Ratchet & Clank – PS2 – Preview

Inside this world is a fictitious marsupial-like animal named Ratchet. 
Ratchet has teamed up with Clank, a small (but useful) robot to defeat the
evil creatures that threaten the galaxy.  The rest of the story, and the
reason why you fight is unimportant though.  Once I began to explore the
game’s spectacular world, I ignored most of the text and delved deep into
Ratchet & Clank’s rich gameplay.

Controlling Ratchet is
both fun and easy.  Running, jumping, attacking and gliding could not be any
easier.  Ratchet can acquire a plethora of weapons, including a flamethrower! 
But his standard weapon is something a little unusual: a wrench.  Press the
square button while on the ground to make Ratchet swing it left and right;
press it in the air to make him slam down with a fierce wrench-strike
(Ratchet’s equivalent to Mario’s butt stomp).  Other than that, there aren’t a
whole lot of uses for the wrench (at least not in the demo), but it’s a lot of
fun to use, and comes in handy when you’re out of ammo.

A lot of Ratchet’s
weapons are new to the genre, but they feel as if they’ve been there all
along.  When attacking with the flamethrower (or any weapon), Ratchet aims in
the area that you are walking.  Are robotic dogs standing in your way?  Equip
the flamethrower and go nuts!  Run around them, chase them and burn them to
smithereens.  There’s also a grappling hook that can be used to swing from one
grappling post to another, and a standard blaster that shoots out energy
balls, among other weapons and gadgets.

You may be wondering
where Clank fits into all of this.  For the most part, Clank does absolutely
nothing.  But once you find the "Robot Guy," Clank will be upgraded, making
him much more useful.  The first upgrade is the Helipack, which turns Clank
into a hovering machine.  Whenever you’re in the air, hold down the X button
to hover.  Just don’t let go or else you’ll fall!  Luckily, Ratchet doesn’t
die or get injured when landing on solid ground.  This could change in the
final version of the game though.

There are at least two
other upgrades for Clank.  What are they?  I couldn’t find anymore in the
demo, so I guess we’ll just have to wait until November to see what other
secrets lie within Ratchet & Clank.

The camera isn’t as
flexible as the one featured in Jak & Daxter, but it is used in the same way. 
Press the right stick up, down, left or right to pan the camera around your
character.  Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a specific button that can
be pressed to center your camera.  Tapping R1/R2 will usually move the camera
behind Ratchet, but it tends to be a little jarring since those buttons
activate the first-person view (which allows you to look around and blast your
enemies more precisely).  When you tap R1, it automatically zooms in a little,
even if you don’t hold the button down.  This is a minor complaint, but I hope
Insomniac hears it loud and clear because this game really needs a
camera-centering button.  Other than that, the controls are excellent.

Graphically, Ratchet
&Clank is like a 3D Klonoa game (with cooler backgrounds).  Everything is
fully rendered, and Ratchet himself looks terrific.  His mouth movements and
facial expressions are truly amazing, even more so than Medal of Honor:
Frontline.  As Ratchet chats with the locals, his face reacts the most
realistic ways.  The other characters have realistic expressions as well, but
none of them are quite as detailed as Ratchet (which makes sense because he is
the main character).

Exploring is one of the
greatest aspects of an action/adventure game, and from the looks of things,
there will be tons to explore in Ratchet & Clank.  The only downside is the
release date (November 2002).  It’s hard to think about that without feeling
sad because it is so far away.  Sony, you guys let Crash go, but no matter
what happens in the future, don’t let this one slip between your fingers! 
Ratchet & Clank could very well be the best platformer ever to grace the
PlayStation 2.