‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’. I for one am a great believer in this particular cliché. Sure, whatever ‘it’ might be could over time undergo the odd tweak or two, but ‘it’ remains largely unchanged. Now, consider Insomniac’s solid, compelling and rewarding Ratchet and Clank franchise in place of ‘it’. The first ever game involved leading a cat-like, wrench-wielding Lombax and his cynical robotic sidekick across the galaxy, exploring new worlds and blowing stuff up with an outrageously imaginative arsenal.

Seven years, seven best-selling PlayStation titles and 16 million recorded sales later, the dynamic duo is back in Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time, doing what they do best: exploring new worlds and blowing stuff up with an outrageously imaginative arsenal. As you may expect, the odd tweak or two has been made where necessary, but the general concept remains largely unchanged. The question is, is A Crack in Time just more-of-the-same, or has Insomniac provided an adequate amount of ‘new’ to beguile both newcomers and hardcore fans?

A Crack in Time continues Ratchet’s search for Clank, who was abducted by the mysterious Zoni at the end of Tools of Destruction – a kidnapping engineered by Up Your Arsenal’s primary antagonist Dr Nefarious. Meanwhile, Clank escapes his imprisonment and becomes the caretaker of the Great Clock, an instrument placed at the centre of the universe responsible for the stability and order of time itself. Confused? Don’t worry; during the game’s install you are treated to a cleverly executed celebrity interview with illustrious egotistical buffoon Captain Quark. He’ll helpfully relay everything you need to know background-wise in classic ‘I was the real hero’ fashion (believe it or not, this title isn’t all traversing platforms, riding grind rails and blasting enemies with ludicrous weaponry).

Insomniac’s loveable character personalities and polished cut scenes are only the tip of the iceberg that is ‘presentation’. This is one of the best-looking PlayStation 3 games on the market. Each vibrant and intriguing environment extends as far as the eye can see, and is alive with peripheral activity; creatures scurry amid alien foliage, seas of spacecraft dominate the skies, smoothly-animated secondary characters go about their business – invariably delivering witty one-liners on passing… such animation levels are rarely seen in a video game, especially at an impressive 60fps. Without question, A Crack in Time is graphically superior to its predecessors. It’s just a shame that so many invisible walls exist to contain the player’s explorative curiosity.

Because the two protagonists spend most of the game apart, gameplay is broken down accordingly into segments of action-packed platforming (Ratchet) and time-bending puzzle solving (Clank). Though the former sounds familiar, and fairly self-explanatory, the latter does introduce some new mechanics to the series. As Great Clock Caretaker, Clank is armed with the Chronoscepter, a magical staff which allows him to manipulate time by lobbing orbs of temporal displacement. Naturally, most puzzles encountered require the use of this newly-acquired ability.

Also, Clank can use special ‘time pods’ to aid him in overcoming certain less-than-straightforward challenges. With these players can record up to one minute of movement (pressing a switch or lowering an elevator, for example), then make the recorded holographic replication of Clank perform those actions while you, simultaneously, do something else. These sections are quite frustrating, but thankfully there is an option to pay your way through should you find yourself pulling clumps of your hair out (which you will).

In a noticeable departure from previous games in the series, Ratchet can now partake in a little universe free-roaming in between missions. Manoeuvring on a two-dimensional ecliptic, our furry friend can travel to and from various zones and visit small spherical moons in search of collectables and hidden items. Additionally, there are numerous non-compulsory sub-missions to complete, such as defeating waves of Dr Nefarious’ ships, clearing away radioactive meteors, and retrieving or delivering valuable cargo.

Aside from being a nice distraction from the main plotline, it’s a perfect way to rake-in the bolts needed to buy all the magnificent tools of destruction A Crack in Time has to offer. Not surprisingly, old favourites like the trigger-happy Mr Zurkon assist droid and the disco-inducing Groovitron make a welcome return, but there are some great new toys to play with. I don’t want to spoil things for you by embellishing too much, but one of my favourites has to be the highly-original Sonic Eruptor. In essence, Insomniac has glued a frog to a trigger which, when pulled, coaxes the creature into projecting a belch-like shockwave that wipes out anyone in your path. Ingenious.

Furthermore, for the creative gamer, a range of fully customisable weaponry is available for purchase courtesy of Constructo Manufacturing. By collecting the modification parts scattered throughout various worlds, players can alter certain weapons’ appearance, projectile type, firing rate and more to suit their run ‘n’ gun style. It’s just a shame Insomniac didn’t capitalise on the game’s potential by including a multiplayer component. Personally, I can think of nothing more entertaining than hopping online and unleashing your home-made hardware in tournament bouts and chaotic skirmishes. Mind you, with all those Zoni to collect, Gold Bolts to find, guns to upgrade, Skill Points to acquire and bonus features to unlock, there’s more than enough longevity here to keep you coming back again and again.

Alluding to this review’s introduction, I feel another cliché is applicable to the Ratchet and Clank games: ‘you can never have too much of a good thing’. A Crack in Time is another quality title, incorporating fast-paced explosive gameplay, enthralling puzzles, an inventive arms inventory, gorgeous visuals and plenty of things to do. It doesn’t reinvent the wheel, figuratively speaking, but then does it have to? Look at Konami Computer Entertainment’s Pro Evolution Soccer, Yuke’s WWE Smackdown, or EA’s Tiger Woods PGA Tour; each instalment is essentially the same as the last bar a few minor changes, yet they are still enjoyable, popular games.

Insomniac’s platformer might be a one-trick pony, but it does this one trick remarkably well.

9/10

Filed under: Games, R, Review