Day 14: Ratchet & Clank (PS4)

You guys want to hear a joke? Ratchet & Clank the Movie (2016). Fuck that movie, it's the worst movie I've ever seen. Don't watch it!

Well…at least we got a pretty awesome game out of it.

Being made to promote that train wreck of a movie, Insomniac Games decided to remake the first game of the series, base it loosely on the movie (thank fuck!), and the end result is one of the best games I've played on the PS4. Ratchet & Clank is one of many series I want to get more into, but I can safely that this is a great entry point in the series for anyone looking to get into it, and it got me interested in trying out the other entries.

Since this is a remake of the first Ratchet & Clank game, the games keeps a similar overall plot, but there are a few differences that set it apart from the original. A lombax named Ratchet wants to explore the galaxy, and both he and defective warbot Clank wish to join the Galactic Rangers to accomplish that goal. When they join however, they soon must face off against Chairmen Drek and his scientist Doctor Nefarious, who seek to destroy planets and use the debris of those planets to make a brand new planet for him and his people. It's now up to Ratchet, Clank, Captain Quark, and the other Galactic Rangers to put a stop to Drek and Nefarious' evil plans and save the Solana Galaxy.

It's your typical galaxy in peril story that's no stranger to something like Star Wars, but the story does its job just fine, especially when it's told through beautifully animated cutscenes that come straight from the movie…yes, I like the animation that the Ratchet & Clank movie had, that's the one thing I have to praise it for, but that's it. Outside of the cutscenes, the game itself is very colorful and full of life. Every planet you visit in this game is pleasing to the eyes and fun to go through and explore…while also blasting away at everything in sight.

Speaking of which, Ratchet & Clank 2016 plays out like a Third Person Shooter/3D platformer hybrid. There are instances where you do some platforming, but ultimately you're using your vast arsenal to take out any and all threats that stand in your way. The weapons Ratchet uses are also very fun to use. Most of the weapons already appeared in previous games, both the original trilogy on PS2 and the newer games on PS3, so it's nice to see them come back. There are two new weapons that this game introduces that, like the older weapons, are a blast to use (Pun entirely intended). There's the Pixelizer which turns any enemy that gets hit by it to turn into pixels, and the Proton Drum which throws out an orb which emits shockwaves that hurt enemies that go near it. While I haven't played most of the other Ratchet & Clank games, I can safely say that this is a fun set of weapons to unleash Armageddon upon, and it gets better when you upgrade them.

Other than platforming and shooting, there are other smaller modes to play with like hoverboard racing, dogfights, and occasional moments where you play as Clank to solve puzzles.

It's almost like Ratchet & Clank (2016) is a perfect melding of every game in the series: Using the first game as a base, and then elements from the other games to build upon it, with the usual brand of humor these games are known for, giving us an enjoyable experience that I can recommend to any Ratchet & Clank fan or fan of Third-Person Shooters.

If the remake of the first game in the series turned out this great, I'm hoping Insomniac remakes the other two games in the trilogy and then some…just, please, nobody make another movie. One is enough to ruin my life.