I'm a big fan of the Ratchet and Clank series, so I was quite looking forward to this new portable entry in the franchise. This time, the dynamic duo are down to one, with Ratchet in jail for a crime he claims not to have committed, in spite of footage clearly showing him do it, it's now up to sidekick Clank to beat the bad guy, save the world and prove his best friend's innocence.
There are a lot of good elements, for example, there are stealth elements which involves walking up behind an enemy, pressing square and unleashing a four-button combo to take out the enemy, although sometimes, it doesn't have to be a stealth move and you just have to be behind them. The better elements from the series also stay the same such as upgrade-able health bars and weapons. You also get to play as Ratchet (in arena based games set in prison) and as series mainstay Captain Qwark. There are also Guitar Hero style button-based sequences where you have to press the right button at the right time in order to successfully execute a move in ballroom dancing or in a poker game.
While these sections are good, the game isn't without it's flaws, for example, while the gameplay's good, it doesn't have the feeling of a Ratchet and Clank game, sure some of the gameplay stays the same, but you can't help but think that this could have been done with any franchise. It also gets very difficult at the end, the final boss is just an absolute nightmare to destroy, especially when you consider one of his attacks is an explosion that wipes out a good deal of your health bar.
It's worth a look though and it does have skill points and upgrade-able weapons which add to the replay value.
