Ratchet & Clank's first venture to the PSP isn't quite the
enjoyable experience of it's console counterparts. Not to say that this
game is bad, but it plays more like a waterer down version of the PS2
Ratchet & Clank games. The campaign is short, the controls are
poorly implemented on the PSP, and camera is insanely bad, On the
postive side however, it still maintains the spirit of it's console
counterparts, with a lighthearted, humorous story, fun minigames, and
upgradable weapons.
The game, in a way, returns to the series' root. Size Matters makes up
for Deadlock, by returning Clank back to the center stage with Ratchet.
The game plays similar to the PS2 games, you still travel between
different world and levels, collecting nuts and skill points as you go.
The minigames present aren't quite as numerous as the previous
installments, but they are quite fun. Ratchet's minigames revolves
around racing on hover boards while Clanks offer more variety, the best
being the battle bots game. new to the franchise is the custamizable
armor. Over the course of the game, you collect armor pieces.
Collecting a set (like a complete fire armor ensomble) will give you
special abilities and increase your defense. This adds some nice
strategic points to the game. The story remains pretty light hearted a
humorous, although the Qwark side story felt a bit tacked on and out of
place with the main storyline. The graphics are also really impressive,
boasting some of the best PSP graphics to be shown thus far. In the
end, any fan of the franchise will feel right at home with this game.
The gameplay however, is where this game begins to turn sour. Compared
to other games such as Daxter & God of War: Chains of Olympus, the
Ratchet and Clank franchise suffers from a poor transition to the PSP
scheme. Strafing is now controlled by the directional buttons (or the
analogue nub if you choose to change it) while normal movement is
controlled by the other. This coupled with the poor camera can make
gameplay turly frustrating. You have the ability to change the camera
between passive (where the camera is set) and active (where it follows
behind you). Iin both options, the camera is still pretty terrible as
enemies can still be unseen and attack you by surprise off camera. The
game length is also another point of concern, as it'll only take you 7
hours to complete the main story. While there are some interesting
minigames, they lack in real depth and won't take much time to complete
them.
All in all, it's an okay PSP title that suffered from a poor control
scheme. No doubt, any Ratchet & Clank (or die hard platformer) fans
will immediately love this game, but unless you meet one of these two
categorizes, you may end up with mix feelings over it.
