Decent for a newcomer, but a bit too easy
Before I start, I should mention that I purchased the game essentially on a whim. The clerk at the store, having known me from the fact that I go to the same store for pretty much all my gaming needs, knew what sort of games I enjoyed. She recommended Ratchet and Clank Future after I told her that I enjoyed her last R&C recommendation (Size Matters). Figuring that there was little to lose, I purchased the game with very few preconceptions, except that it would probably be pretty similar to the PSP version I had played before.
In a certain sense I wasn't disappointed, and in a certain other sense I was. It was indeed very much like Size Matters, except of course the fact that it was infinitely better looking and took place on a way bigger screen. On the downside, I thought that R&C Future was, as the Gamespot review here has already stated, a tad too easy.
One of the things about me is that I must be a bit of a masochist, because I like my games to be challenging nearly to the point of frustration (hence my love of Ninja Gaiden Sigma). This may not be the case for everyone and I appreciate that fact, but for those looking for a challenge I don't think you'll find it here. R&C Future seems (at least to me) to be significantly easier than Size Matters. Perhaps it was the fact that Size Matters took place on a smaller screen, or maybe because the PSP did not have a second analog nub, or maybe the game itself was just more challenging, but I remember spending at least a few weeks on Size Matters, whereas I finished Future in about three days.
That's not to say that the game wasn't fun for those three days. I found the disco ball groovitron especially entertaining, although I thought some of the mini-games were boring and frankly a little pointless. Was I the only one who thought that the dance challenge for the pirate doors was a bit silly and unnecessary?
Graphically, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is one of the most impressive games I've ever seen. The people at Insomniac weren't lying when they said that R&CF:ToD would be "Pixar-like", because it is. Some people attribute "good graphics" to being able to see the pores on a person's face. I attribute "good graphics" to "achieving a particular artistic style". In this case, Ratchet and Clank is spot on: I would even hearken this game to Sly Cooper in the way it has the potential to revolutionize the way people think about a game's graphics.
For a more direct comparison: why do people flinch when they look at the near-misses for movies like Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, but have no problem accepting the super-deformed characters in The Incredibles? Read up on the Uncanny Valley (just Google it) to find out. Anyway, I find the graphics, in some sense, "better" than some of the high-end games out there (even better, in my opinion, than Resistance: Fall of Man, despite both games being released by the same company), because I was more comfortable looking at Ratchet's face than I was looking at the facsimile "human" faces of Resistance.
I also liked the sound of the game. The music was appropriate although I did get a bit tired of it at some points in the game. The voice acting was spot on.
Having gotten used to Ratchet and Clank's unique brand of humor in Size Matters, I'm pleased to announce that Future has not lost any of it. The game is genuinely funny at places, especially Captain Quark (I love this guy for some reason). The game never takes itself too seriously, which is a welcome change from Deadlocked, and I feel that's a good thing.
There's no multiplayer, which is a bit of a bummer for me. I liked Size Matters, partially because it had a very nice multiplayer option. It would have also aided the ease of the single-player if there had been a multiplayer to extend the life of the game, in my opinion. And yes, I am aware there's a harder "challenge-mode" after you've beaten the game, and the challenge mode is marginally harder. However, it would have been nicer if we'd been given the option of choosing a difficulty at the beginning.
It's a solid package, all in all, and you really don't need to know anything about Ratchet and Clank to enjoy it, which is a really good thing in my opinion. Many games, like Halo 3 for instance, really relied on the player having completed the previous installations to fully appreciate what was going on. Thankfully anyone, even a newcomer, can enjoy Ratchet and Clank without having to worry too much about getting lost. With excellent graphics and solid voice acting, the game could be forgiven for it's slightly easy gameplay. Most importantly, it's just plain fun, which means that you'll probably not notice how easy it is, unless you're like me.