Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time (Playstation 3 Exclusive) Video Game Review
You really can’t go wrong with Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, the newest title in Sony’s long-running and successful platform franchise. The ninth title in the series and the third on Playstation 3, A Crack in Time picks up where the last adventure left off, following the impetuous space-feline Ratchet as he scours the galaxy in search of his kidnapped friend, the intellectual and ever-Zen robot, Clank.
The title’s story isn’t particularly complicated, but it can be hard to follow for anyone who’s not already well-versed in the storyline that’s been woven through the series since 2002. I’m still a relatively recent convert, and I found the bevy of characters and planets (all with ridiculously hard to pronounce and difficult to remember names) utterly baffling.
I was able to stumble my way through the campaign, but I still felt like a kid left out of his parents’ hilarious inside joke. Thankfully, you really don’t have to be a Ratchet and Clank devotee in order to appreciate most of what this fantastic game has to offer.
Variety is the name of the game for this newest adventure. As in previous entries, players take control of both Ratchet and Clank during different portions of the game, but the distinctions in level design and gameplay between the two heroes are now much sharper.
Ratchet’s sections are largely in keeping with the game’s predecessors, featuring a mix of platforming and combat, with a heavy emphasis on providing you a voluminous and gleefully bizarre collection of weapons and gadgets with which to lay waste to an army of alien foes.
Some of your weapons are more useful than others, but several, like the Groovitron (a deployable disco ball that compels every enemy within range to break into an uncontrollable boogie) or Mr. Zurkon (a delightfully droll temporary robot bodyguard), are an exercise in hilarity. This enormous arsenal can be a bit overwhelming, but the developers wisely chose to encourage experimentation by designing every weapon to increase in effectiveness the more it is used.
Ratchet’s frequent encounters with intergalactic baddies can often become so furious that it can be difficult to keep up with everything that’s going down onscreen. Luckily, the game’s controls are fluid and accessible, and an auto-aim feature makes it easy to engage several hostiles at once. The auto-aim mechanic works pretty well most of the time, but even when it acts up, the title’s relatively mild difficultly keeps things from getting too frustrating.
While Ratchet’s portions could be a primer in scorched-earth policy, Clank’s sections are all about restoring order and tranquility. As the caretaker to an enormous clock that keeps the peace throughout the universe, Clank is tasked with repairing and preventing rifts in the space-time continuum. His levels allow you to manipulate time in order to carefully and precisely traverse dangerous terrain and endless chasms. The emphasis here is much more cerebral, as combat fades quickly into the background and often complex mental heroics take center stage.
When faced with a seemingly insurmountable challenge, Clank can utilize an ability to record himself completing a series of tasks and then choose to play back these recordings in an effort to accomplish an ultimate goal. The trick is that he has a limited amount of recorded selves and a limited amount of time to record the necessary actions.
If you were confused reading that, imagine how it must feel playing it. Not to say that it isn’t fun (it’s a blast, honest), and it can certainly be rewarding once you figure everything out, but getting to that point can potentially have you shredding your clothes and screaming into a pillow. For the young - or those on pills for high blood pressure - the developers mercifully included an option to give you a hint or even allow you to skip the puzzle entirely.
In your travels through A Crack in Time, you’ll also traverse the galaxy in Ratchet’s sleek ship, Aphelion (a snarky, self-aware, Knight Rider–esque spacecraft). This is the primary way you’ll navigate from system to system and planet to planet. Along the way you’ll dodge asteroids and come up against a bristling armada of mercenaries and ne’er-do-wells. These encounters reminded me a lot of classic games like Space Invaders or Galaga. The controls are simple, the action is straightforward, and the gameplay is fun (if a bit repetitive).
When rocketing from one location to the next, you’ll also discover a number of smaller moons. Ratchet can land on these balls of rock and set out in search of various collectibles and unlockable items. These planetoids offer quick and accessible chunks of platforming and combat, and the 3-D level design is as nifty here as it was in 2007’s Mario Galaxy.
A Crack in Time’s graphics and sound design are among the best in the business. Unique alien landscapes and a cast of appealing characters are all wonderfully and beautifully realized on the digital canvas, creating a game that is bright, colorful, enchanting, and entirely immersive. A roster of veteran voice actors and a barrage of silly sound effects help to bring the script’s often hilarious sense of humor to full and manic life.
Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time is, on the whole, a good choice for gamers of any age, but some young players may find their path uncertain given the open nature of the campaign. It can sometimes be difficult to know what to do next, and while the vast array of treasures and upgrades you can discover along the way help to keep things interesting; it can be hard to decipher exactly what you’ve found.
Parents can expect their young space explorers to single-handedly exterminate a number of malicious alien species. The action is kinetic and over-the-top, but never unduly graphic. Enemies fall to the ground and disintegrate, or simply explode into millions of pieces of sparkling ruin. Some of the villains scream as they expire, but the effect is more comedic than disturbing.
There’s no explicit sexual content, but a group of chesty female alien mercenaries give Ratchet a spot of trouble, and one of them speaks with a deep, distinctly masculine voice. I didn’t encounter any foul language in my time with the game, but the title’s tone is witty and sarcastic, but never acerbic; somewhere between your typical Saturday morning cartoon and more sophisticated Cartoon Network fare.
Whether young or old, if you have a Playstation 3, you should be playing Ratchet and Clank. Gorgeous graphics, frenzied action, an assortment of challenging puzzles, and an affable sense of humor are sure to make A Crack in Time a welcome addition to any videogame library.
Caution Rating: 2.5
