Ratchet & Clank - Megathread

[The Last Stand]

Here's some of the armors:

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Also there's going to be a Sate of Play with extended gameplay on Thursday.

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Riveting.

Is it wrong to say I prefer the PS3 titles over 2. Crack in Time is genuinely a master piece and has great design all throughout. I recently started playing the classics on PS2, and a lot of them just feel unpolished. Ratchet 1 is great, but I played 3 recently and it just feels so..eh...

The levels were way to short and linear and the combat challenges just were not fun.

I will say the PS3 titles are more cinematic, while the PS2 titles are funnier. I loved Tools of Destruction.

 

[4ZURE]

I will say the PS3 titles are more cinematic, while the PS2 titles are funnier. I loved Tools of Destruction.

I think the PS3 titles, gameplay-wise, were closer to Ratchet 1 than the PS2 sequels. PS3, especially a Crack in Time, seemed to be more platforming and exploration focused as opposed to the gladiator arena and more combat heavy approaches in at least R&C3. As someone who likes platformers, the PS3 style gels with me more. Exploring small planets and tons of locations in HD was more appealing, and Rift Apart gets that it seems.

 

[The Last Stand]

I think the PS3 titles, gameplay-wise, were closer to Ratchet 1 than the PS2 sequels. PS3, especially a Crack in Time, seemed to be more platforming and exploration focused as opposed to the gladiator arena and more combat heavy approaches in at least R&C3. As someone who likes platformers, the PS3 style gels with me more. Exploring small planets and tons of locations in HD was more appealing, and Rift Apart gets that it seems.

I especially liked the combat orientated style of Deadlocked. A mix of platforming and combat differentiates Ratchet & Clank from other platformers. Quest for Booty was the inverse of Deadlocked, more platforming than combat.

Linear paths need to return.

 

[KingofNothing]

I really want Rift Apart but I can't justify getting a PS5 when I only want like one or two games from it.

The "perfect sequel" took 10 months to be made.

Aside from land of the Yetis, it is very impressive how much they managed to improve upon the first game with less than a year of work. What could have been if they took a bit more time to polish it.

 

[The Last Stand]

I really want Rift Apart but I can't justify getting a PS5 when I only want like one or two games from it.

I had that same dilemma with the PS3 and Tools of Destruction. I'm not saying they should scale it back for PS4. The PS5 needs more games. Rift Apart may be a killer app for some, but not all.

Aside from land of the Yetis, it is very impressive how much they managed to improve upon the first game with less than a year of work. What could have been if they took a bit more time to polish it.

The story is all over the place, evidently. The gist I got was that Ratchet & Clank were called into the Bogan Galaxy to retrieve the stolen Protopet. Then, it turns out it was intentional RIGHT near the end.

Qwark was added last minute. Angela could've been more fleshed out. But, I enjoyed it because of its slapstick humor and innuendos.

 

[The Doom Slayer]

I love pretty much all the PS2 games (yes, including Deadlocked), although I've always thought 2's story was a little weak. 1 and 2's gameplay have also aged a little due to the lack of lock-strafe options and shit.

The PS3 games are a mixed bag. TOD is good, ACIT is arguably the best game in the whole franchise and I like ITN, but I thought QFB and A4O were pretty mediocre, and FFA was just awful.

One thing you can really notice over the course of these games is that they really dropped most of the the corporation lampooning for more "generic" space adventure storylines, and it looks like Rift Apart is gonna continue that. I think Deadlocked was the last one that really did it.

 

[DDBCAE CBAADCBE]

I tend to group Ratchet & Clank up with Sonic, Bionicles, and things of that nature in the catagory of “If someone tells you they enjoy one of these franchises it’s a safe bet that they’re autistic.”

 

[Duncan Hills Coffee]

I played 3 recently and it just feels so..eh...

Gaming Brit, most famous for his takedown of the Ratchet remake, discussed this.

What's interesting to note is that Ratchet 3's development was apparently hell for Insomniac, to the point they considered it a disaster two weeks before it went gold, and they were legitimately concerned that it would have been Insomniac's first failure (this gets brought up at 18:35).

 

[The Last Stand]

One thing you can really notice over the course of these games is that they really dropped most of the the corporation lampooning for more "generic" space adventure storylines, and it looks like Rift Apart is gonna continue that. I think Deadlocked was the last one that really did it.

Which is exactly what 3 or Deadlocked lampooned themselves. Tools of Destruction went from finding out about Ratchet's origins to pirate adventure. Then wrapped all that up with a quest to find Clank in ACIT.

I tend to group Ratchet & Clank up with Sonic, Bionicles, and things of that nature in the catagory of “If someone tells you they enjoy one of these franchises it’s a safe bet that they’re autistic.”

Now with Rift Apart, it's Rule 34 with Rivet. Whatever that means.

 

[DDBCAE CBAADCBE]

The best game on PlayStation 2 was Devil Dice.

Fight me.

 

[4ZURE]

I tend to group Ratchet & Clank up with Sonic, Bionicles, and things of that nature in the catagory of “If someone tells you they enjoy one of these franchises it’s a safe bet that they’re autistic.”

Why? The franchise and fanbase are not that bad typically.

I had that same dilemma with the PS3 and Tools of Destruction. I'm not saying they should scale it back for PS4. The PS5 needs more games. Rift Apart may be a killer app for some, but not all.

I really liked Astro's Play Room, it was a very Nintendo-like 3D platformer. Other than that, I kind of just got a 5 for PS4 titles I had missed. I had a PS4, but my family primarily used it and trashed it, so having a new console that is backwards capable seemed like the best option. I am just going to use it for Sack Boy, Catherine, Skull Girls, Abzu, Batman, and likely Nier.

One thing you can really notice over the course of these games is that they really dropped most of the the corporation lampooning for more "generic" space adventure storylines, and it looks like Rift Apart is gonna continue that. I think Deadlocked was the last one that really did it.

I think the series had a major shift as it was never really set in stone. Something to notice about the PS2 platformers is a general lack of identity. This is most apparent with Jak which basically took a 180 to seem distinct. Ratchet already was losing that in 3 in favor of a weird racism plot. One of the developers even mentioned that most of the story stuff was unintentional/ not thought about in GamingBrit's comment section.

I think the PS3 titles followed a trend set by Naughty Dog in having more story. It also helped that R&C was one of the very few 3D platformers of the 7th gen, so a more generic space adventure was marketable in a way it would not be in the PS2 era.

 

[The Last Stand]

Ratchet already was losing that in 3 in favor of a weird racism plot. One of the developers even mentioned that most of the story stuff was unintentional/ not thought about in GamingBrit's comment section.

Slightly disagree. R&C had always established a social commentary with its platform-shooter hybrid. 3 went less with commercialization and more with the imperialism of war. Deadlocked brought back that biting social commentary with gladiator combat and media manipulation.

Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank onwards threw out that social commentary with average gameplay and cliche tropes.

 

[The Doom Slayer]

Insomniac is still cool in my book - quite a change from, say, Naughty Dog/Neil Druckmann who would completely sperg out in response to a tweet like this.

 

[The Last Stand]

Insomniac is still cool in my book - quite a change from, say, Naughty Dog/Neil Druckmann who would completely sperg out in response to a tweet like this.

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After a response like that, I would've bought BOTH. Great PR.

I really liked Astro's Play Room, it was a very Nintendo-like 3D platformer. Other than that, I kind of just got a 5 for PS4 titles I had missed.

Does Astro come with every PS5?

 

[4ZURE]

Does Astro come with every PS5?

I think so...

Slightly disagree. R&C had always established a social commentary with its platform-shooter hybrid. 3 went less with commercialization and more with the imperialism of war. Deadlocked brought back that biting social commentary with gladiator combat and media manipulation.

Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank onwards threw out that social commentary with average gameplay and cliche tropes.

It walks a fine line, and it is hard to tell if much of it was intentional or a gameplay mechanic. Characters asking for bolts after being saved is a good commentary, but it might have just been a gameplay block with not much thought into the commentary. One of the devs admitted that story was seen as unimportant in the first, so hard to tell if it was ever supposed to be what it turned out like. They also hated much of the first game as Ratchet was too mean.

I think a lot of the commentary was for the purpose of fitting in with 2000s edge as that was keeping 3D platformers on life support at the time, see Jak II. I think Insomniac dropped much of it with the PS3 as the market was way less saturated and they wanted to follow Naughty Dog, which released Uncharted the same year as Tools, in having more cinematic games. (If you did not know Insomniac and Naughty Dog are very close, helping each other with titles and even working across from each other at one point). I think R&C was a product of the era that sort of evolved in the coming of a new era, but IDK. Social-commentary was present, but I cannot hate the new titles for losing it.

 

[starborn427614]

Insomniac is still cool in my book - quite a change from, say, Naughty Dog/Neil Druckmann who would completely sperg out in response to a tweet like this.

View attachment 2120356

Insomniac have always been one of my favourite devs alongside Nintendo and Level 5. Top notch franchises like Spyro PS1, Ratchet PS2 and the PS4+PS5 Spider-Man games. Even stuff I never played like Resistance apparently was decent.

 

[The Last Stand]

Insomniac have always been one of my favourite devs alongside Nintendo and Level 5. Top notch franchises like Spyro PS1, Ratchet PS2 and the PS4+PS5 Spider-Man games. Even stuff I never played like Resistance apparently was decent.

If you have an Xbox or PC, you HAVE to try Sunset Overdrive. Insomniac's best work yet. Think Ratchet & Clank, Jet Set Radio and Mad Max combined.

 

[The Doom Slayer]

Insomniac have always been one of my favourite devs alongside Nintendo and Level 5. Top notch franchises like Spyro PS1, Ratchet PS2 and the PS4+PS5 Spider-Man games. Even stuff I never played like Resistance apparently was decent.

Resistance was fine, not amazing or anything but alright. I played a ton of 2's co-op mode back in the day, it was absolutely fucking nuts.

I'd certainly take a Resistance trilogy remaster over fucking TLOU1 Remaster Remake or whatever it is they're doing.

 

[4ZURE]

Insomniac have always been one of my favourite devs alongside Nintendo and Level 5. Top notch franchises like Spyro PS1, Ratchet PS2 and the PS4+PS5 Spider-Man games. Even stuff I never played like Resistance apparently was decent.

I love Insomniac, but Spider-Man was hard for me to get into. The combat felt off in comparison to say Batman Arkham.

 

[Jonah Hill poster]

As a person that wanted to play the PS4 version of this game, I will remain if the PS5 version can be as great as the PS4 game, or at least bring back some Easter eggs that made Up Your Arsenal and Going Commando good.