Sony has its fair share of mascots now, ranging from Kratos to Nathan Drake to Sackboy, however none of these icons of Playstation have been around as long as Ratchet and Clank.
The dynamic duo have come a long way since their PS2 origins but developers Insomniac Games haven't forgotten about our favourite Lombax and Robot yet. The two now kick off a new series dubbed 'Future' for the PS3 and Tools of Destruction is the first entry in this epic new series which explores Ratchet's past and the mysterious history of the Lombax race.
Ratchet & Clank live their lives in peace on planet Kerwan after the events of the previous games. One day whilst fixing up a hoverbike, Captain Qwark sends the duo a message warning them of an alien invasion led by the last surviving Cragmite (a race long thought exterminated by the Lombaxes), Emperor Percival Tachyon. Tacyon is searching the galaxy for the last surviving Lombax in order to exterminate their species once and for all, unfortunately for ratchet, that's him.
And so the duo begin an intergalactic journey to keep Ratchet alive, stop Tachyon from bringing back the Cragmigte's and stop Qwark from screwing things up...again.
ToD's story is ultimately one of its weakest points. It's all but nonexistent outside of cutscenes and even then it seems a bit odd that to keep Ratchet alive they travel to some of the most hostile environments in the galaxy.
However that being said the voice acting is good and there are plenty of moments that will have you clutching your sides in hilarity, as expected from an R&C game.
The ending also leaves a lot to be desired, yes its the first in a new series but having a Halo 2 style cliffhanger is not a good way to kick off a series.
Now for the gameplay...oh boy have I got my work cut out here.
Tools of Destruction is a 3rd person platformer, shooter, RPG, puzzler, dance simulator. The game has so many gameplay mechanics its hard to get your head around so I suppose I'll start with the basics.
The R&C series is well known for being 3rd person action-adventure games based around platforming and crazy weapons. The platforming in Tolls of Destruction is disappointingly few and far between, not to mention it only being simple routes such as a few jumps, maybe a grind rail if you're lucky. The combat however is probably the most prominent in this game than any of the other games in the franchise. Every world is filled with countless enemies for you to kill with your assortment of weapons, whether that be a blaster that fires 3 fireballs or a shotgun that fires exploding needles, or a glove that sets bees on your enemies, not to mention the disco ball that makes your enemies dance for a few seconds giving you a chance to hit them where it hurts!
There are two main problems with the combat, there is too much of it and it gets frustrating quickly. Though you have access to a wide variety of weapons they deal very little damage to foes besides those with barley any ammo available for them meaning you'll have to get up close and personal with your wrench and enter a death cycle until you luck out one attempt and are able to progress onwards. For a game aimed at kids this is extremely difficult, for R&C veterans you'll be right at home but newcomers may end up giving up after just a few hours due to the obscene difficulty in some of the combat sequences. Luckily this means boss fights are difficult, the industry has been missing that for a while has it not; but yes Tools of Destructions bosses not only need persistence & skill to beat but they are all marvellously individual...even if they all use an attack which causes a blast radius you need to jump over to avoid...oldest trick in the book Insomniac, we don't need it another 10 times.
As for the other gameplay elements, you can customise your weapons to deal extra damage, shoot faster or have elemental effects, earn XP and collect different armours for Ratchet giving you a small RPG system. Puzzles are simple yet entertaining, often repeated too many times though and as for the dance simulator...well you'll just have to play the game to understand what I mean.
The game looks fantastic, one of the best looking games on the PS3. Its Pixar-esque look gives it an ageless quality. The use of colour is mind blowing and the animation is top notch giving your eyes an experience quite unlike anything else they have seen in a game before.
The sound is also brilliant with awesome voice acting, a great soundtrack and some wicked sound effects on weapons. Its easily one of the best presented games on the Playstation.
So whilst Tools of Destruction may not be the best R&C game around, and it may not be the best start to a new series, but its worth picking up if you like 3rd person action games. The game, despite its difficulties is ideal for families with plenty that will entertain the little ones but just as much to give the adults the giggles too.
Tools of Destruction isn't far from being great, but as long as the issues are addressed in the sequels the 'Future' titles could be a defining series on the Playstation 3.
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction – 6/10
+Looks Amazing
+Sounds Great
+Has It's Moments Of Greatness
-Steep Difficulty
-Too Much Combat
