A lot of the time when a major console game makes the transition to a
handheld it often turns out as a completely different game or it takes
place as a side story or a spin-off. This is apparent with games such
as Vice City Stories and the Metal Gear Acid games. But this isn't the
case with Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters. In fact it's almost the
exact same as the console versions. It's a direct sequel to Deadlocked
and picks the story up from there. Ratchet and Clank are on vacation
and a little girl comes up to them wanting to take pictures of them
doing "heroic" stuff. She gets kidnapped and they have to go save her.
The story has many twists and turns but ultimately is pretty
forgettable.
The PSP is notorious for not have a second analog stick and because of
this Size Matters controls feel a little sloppy. The camera is one
problem. It has two different options, with one you use both shoulder
buttons to move the camera to the left and right. This one feels the
best and is the one that I recommend you use while playing. The other
option makes the camera stick behind Ratchet at all times and when you
move, the camera moves with you. It works for the most part but in the
end it's more annoying than helpful. You strafe in the game by pressing
left and right on the d-pad. This actually works very well and you'll
have to circle strafe some bosses to beat them as it's almost the only
way too, so the d-pad will quickly become your best friend in fights.
The game plays pretty much the exact same as the PS2 versions. You
travel through extremely linear levels on a couple of different planets
blowing things up on your way to the end. Helping your blow up these
things up are your trusty guns. There are a little over a dozen in the
game and the more you use them the more experience they gain leading to
them leveling up. All the guns are fun to use and helpful in
eliminating the bad guys, but there is one gun in particular that is
like a shotgun and it misses almost every time you shoot it making it
pretty much worthless. There are boxes strewn about the levels and
breaking them will give you bolts. Bolts is the games currency and you
use them to buy new guns and gun mods. You also gain armor in the game.
There are different types that you can equip and customize your
appearance. Equipping certain parts will give you attack boosts such as
making your wrench catch on fire that takes down double damage or if
your throw your wrench you'll leave a trail of acid that will hurt
enemies that walk across it. But you'll mainly only use the armor as a
defensive upgrade and rely more on your guns for attacking.
Size Matters isn't a particularly long game. It's around the 5 to 8
hour mark. However, once you beat the game you can go through it again
on "challenge" mode that gives you bolt multipliers to get you more
bolts and there is a new set of armor available for you to find. There
are also races to partake in and Twisted Metal style Clank mini games
to play. You can also play multiplayer matches to up to 4 people online
and off. But the multiplayer is pretty uninteresting and you probably
won't play it that much.
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters is a great PSP game. It's got
everything you love about the PS2 games but it's in the palm of your
hand. If your a fan of Ratchet and Clank you should defiantly pick it
up although the $40 price tag is asking a little to much for a such a
short game. But regardless of all that this game is worth your time.
