GREAT GAME
For the past 4 years, Ratchet has stood out of the platform genre by incorporating shooting elements into the original game. Since then, Insomniac Games has been improving on this hit formula by adding more depth and more features to the gameplay. From the RPG-like weapon levelling system to the arena combat features, Insomniac has always been trying to find fresh new ideas to keep fans of the series coming back while getting new gamers hooked as well. With Deadlocked, we find ourselves learning the values of teamwork as Ratchet is bringing in squad-based gameplay to the show this time around. This sadly comes at a price though, as majority of the platforming found in previous titles has been overshadowed by a heavier emphasis on arena and squad-based combat instead. Fans worried that this isn’t the same Ratchet you’ve come to love should have nothing to fear as the great visuals, fun gameplay, and light hearted humour still remains intact. Fans will find much to like amongst the new features and newcomers to the series will find something to love here as well.
Taking place after the events of last years Up Your Arsenal, our heroes find themselves enjoying a well deserved victory over Dr. Nefarious that is sadly short lived. All of the sudden Ratchet, Clank, and their team inventor Al are attacked and captured by a new and mysterious evil force. Soon after they come to learn that they have been captured by Gleeman Vox, owner of Vox News, home of the biggest garbage found on television in the galaxy. (Sounds sort of like a certain channel, huh?) Gleeman then informs his newest prisoners that they have been captured in order to take part of his channel’s newest underground reality show, Dreadzone. The concept of the show is that Vox takes many of the galaxies greatest heroes and pits them against each other in a huge arena where they fight to the death in order to gain ratings. In a sort of insurance to himself, Gleeman has Ratchet suited up with a Dreadzone battle suit, which looks familiar to the super armours found towards the end of previous titles. What makes the Dreadzone suit special is that it equips a special device called the Deadlock, a bomb strapped to Ratchet’s neck that is set of to blow at Gleeman’s pleasure for when and if Ratchet fails in ratings or decides to try and escape. Now Ratchet is thrown into this fierce arena with two special combat ready robots on his team to give him support, Clank has been put in charge of communications for the team, and Al is now the team mechanic. The only way for Ratchet to save himself, his friends, and all those forced into this deadly game is to take part in it and find a solution to this predicament.
Visual and sound found in Deadlocked is just as good here as it has been in the three previous titles. Deadlock’s graphic’s are very fluid and run smoothly during the intense battles. The visual are especially top notch when you see the special abilities of your weapons fire off in their bright and vivid colours. Sound is no exception since the Ratchet series has very well known for the incredible voice acting found in the game. Each character has a unique persona and sense of humour that is entirely their own and the voice acting is what helps makes them stand out from each other. You’ll find some of the funniest comments coming from the Dreadzone announcers Dallas and Juanita who often throw in a nice twist of humour to the intense fights you’ll be facing. The cut scenes are spectacular and the graphics and audio blend together perfectly to not only make them visually appealing but very humorous at the same time. Majority of the cut scenes in Deadlocked will have you laughing at the jokes Ratchet and company have to offer, which happens on many occasions. The Ratchet series has made its jokes from its spoofs and satires on big business and the over-commercialized society we live in. Everything done to make this game look and sound good is done perfectly and everything that made the previous titles hilarious and enjoyable are back and make Deadlocked just as enjoyable as any other Ratchet game.
Now what veterans of the series will clearly notice when first playing deadlocked is the total lack of Clank on your back. This time around you are going through your mission solo, which goes to make things a bit tricky when you need jump across those huge gaps and high ledges. This will not be much of a problem since Deadlocked seems to be very much lacking in the platform aspects of the genre in order for the combat to take more of the spotlight this time around. Instead of your little buddy Clank you’ll be teamed up with a pair of Dreadzone combots that aid you during the missions you face through out the game. Surprisingly these bots respond well and are very useful when the battles get intense. They will do such simple things as take out enemies and supply cover fire for you all the way to more advance abilities like take out enemies with electro-magnetic grenades and hack into security systems as well. Now of course these bots are not immortal and will bite the big one if they take enough damage though they are easy to revive.
What has made the Ratchet and Clank series stand out amongst the sea of platform games was the inclusion of weapons. The selection has ranged from the most destructive to the most bizarre yet each weapon had a charm to it that fans have enjoyed. Sadly the list has been cut down by a lot since you’ll only be carrying 10 guns throughout the entire game. Now though this may be a smaller inventory than in previous games the guns you’ll find in Deadlocked are the more serious powerhouse weapons you found in previous titles. Of course you’ll be equipped with your handy wrench but you will also be packing some powerful weapons like sniper rifles, pistols, etc. Just like in previous titles as well, the more you use a certain weapon you will gain more experience with it. Once you gain enough experience that weapon will level up and become stronger and in the process will be able to increase ammo capacity and rate of fire. You can also equip your weapons with an Omega mod found at vendors that gives the weapon you have equipped it to an extra boost in damage. These omega mods even have the ability to add other attributes to your guns such as lava or ice abilities and many other unique and fun upgrades as well. Once you get you weapons to level 10, which is the max level, they will upgrade into their ultimate forms. These maxed out weapons look significantly different and cause an entirely different level of damage and destruction to your enemies as well.
When you get tired of running around and blowing your enemies to shreds, you always have other options. Such options are the wide variety of vehicles at your disposal through out the game. The hover ship for Up your Arsenal makes a comeback in Deadlocked but you will not find yourself piloting it nearly as much as you did in the previous title. As well as the hover ship you’ll be driving such vehicles as the hover bikes, the dune buggy like Puma, and the often used Landstalker. Majority of the vehicular combat will involve the spider-like mech Landstalker which is equipped with machine guns and a charged blaster since certain situations throughout the game will require the use of the charged blaster to over come them. Majority of the vehicles also incorporate the aid of the bots as well, for example if you hop into the Puma and start driving one bot can take helm of the turret and gun down the competition while you get to the objective. Even when you are piloting the one man only Landstalker during a certain mission you can still throw out commands to your robotic buddies while taking out the larger enemies.
What has to be one of the coolest features to be found in Deadlocked is the new co-op mode. In co-op you and a friend will play through the story and complete the same missions together at the same time. What is different about co-op mode here is that the bots that helped you single player mode are no where to be found. Instead you and your friend will have all the abilities that the bots had like hacking and grenades. Now as long as one of you is still alive the mission can be completed, and even if you die you will eventually re-spawn by your partner. You will also be sharing from the same weapons inventory so if one person has the sniper rifle out the other can not be using it at the same time, which makes combat interesting. You also can’t get too far away from your partner otherwise a timer will activate and if it reaches zero you will both die. The co-op feature is a cool and well put together way for multiplayer to work out with the features it has to offer. Many times you and your friend will be doing a lot of thinking and teamwork to get the job done.
The game’s story will progress through 10 planets and the Dreadzone arena; it is in these locations that you will take on your missions and objectives. Many of which involve you and your bots to take down a certain enemy or base to complete the mission, but thrown into the mix on occasion is the fact that you’ll have to be protecting innocent civilians in the process. You will also get the chance to play through special side quest on each planet that gives you skill points. These skill points can be used to unlock special features in the game. You’ll come to learn that there are many things to accomplish before each planet has been completed 100% but unless you set the difficulty to higher setting than normal you’ll breeze through it with no problem. One of the few flaws of the game is in the simplicity of the game. Veterans of the series will find the difficulty to be a joke and will only get a real challenge until they up the difficulty or even replay the game otherwise you will find yourself flying through this game in a very short time. Sadly though no matter what difficulty you have this game set at you will still finish this in a rather short time. This is Deadlock’s only real flaw since in other titles you had about 10 to 12 hours you’ll have this one beat in 8 or so hours.
The multiplayer mode from Up your Arsenal is back with some new features as well. The game can be played either on or off-line but both will allow you the chance to play the same multiplayer features. The deathmatch, capture the flag, and siege mode are all back this time as well the new juggernaut and king of the hill modes as well. Offline players can have up to four combatants go head on against each other and when online, which is broadband only, will allow up to at least 10 players. Either way you play you are allowed access to the 11 maps from the game and are given the options to go in guns blazing with all the mods and vehicles from the game as well. While the online modes may not be anything that stands out above the crowd of other online games its still fun and enjoyable if you can find enough people online to play along with you.
Despite its flaws many fans will find Ratchet: Deadlocked as a very enjoyable game. Even though the platforming features of the previous games have taken more of a backseat to the arena and squad based combat found in this title, you will still find the same amount of fun and easy to get hooked gameplay that has made the series so successful. Deadlocked is able to blend together an excellent mix of great visuals, humorous dialog, and intense gameplay that adds to the prestige and success that the other titles built upon. It is a bit of shame that Clank has been knocked down to a mere support character status but even so he still throws in his witty humour when ever he can get the chance. While the game may be on the short side the co-op, multiplayer, and other extra features and short amount of replay value that helps to extend the game’s length a bit. Everything done right with Deadlocked is exceptional and as this may be Ratchet and Clank’s last tour on the Playstation 2, it is a proper farewell for such a successful duo found on the PS2. This is a game that any fan of the series shouldn’t be without and one that newcomers should have no problem diving right into.