The Ratchet & Clank Thread

[Master]

I kinda wonder why they even bother though, since folks using an external capture unit can still record those scenes, spoilers always find a way.

[Reese Riverson]

Meh, they really shouldn't have used that many of the same scenes in the movie, at least if anything, make things more expanded upon.

[Haruka]

Has anyone here has played R&C spin-offs? I know that in general they aren't big deal but I am curious to know if anyone here has played at least one title and could express an opinion.

I ask this because I've been exploring in depth the original trilogy in PS2 for the latest month and I frankly release now what I've lost in my childhood by not having a PS2 system . My next tries should be in Gladiator (Deadlocked in North America) and Tools of Destruction, both already ordered and should be in my hands next week.

[Master]

When you say spin-offs, are you including All 4 One and Q-Force? I've played both of them, and they were pretty fun, but I think they're titles which are better in multiplayer.

[Bzzit]

Nice to see you're enjoying the series so far, Haruka.

I second Master's point about All 4 One and Q-Force being best suited for multiplayer; All 4 One for co-op and Q force mainly for competitive. Saying this though, I did quite enjoy playing through Q-Force by myself. It's an interesting combination of core Ratchet and Clank mechanics and tower defense gameplay, but definitely on the short side. All 4 one felt a bit repetitive for me and I never finished it, but I know those who played it with a friend or sibling had fun. Single Player just feels like a watered down Ratchet and Clank experience, in my opinion.

Never played Secret Agent Clank, but have heard decent things about it.

Size Matters was a pretty good traditional Ratchet game on the PSP. There's a PS2 port of it, but have heard some issues with the camera being intrusive.

Gladiator is often considered a spin-off too, but it feels like a continuation of the original trilogy to me, just with more emphasis on arenas, vehicles. If you enjoyed the combat arenas from 2 and annihilation nation + Galactic Ranger missions from 3 then you should enjoy Gladiator. I really like this one. I'm glad to see you've ordered the PS2 version, as the PS3 HD version has some gltiches including messed up animation in the cutscenes.

[Haruka]

The HD Trilogy should be in my purchasing plans once I grab the remaining 3 main titles for PS3. PS3Then I should consider the spin-offs.

I was with doubts about Gladiator's nature as in Japan is classified as R&C4 but yet the looks of it seem to be a spin-off. I managed to get it cheap for PS2 anyway so I am looking forward to play it. Is it true that the HD counterpart can be downloaded for free if you own Q-Force?

Thanks for the feedback!

[Master]

I can't remember the exact circumstances, but I do recall getting Gladiator for free due to some circumstance involving Q-Force, but I don't know if it was free with the game, or as a compliment for some incident.

[Bzzit]

Yeah, I remember having to ring Sony support because I didn't receive my copy of Gladiator HD, despite owning Q-Force. It may have had something to do with Ratchet and Clank's 10th anniversary, but sadly can't really remember

[Master]

Ahh, I've found it. It was indeed given away as a complimentary item to compensate for the delay of the Vita version of Q-Force. If memory serves, Q-Force was meant to be a cross-buy title, meaning you were able to own a copy for both PS3 and Vita when buying it on PS3.

Source: http://www.insomniacgames.com/ratchet-g ... now-in-eu/

[RayCarrot]

Most of those services ended last year. So if you buy a physical Q-Force copy you won't get the Vita version. The same goes for other cross-buy games like Sly Cooper Thieves in Time etc. So it seems unlikely that you can get Gladiator HD for free now.
The odd thing about Gladiator however is that I remember getting it for free before I even purchased Q-Force...

I second Master's point about All 4 One and Q-Force being best suited for multiplayer; All 4 One for co-op and Q force mainly for competitive. Saying this though, I did quite enjoy playing through Q-Force by myself. It's an interesting combination of core Ratchet and Clank mechanics and tower defense gameplay, but definitely on the short side. All 4 one felt a bit repetitive for me and I never finished it, but I know those who played it with a friend or sibling had fun. Single Player just feels like a watered down Ratchet and Clank experience, in my opinion.

I feel the same way here. Q-Force was a fun spin-off which I quite enjoyed. All 4 One on the other hand was so uninspired, repetitive and boring. It's not a bad game as a game, but it's quite bad compared to previous titles in the series. It's so far the only R&C game I've yet to platinum.

Never played Secret Agent Clank, but have heard decent things about it.

I got to play it recently and I can safely say it's the worst Ratchet & Clank game I've played, and one of the worst games overall. The story made no sense, the gameplay was a complete mess (the Clank sections started out decent with Sly like stealth, but halfway in it turned into a platformer... But it was a platformer with enemy combat with Clank. It just didn't work at all. If they'd gone with stealth the whole way through it'd been fine.) and the game isn't balanced well at all. The only fun I had was playing as Qwark while he was singing how he saved a town with his cheek... Also, if you ever decide to play it, go for the PSP version. The PS2 version has insanely long loading times (+ all the loading screens are the same, whereas the PSP version have different ones for different occasions in the story).

Size Matters was a pretty good traditional Ratchet game on the PSP. There's a PS2 port of it, but have heard some issues with the camera being intrusive.

Size Matters is a game I had a lot of fun playing. The game is balanced really badly in challenge mode, so getting 100% is harder than it should be, but it's great for a more casual playthrough. The PS2 version is actually quite good and I'd actually say the camera is better there since it can be mapped to the right analog stick.

Gladiator is often considered a spin-off too, but it feels like a continuation of the original trilogy to me, just with more emphasis on arenas, vehicles. If you enjoyed the combat arenas from 2 and annihilation nation + Galactic Ranger missions from 3 then you should enjoy Gladiator. I really like this one. I'm glad to see you've ordered the PS2 version, as the PS3 HD version has some gltiches including messed up animation in the cutscenes.

I actually enjoyed Gladiator more than I thought I would. It was more of a game with mindless fun, rather than strategy and platforming, but it worked.
Also, the PS3 version is quite bad, but not unplayable. The in-game cutscenes are badly animated and the game has a tendency to freeze (sometimes while saving which corrupts your save), but the gameplay is unharmed.

Has anyone here has played R&C spin-offs? I know that in general they aren't big deal but I am curious to know if anyone here has played at least one title and could express an opinion.

I ask this because I've been exploring in depth the original trilogy in PS2 for the latest month and I frankly release now what I've lost in my childhood by not having a PS2 system . My next tries should be in Gladiator (Deadlocked in North America) and Tools of Destruction, both already ordered and should be in my hands next week.

I'm glad to see you're enjoying the series! Regarding spin-offs, it's basically what I wrote above. Size Matters is the best PSP one, All 4 One is decent (better in multiplayer) and Q-Force is quite fun (though very short). Nexus should probably not be considered a spin-off, but I'd definitely recommend it if you enjoyed the future series. Also, have fun with ToD! It was my first R&C game and still one of my favorites!

[Haruka]

You guys have been informative, I appreciate that a lot!

I'm not worried for Vita crossbuy as I do not own the system. As for getting PSP versions that's impossible for me as I do not own it either, hence why I will get the PS2 ports somewhere in future even if they are going to act more as collectibles.

[Master]

Hmm, probably not the ideal option, but I know PSP emulation has come very far now. You could probably emulate the titles if you so desired.

[Rayfist]

I think you may enjoy Deadlocked/Gladiator but just to warn, it comes across way more of an action third person shooter, and gets rid of much of the platforming elements from the originals. Of course if you liked all that stuff, you'll likely enjoy Deadlocked/Gladiator.

[Haruka]

I liked those elements from the 2 and 3 so I might like. I will try out once I can, I already have the copy on my side.

[RayCarrot]

For Secret Agent Clank I'd actually recommend emulating it. As Master said, PSP emulators have come very far and it runs in solid 60fps even on my computer which struggles with most games and emulators. As for Size Matters the PS2 version is fine, though it's hard finding for a reasonable price.

[Rayfist]

I would recommend emulating both Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank for PSP, as the PS2 ports are shit from what I've heard.

[RayCarrot]

I would recommend emulating both Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank for PSP, as the PS2 ports are shit from what I've heard.

Size Matters is fine on PS2. I've played both the PSP and PS2 versions and I can safely say that there's no real difference. Secret Agent Clank is however a different story.

[Reese Riverson]

Since it's been out awhile now, I'm curious to see how many folks here have seen the Ratchet and Clank movie?

[Master]

I watched it, but it was...forgettable, really. A nice effort and the animation was very well done, but it felt too much style over substance.

[RayCarrot]

Yeah, I got the movie on Bue-Ray and it was just okay. The new characters were all pretty bland. It had some nice fan service though, which I appreciated.