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Ratchet & Clank
Developer(s)	Insomniac Games
Publisher(s)	SCEA
Engine	Modified Kinetica engine
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Genre(s)	Platformer, Shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player

Ratchet & Clank is a platforming and shooting video game for the PlayStation 2. Developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony, it is the first game in the Ratchet & Clank series. It was released in North America on November 7, 2002 and in Europe the following day, with a Japan release early the following month. It follows the story of Ratchet and his robot companion Clank as they traverse their fictional universe to defeat the villainous Drek. The game offers a wide range of weapons and gadgets that the player must use to defeat numerous enemies and solve puzzles on a variety of different planets.

Plot

On planet Quartu, an assembly line is producing large, destructive robots when suddenly there is a quality control error, and a small, curious robot emerges from the facility. The robot encounters a video recording on an infobot. Horrified by its contents, the robot escapes the planet in a spaceship, only to be shot down over the planet Veldin.

On Veldin, Ratchet is constructing his own spaceship when the robot crash-lands near Ratchet's home. Ratchet is eager to leave Veldin in his ship, but can't without a vital component: a robotic ignition system. Ratchet recovers the robot from the wreckage, nicknaming him "Clank". Clank shows Ratchet the infobot, which contains a recording of Chairman Drek of the Blarg race. In the recording, Drek explains that his home planet has become so polluted that it is now uninhabitable. Drek's solution is to build a new planet for his race by extracting large parts of other planets, destroying them in the process. Fearing that Drek will destroy the galaxy, Clank asks Ratchet to help him find the famous superhero, Captain Qwark, in an effort to stop Drek. Equipped with the latest of robotic ignition systems, Clank agrees to start Ratchet's ship in return, and Ratchet agrees.

They crash-land on Planet Novalis in time to foil Drek's plans and find a new infobot and a better spacecraft. Heading to Planet Kerwan, the duo get a new Swingshot by completing an obstacle course, and get Clank upgraded by giving him a helipack upgrade which allows Clank to glide along with Ratchet.

The two soon arrive in Blackwater City on planet Rilgar, where they encounter Captain Qwark. Qwark encourages them to prove their status as heroes by completing an obstacle course at his headquarters on the planet Umbris. When they finish the dangerous course, Qwark offers the two their reward. Though Ratchet is hesitant to accept, suspicious of Qwark's motives, Clank urges Ratchet to be trusting. Unfortunately, Clank leads himself and Ratchet into a trap laid by Qwark, sending the two into a cavern surrounded by lava. Here, Qwark reveals that he is working under Drek in order to become the spokesperson for the new Blargian planet. Qwark leaves the two to fight a monstrous Blargian Snagglebeast.

After defeating the Snagglebeast, Ratchet becomes increasingly bitter towards Clank, angry that he let Qwark get the better of them. Clank urges that they continue their quest to confront Drek, though Ratchet seems to be obsessed with getting even with Qwark. After taking leads that point them to several other planets, Ratchet carries out his revenge on Qwark in a space battle. At the end of the battle, it is evident that Drek has begun an attack on the nearby planet. As he witnesses the devastation Drek is causing, Ratchet comes to understand that he must be stopped. Ratchet apologizes to Clank, admitting his selfishness in focusing on Qwark.

Now combining their efforts on tracking down Drek and protecting the galaxy, Ratchet and Clank learn that Drek has developed a weapon called the Deplanetizer. Drek aims to use it to remove a planet from the desired orbit of his newly constructed planet. The specific planet Drek schemes to destroy is in fact Veldin, Ratchet's home planet, which enrages Ratchet to a startling degree. On Veldin, Ratchet and Clank finally meet face to face with Drek, who is moments away from obliterating Veldin. Drek reveals to the two that it was he who polluted the Blargian home planet in the first place, and he plans to do the same to, and make more money from his new planet after the Blargs have purchased all of the living space. A fierce battle then ensues, after which Drek is presumably killed in his struggle to escape. Clank notices that during the struggle, the Deplanetizer had become inverted, and is now pointing at Drek's planet. The two activate the weapon, and the planet is destroyed, sending meteorites down towards Veldin. The two narrowly escape the meteorite shower together. Afterwards, Ratchet notices damage on Clank and asks if he wants to be repaired and as the game ends they walk off together as a team.

Reception

Before its release, GameSpot received two preview builds of Ratchet and Clank. After previewing it for the second time, GameSpot described "excellent graphics, varied gameplay, and tight control(s)". IGN had similar views after seeing it in action at E3 2002, stating it would rival Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter.

At release, Ratchet & Clank was met with positive reviews and scores, earning an 88 out of 100 at Metacritic. It was praised for its high quality graphics and wide range of weapons and gadgets. Some criticisms were aimed at the story and characters, Gamespy feeling that Ratchet was an unlikable main character and that the game became predictable, boring and "just bland". GameSpot on the other hand felt that the variety in the gameplay, although easier than most games, kept the player interested and moving at a good pace. In contrast to GameSpy declaring it worthy of rental, GameSpot said that it "qualifies as one of the best games the genre has seen since consoles went polygonal".

References

1. D+PAD Magazine - November. 2007. p. 68.
2. Perry, Douglass C. "Ratchet & Clank IGN Preview". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-15. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
3. Game Informer - December. 2002. p. 114.
4. ^ Turner, Benjamin. "Ratchet & Clank Gamespy Review". Gamespy. Retrieved 2007-04-15. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help) Cite error: The named reference "GSRev" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
5. OPM - December. 2002. p. 166.
6. "Ratchet and Clank Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2007-04-15. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
7. Satterfield, Shane. "Gamespot June Preview of Ratchet & Clank". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-04-15. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
8. Torres, Ricardo. "Gamespot October Preview of Ratchet & Clank". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-04-15. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
9. Perry, Douglass C. "IGN's July Preview of Ratchet & Clank". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-15. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
10. ^ Turner, Benjamin. "GameSpy's Review of Ratchet & Clank". GameSpy. Retrieved 2007-04-15. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)
11. Perry, Douglass C. "IGN's Review of Ratchet & Clank". IGN. Retrieved 2007-04-15. {{cite web}}: External link in |work= (help)

See also

• Insomniac Games
• High Impact Games
• The Full Moon Show

External links

• Insomniac Games' official site
• Ratchet & Clank at MobyGames
• GameRankings collected reviews for Ratchet & Clank

• 2002 video games
• Insomniac Games
• Interactive Achievement Award winners
• PlayStation 2 games
• Ratchet & Clank
• 3D platform games