Ratchet Gladiator is uniquely different to its predecessors, this time around Ratchet has been abducted by the media mogul Gleeman Vox. Players will find themselves a contestant on 'Dreadzone', the inter-galactic underground reailty show. Assuming the role of Ratchet you have to find a way to escape by fighting through battles.
I just wanted to be friends
We recently had an opportunity to go hands on with one level from the game, and it left us feeling reassured, we were initially a little worried that a "game show" storyline would inject a lease of life into the series, but after playing just one level we feel like Insomniac have done it again.
In the level which we were thrown on, we had to get Ratchet to hack some orbs to unlock a bridge. Whilst trying to do this there were enemies coming at you from all directions. After doing this you are in a circular level, with only water surrounding you. Ratchet cannot swim so you need to survive, whilst the other orbs are hacked to reveal another bridge.
This is the first real introduction to the ferocity and intense nature that the battles in the game are going to have. Wave after wave of enemies kept appearing, and all of them are uniquely different, there are big enemies and small enemies, and even though there is a lot happening on screen, there was no slowdown at all.
We don't want to ruin the rest of the level, but a lot of the goals did feel a little like the previous games. The levels are a lot more open-ended, and whilst there is one route that you can take to succeed, if you don't take it you aren't penalised.
The multiplayer mode in action
The game also includes a two player mode, that is not unlike that of its predecessor, we gave it a quick try and it should be just as much fun as the previous title was online.
One of the only complaints we'd have about the game is the commentary. There is an announcer that announces some of the things happening on screen, and even with only one level, we quickly became bored of the announcer. We can forsee that the commentary is going to be very repetitive, so unless Insomniac put a lot of effort into the commentary this could be a game that has you reaching for the mute button.
Overall, it feels like Insomniac are making this game bigger and better than its predecessors. It is obvious that a rehash isn't going to go down well with gamers, so hopefully the rest of the game has production values as high as this level did, if so this could easily be one of the best platforming games ever.
Ratchet and Clank: Gladiator will be available exclusively on the Playstation 2 on the 24th of November, 2005. We'll have our verdict on the game around this time, so stay tuned.
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