Platformers

[Spark Of Spirit]

I heard the best version of Rayman 2 is the Dreamcast version. If the PC version is based on that, then it's probably your best bet.

[Foggle]

It's either based on that one or the N64 version, not sure which.

[Spark Of Spirit]

So I beat Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando for the second time (same save) and my final impressions of the R&C trilogy are up.


Ratchet & Clank

This game had a lot of good ideas, but in my opinion it didn't really do anything to set it apart from any other platformer out there. It had the "crazy gun" gimmick that was played up in commercials and that was its gimmick. The main issue was that most of the guns in this game... well, suck. They have some creative ideas for the guns, but none of them handle particularly well and this lack of quality is evident when you import them into the sequel where you'll never use them because they are such a step down. As a shooter, nothing about the shooting feels satisfying and the better guns (which are pretty generic) are always wanting for ammo. So the game's biggest hook isn't really all that impressive.

The platforming is pretty generic. Off the top of my head I can't really think of anything memorable about it, and the levels are so stretched out and empty that it just feels like a chore to play it.

The other aspect is the story. I know, story in a platformer, whatever. But since the story shows up so much it's worth mentioning. The plot is pretty standard and dry, but you never really feel motivated to play on. The antagonist is pretty boring and forgettable, and Ratchet is pretty freaking annoying in this game. About the only character that stood out for me was Clank at the time, but it wasn't enough to invest me.

As a whole, this is a pretty generic platformer. It doesn't do anything particularly bad, but it also doesn't really do anything particularly good either. As for the "big 3 Sony platformers" judging on the first games, this is by far the weakest of all three series and is probably my least favorite platformer Insomniac has done.


Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando

What Going Commando did was take the original game and made everything work better. The controls are better, the story is better, the art style is better, the shooting feels way better, the levels are way better, the guns are way better, and the platforming has a unique feel to it  that the series was missing.

Every level consists of really tight platforming and shooting challenges that never let up. This is a stark contrast to the original where there would be almost entire levels with little to do. The only issue in my mind is with the grinding and how the platforming is way too precise and demanding with responsiveness leading to you to have to be pinpoint with your jumping or you will miss and fall to your death. This is improved from the original, but I still feel like the grinding is really arbitrary, rarely used, and pointless and adds little to the game. However, this game took the original's grinding and vastly improved upon it much like everything else.

The guns in particular, are such a step up from the original that it's like Insomniac was hit with inspiration on all of them. My only real issue with this is how expensive the guns are. You will need either to play through the game around 3-4 times to unlock and upgrade them all, but that's not much of an issue.

Yeah, this game has an upgrade system. Shoot enough things with any gun and they level up to a new powerful gun. When you beat the game, "Mega" versions of each gun unlock and you must purchase them and level those up to get the best guns in the game. This is one of the best things Insomniac added giving a reason to experiment with each weapon to figure out how best they might work in each situation. There are even MORE upgrades to your guns with the addition of Incognito Slim's Shack which can give your weapons attributes like lock-on, acid damage, or even shock damage, with the use of hidden bolts found throughout the game. About the only lame weapon is the Sheepinator which is so impractical to use and so unsatisfying to fire that it's lame existence was rectified in the sequel with something WAY better... But I'm getting ahead of myself here.

The Arena makes it's appearance in this game. A cavalcade of enemies and bosses, as well as flying balls of fire  is an optional and fun way to earn money for those very expensive weapons. The only issue being that there are pointlessly two different arenas, and that the difficulty is very lopsided and sometimes not equal to rewards you receive. But it is still a great addition to the series.

Another interesting system, is the bolt multiplier. I don't remember if this was in the original or not, but it is a good concept. Rewarding not getting hit and playing to the best of your ability to get more bolts to unlock more guns and armor. The issue is that the multiplier is not reliable. If something doesn't even hit you (like you are wearing a shield) and you lose no health, your multiplier still goes away. This is an ambitious idea that isn't quite accomplished in this game.

In fact, that is my biggest gripe with this game. There are aspects of it that just fall short of making this game perfect. There is no way to just buy general ammo for all your guns at the store, and after you beat the game the screen gets cluttered with extra guns for you to buy making buying ammo a real chore. Enemies have way too good of a shot sometimes, predicting your movements before even you do and are able to hit you sometimes before the jump or shoot button registers your input leading to a few cheap hits. Some enemies (like those stupid polar bears) simply sop up way too many hits and spawn way too much which end up draining your ammo faster than you can replenish it. Some enemies also deal out way too much damage even if you have improved armor or a shield. It was kind of a cheap way to add more challenge, but thankfully most enemies like that are in optional side missions.

There is a lot of needless clutter in the game as well. The Hook Shot and Dynamo could have basically been the same item, the Thermometer (I forgot the name) is a great idea, but it really feels underused and a bit trivial in the long run... it might have fit better in a game like Jak & Daxter, and you simply don't have enough slot for everything you're going to use during gameplay. These are pretty small complaints and don't make the game any worse, but they are quibbles that pull it back from being perfect. The story, while way better, seems completely disconnected. It frequently feels like you get to the end of a level to see a video of where to go next. Theoretically this is fine, but it's used way too much throughout the game and some planets feel like total wastes to visit because you literally get nothing out of them. But at the very least, Ratchet is finally likable.

But the biggest problem with the game are the utterly pointless race sections (which amount to little more than holding the shoulder buttons and turning) and the absolutely horrendous flying ship sections (in which you'll get made into Swiss cheese no matter how much you dodge) which are basically my only real apprehensions about a replay.

But in the end all that ends up feeling like not a big deal. The game is in fact one of the most enjoyable on the PlayStation 2, and one of the very few sequels on the system that actually looked at the original and improved on everything from it making it a far better experience. If you have a PS2 and love platformers, you'd be doing yourself a disservice by not playing this.


Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

Now as much as I loved Going Commando, Up Your Arsenal is not only way better in pretty much every area but probably one of the best games of the PS2 generation.

Take the best aspects of Going Commando and take out the needless filler, tighten up the platforming, shooting, guns, and add the best weapons in the entire trilogy also throwing in a story that actually works really well, as well as giving a villain that is as menacing as he is funny and you have one excellent game. They even fixed the blot multiplier issue I mentioned before as well as bringing down the cost of the guns and adding MORE levels to them making them more of a joy to use.

But where the game truly succeeds is in how the extra material (the hunts, flying, and racing) from the last game were all changed and what are we given instead? One comprehensive crystal hunt where the radar actually gives you the locations (Which is a real blessing), 2D platformer challenges, and horde mode style challenges (YEARS before Gears!) which greatly enhance on the platforming, adventure, and shooting aspects of the gameplay instead of taking away from them for other needless tasks. The arena challenges return, albeit in a more tightened form. The arena now include platforming challenges as well as the shooting ones, making for much more variety. They're not as hard as the ones from Going Commando (I actually finished these!), but they do make for a great detour from the fun main game.

Speaking of gameplay, it's all about jumping, shooting, and sometimes both at the same time! Needless filler like grinding has been removed, and every level is absolutely packed with obstacles and ideas making them a joy to not only play through one, but multiple times. Every level will throw platforms and enemies at you at a breakneck pace, and will really make you scramble to accomplish your goals.

The guns are even better than before! Not only is the lame Sheepinator replaced with the brilliant Qwack-O-Ray (Exploding Ducks > Sheep), but every single weapon is entirely different from the other, has multiple levels as well as upgraded versions, and have much higher ammo available to them making sure the only time you don't have ammo for them is after extended use. They even generously improved the HUD and menus allowing you to quick select twice the number of weapons as before, and less clumsily as before. Even some of the filler objects from the last game were removed, and the Hook Shot and Dynamo were combined into the same weapon removing the needless switching between them, and because grinding is gone the grinding boots are no longer here and instead the charge boots and gravity boots are merely upgrades and not something you need to switch between. All in all, everything is streamlined for much easier use.

All in all, this is one of the best games on the system, and easily the best in the trilogy after such a mediocre start with the original game. After struggling to find a negative with the game I'll just shrug it off and say that it doesn't really matter. If you own a PS2, you need this game. How both this and its prequel manage to outdo most shooters today (never mind that it's an action platformer) with the amount of content and game length is a mystery to me, but it still stands as one of the best games in the genre out there. If you see this series out in the wild, don't be afraid to jump in... But don't break your neck looking for the original. It just doesn't compare.

[Foggle]

I still don't think R&C 1 is that bad. It doesn't really seem generic to me at all. The guns are terrible, but the platforming feels fine. Better than any 3D platformer on the N64 or PS1 IMO. Not as good as Jak or Sly, though, for sure.

Also, I love the grind rails. They're back in all the PS3 games, btw. And in Deadlocked, I think.

[Spark Of Spirit]

It's not that it's a terrible game, it's that it just really isn't all that fun to play through. Like I told you, I played all 3 of the "big 3"s first games one after the other starting with R&C1, then Sly 1, then Jak 1, and R&C was by far my least favorite. Even holding them up to the follow ups, it just doesn't compare at all. I was honestly just bored going through every bit of it, which was most definitely not the case with either sequel. You also have to take into account that I'm not much of a fan of most of the PS1/N64 3D platformers, so this really didn't hold my attention as well as it could have. I'd still take it over any of the Resistance games, though.

I didn't hate the grinding, it just felt totally removed from the rest of the game in both of the first two and wasn't even used that much. My issue was that sometimes I'd push the jump button and there would be a delay to the jump sometimes killing me; or sometimes I'd push it too early to compensate and miss the rail anyway. It isn't even an annoyance since grinding was barely even there in GC, making it just seem superficial to the game.

If the sequels added them back, then I hope they are used more in context with the rest of the game and not completely separated from the main game like in GC.

[Foggle]

I guess I can understand why you don't find it fun. I still love it, though. In fact, I love pretty much any platformer that isn't inherently broken...

The grinding has more of a point to it in the PS3 games. I may be remembering wrong about some of these, as it's been years since I've played any of them, but:
Tools of Destruction has a seriously awesome base infiltration level where you grind on an exhaust port (or something) past tons of traps into the building's back door
Quest For Booty has a grinding segment that's a lot like the one on the war planet in R&C 1 but way more complex
Crack In Time has a grind rail boss fight

[Spark Of Spirit]

It's a pretty cool series, all in all. I'd probably put it above the Sly series that has one great game, one good game, and one massively disappointing game. I still need the Jak collection to make my mind up on that one.

By the way, what are the bolts used for in UYA? I have a ton of them but I haven't seen Slim's shack so I assume I should be looking for something else? I played through this two times and I feel like I'm still missing things. 

[Foggle]

Slim Cognito is on Aquatos in UYA. There's a teleporter near the landing site.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I also gotta say that the Plasma Whip is probably the best and most satisfying weapon of any of the trilogy. And having it upgraded and maxed out? Unstoppable.

Slim Cognito is on Aquatos in UYA. There's a teleporter near the landing site.

Oh, I saw that, but he doesn't offer me anything for trading platinum bolts. I thought maybe there was another location to trade them like Slim had the ship shack and the weapon shack in the prequel.

[Foggle]

I don't really remember too well. I think they're just collectibles in most of the games. Could be wrong.

[gunswordfist]

You better get Rayman 1. I can beat that game with my eyes closed.

[Foggle]

Here's a great review I found about Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One on Amazon. Sums up my feelings about the game (and, coincidentally, my feelings about Resident Evil 5) perfectly.

Sadly, it's over. It's all over. The beloved Ratchet and Clank series is in its death throes. What was once a charming and inventive platformer has now become a mind-numbing and creativity-crippled generic corridor shooter. It was bound to happen though, right? Gamers are drowning in a sea of console shooters these days, from Call of Duty and Killzone to Gears of War and Halo, so is it really so surprising that even games that started out as platformers are becoming more like current shooters?

Gone is the feeling of exploration that dominated the previous R&C games. You no longer have planets and moons to discover and pilfer as you see fit, as the game progression is startlingly linear. There's no exploration allowed within each level either, as you're funneled from one corridor or floating rock to the next and to the next and to the next. You won't be searching high and low for gold bolts, as they're pretty much sitting out in the open right in front of you. Skill points tell you exactly what to do to unlock them so you don't have to worry about taxing your brain.

The weapons just don't have the same level of ingenuity or excitement as in previous R&C games. A lot of the weapons are similar or identical to weapons from previous games, and those that aren't just don't seem to belong. In any case, the utility of many of the weapons doesn't really exist. You can run through the entire game using the standard cannon, the rocket launcher, Mr. Zurkon, and maybe one more weapon without resorting to using any of the others. (Sidenote: This game gets 2 stars instead of 1 solely on account of Mr. Zurkon, who is still incredibly awesome). Still, the gunplay (once a staple of R&C) is not addictive or exciting in this outing.

Controls are also odd. Since the game is meant to be played with multiple people, no one has control over the camera angle except the computer. If you're keenly used to using the right analog stick to control the camera as in previous R&C games, then you'll find yourself irritatingly changing weapons by accident, which is now managed by moving the R stick. It's something that people can get used to, I guess, but I never did, and it was like a sharp pebble in my boxers throughout the entire game.

The gameplay basically revolves around running from one battle to the next, shooting up waves after waves of enemies, running through the reload ammo checkpoint, and doing it all over again. By the time you hit the halfway point of the game, you will notice that each battle has become eerily reminiscent of one you already fought. It'll start out with about 8 rotating laser drones, then 2-3 standing/bomb drones show up, then like 8 boxing drones, then a flying gravity drone, etc. The enemy variety just isn't there, and it becomes painfully obvious early on and throughout the game. The last two levels in particular are a tedious exercise in the limits of human patience as you're literally fighting the same five waves over and over again as you move toward the final endpoint. Wait until you fight the final boss. It. just. never. seems. to. end.

If you're not planning on playing this game with human teammates, then just go ahead and take this advice: Don't play this game. Playing by yourself pairs you up with a near-retarded AI teammate who brings to the combat table the uncanny ability to read your mind and do exactly what you hope he doesn't do. Clank, I need you to activate that switch once I open this panel. Well, Clank was planning on opening the panel instead of activating the switch and now he's all confused and is stuck moving back and forth like a moving paper target. Clank, I need you to shoot this boss with me so we can create a more damaging attack. Too bad, Clank is inexplicably bolting to the edge of the floating platform and leaping to his death over and over again. Time to reload the checkpoint. Again *sigh*. These problems are obviously avoided by playing with a human friend (unless your friend is near-retarded too), but if a game is not adjusted appropriately by a development studio to be played as a single player game, then the option shouldn't be available. It just makes the project look messy.

When playing the game in coop form, hopefully with humans, the main draw (and purpose) of this game is to make everyone work together to beat levels. This always sounds great on paper as with most coop games, but the vast majority of developers cannot for the life of them figure out how to implement co-op tactics well (and Insomniac is no exception). Well, here's the dirty secret: levels should be designed so that they are essentially unbeatable unless the coop-ers work together and each fill a separate and mandatory responsibility, ideally one that is not glaringly obvious or limited to one sole strategy. This rarely happens in practice, unfortunately. What usually suffices for the co-op experience is one of the following watered-down events:

1. You cannot exit a level unless both players press X at the door, and a cutscene follows of one player holding the door open for the other player to walk through. Thanks, bro.
2. Both players are funneled toward a deadend that requires each player to hit x so that one gives the other a helpful boost to the ledge. That player then hits X so he can help the other player up. Thanks, bro.
3. One player activates and holds a switch so the other player can walk through the newly opened door and activate and hold an identical switch on the other side, allowing the first player to walk through or activate another, previously blocked switch. Thanks, bro.
4. You and a friend basically empty round after round of your ammunition into seemingly endless hordes of enemies until they're all dead, with no real focus or strategy. Keep shooting, bro.

#3 and #4 make up 95% of R&C All4One.

Hooray for co-op!!!

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Ok, I'm done. This game sucks in general and sucks even more for dragging an otherwise great series into the dark, fecaline depths of generic gaming. We don't need another mindless corridor shooter and certainly don't need a once-non-mindless-corridor shooter turning into one.

Let's all hope Insomniac returns to form with the next game.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I actually went back to play R&C1 after my final playthrough of UYA. It's a bit rough in places control-wise, and it isn't very good as a shooter, but as a platformer it's pretty frickin' good so far (needless backtracking aside) with some good levels. So I take back what I said before about it not being all that good, it just isn't good in specific areas. At its core is a pretty good platformer, and as I make my way through with only the wrench, it's a lot better.

Ratchet is a total jerk in this game, though. 

[Foggle]

Hooray! Glad you're enjoying it this time. It's a pretty good 3D platformer, though of course it isn't as strong at being an action-platformer as the sequels. As long as you stick to the wrench and certain guns, the combat really isn't too bad, though. Some of the later planets (I'm talking the last five or so) have too many shooting segments, but it's very cool up until that point, and even then, some of those levels still have great platforming sections.

I don't like Ratchet in the first game. He's such an asshole to poor Clank.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yup, I just got to the first boss, and basically had to fumble aorund with guns to hit him and the giant amount of little guys he spawned. The lack of a strafe and good guns really hurts the gunplay. But when it sticks with platforming it's way better.

Ratchet is so self-centered in this. I'm glad they changed it up in the sequels, because his attitude is totally unneeded. Also, the way he treats Clank is just mean.