The outings of Sony's trademark duo have always been looked forward to by old and young gamers alike and rarely failed to disappoint. The success of the previous Ratchet and Clank games have led to the development of this festival of shooting, space-pirates and small, well-spoken robots.

The first next-gen edition of the series, Tools of Destruction, is impressive from the start. The storyline is first-rate; the dialogue is well written and often funny. The action is fantastically executed and very smooth. First impressions count, and this game makes it clear from the start that it means business.

The game opens with Ratchet fixing his spaceship whilst Clank watches. Then a call comes in from the ever-hilarious Captain Quark, who is surrounded by an army of robot guards intent on killing him, a request for help is made and the protagonists set on their way to help. Ratchet and Clank then enter a world where everyone seems to want to kill them, but never quite succeed, which seems to continue for the rest of the game.

But that isn't a bad thing. The action in this game is the sort you could play a million times over and still enjoy it - it is fast, fun and has that brilliantly innocent feel that you don't usually get when killing things. Furthermore, Ratchet's array of weaponry is ingenious and great to play about with. Prime examples include the Groovitron which sends all nearby enemies into a dancing frenzy. Brilliant.

Tools of Destruction is pretty similar to previous R&C games, particularly Locked and Loaded. In fact, this game takes all the good bits of the other Ratchet & Clank and adds a gloss of next-gen paint onto it.

There are, however, some new features. The addition of Sixaxis control is a big step forward for the R&C series. Scattered throughout the game are various points where you are required to use the motion sensors to progress, and these are moments of genius. By tilting the controller, it allows you to fly, unlock doors or swerve through air traffic whilst hurtling towards the ground at high speed. In fact, the Sixaxis use in this game is probably the most intuitive I've seen on PS3.

The characters are brilliant. Besides the deadly duo, there are many other characters that pop up periodically throughout. Captain Quark, the space-pirates and the strange bloke who trades raritanium are particular favorites; they all have distinctive personalities and are easy to recognize.

But the one thing that really makes this game a gem is the little, insignificant bits that can keep you going for hours and hours. If you wanted to, for example, you could spend days on end just collecting bolts - there are so many of the bleeding things!!! These small extras give this game a real platformer atmosphere that is instantly likeable.

Insomniac has done fantastically well to produce such a masterpiece as this. True, there isn't any online play and it's pretty much the previous games in high-def, but that doesn't matter. This game will keep you playing, laughing and shooting for hours. A must-buy for any gamer with half a sense of humour.

10/10

Linford

Labels: Rachet and Clank, Review

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