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The previous Ratchet & Clank adventure, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando was a video game rarity - a sequel that not only captured the essence of the original, but made countless improvements. Going Commando was a commercial and critical success and the next installment has been hotly anticipated for a very long time. At E3 last year, developer Insomniac Games and Sony, provided a hearty glimpse of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, and it looked to be exactly what we would expect from the franchise. It had the same wacky feel as the previous game, but somehow still found little additions to push it just that much farther. Also, the promise of online play turned this hot game into a scorcher. Personally, this was my most anticipated title of the entire year, and I was very curious to see if Sony could top Going Commando. Simply put, this is an incredible game.
The story for Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, much like in the previous title, starts about a year after the last adventure. Clank is enjoying stardom with his own TV show, Secret Agent Clank. Ratchet, despite having the honor of playing Clank's chauffeur on the show, is getting somewhat fed up with his current situation. The monotony of super-stardom is broken with an attack on Ratchet's home planet of Veldin. Dr. Nefarious, an evil robotic genius, is behind the attack, for he wishes to destroy all life in the cosmos. Our heroes find themselves tasked with saving the universe yet again - but not before joining forces with their least favorite hero, Captain Quark.
Players who experienced either of the other Ratchet & Clank games will feel right at home from the get-go. The controls are the same, right down to the weapon quick select menu and the strafe command. Newcomers are provided with plenty of hints that pop up, always when needed. For instance, the minute players find themselves stuck on how to make a long jump, the hint will helpfully pop up and instruct players to run towards the gap and hit R1 and X. Advanced players need not worry; these hints can be turned off on the in-game menu. This approach is more effective than the traditional tutorial level that most games bore players with. It's less tedious for the gamers who already know what they're doing, and still helpful to first-timers.
One of the additions to Up Your Arsenal that we heard a lot about at E3 was improved enemy AI. The previous Ratchet & Clank titles had many opportunities to implement strategy during combat. There are usually structures to hide behind, alcoves to dive into and so forth. This time around, the enemies will use these tactics as well. This might seem like it's not a big deal at first, but the difference is noticeable and add challenging depth to the game. Of course, the enemy AI isn't as wily as human opponents but it's much better than your typical CPU-controlled drones. It isn't perfect, it seems like a handful of enemies might have missed the memo on the increased AI. During one of the early Death Courses, I spied two enemies on the other side of a field of fire-streams. By the time I had decided which one of my weapons to wield, they had already run into the fire-streams enough times to take themselves out. Aside from these few exceptions, the tweaked AI is impressive.
The trademark of Ratchet & Clank games are the big, destructive, unrealistic weapons and Up Your Arsenal does not disappoint. Of the new ridiculous weapons, my favorite is the Infector. The Infector shoots poison filled bombs that cause a slow, painful death. The best part is, while the poison is slowly taking effect, infected enemies will attack the other surrounding foes. A player armed with an Infector who has a barricade to hide behind can wipe out a whole room of enemies with no problem at all. The Plasma Whip, Spitting Hydra and the Suck Cannon (which is much better than its name implies) are just a few of the other outlandish armaments in the game.
One of the coolest features about the weapons is that they automatically upgrade with use. Weapons also auto-upgraded in Going Commando, but this time it's a little different. First of all, it doesn't take nearly as long for the weapon to upgrade - the gauge is much smaller. Weapons can also be upgraded more than once, going all the way up to V5. Players don't have to work as long to see results, but there are still rewards for logging in massive numbers of kills with your favorite piece of artillery.
Online multiplayer was one of the biggest selling points of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the online play is excellent. Capture the Flag, Siege, and of course the Death Match (team or individual) are available. As much fun as these online multiplayer games are, this isn't anything new. It's definitely fun to use the out-of-this-world weapons online, but the modes are the same used by every game out there. Don't get me wrong; the online play is a lot of fun and a great addition to the game, but it would have been nice to see some original modes, considering the Ratchet & Clank games are so different to begin with.
If the massive single player and online modes weren't enough fun, yet another mode has been added to Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Throughout the game you will stumble across Captain Quark vid-comics; each comic is actually a side-scrolling level starring Captain Quark himself. These bonus levels are good enough to be a separate game all their own (hint, hint). The look and feel of the Captain Quark levels have a similar tone as the legendary Earthworm Jim. Variety is the spice that enables the Ratchet & Clank games to stand out and these bonus levels highlight that diversity. Players are constantly doing something different. One minute players are running around smashing villains with an oversized wrench and the next minute they're controlling Giant Clank on the moon of another planet.
Other than variety of gameplay, there is one more aspect of the Ratchet & Clank games that makes them stand out - their sense of humor. Up Your Arsenal, just like the two games before it, is absolutely hilarious. I like to think that I have a good sense of humor, and there are a lot of things that I find funny, but there's not a whole lot out there that really makes me laugh out loud. This game, however, is one of those things. One of the early cut scenes, when we meet Dr. Nefarious, is a perfect example. While he's talking, his robotic butler Lawrence is in the lower right corner providing "sign language" for the hearing impaired. Really, he's just pantomiming everything Nefarious says, such as scratching his head like an ape at the words "organic life forms", or dancing the robot at the mention of the word "robot." Of course, written words can hardly do this humor justice. It must be seen to be fully enjoyed.
Bottom line, this game is absolutely incredible. If you own a PlayStation 2, you must buy this game. If you don't own a PS2, but you like action/adventure games, then buy a PS2 and Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, and the other two Ratchet & Clank titles while you're at it. Seriously, this is as good as the action/adventure genre could ever get. Our heroes are funny, but still cool, the levels are expansive and impressive, and players almost never do the same thing twice. Were there any problems with the game? Well, if I had to nitpick, I wasn't crazy about the way that your Nanotech (energy) was displayed. It's represented as a number, which might be a little easier to read than the double helix-type lines of the previous game, but it doesn't nearly look as cool. Also, as good as the online play is, I would have liked to see a little more innovation in the modes. But, with the amount of innovation already rampant in this series, I can overlook that with ease. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal has set the standard once again for action/adventure games. I can't stress this enough - buy this game.