Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time is the third title in the Ratchet & Clack Future series. It brings to the table several new gameplay mechanics, and the hilarity which will keep it fresh in the minds of fans for a long time to come. The two heroes face off against the organic life-form hating Dr. Nefarious in this one, which is filled with all sorts of action, but mostly with crates and crates full of bolts.
Clank has been abducted and is in the clutches of Dr. Nefarious, as he picks the robot’s brain, seeking a way into the Orvus Chamber of the Great Clock, a room thought to hold the controls to manipulate all of time across the universe. The game is played out alternating control between the Ratchet and Clank separately, the heroic duo being separated. Apart from that, the game lets you pilot Ratchet’s spacecraft, the Aphelion. Cruising in space helping out strangers for a reward or attacking and destroying Dr. Nefarious’ evil goons using the ship’s cannons and lasers, is a really fulfilling part of the game. It feels like a sort of bridge in gameplay between your many adventures on the different planets and moons.
Ratchet has a seemingly ever-increasing assortment of weapons, gadgets and gizmos which help him defeat the many enemies he encounters. From simple pistols and shotguns to outrageous weapons such as blades which ricochet off enemies causing maximum damage, and gizmos such as ‘Mr. Zurkon’, a robotic hovering destroyer, who is ever ready with witty comments like “Yoo-hoo, Mr. Zurkon is looking to kill you,” and “Hello, stupid alien,” all said in an Arnold Schwarzenegger kind of style, the game erupts with life. Clank on the other hand does not have any “weapons”; just a chronos scepter which can be swung at enemies, but whose actual purpose is to restore broken objects, and a time bomb which greatly slows down time in a zone around it, giving you the edge in battling the game’s many creatures. Ratchet’s hover boots are another nice inclusion, which allow you to move about much faster and perform some extra-ordinary moves. And although Clank doesn’t have many special moves and cool weapons, the parts of the game which have you playing as Clank are just beautiful to go through. Dreamy in nature, these sections deserve some serious attention from other developers looking to create something cool and futuristic at the same time.
At times, the gameplay in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time is just so mesmerizing. Recording your actions as Clank, so that a past self of past selves can help your present self get across a section or through a door is absolutely mind-blowing. But that’s not the biggest paradoxical inclusion; we’ll come to that later. At other times the gameplay seems like you’re just running around playing as Ratchet, negotiating the environment collecting bolts and cogs, which are a sort of currency in the game, allowing you to purchase weapons and ammo. Basically it’s a little monotonous at times. But that just adds to the longevity of the game. You can’t have Lombax-melting action all the time.
The full brilliance of the gameplay cannot be measured without taking into consideration the sections of the game where you fly Ratchet’s ship. Fixed by the Zoni and receiving various upgrades upon capturing more of the creatures of “pure energy”, flying the thing is extremely fulfilling. You can shoot the ship’s cannons at your enemies (or at space boulders) to blow them to smithereens, while its rockets lock on, annihilating foes. You can also perform some dazzling maneuvers to evade enemy attacks and missiles. And if an enemy gets too hot to handle, just leave its zone of terror and it will lose interest. Come back with a vengeance to destroy it. Gameplay on the whole is pretty good and receives a score of 8.2 out of 10.
Time Paradoxes: While in the Great Clock, Clank comes across many instances when he can record his present self, which then becomes his past self, to help his now present self get through a door. But that’s not the greatest of the paradoxes! Clank can even record over recordings of his past self to help his other past self or selves, get where they need to be, to help his present self get through. The present helping the past help the present. And in some cases, the present helping the distant past, which in turn helps the not so far off past help the present. Time paradox upon time paradox. Amazing! It’s just so astonishing getting your mind wrapped around this system. And Clank himself questions how he is not affected by the time paradoxes.
You get a clue to what the graphics in the game will be like when you start up the game itself. Beautiful in a way that doesn’t try to mimic real world visuals, but rather focuses on multiple possible fantasy worlds. It seems like Sony is getting into the habit of producing graphically excellent games, whether that be in the form of the realistic-looking Killzone 2 or fantasy Lombax-slash-robotic worlds such as in this one. Clean, smooth, and excellent is what perfectly describes the graphics in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. Never lacking in terms of graphical output, the game receives a robust 9.0 graphical score out of 10.
The story of Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time is an elaborate one. And it even accounts for the time paradoxes incorporated into the game. It’s like a twisted pretzel in which changes made in the past affect the present as we know it. A strong, captivating story such as this, which sucks you into its vortex, deserves its 8.5 rating out of 10. Coupled with the graphics and story of the game, the great sound literally makes drifting in space fun and enjoyable. Game sound also gets a good 8.5 out of 10.
The environments in the game are masterfully crafted and beautiful to look at. Filled up with life forms such as plants, and other things like lamp posts and statues, the environments bring across the essence of the different planets featured. In the Agorian Battleplex there are statues of many of the past great warriors and amusing details on how they met their end. The environments in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time deserve their 8.8 on 10 rating.
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time almost seems like an open world game. Or rather an open universe game or and open galaxy game, if you would. The replay value is tremendous. You can always try different weapons and different weapon combos on enemies, and can revisit any of the planets or moons in each sector to collect any Zoni or Ryno V Holo Plans that you may have missed. The game has so much replay value in the first playthrough itself, that its replayability score is boosted to a 9.5 out of 10. The game is a long one, and whether you’ll end up playing the whole thing once over (or many times over) is unlikely. After you finish the game you can have another run through keeping your current weapons and armour, and can also purchase greatly upgraded versions of the weapons you own.
The Final Word: A game with great graphics, strong sound, some astonishing gameplay and that incredible fun factor, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time is suited for all PS3 fans. One of the most enjoyable experiences we have had in some time, this. A lot of witty remarks and funny parts in the game give it that humorous edge. And a bumbling super hero (in the form of Captain Quark) always helps. Even as the credits roll, and are there a lot of them, the game still provides auditory humor and fun with the sticks.
Graphics: 9.0/10.
Gameplay: 8.2/10.
Environments: 8.8/10.
Story: 8.5/10.
Sound: 8.5/10.
Replayability: 9.5/10.
Overall (not an average): 9.0/10.