The scenes are colourful, the dialogue is spot on, the characters are memorable and engaging and the graphics and sound are superb on every level. These are the good points, showing that Insomniac games can still make a polished product that is engaging and freakishly fun to play.
The writing is a flash back to the PS2 days of the franchise, with jokes and dialogue that kids can giggle at but so tongue in cheek the older audiences will be left grinning from ear to ear as well - Quark being suddenly awoken at the start of the game screaming "She was taking a memo!" is a prime example of such an occurrence. Only a memo, Mr Quark?
Rater than my usual praise of 5/5 I hand out on silver platers to Ratchet and Clank games, I had to give it a lower score - 4/5. The reason why I, a rabid R&C fan (comics, figures, posters, t-shirts, games - why yes I am indeed lacking a female partner) have not given a 5/5 is as follows.
The big thing in recent years is to have multi-player in your game just because you can. Sadly, Insomniac have jumped on this fad like a pimp to a capri green suit. When on single player you cannot help be bored silly by all the areas within the game that calls for a Co-op partner to assist you. We all know that computer AI is not exactly stellar - its functional in this game but relying on your dopey AI partner for assistance in the heat of battle may not be the most wise choice. The entire game has co-op moments spread every 15feet - I realise that a co-op based game needs to cater to the co-op elements but All4One overdoes it to such a degree that it begins to grate on you. Oh look! Yet ANOTHER thing that requires two people shooting at it to kill it! The last time I ran into one was only *5 seconds ago*! Oh look! ANOTHER platform that requires two people to stand on it in order for the game to progress! This is ratchet and clank, the co-op elements should be within intense battle where there are so many enemies that 1 person alone cannot defeat them. Big buttons where two people need to stand on them at once does not qualify as "co-op". Its just two people and an oddly designed button. The heavy co-op focus also makes the game flow a little oddly. You play through the game as Ratchet on single player, yet in the cutscenes all 4 characters are there bantering about what just happened. I'm playing as Ratchet, so I get Clank as an AI partner - pretty sure I didn't see Quark and Dr Neffy running along side us. The game doesn't feel as tight knit as TOD, ACiT (etc.) so it feels a little sloppy and the immersion is broken slightly.
With all that said - its still damn good fun to play. You still get the same satisfaction of running headfirst into a sea of enemies with a weapon that can best be described as something Ratchet pulled out of a B&Q tool set. You still get the same glee of blowing up enemies with a gun that basically shoots bullets set on fire. Your jaw still goes a little slack at the sight of the beautifully crafted graphics and your thumbs still go numb from spending a good few hours mashing the fire and jump buttons.
Overall? Its a good game. Flawed, but good and worth the £40 I paid for it.
To compare it to the other R&C games for the PS3 can be summed up like so: Its no where near as good as A Crack in Time and Tools of Destruction, its on the same level as Quest for Booty but with some rough edges that need refining.
All the games are going to a party - Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time arrive in chauffeured Limos wearing the finest silk suits and designer sunglasses, smoking imported cigars and sipping on bottles of Krug. Quest for Booty arrives in a Ferrari with a designer suit from House of Frasier, drinking fine Champaign. All4One arrives in a Ferrari and a designer suit just like Quest for Booty, but he forgot to shave and his tie is a little wonky.
4/5