The level we played was based in a large, canyon-like area which seemed to be under attack from some monsters. We only got to play Ratchet, as Clank has been ‘held up’ from the previous iteration of the game, and playing as Ratchet in this section, you’re out on a search to find him. Controlling Ratchet was simple and intuitive, much like in Tools of Destruction, which helps out in keeping the game smooth and fluid throughout. You’ve got your basic attacks with your wrench and your strafing abilities, and then you’ve got your weapons, which as always, are the stars of the game.
"You're fired"
In Crack in Time you’ve got a lot of recurring weapons from Tools of Destruction. However, there are also a lot of new ones, and one in particular which caught our attention: the Sonic Eruptor. Before thinking that it fires Sonic the Hedgehog out and over cliffs (much like how his career went, hah!), it’s actually a mega powerful gun that burps at enemies. If you time your shots right, the eruptions coming out of your burping creature-weapon-thing will be more powerful and pronounced, thus causing more damage. Not only is it amusing, but it’s also a lot of fun to use and can be very useful. We unfortunately didn’t have enough time to test out more weapons, but from what we saw and tried, we definitely liked it and look forward to seeing more.
Enemies were quite varied and relatively challenging too, with huge, lumbering creatures that resembled shaved and extremely angry looking apes causing a bit of havoc here and there. There were also some larger, robotic mini-boss kind of enemies called Hydras as well, which required a bit more application and precision when being disposing of. The good news is that we had a new character and ally, a fellow Lombax, following us around and helping in disposing of enemies, which was a nice addition. Insomniac certainly nailed it when it comes to variety and sense of character, as the world has a very lively and vibrant feel to it.
He's got candy, he must be legit.
But part of the vibrance and charm of the game is attributed to its often jaw dropping level of visual detail. Though not as life like or ‘high res’ in texture as something like Uncharted 2, A Crack in Time goes for a much more zaney and cartoony look as usual, and brings everything to life through a lot of expressionism and colour. The end result is a very vibrant and immersive world that lets your imagination go astray, particularly when everything is moving around with such fluidity. It’s also likely the closest game out there to feel like a Pixar film, and considering Pixar’s track record, that in itself is a massive compliment to the game. It’s also running at a rock solid frame rate, so it’s clear that it’s not only Naughty Dog and Guerrilla that know their stuff when it comes to technical excellence on the PlayStation 3.
Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time has, strangely enough, not received as much hype as games such as Uncharted 2, even though the overall quality is certainly on par. While perhaps the genre or setting may not suit to everyone’s needs like that of a game such as Uncharted 2, it’s still definitely worth looking into, particularly from what we have seen and played. Crack in Time is shaping up to be one of the strongest PS3 titles of the year. And considering we haven’t even seen the new space exploration aspects yet, or even the puzzling areas with Clank, we’re certainly looking forward to toying around more in the vibrant and charming world of Crack in Time.
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