Eventually Clever

Game Commentary: Ratchet & Clank

This is exactly the kind of platformer/shooter that has always appealed to me: cute characters, a variety of weapons, gadgets and gizmos, unlimited lives, and different types of skills that have to be mastered in order to advance to the end of the game.

Really, what can't you do in this game: run, jump, leap, shoot, wear a heli-pack, wear a jet-pack, ride grindrails, ride hoverboards, walk upside down on magnetic boots, go swimming, swing from a grapple gun, slide across the ice, bounce up walls, dress up like a robot, control a giant mech-sized robot, fly a spaceship, fire a fixed cannon, press the Big Red Button, discover secreat areas, collect trophies, unleash a horde of destructive robot mice, turn robot space chickens into real chickens, hit things with a big wrench, and have fun the whole time.

If any of these activities appeal to you, then try this game. I dislike skateboard and racing games, but the hoverboard sequences here are so entertaining that I returned to them over and over during the game because they were so much fun (and so lucrative).

I'm going to set the game aside for a week or so, then print up a checklist of the special items I have to collect, and then go through the game to finish more than just the storyline.