Review of times past: Ratchet and Clank: Crack in Time
Flat out, I love the Ratchet universe. I’ve played all the games from PS2, to PSP, and now, finally again on PS3. I have a super compulsive feeling when it comes to these games that I love, have to finish, and just sdlfjkasd;lfjals;df;lj. Now that that is out of the way, I’ll get to my review.
Picking up after the shot yet loved Quest for Booty, you continue your journey trying to save and find Clank. With the help of the Zoni, Clank learns his origin, place in the universes, and ultimately how to save the world. In with Ratchet mainly fighting his way to Clank, you get a bevvy of callback characters to help. President Qwark, The Plumber, and not to mention the villain of thee series, Dr. Nefarious and his trusty sidekick Lawrence, all play a part to finish up a half decade of story.
New weapons, new tricky puzzles, and full on action to the max, Crack in Time proves the equation of the series time and time again. Like previous games of the franchise, CiT takes the weapon upgrades only for the ones you use. Instead of the others, it only takes it to level five. Each with pre-determined stat increases, slight aesthetic variations, and obvious power increases; there are three fully customized from color, type of ammunition and shot. It takes things slightly farther than past games, but not nearly enough as it should.
The environments are fan-fucking-tastic with the peeps at Insomniac knowing exactly how to work and push the limitations of the PS3. Beautifully crafted, designed, and executed levels are diminished by the quick pace of the game’s story, but at least you can still enjoy the glimpses you steal all the while involved. Like previous games in the franchise, Crack in Time is as linear as a fucking ray, but with optional side-quests and collectibles, you can postpone the inevitable for a little longer.
With the major mechanic of Clank, you can manipulate the absolute framework of time, causing rifts and fractures in which you can fix. Taking control of Clank, you traverse the Great Clock playing, recording, rewinding and stopping time/copies of yourself to further the course. The whole process has blown my mind multiple times, and still today, it does. Maybe it’s the whole scientific aspect or temporal distortion in general fucks my mind like no other, but I loved it. You find the whole process of going through each of those puzzles and getting it done, absolutely rewarding physically and mentally. You get this endorphin rush like no other once you get past the threshold and here that chime. The extra bolts don’t hurt, just sayin’. Ugh, just yes.
I’m staying away from the specific of the game because everyone whom likes these games should just play it. It is completely worthwhile in every aspect, but still with some short comings. There is great writing, great action, beautiful landscapes, and of course, lovable characters. Genius level puzzles make any of the short comings that much more bearable, but never truly overshadowing the problems of which action-adventure platformers have. There isn’t much this game could improve on, but that doesn’t mean that it’s perfect. On the scale of Ratchet games, from All 4 One to Going Commando, All 4 One is the worst, and Going Commando being the best, this is definitely Up Your Arsenal. A strong four Clank giggles out of five.