TECH

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
Insomniac/Sony
(PS 2)

Way back in the year 2002, one hell of a great platformer/shooter snuck its way onto PlayStation 2 without anyone noticing. Anyone but me, of course.

The game was called Ratchet & Clank, and it was one of those buddy games like Mario and Luigi, Banjo and Kazooie, Jak and Daxter, Abbott and Costello and Will and Grace. Only it was way more fun because, not only did you get to blow up everything in sight, but the characters in the game were genuinely funny.

First you had Ratchet: some kind of weasel-rabbit-SoCal surfer hybrid. Everything was "Dude this" and "Dude that." Then you had his sidekick, Clank: tiny robot whose jokes were stiffer than Howard Dean on Viagra. Between the two of them, they got into all sorts of trouble that ended with them battling for the safety of the universe and taking on some pretty wacky foes, including one washed-up super hero who was a worse sell-out than George Clooney as Batman.

But enough of the first game and its gorgeous graphics, lush landscapes and amazingly tight control. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando is more of the same, only it goes to 11. Yes, it’s still a third-person RPG/shooter, and yes, our furry friend and his steel vibrator return, but, oh, there is so much more.

Like the weapons. While in the first Ratchet & Clank you had Glove Bombs, which did the job pretty damn nicely by wiping out all sorts of nasty creatures with the toss of a bomb, you now have Mini-Nukes. Fries ’em up good, and only hurts the real estate for 10,000 years.

Then there was the Blitz Gun; it’s now a Blitz Cannon. The Pulse Rifle? A Vaporizer. The Seeker? A now-amazing HK-22. Wanna mess up someone real good? Try this baby. Okay, so you get the idea. The weapons blow things up much better. But what about the story, which was so cool in the first version?
Yup, it’s there, and it kicks ass. This time Ratchet & Clank hop from tiny planet to tiny planet, blowing up everything around them in order to save themselves and everyone else.

A few things worth mentioning in Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, as opposed to Ratchet & Clank, is that the enemy AI is now a lot smarter. They’ll chase you around a whole level and not let up. Especially if you shoot them in the ass. Then there’s the improved camera system. It’s now easier to follow the action and figure out what you’re supposed to do next. Then there’s Ratchet’s new voice. Not as cool, I think, but that’s me. Then there are the controls. Tighter, if you can imagine. The control pad feels like a steering wheel in a race car–perhaps the tightest thing I’ve ever played.

But what’s the best thing about Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando? You can play it over and over and get bigger and better weapons. So the game-play does change, and for broke gamers like me, that’s a blast!

–George Tabb