Ratchet and Clank: Tools of destruction

Ratchet and Clank: Tools of destruction for the PlayStation 3 is developed by Insomniac Games, released on October 23, 2007 in North America and on November 9, 2007 in Europe. It is the fifth installment in the Ratchet & Clank series on home console and is the first PlayStation 3 installment.

Tools of Destruction has much of the basic game play found in previous Ratchet & Clank games, such that the main premise is pure platforming, but there is also an element of shooting thrown in for good measure. The player controls Ratchet most of the time, with some sections using Clank, as they explore various worlds to complete missions, using Ratchet’s wrench and other various weapons that can be obtained during the game. The SIXAXIS controller is put to good use too in the game, where it can be used to control ratchet during free-fall segments of the game, which adds an extra element of fun rather than just pushing a direction on the thumb stick.

As was in previous games the weapons found in this game can be upgraded during your journey through the various worlds, although this time the player can collect Raritanium crystals and use it to upgrade the weapon in additional ways beyond the experience path which players have become used to.

One of the best features of the game is the use of ‘devices’, which although do no direct damage to enemies, do lend the player a hand by stalling them to give extra time to rid of them. The “Groovitron”, for example, is a disco ball that causes all foes to dance for a brief time, allowing the player to deal with them while distracted.

Main Characters

• Ratchet – The main protagonist of the series.
• Clank – Ratchet’s robotic sidekick.
• Captain Qwark – A bumbling superhero who aids both Ratchet and Emperor Percival Tachyon.
• Emperor Percival Tachyon – The last Cragmite who wants to kill Ratchet and dominate the universe.
• The Plumber – A recurring character who gives the duo advice and gives them challenges to get through and get rewards.
• Talwyn Apogee – A girl who works with Ratchet and Clank along their way. Her father was last seen searching for the “Lombax secret.”
• Cronk and Zephyr – Talwyn’s robotic guardians who constantly squabble with one another. They are meant to represent the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 respectively, constantly mocking each other for their technical faults and praising their own abilities. They also had a third partner named Willy (representing the Wii), who does not feature in the game due to his habbit of jumping up and down and waving his arms when ever there is any action, which caused him to be destroyed prior to the game.
• Captain Slag and Rusty Pete – The leader of a pirate group and his right hand man, respectively. They were created by Tachyon and now operate an annoying pirate radio station.
• The Smuggler – A sneaky trader who builds Ratchet the RYNO- Ratchet has to assemble a complete holo-plan, the parts of which are scattered on planets such as Sargasso and Viceron. Ratchet also sells Leviathan Souls to the Smuggler for bolts. He is as sneaky as Slim Cognito (who had a cameo in the prison with Ace Hardlight) and does very much the same role as The Mystic on Tabora and Grelbin in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando.
• The Zoni – Ghost-like robots which Clank controls like the Gadge-a-bots from previous games. They start out as helpers of Clank, but take on a more sinister role at the game’s completion, spiriting Clank away to another dimension as their leader, and ending the game on a cliffhanger.
• Aphelion – A talking space ship that was seriously damaged on planet Fastoon. Ratchet and Clank repaired her and now have her as their ship and companion on their adventure.

Information sourced from Wikipedia.

FINAL WORDS

Ratchet and Clank for the PS3 is possibly the best platformer on the ps3 apart from Uncharted (In my opinion), and their transformation into the next gen has resulted in a game that looks just as good as a Pixar movie. The game is well balanced between platforming, shooting and mini games, and will last you quite a while before completion. This game comes highly recommended from us all here at PS3pad.com.