XXXXXX

Ratchet: Deadlocked is a fun stand alone game, but in comparison to the rest of the series, it falls flat on its face.

User Rating: 6.2 | Ratchet: Deadlocked PS2

By ravensfan5252 | Review Date: December 30, 2005

The Ratchet and Clank series of games has been one of the best series for the PS2. Each one has it's own unique style to it. Unfortunately, the latest one seems to be the worst of the four. It would be an alright game on its own, but it just doesn't feel like a Ratchet game should. It seems as if they sacificed the single player mode for the multiplayer. The third game in the series was by far the best in my opinion. It was a perfect blend of the series' traditional platforming elements mixed with a lot more combat. The new installment in the series neglects the platforming to throw in more combat, making for a game that simply wasn't fun to finish. The levels were uninspired, and the game was far too short. The worst offense that was in the game was the stage based gameplay. Rather than play through the entire level, each planet was broken up into a bunch of seperate stages that you had to fight through, each one abruptly ending. One of the things that Ratchet and Clank games always brought to the table was the amazing amount of firepower. In the original game, many of these weapons became useless by the end of the game because they weren't powerful enough. As the series progressed, you found yourself using every available weapon more and more often. In this game, you used all of the weapons, but only because there were so few of them. So few, in fact, that the entire quick select edit feature was done away with becuase everything you could use, save for the swingshot and 2 of the uber powerful guns, was found on one ring. Even the gadgets were virtually done away with.

The box art alone should tell you something. Ratchet is no longer the lovable chartacter that we knew all along. This game is just the latest in a trend to make videogame characters darker. The level designs are no longer colorful and fun. Rather, they are all dark and seem to blend together. A lot of the humor in the series is gone. In place of funny announcements over the intercom systems on different planets, you are left with half funny commentary by the two announcers who accompany you the entire game long. Clank barely makes a cameo in the game, as well as everyone else from the Ratchet and Clank universe except for Al, whose sole purpose is to fix and upgrade your two robot guides, which fight with you at all times. This game seems very untied to all the others. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it doesn't work well in this instance.

The game does have a few saving graces, but in comparison to the marvelous series before it, this game falls flat on its face. The online multiplayer is pretty good for Deadlocked, which adds a lot of replayability to the game. For all the shortcomings in the single player mode, the online multiplayer seems to make up for them at least partially. Also, the game brings new difficulty levels to the table, adding a challenge to the single player mode that really wasn't there in previous games. My younger brother was finally able to beat a Ratchet game when he put the game on the easiest of difficulties. Overall, the Ratcht and Clank series is great. However, with Ratchet: Deadlocked, you are better off passing if you don't have a network enabled PS2.

Ratchet: Deadlocked

Ratchet: Deadlocked is a fun stand alone game, but in comparison to the rest of the series, it falls flat on its face.

Can't stop playing, can't stop laughing

You have to pry my hands off of the controller! But please don't!