Zoni!
Released: October 27th, 2009
Developer: Insomniac
Publisher: Sony
Genre: Action Platformer
A Crack in Time picks up where Tools of Destruction (and technically, Quest for Booty) left off. Clank (the robot) has been taken by the Zoni and Ratchet is left to find him. Captain Qwark joins Ratchet (the furry guy) in the beginning. They crash land on a planet where time is fucked up in certain spots. Pretty much, Qwark gets captured, and Ratchet finds the other Lombax, Azumith. Meanwhile Clank is learning about his destiny from his father, Orvus and escaping from Dr. Nefarious' evil plans. Ratchet is trying to track down Clank while learning more about the Lombax's and about Azumith's past. It is suggested you play Tools of Destruction first before playing this, as they're all part of 1 story. However, I think you get the basic details even if this was your first Ratchet and Clank game. Up Your Arsenal might need to be played to understand Dr. Nefarious, the main villain.
The story is confusing, I'm not gonna lie. The game impresses right away though. On the first mission, you get to play as Clank. The Great Clock is a beautiful environment. The game is mostly split between playing as Ratchet, then playing as Clank. The Clank portions are very fun. Unlike the previous games, you do not step on pads and command an army of smaller units. Clank a mix of platforming and puzzle elements. He has the power to slow down time, whack things with a fancy stick, and create copies of himself. The time puzzles are very challenging, and very creative. Clank steps on a pad, and can record himself. Hitting triangle will end the "recording" and send Clank back. He can record another one of himself on a different pad. It's hard to explain, and a hard concept to grasp. It's especially challenging when you have 3 different Clanks running around. One is holding down a button to bring down an elevator, another gets on the elevator and is swinging his fists around impatiently, while you are also on the elevator recording another version.
Ratchet and Clank plays both as a platformer and an action game. You get dozens and dozens of guns to blow stuff up with, then swing across gaps on a swingshot, or jump on moving platforms, then return to battle and blow up more stuff. It's played in a 3rd person view, but you may change the controls to however you like. It has preset controls, but they are very good, and everybody will find the right one.
Clank also can "repair" planets. He uses his staff to shoot this laser beam out and the goal is to hit all the yellow points. It's pretty fast paced and fun. Unfortunately, you only get to this 3 or 4 times the entire game. It's a shame. Anyway, Clank also has the ability to triply jump now. He can handle himself pretty well in A Crack in Time. I believe this is the only time I looked forward to playing his parts. His story is interesting, his "inner-mind" looks cool, and Sigmund (Clank's assistant basically) is a pretty fly guy. Sigmund is your buddy throughout all of Clank's parts. You play Clank a total of 5 times through the game.
Through the majority of the game, you play as Ratchet with either Qwark or Azimuth at your side. Ratchet has weapons and gadgets he can use. His weapons are anything from a simple blaster, to a grenade launcher, to opening a black hole and having a creature eat your enemies. They're only 4 gadgets, the hover boots, the swing shot, the omni soaker (sucks up any liquid), and a secret one. Ratchet's parts are mostly action based. The hover boots are a major part of the game. They are Clank's replacement for hovering. They are pretty fun. Especially combined with the grind boots. You'll be grinding along rails, hoping across gaps, then on ground and going super fast with your hover boots and flying through the air. As with the other games, Ratchet and his weapons level up as you fight (the weapons grow stronger and Ratchet gains more health) Armor and weapons can be bought at vendors. When enemies are defeated, they drop bolts. You can use these bolts to purchase armor and weapons. "Constructo mods" are special items that are hidden or given as a reward at the gladiator arena. Those can upgrade certain Constructo weapons. Certain gadgets from the previous game have been made into full weapons too, like the Groovatron (it's a glove that throws a disco ball, that causes the enemies to dance and lets you shoot them freely).
Other changes have been made as well. The crosspad is now used for selecting gadgets. Ratchet can no longer duck (he can still toss his wrench and do a Mario style long jump). The usefulness of the wrench (Ratchet's melee weapon) returns from Quest for Booty. The wrench is more balanced so if your low on ammo, don't worry. You can now pick from 3 difficulties to play (you never get to change this though). The biggest change is the open world system. In previous Ratchet and Clank games, you would select a planet from a list, and the game would take you there. Only rarely would it interrupt that process with a kind of ship battle. In A Crack in Time, you have to manually fly to all the planets (unless you've visited them before) Enemy ships will attack you and there are moons for you to explore (which is where the majority of the platforming element is)
Occasionally, a planet will be blocked and you won't be able to enter it. Past Ratchet and Clank games have avoided the required collecting element. For this one, Ratchet is given this container which holds Zoni. So of course, you have to collect Zoni (found on moons) to upgrade your ship to get to a necessary planet. The actual moons are fun. Each one is unique. They are pretty easy to get through, so it isn't a huge problem collecting the required amount of Zoni.
And there is fun collectibles too. Gold bolts and skill points can be found (used for skins and unlockables) After you beat the game, you can play it again in a tougher difficultly, get many many more bolts when you kill enemies, and purchase tougher versions of your weapons. They level up 5 additional levels and do much more damage. A Crack in Time controls great, and it has most of what you'd expect out of an Ratchet and Clank game.
But, that's about all there is to say about it. A Crack in Time was several steps down from Tools of Destruction. It's like they fell down a hole and forgot what makes Ratchet and Clank so great. The holo-guise (a device Ratchet uses to look like one of his enemies) has been greatly downplayed and is only used for one scene. The previous games had you use it over and over. There is no kind of code cracker (there has always been one in the previous games). You never swim. You never really platform. The classic platforming elements have been shoved to tiny moons instead of an actual part of the game.
Insomniac tried too hard to make it serious. Ratchet and Clank has always been a humorous game. They tried to throw in this serious story about Clank's past and the destruction of the Lombax's. In the original Ratchet and Clank, we see the birth of Clank. He was suppose to be one of the enemy robots, but something went wrong and he ended up all smart and with a personality. Now he has a father who somehow created his soul? Did he choose Clank specifically or did he create Clank? It's very confusing. The story is very scattered and at times, hard to follow. Luckily, during the second half of the game (it'll be obvious when it starts) the humor really returns and it feels like it should. The game is hard to get into at first, but it eventually sucks you in.
The characters are scattered too. I can't say without giving spoilers, but Ratchet is not himself at all. When he's with Azumith, it's like he's a completely new character. He's too serious, and he isn't thinking at all. It's almost as if he doesn't care about Clank. (you'd have to play the game to get this) Obviously if you're new to the series, you don't care as much. Ratchet seems more like himself when he's with Qwark. The Plumber does return, and he adds much needed humor to the first part of the game.
The rest are technical issues. The characters tend to talk too quietly in-game. Sometimes they talk about important information and you completely miss it. There is an option for subtitles, but it only works for cinematics. On the loading screen, it'll post an "overview" and sometimes the information is telling the story instead of the characters. Or it'll post information a head, instead of letting the players discover it for themselves.
Another big issue is the camera. When Ratchet throws his wrench and uses the beam to move platforms, you can't move the camera. You have to blindly guess, stop, turn, throw it again, and go on like that. The camera looks the completely wrong direction when your hovering as well. I want to look down to see where I"m landing, not at Ratchet's head. Azumith is not a likeable character. Like the story, he's scattered and all over the place. He seems to have a fetish for Ratchet's father and will not shut up about how much Ratchet is like him. Again, they tried to make him too serious and it didn't work out.
Everything feels half-completed. This game doesn't even have Metropolis. The only game I can forgive for that is Deadlocked, and *maybe* Quest for Booty, but this is a main title and not a spin-off. The music is easy to forget, the places aren't memorable at all. The game is too easy and short. Quest for Booty was harder. It feels incomplete. The space free roaming bit is boring. You don't have to fire, you can't fly up or down, you do nothing but hit the boosters and sit there for a minute while you slowly go to your destination. Ratchet can't upgrade all his weapons either. He can only upgrade his Constructo weapons. It is cool to change color and barrels and all that, but why not all the other weapons too like in the previous games?
It almost feels like they were rushed to hurry and crank this out. I believe the only time I was majorly impressed were with Clank's portions and the final boss. I know Tools of Destruction was criticized for having "too many useless additions" (like Clank's wings and laser) but I'd rather have a full game filled with that than one that feels empty.
I know I just bashed the crap out of this game. It still has basic fun of shooting things and a cast of memorable characters (although few) like Captain Qwark, Dr. Nefarious, Lawrence, The Valkyries, and The Plumber. I do not mean to say that Ratchet and Clank should not be serious. Up Your Arsenal had a pretty serious deal, and it worked out perfectly (along with it's non-funny characters, they were memorable). Tools of Destruction did too, and Tachyon really stuck out in that game. Azumith is just...there, and whining.
I would suggest Tools of Destruction over this game, but for the whole story, you'll have to beat both (Quest of Booty was a filler). A Crack in Time was disappointing, it went backwards instead of forwards.
+ Finally finishes up the Future story
+ Still basically fun
+ Clank's parts of the game is awesome.
+ Dr. Nefarious is the villain.
+ Clank's puzzles
+ Lots of collectibles to keep you busy
+ Tons of different types of weapons
- Camera issues
- Whole game not really memorable
- The free roaming parts are unnecessary and empty
- Waves a serious stick at you for the first half of the game
- Story is hard to get into and follow
- Metropolis is gone (along with other "classic" R&C parts and improvements)
- Overall feels incomplete
Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time gets a 3.9.
If you're new to the series, stay away from this one and go with Tools of Destruction.
If you aren't new to the series, I'd suggest picking this up when it's cheaper. I mean, don't you want to know what happens with Clank and the Zoni?
*and yes I know the story is complicated because of all the time travel crap. That's part of the problem with time travel based games/movies, it tends to give you a headache and complicate things
