Game of the Week: Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time
As adventures go, the "Ratchet & Clank" series reminds me of the work of both J.R.R. Tolkien and George Lucas.
The tone of the original work started out light and decidedly more kid-friendly (like Tolkien's The Hobbit). The series' chief protagonist, Ratchet, is the last of a cat-like race called the Lombax. He began the series (not unlike Lucas' naive farm boy Luke Skywalker), as a mechanic on a tiny planet who longed for adventure only to have it drop into his lap courtesy of an android named Clank.
From: Sony
Price: $59.99
For: PS3
Rated: E10+ for animated blood, comic mischief and fantasy violence
With " A Crack in Time," the series takes on its most complex, darkest tones. Friendship will be tested and one character will pay the ultimate price (I'll stop there to avoid spoiling things).
The game picks up where both "Tools of Destruction" and the mini-game "Quest for Booty" both left off. Clank has been kidnapped by the mysterious Zoni. Ratchet is searching the universe for his mechanical buddy. He discovers the existence of another Lombax, the last surviving member of the Lombax army, General Alister Azimuth. Azimuth feels guilt for not only the death of most of the Lombax, but also specifically for the death of Ratchet's parents.
Clank, meanwhile, discovers his fate extends beyond just the role of sidekick. He is no mere robot, but rather a mechanical being with a soul who was created by a scientist as to watch over the "Great Clock" built to fix a rip in the fabric of time that was caused by time travel. The planet-sized device has the capacity to manipulate time, but it comes with a price.
The platform adventure doesn't stray too far from its roots. On levels played as Ratchet, you fight various foes, collect bolts needed to upgrade your weapons and take to the sky for space battles.
Many of Clank's levels are puzzle-based. Using up to four time pods, you are able to record up to a minute of Clank's actions and replay the holographic image(s) in order to do things like stand on a switch while the real Clank walks though the door that the switch opens. The puzzles increase in complexity as the game continues.
Issues of power, responsibility and choice all come up through the course of the game. Some of the themes might get lost on a younger audience, but gamers should make time for this latest "Ratchet & Clank" adventure.