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Jherbold's Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters (PSP)
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| [January 13, 2008 09:55:22 PM]
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Second Entry
Gameplay: After another session, my enjoyment of the game only increased. A few of my guns leveled up, and I have almost 20 hp. The highlight of my second segment was definitely the first boss battle, which was against this huge gorilla-like animal. The battle was, in every way, epic- the music was intense, dodging attacks was really fun, and using my newly acquired agents of doom really sped along the process. The boss used pretty standard moves, like circular fire waves coming out from it that you had to jump over and normal melee attacks. Because of the speed of the boss, you had to constantly be strafing around it to avoid damage, and it intensified the feeling of danger the battle brought.
After the boss had been killed, the story took an unexpected twist- the little girl that had been captured was actually part of an evil organization with (as of now) unknown motives. She immediately captures ratchet and control shifts over to clank. I spent a while doing some clank based mini games that again were surprisingly fun. They rewarded me with new pieces of armor and more bolts to spend on weapons.
Overall the gameplay remained solid. I felt increasing anticipation throughout the level leading up to the boss, and the fight was amazing. The storyline has continued to improve and, although the slightly different control scheme (and annoying fact that it is difficult to switch between strafing and moving in heated battles) has taken a while to get used to, I feel that this game has done a fantastic job entertaining me and drawing me into the story and fights. The platform style adventure mixed with RPG elements is a great mixture of my two favorite genres.
Design: While the game may not be anything new when it comes to Ratchet and Clank games, I feel that more of the same defiantly works in this situation. The developers stuck with the tested formula that worked for the past games, and as a result the game is another fun experience. By combining platforming, shooting, and RPG elements it appeals to fans of all three. The music in the game is fast paced and catchy, and the techno style tracks help make the game feel more futuristic and intense.
The one thing that this game perhaps does better than the previous games in the series is the level design; even though I've only been to a couple levels, the atmosphere, enemies, and obstacles spread throughout are very well placed and contribute a lot to the game's experience.
I feel that this game also handles mini games very well. The rewards for completing the mini games are worthwhile, and they themselves are fun enough to play without needing the promise of a reward to entice players to do so. All games should strive for this- make a mini game fun, but at the same time offer a reward so players feel that they are advancing in the story while having a good time.
Overall, the game is designed very well. But that is to be expected from the people who make Ratchet and Clank games- I have never been disappointed by one of their works. This game shows that you can take an old idea and keep it fresh with entertaining level design, mini games, and a clash of several elements from different genres. So far so good.
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| [January 13, 2008 07:52:01 PM]
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First Gamelog Entry
Summary: For the first gamelog of this quarter, I decided to try Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters. It's a psp installment of the popular Ratchet and Clank games, and it's something I've been meaning to start for a while now. The game has you play as Ratchet, a lombax who reluctantly is dragged into saving the universe time and time again. He is assisted by his friend Clank, who rides on his back and works as a jetpack, helicopter pack, and allows ratchet to perform a variety of additional moves. The game is a platformer, where you travel from world to world in search of new clues of where to go next.
Gameplay: After about an hour through the game, I managed to get a good feel for the gameplay and controls. Surprisingly, the PSP installment of the PS2 series does a remarkably good job keeping to the feel of the original. Although the controls take a while to get used to, I felt like I was playing a true PS2 ratchet game before too long. The load times are manageable, the graphics are decent, and the music and sound is entertaining. Overall, I've been very impressed with the game, having assumed that since it was a PSP game, it could not match it's predecessors.
The main style of gameplay remains mostly unchanged from previous ratchet and clank games. You start with a relatively low amount of health, and gain levels by killing monsters. Your main weapons are all different types of guns, ranging from flamethrowers to laser guns. As you kill monsters with different guns, the guns "evolve" into stronger versions. Monsters in the game drop bolts which you can use to purchase new weapons and ammo. It has the feel of an RPG but all of the fun of an action platformer.
One thing I really found fun was the racing minigame on one of the beginning worlds. It was a hoverboard racing game, where you had to avoid obstacles, grab fuel packs to allow temporary flight, and hit boosters while avoiding decelerators. The races where challenging, but also immensely fun at the same time- the difficulty was perfect.
The storyline of the first few minutes was pretty simple. Ratchet and Clank are on vacation (yet again) when a young girl is kidnapped. They journey off to rescue her, discovering that the monsters who had captured her were really after a technomite artifact. The characters then begin a journey to discover the importance of the artifact and why the monsters wanted it so badly. Although it's a relatively simple story, I was drawn in by the familiar characters, good voice acting, interesting music, and frequent use of humor throughout.
Overall, my first impressions of this game have been very good. Since I haven't played a Ratchet and Clank game for quite some time, revisiting the universe has been an amazingly enjoyable experience.
This entry has been edited 3 times. It was last edited on Jan 13th, 2008 at 19:58:41.
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Jherbold's Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters (PSP)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Sunday 13 January, 2008
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