Ratchet and Clank: All for One (PS3)

The scenes are colourful, the dialogue is spot on, the characters are memorable and engaging and the graphics and sound are superb on every level. These are the good points, showing that Insomniac games can still make a polished product that is engaging and freakishly fun to play.

The writing is a flash back to the PS2 days of the franchise, with jokes and dialogue that kids can giggle at but so tongue in cheek the older audiences will be left grinning from ear to ear as well - Quark being suddenly awoken at the start of the game screaming "She was taking a memo!" is a prime example of such an occurrence. Only a memo, Mr Quark?

Rater than my usual praise of 5/5 I hand out on silver platers to Ratchet and Clank games, I had to give it a lower score - 4/5. The reason why I, a rabid R&C fan (comics, figures, posters, t-shirts, games - why yes I am indeed lacking a female partner) have not given a 5/5 is as follows.

The big thing in recent years is to have multi-player in your game just because you can. Sadly, Insomniac have jumped on this fad like a pimp to a capri green suit. When on single player you cannot help be bored silly by all the areas within the game that calls for a Co-op partner to assist you. We all know that computer AI is not exactly stellar - its functional in this game but relying on your dopey AI partner for assistance in the heat of battle may not be the most wise choice. The entire game has co-op moments spread every 15feet - I realise that a co-op based game needs to cater to the co-op elements but All4One overdoes it to such a degree that it begins to grate on you. Oh look! Yet ANOTHER thing that requires two people shooting at it to kill it! The last time I ran into one was only *5 seconds ago*! Oh look! ANOTHER platform that requires two people to stand on it in order for the game to progress! This is ratchet and clank, the co-op elements should be within intense battle where there are so many enemies that 1 person alone cannot defeat them. Big buttons where two people need to stand on them at once does not qualify as "co-op". Its just two people and an oddly designed button. The heavy co-op focus also makes the game flow a little oddly. You play through the game as Ratchet on single player, yet in the cutscenes all 4 characters are there bantering about what just happened. I'm playing as Ratchet, so I get Clank as an AI partner - pretty sure I didn't see Quark and Dr Neffy running along side us. The game doesn't feel as tight knit as TOD, ACiT (etc.) so it feels a little sloppy and the immersion is broken slightly.

With all that said - its still damn good fun to play. You still get the same satisfaction of running headfirst into a sea of enemies with a weapon that can best be described as something Ratchet pulled out of a B&Q tool set. You still get the same glee of blowing up enemies with a gun that basically shoots bullets set on fire. Your jaw still goes a little slack at the sight of the beautifully crafted graphics and your thumbs still go numb from spending a good few hours mashing the fire and jump buttons.

Overall? Its a good game. Flawed, but good and worth the £40 I paid for it.

To compare it to the other R&C games for the PS3 can be summed up like so: Its no where near as good as A Crack in Time and Tools of Destruction, its on the same level as Quest for Booty but with some rough edges that need refining.

All the games are going to a party - Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time arrive in chauffeured Limos wearing the finest silk suits and designer sunglasses, smoking imported cigars and sipping on bottles of Krug. Quest for Booty arrives in a Ferrari with a designer suit from House of Frasier, drinking fine Champaign. All4One arrives in a Ferrari and a designer suit just like Quest for Booty, but he forgot to shave and his tie is a little wonky.

I have been a Ratchet and Clank fan for almost a decade, now, and I must say that this series continues to impress. I am exceedingly dissappointed in other long term fans and gamers for dismissing this game without even playing it, because of it's co-op-oriented gameplay. Don't you find it strange that gamers complain about installments in a series being too samey, only to react with more negativity when the developers try different things? Let me reiterate a few thoughts from a fellow fan- 'Discard your previous thoughts and expectations of the game. Sit down, play it, and absorb what is good about it without a mind determined to make the worst of it'

Despite the game being co-op oriented, there is still a single player mode which all can enjoy. The Ratchet series is famous for its colorful cast, beautifully realised worlds, detailed storylines and sense of humour. This game delivers all of that again, and more. What I found particularly entertaining about it was the introduction of many new and original mechanics, which greatly mixed up the core gameplay of running, shooting, and jumping around. The controls may take a bit of getting used to, but after a little while, you'll adjust and revel in elegantly executing button commands to get through each level; the next more diverse than the last! Though some may complain about the fixed camera, I didn't have much trouble with it- I actually found it more useful than having to wrangle with the right analog stick all the time!

The co-op mode is where the game gets even more fun. All of the mechanics, the use of weapons- practically every little detail in the gameplay is built around having a good game with your friends, family, or people online. For me, the game excels in both single and multiplayer. There isn't much more to be said other than 'It's fun!'

The storyline is 'lighter' in a way, than the other, darker 'future' series games, but I found it entertaining nonetheless. I would have wanted more cutscenes depicting the interactions of the four main characters, but that is a relatively small gripe.

Some may have gripes about the lack of weaponry/upgrades, the loss of a few old mechanics (such as having Clank on Ratchet's back, the gliding/jetting around etc), the inability to control the camera and so on, but to be honest, I had just as much fun with this title as the other Ratchet and Clank games I'm so fond of. It's different in quite a few ways, but that doesn't automatically mean, as a more long term Ratchet fan, that you're going to dislike it. So in conclusion- don't judge a book by it's cover, just sit back, relax, and open yourself to a new and unique Ratchet and Clank experience!

Let me start by saying I am a HUGE fan of the Ratchet & Clank series, ever since the very first game that came out in November 2002 (which I played at a friend's house in 2003). I have always been excited for new releases and, up until now, have never been let down by any of the Ratchet & Clank games. Insomniac really let me down on this one though..

I was well aware that All 4 One was intended to be a co-op game, which is fair enough and is not the reason why the game let me down, as single player is still available. All the ingredients that make Ratchet & Clank games so compelling seem to have all been removed from All 4 One. For a start, one ridiculous feature is the inability to even rotate the camera. The right analog stick has been changed to the 'Quick Select' wheel and the triangle button is no longer used to select weapons but rather, uses the 'Swingshot', a gadget Ratchet & Clank fans will be very familiar with. The inability to rotate the camera angle confines you to a very linear, restricted path; you seem to lose all the fun of exploration of hidden areas that previous games in the franchise had. For the first time in any Ratchet & Clank game (I exclude 'Size Matters', 'Secret Agent Clank' and any other PSP games, as I have never owned a PSP and so haven't been able to play these), you cannot use the circle button to shoot! Instead, it is used for some hoover-like gadget called the 'Vac-U' which sucks up critters and can be used to break crates.

Weapon upgrades. From playing a significant amount of time, I noticed that my weapons don't seem to upgrade with frequent use, which has been in every single PlayStation console game (perhaps excluding the PSP ones?) since Ratchet & Clank 2 for the PS2. You are able to purchase upgrades such as increased ammo capacity, damage, etc. from the vendor, but it doesn't compare to the fun, enjoyment and genuine excitement you receive from upgrading a weapon whilst in the middle of an intense battle, say. Ammo is also restocked from 'Ammo Pads', which completely restock all your ammunition to maximum capacity; we don't get ammo crates anymore. Health is no longer numerical like it has been for some past few games, rather, you have 3 chevron-shaped health slots (this may increase later in the game) and then upon dying you seem to respawn a few seconds later in the same spot, providing your buddy (in my case for single-player, Clank) doesn't die.

It's fair enough that L1 doesn't use first-person view and instead is used to lock-on, as the game is designed for co-operative gameplay. What I don't like is the co-op shooting damage bonus, whereby shooting at large enemies whilst your buddy is also shooting them cause rings which expand and provide a massive damage boost when at maximum size. They are ugly and not pleasant to look at, regrettably, like most of the features in All 4 One, whose graphics I'd say are not even on a par with the original Ratchet & Clank for the PS2.

If I were designing co-operative gameplay, I'd look more on the side of Ratchet: Deadlocked (Gladiator in UK) co-operative gameplay, which was different, but still very fun. You still had the same great 3D environments like before and weren't restricted to a set path and were able to rotate the camera (although you couldn't leave your friend too far away or you'd both be killed by the Deadlock collar) to look around in split-screen. On a final, negative note, whatever happened to flying between planets (or through sectors as it were in 'A Crack In Time')? I seemed to get the impression that levels on this game are based on a very generic, level-based system like in the oldest console games, rather than the elegant planet-based system seen in all previous games.

Overall, I'd conclude by saying that generally, this game is a disappointment to any hardcore Ratchet & Clank such as myself. I was hugely excited by the release of the game and was actually more excited than not about co-op gameplay, as I thought it had great potential after playing games such Ratchet & Clank: Deadlocked, as well as a similar split-screen type system for the Multiplayer in Ratchet & Clank 3. There was no need to change the controls around; keeping the old-school controls as well as R1 for shoot would've been fine and having a rotatable camera in either split or shared screen would've been more desirable. Quick Select? Should definitely still be triangle, then L1 and R1 for scrolling weapons. Weapons should be upgradable with frequent use; any additional modifications like extra ammo etc. could just be bought using raritanium, like in Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction. Gameplay seems very repetitive. Wasted potential for what I'd hoped would be such a great game. I just hope all Ratchet & Clank games to come revert to the old-style gameplay, as Ratchet & Clank is a franchise I never want to see die. I suppose for such a great franchise I can forgive Insomniac for this slip, but seriously guys, give us the old gameplay we know and love back; it was epic and provided me with no end of hours of fun. Heck, even after I beat the game, maxed out every weapon and acquired all the gold bolts, I still went to go for a run around on challenge mode to farm as many bolts as I could without losing my x20 multiplier! :D