Ratchet and clank ps vita review năm 2024

An almost perfect finale to a fantastic trilogy that brings all the bombastic action, platforming and shooting to the table with some new elements that ensure this is the best entry in the franchise ever.

Developer

Insomniac Games; Mass Media

Publisher

Sony Computer Entertainment

Franchise Ratchet & Clank Genre

3D Platformer; Action; Third-person shooter

PSTV No Physical English Yes – EU only

World-building & Story

Now the heroes who have saved the galaxy not once but twice before, Ratchet & Clank find themselves somewhat famous, with Clank starting in his very own film series entitled ‘Secret Agent Clank’. It isn’t long before a new threat emerges though, this time robotic in nature – and one with ties to Captain Qwark that quickly entangles our duo in a battle to save the galaxy once again.

Rather than the consumerism theme seen in the previous two entries, Up your Arsenal instead explores themes of celebrity and the influence of media on the masses, a subject which is as relevant now as it was when the game originally released. It remains fascinating that what is at times a light-hearted space-romp can tackle such interesting subjects with such a satirical edge (and not sacrificing anything on gameplay too) and I must admit I didn’t truly realise what was being said here until I reflected my time with the title after finishing. Things like ‘Annihilation Nation’ and the hilarious Britney Spears parody Courtney Gears are inspired ideas, that truly elevate the game above what it could be.

The main plot centers on the efforts of Dr Nefarious, a robot with a hatred for “squishies” (aka organic lifeforms) who aims to turn the whole galaxy into robots. It’s actually the most compelling story of the whole trilogy, full of twists and turns and both returning characters and new faces who make a lasting impression. To take on this threat, Ratchet & Clank must track down the bumbling Captain Qwark (who now lives on a colony with monkeys which is predictably hilarious) before forming the ‘Q-Force’ (who return in a Vita-native later title), a collective of past allies who work together to take on Nefarious.

If you’re a fan who has played the previous two entries, it’s lovely to see the return of characters like obese fitness instructor Helga (continually yelling at you in her eastern European accent), nerdy shop owner Al and laid back hippy Skidd forming part of the gang and a large part of the plot here – but the stars of the show are undoubtedly Qwark (as always) and the new duo of Lawrence and Nefarious. Qwark is even more of a buffoon than usual and the fact his monkey companion Skrunch comes with you for the ride is brilliant, while Lawrence’s constantly sarcastic remarks towards Nefarious’ obliviousness remain a comedic highlight that I genuinely never stopped laughing at.

In fact, I felt the humour here was more on-point than ever, with the game’s ability to switch from serious sci-fi epic scenes to flat-out comedic moments at the drop of the hat quite a feat. When visiting an airport-themed level, I enjoyed hearing the tannoy announce “due to increased security measures, thermonuclear detonators and nail clippers are no longer permitted as carry-on baggage”, plus seeing Ratchet try to blag his way through tyhrranoid security in a costume was a constant delight. I love how much parody there is here too – from the aforementioned Courtney Gears, to a galactic president with the same accent as Bill Clinton, to a level where Terminator-esque robots get blown to smithereens were all high points.

It means that new characters such as Sasha do blend into the background a little, but for every minor mis-step like this there’s a mind-blowing moment like helping the Galactic Rangers fight off new threats or coming across the Plumber once again in the sewers. If you’re invested in Ratchet‘s world created over previous games, then Up your Arsenal is going to find new and exciting ways to keep your sense of wonder at this beautiful and vast galaxy while continuing to grow and expand it – it’s a fan’s dream and I’m very happy Insomniac took the direction they did here.

Presentation & Sound

Once again the culmination of their work on the console, Up your Arsenal is a stunning PS2 game that still looks amazing on Vita, aside from a few minor instances of slowdown that do nothing to detract from the overall experience.

Character models, which were already an impressive feat in Going Commando, have been tweaked rather than revamped here – Ratchet still looks brilliant with tonnes of animations from his strafing leap, wrench swing or flailing around with his plasma whip. Clank too has his own missions which are much as they’d been in previous games, but the addition of Skrunch as a temporary sidekick is a nice one as he constantly amuses with his exaggerated movements. Enemy design is probably the biggest step up – from the tyhrranoids to all variety of mechanical villains (including the aforementioned Terminator robots dressed as Qwark, who reduce to a crawling husk after you hit them a few times), you’ll come across a massive variety and it was always a treat to see what was coming next.

Environments were always a high point for the series and that trend continues here – while the Starship Phoenix is an unfortunately desolate hub, but nearly every other location you visit is inspired. Right from the early level of Florana, which is a dense forest full of hidden huts, swamp monsters and lush woodland through to the underwater city of Aquatos which you explore by taking little submarines through, everything here is just so detailed and memorable. I particularly loved Blackwater City, a gorgeous urban location that’s fantastically well lit with colour popping everywhere alongside the Obani Moon, a literal spherical world with an asteroid belt that you can leap across.

Perhaps the biggest achievement here is the inclusion of massive warzone levels that feel unlike anything the series (or any of its contemporaries) were doing at the time (the closest comparison is Tabora from Going Commando). In these, you’ll drive a vehicle or pilot a ship and take down all manner of enemies across a sprawling desert (albeit with structures in) that makes the game feel huge and really hammers home the sense of a war going on – indeed, this feeling is amplified when you do things like leap out of a ship and skydive into the level below, which is a visual spectacle which never ceased to make me admire in awe.

It all culminates in a boss fight that I’d describe as one of the best I’ve ever seen, an absolutely brilliant piece of design that looks and plays absolutely amazingly well. It’s helped, as is everything in Up your Arsenal, by weapon effects that constantly light up the screen with things like robots following you around and shooting, turrets firing from the ground, black holes sucking in foes and beams in multicolour firing everywhere. The game holds its framerate mostly steady throughout too – there were some occasions where it definitely dipped (the Qwarktastic battle being the main culprit), but overall I was much more impressed with the porting job here than Mass Media’s previous efforts (save for a singular hard crash I had).

All of the voice cast return and put in brilliant performances, assisted by Lawrence and Nefarious (performed by Armin Shimerman from Deep Space Nine, no less) who fit this series like a glove. Music is massively on-point too, with some outstanding tracks that fit the theme of previous entries in this franchise yet remain catchy and unique in their own way too.

Soundtrack highlight – Qwark’s Hideout

Gameplay & Content

Acting as a refinement rather than a quantum leap forward over Going Commando, the changes in Up your Arsenal nevertheless make it the best entry ever – including some smart large-scale battles, even more combat and enjoyable mini-games that help demonstrate an obscene level of polish.

So core gameplay is mostly unchanged – this is still a mix of 3D platformer, action game and third-person shooter where you’ll inevitably be jumping and hovering between ledges to get around, taking part in big battles and shooting foes as you go. This all feels as smooth as ever – Ratchet can grab onto ledges to help with the platforming and shooting has a handy strafing feature (still bound to the back touch pad) which means he can avoid incoming fire with ease. As is Insomniac’s forte, the selection of guns here is possibly the best ever – a fantastic selection of weapons that all have situational uses and are incredibly enjoyable to mess around with and perfect your strategy.

Lots of returning favourites are here, from simple blaster pistols and the suck cannon (which pulls in smaller enemies and shoots them out) to the elusive and deadly RYNO (aka rip ya a new one… still a funny name). In a nice nod to returning fans, you can buy weapons from Slim Cognito and if you have a Going Commando save file on your console, you can get these for free – which includes the bouncer and the shield charger, both incredibly useful. New weapons include portable turrets, the plasma whip and my favourite of all, the rift inducer (which as the name suggests, opens a black hole by enemies which zaps them with lightning before pulling them in) – creativity never ceases and it’s always enjoyable to see what new toy you’ll get next.

This is all helpful, because Up your Arsenal puts a bigger focus on combat than ever before – which is a fantastically good decision as it’s probably the strongest element of the package. A whole world called ‘Annihilation Nation’ is based on a TV show where competitors fight to the death in arenas (and through obstacle courses) and provides plenty of ways to test out your new gunfire against waves of enemies. Weapons level up through repeated use which provides new perks to them like dropping extra bombs when fired or doing more damage, encouraging you to use your whole arsenal (the ability to test them in a VR arena when you purchase them is also a welcome addition).

Arena missions aren’t the only area expanded though, as due to the ongoing war with the tyhrranoids you’ll undertake missions for the Galactic Rangers which involve landing on a planet and either defending a point, attacking an area or a combination of both, sometimes in a vehicle to boot. These usually start with you skydiving out of a ship which is absolutely fantastic for scene-setting (and they’re still interactive, as you have to dodge out of the way of missiles too) and give the game a feeling that you’re truly in a war between two equally well-equipped sides – plus it’s worth noting that on the whole, the game feels a step up in difficulty compared to its predecessors too, which meant I was replaying some missions but never out of frustration (just out of my own silly mistakes).

That’s not to say your standard Ratchet & Clank-style levels are neglected either – you’ll spent a lot of your time exploring new zones with multiple paths through and get a variety of different gadgets to help you proceed. Some of these are things we’ve seen before like the slingshot, while others like the hacker have been upgraded with a new mini-game that’s surprisingly challenging although not necessarily any better. You’re also given a tyhrranoid costume and have to play a bizzare rhythm-based mini-game to get past security barriers which was amusing but not a massive amount of fun, while the giant clank missions return and are just as much chaotic fun as ever.

The best of the bunch is the gravity boots though, which return but are used much better this time around to create some really unique level design involving shifting perspectives and gravity manipulation. This is best demonstrated in the Obani levels – Obani Moon is an absolutely sublime spherical world that you run around with a constantly changing viewpoint (being able to see structures jutting up in the immediate distance) that feels like a precursor to Mario Galaxy and is possibly my favourite level in a Ratchet game ever, while Obani Draco has you running through gravity-tunnels avoiding obstacles while constantly trying to remember which way is down so you don’t accidentally fall, disengage gravity and die.

Aside from this, you’ll find that Clank levels and in particular gadgebots have returned, which are little robots which follow you around and you can issue commands to Pikmin-style – as enjoyable as ever if a little simplistic (Clank will also get help from Skrunch, who you order around by throwing bananas). The game culminates in a handful of levels starting with Qwark’s Hideout (where slippery ice is everywhere and you’re fighting increasingly difficult robots) and ending with a final boss fight that’s among the best I’ve ever seen in a videogame and had me using every trick up my sleeve to beat, meaning that Up your Arsenal goes out on a stunningly high note and truly saves the best until last.

You’ll also have access to a minor hub with the Starship Phoenix, which is a nice if rather desolate place where you can buy weapons and armor and play a 2.5D platformer mini-game where you help Qwark recover his memory – which is actually a lot more competent than it has any right to be and I enjoyed playing. It’s worth noting that the title does contain numerous vehicle sections too including ground missions on a land cruiser, but notably hovership missions too – these use re-purposed multiplayer maps and nearly always happen during the Galactic Ranger sections, which cemented these as one of the most polished and enjoyable parts of the game.

I did have a couple of the usual teething problems of 3D platformers with a camera that occasionally couldn’t keep up and would wig out, but these were few and far between and didn’t harm the overall experience. There’s a great amount of content here too – it took me around 12 hours to finish the campaign, but I was keen to go back and find hidden bolts, complete missed objectives and then do it all again in Challenge Mode once I was done, which is always the sign of a brilliant title.

Conclusion

Trust Insomniac to save the best for last (where have I seen that before?), Up your Arsenal is a culmination of everything that has come before in the Ratchet & Clank series and leaves a lasting impression as one of the best PS2 games out there (and by extension, Vita, where this port is actually one of the better efforts handed by Mass Media). Its focus on large-scale battles and combat arenas is a treat while its constantly entertaining and hilarious story remained a joy from start to finish – whether you’ve played this before or not, I implore you to check this out as you will not be disappointed.

Can you play Ratchet and Clank on PS Vita?

The Vita version is ported by Insomniac Games in conjunction with Mass Media Inc. It was released in North America on July 29, 2014.

Which Ratchet and Clank game should I play first?

To understand the story up to this game's point, it'd be wise to know Ratchet and Clank 1 (original or remake), Going Commando, Up Your Arsenal, Tools of Destruction, Quest for Booty, A Crack in Time, and Into the Nexus, all in the order listed.

Is there a bad Ratchet and Clank game?

The Worst Ratchet & Clanks: Quest for Booty & Into the Nexus. It's tough to separate Quest for Booty and Into the Nexus. Both games were smaller installments to the series that were more along the lines of DLC-type expansions as opposed to full Ratchet & Clank experiences.

Does Ratchet and Clank PS Vita have trophies?

Here is the full list of all 35 Ratchet & Clank trophies - there are 19 bronze, 10 silver, 5 gold and 1 platinum.