Ratchet & Clank

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Okay, the race is way more fair on Normal. Your opponents only immediately rubber band to you and win within the last second of the race ten times in a row on Hard apparently.

[Spark Of Spirit]

That says a lot, since the races in those games are pretty bad. Wish they cut have cut those somehow instead, or just made them entirely optional.

[gunswordfist]

Heh just finished watching the hoverboard race.

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The race is absurdly easy on Normal and probably unloseable on Easy, but on Hard it's just unfair. The AI straight up cheats, which as far as I know didn't even happen in R&C1 or GC.

Speaking of difficulty settings, ever since I turned the game down to Normal mode it's been pretty patronizing. There are button prompts everywhere, and the game feels the need to remind you how to jump every time there's a moderately complex platforming segment. It even popped up with a picture of the fucking controller halfway through the game to tell me how to shoot because I decided to use the wrench for five minutes. I guess I could just go back to playing on Hard, but that race kind of killed my desire to do so.

Still love the game, though.

[Spark Of Spirit]

It's because gamers are getting worse at games. All the hand-holding and scripted hallways have taken any sense of challenge out of them so that even games from the PS2 are still too much for your average gamer these days. I can only imagine how easy the flooding sequence is now.

I assume Challenge Mode is still in, right?

[gunswordfist]

I don't think gamers have gotten worse. I know kids who can beat surprisingly hard games. Which is why I think hand holding is completely pointless.

[Foggle]

Okay, I restarted the game. This time I only turned the difficulty down to Normal for the race (after attempting it a few more times on Hard... it's impossible, I swear), and then back up afterwards. It's way more fun and rewarding this way, and it doesn't talk down to the player as much. Definitely the way the game was meant to played. Also, there are no difficulty trophies, so don't be afraid to adjust the setting for the races.

I can only imagine how easy the flooding sequence is now.

It's still pretty damn tough (on Hard, anyway)! Only slightly easier than in the original. I actually died to it... twice.

I assume Challenge Mode is still in, right?

Yep!

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Uploaded some gameplay videos to Twitter. Sometimes it gets really hectic; it's so much fun!

https://twitter.com/FoggleAR/status/720360424877600770
https://twitter.com/FoggleAR/status/720363532672339968

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yep, that's what I was hoping for it to be like. Can't wait to try this one out for myself.

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Beat the game! It has less levels than the original, but I also feel like it's slightly longer? Anyway, I loved it. My thoughts on it are below:

Spoiler

• The shooting is the best it's ever been, finally surpassing Up Your Arsenal as having the best action gameplay in the series.
• The platforming still feels slightly off, but the controls and frame rate are far better than Into The Nexus', and many of the levels have plenty of jumping segments.
• Hard mode is roughly the same difficulty level as the original trilogy. I highly recommend playing on this setting if you've played the previous games.
• This game has a lot more puzzles than any of the PS3 titles. The Trespasser works slightly differently from in the original, but it's a lot of fun IMO. And if you don't agree, I believe you can skip them!
• The races are fun on Normal but bullshit terrible on Hard. Don't be afraid to briefly drop the difficulty if you have a problem with them.
• Clank gameplay is excellent, like an upgraded version of the stuff from Going Commando. Perhaps not as good as ACIT or ITN, but pretty damn close.
• The jetpack is even more fun to use than it was in Nexus.
• Disappointingly, this game does not feature an arena.
• The Pixelizer is amazing, but the Proton Drum is kind of shitty. I never bought any Raritanium mods for it, though, so maybe it gets better. The rest of the weapons are from previous games.
• This game features a good flamethrower for the first time since the original game. Likewise, for the first time since GC, the animal-morphing gun is actually useful instead of just fun for the novelty.
• The mining level is the second best one after ITN.
• The lack of Giant Clank in this game is upsetting. I guess we'll never see any of those segments ever again.
• Novalis, Aridia, Rilgar, BTS (now called Nebula G34), Gaspar, Batalia, Pokitaru, and Kalebo III are all very faithful to their original incarnations. Meanwhile, Veldin, Kerwan, and Quartu are almost entirely new levels (especially Quartu). Gaspar also has a new mining section replacing its optional/hidden alternate path.
• Though this is billed as a re-imagining, it definitely feels more like a movie tie-in game. It's not really a straight remake, but most of the levels are almost exact re-creations of the ones from the original. Not every level is present, and it seems that Insomniac based their inclusion of each stage around how it could fit into the timeline of the film.
• In this regard, I feel that the game was actually held back by the movie a lot. Most of the cutscenes are clips from the film, and though they are quite funny (really excited to see it now!), half the time they don't match the action or progression of the game at all and feel sloppily included. Meanwhile, Eudora, Umbris, Orxon, Hoven, Gemlik Base, Oltanis, and Drek's Fleet are entirely missing because they couldn't be worked into the film's timeline.
• There's still no level taking place on Drek's synthetic planet what the fuck!
• The final boss battle is fantastic.
• The plot twist at the end of the game is awful and really ruins this version of Drek. Aside from that, the writing is pretty funny, but the story feels rushed because it's pieced together like a PS1/2 era licensed game.
• The Insomniac Museum in this game is amazing.

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Overall, I'd give it a 9/10 easily. There are some things I really don't like about it, but it's one of the best games I've played this gen (right behind Tropical Freeze and Evil Within), and the perfect title for new fans to use as a jumping-on point. That said, it's also a great game for longtime fans, and is filled with nostalgic references to past titles. This truly feels like the anniversary game Full Frontal Assault should have been.

[gunswordfist]

The flamethrower did look badass. Sucks about there being no giant Clank.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Seven planets are missing? Man. Well, at least they didn't bother with Orxon. Really hated that level.

But a lot of the length in the original was centered on backtracking, which the rest of the games cut down on to make a more streamlined experience. This sounds like that.

Glad to hear the final boss is good. I hated the one in the original, even when I figured it out.

[Foggle]

The flamethrower did look badass. Sucks about there being no giant Clank.

Yeah, this one was quite refreshing after that shamefully bad flamethrower in ToD. I'm legitimately sad that they don't do Giant Clank segments anymore. The ones in UYA were so good!

Seven planets are missing? Man. Well, at least they didn't bother with Orxon. Really hated that level.

But a lot of the length in the original was centered on backtracking, which the rest of the games cut down on to make a more streamlined experience. This sounds like that.

The length is mitigated by the mining level and Quartu & the (all new!) final level being much longer than the other planets. But I really missed the variety some of those old stages brought. Yeah, it's snowing on Batalia now, but it's literally just the same old planet with new weather and doesn't resemble Hoven at all. The loss of Umbris and Gemlik Base is rather heartbreaking to me, as those are some of my all-time favorite R&C levels.

To be honest, I'd buy DLC that featured recreations of the missing 7 planets and an arena in a heartbeat.

Glad to hear the final boss is good. I hated the one in the original, even when I figured it out.

I actually like the Drek fight, but if you die a couple times on it you're sunk unless you want to grind. This one is way more fun. Not as good as Nefarious in UYA or Azimuth/Vorselon in ACIT, but definitely the best final boss aside from them.

Overall, I don't know if I prefer the PS2 or PS4 version of Ratchet & Clank. They're both some of my favorite games ever, but the cut content ensures that this remake will never replace the original in my heart like REmake, Zero Mission, and Black Mesa did.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Did they cut the Devastator out of the game? I haven't seen it any footage. It would be a shame if it was cut since it was one of the best weapons in the first game.

[Foggle]

Yes. One of the ways in which I feel like the game was held back by the movie is that Insomniac had to utilize the weapons shown in the film; this means that the only returning ones from the original version are the Pyrocitor and Agents of Doom. The Devastator is replaced by the Warmonger, AKA the worst rocket launcher in the series.

This also reminds me that I didn't care for the story at all. Though the humor was generally quite good and much less mean-spirited than in the original game, the plot itself was a huge step down. Massive spoilers below:

Spoiler

Really, don't click this unless you don't care about spoilers

Don't say I didn't warn you

• There is no longer any tension between Ratchet and Clank, and thus, no character development - they are friends from the story's opening moments. Yes, asshole Ratchet from the PS2 game was awful, but they could have still put the lead characters at odds with each other without making one of them a total douche.
• Qwark's motivation for betraying Ratchet makes no sense and is far more petty than it was in the original. The novel concept of "washed up superhero helps the bad guy so he can remain famous" is replaced by "leader of galactic police force is jealous that their new recruit is more competent than he is." Quark's decision to help Drek and his eventual change of heart are boring and quite frankly preposterous.
• This is more of a personal gripe, but I don't like how the Galactic Rangers are a group of well-trained organics instead of barely-functioning robots. They were hilarious in Up Your Arsenal, but here they're just generic kids' movie characters. Brax is pointless and Cora's voice acting is appalling, with the latter threatening to ruin multiple levels because she fights alongside you. If they were going to include a vaguely human-looking female character as a potential love interest for Ratchet, they might as well have just brought back Talwyn. Elaris is cool, though - mostly because Rosario Dawson is awesome.
• The scene with Clank's mom - probably the only genuinely effective emotional moment in the entire series outside of Crack In Time - has been removed. This change is especially bewildering to me.
• Chairman Drek's plan is one of bog standard movie villain nationalistic imperialism rather than one inspired entirely by greed. I absolutely adored how, in the original game, he was only out to make money and didn't actually care about the Blarg as a species. Also, Kevin Michael Richardson was way better.
• Dr. Nefarious turns Drek into a sheep using the Sheepinator and reveals himself as the true villain. You never actually get to fight Drek.

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