ratchets metallic mate and no more heli-pack gliding and thrusters-packing! Just plain old...jumping. Insomniac seems to have addressed this issue, however, and Ratchet is still as fun as ever to control- even without Clank. The storyline is worth this small departure.
Another big 'downer' is that there is no inclusion of the renowned Gold/ Platinum Bolts featured in every Ratchet and Clank game to date in Quest for Booty. Also, there is no challenge mode, another staplemark of the series. You do get 3 difficulty levels (Easy, Normal, Hard) but after completing the game and starting a new one you do not keep your previously upgraded weapons or anything of that kind. With the lack of Trophy Support as well, Quest for Booty is seen to some, including me, as quite a shallow game. This is a huge shame as little features like these, which surely cannot be that difficult to introduce, would have improved the game greatly. I’m afraid to say, however, that Quest for Booty shies away from the deep and epic experiences of ‘full’ Ratchet and Clank titles.
Visually, at times, Quest for Booty excels over its predecessor Tools of Destruction. The game’s textures have definitely been improved and the character animations are as good as ever. Insomniac have also managed to achieve a lot more in Quest for Booty with the environments, notably the water which looks a step ahead of Tools of Destruction and makes for a stunning ocean backdrop. Production values are high as promised, but the failure here comes with the dark locations of the game, yet again. The main problem is the colours Insomniac has used. The sheer blandness and dullness that I felt when playing through this level sometimes made this game too different from a "usual" Ratchet and Clank game and that was not what I was hoping for.
The characters, namely the Robotic Pirates are as spectacular as ever. They look fantastic on screen and are satisfying to watch blow up in the usual chaotic and breathtaking manner. The weapon animations are also up to par, making for some crazy kills with the selection of weapons on offer.
The soundtrack of Quest for Booty consists of a pirate-themed twist to the music from Tools of Destruction, which works extremely well with the game. It is introduced to a good effect in some of the defining moments of the title, which does alter the mood in-game. The sound effects are of a high quality as well, and the voice-overs for the large amount of wacky, imaginative characters of the Ratchet and Clank universe are as convincing, humorous and imaginative as ever.
OUR PLEDGE: We promise that we have fully played 'Ratchet And Clank Quest For Booty' before writing this review. The scores given above are our honest opinion and were not influenced in any way by the manufacturer or distributor of the game.
This review was written by Rob C STAFF © Absolute PlayStation
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