rachet & clank: q-force
Publisher: Sony
Developer: Insomniac
Release Date: 30/11/12
Format: PS3/PS VITA
Players: 1-2 (offline), 2-4 (online)
One thing is for certain you can’t accuse the Ratchet and Clank franchise of NOT trying something different. Last year’s All4one was met with much criticism and many thought that with the series celebrating their 10th Anniversary, we would get a classic formula overhaul. Well I’m afraid just by looking at the £15 price tag; you instantly know you’re not going to get a full game. Q-Force is not a Classic Ratchet and Clank game, no matter how beautiful it looks or plays. Mainly Insomniac have ditched the All4one’s over the top and returned to giving us full camera control. This plays like any other Ratchet game as you would expect, it’s what they done to the gameplay that lets the game down this year. Instead of traveling and exploring a vast number of beautiful worlds thou a long and entraining story line, you’re stuck with 3 worlds and a campaign that is finished in 4hrs tops. They’ve abandoned what makes Ratchet so successful and ditched it for a variation of Tower Defence.
You start with the usual cut scene with the humour you would expect, but as you take control of your Character, to notice things aren’t right. You have 8 Generators you need to defend, to do this you can purchase turrets, mines and force shields. Every game you start with no weapons except your trusted Oniwrench. All weapons need to be found in the worlds and unlocked by a simple puzzle. To progress thou the game, you must capture nodes which in turn allows you to attack the main objective. But while you’re doing this your base is sporadically attacked by ever increasing enemies, sometimes having to return to your base after just navigating some tricky plat-forming to help protect your generators. Annoying doesn’t come close. Once you have destroyed the main objective you must again defenced you base again from a massive onslaught. With two flanks to keep protected, you are constantly going between the two, reloading any ammo you can grab along the way. You can’t rely on your various turrets, mines and shields to defend on their own for long. You’ll have three worlds of this with a fourth repeating the first but slightly different. The Fifth and final mission is a long road to the final boss battle. Possibly the nearest to classic gameplay you will encounter in the whole game. The Campaign is short and very repetitive and is almost an insult to the entire collection before it. There is replay value if you wish to complete and find every gold bolt. But by the end of the 4hour story mode you’ll be fed up with having to abandon your quest to defend your base.
However, all is not lost. Online and co-op is featured thou out this title, this does make the story mode less of a grind but the real fun is with the competitive multiplayer. There is only one game mode, but my word is it good. It combines the base defence and base attacking into a package RTS fans will enjoy. First you must capture Nodes; these provide your weapons and a steady stream of bolts. Next buy an attacking force and then all hell breaks loose. Attack the opponent’s base or defend your own. Or capture the enemies’ nodes; cripple their income while increasing your own for the next attack. This can be played 1v1, but 2v2 is much better, teamwork is essential for success. One attacks while the other defends or captures nodes, there are options here and no two games are played the same.
This game is limited, but that is reflected in the much lower price tag. The co-op and online is its saving grace and despite the problems it’s still a Ratchet and Clank game at heart, It looks and feels as it should. The weapons, plat-forming and grinding it’s all there. But the base defence is a huge let down. The online will entertain but it can’t compete with other full priced titles. So unfortunately only the hard-core Ratchet fans should apply. If you are new to the series you will be but off from playing other Ratchet titles. It doesn’t reflect a true Ratchet game and it’s a shame.
By Chris Sowry 5/10
Developer: Insomniac
Release Date: 30/11/12
Format: PS3/PS VITA
Players: 1-2 (offline), 2-4 (online)
One thing is for certain you can’t accuse the Ratchet and Clank franchise of NOT trying something different. Last year’s All4one was met with much criticism and many thought that with the series celebrating their 10th Anniversary, we would get a classic formula overhaul. Well I’m afraid just by looking at the £15 price tag; you instantly know you’re not going to get a full game. Q-Force is not a Classic Ratchet and Clank game, no matter how beautiful it looks or plays. Mainly Insomniac have ditched the All4one’s over the top and returned to giving us full camera control. This plays like any other Ratchet game as you would expect, it’s what they done to the gameplay that lets the game down this year. Instead of traveling and exploring a vast number of beautiful worlds thou a long and entraining story line, you’re stuck with 3 worlds and a campaign that is finished in 4hrs tops. They’ve abandoned what makes Ratchet so successful and ditched it for a variation of Tower Defence.
You start with the usual cut scene with the humour you would expect, but as you take control of your Character, to notice things aren’t right. You have 8 Generators you need to defend, to do this you can purchase turrets, mines and force shields. Every game you start with no weapons except your trusted Oniwrench. All weapons need to be found in the worlds and unlocked by a simple puzzle. To progress thou the game, you must capture nodes which in turn allows you to attack the main objective. But while you’re doing this your base is sporadically attacked by ever increasing enemies, sometimes having to return to your base after just navigating some tricky plat-forming to help protect your generators. Annoying doesn’t come close. Once you have destroyed the main objective you must again defenced you base again from a massive onslaught. With two flanks to keep protected, you are constantly going between the two, reloading any ammo you can grab along the way. You can’t rely on your various turrets, mines and shields to defend on their own for long. You’ll have three worlds of this with a fourth repeating the first but slightly different. The Fifth and final mission is a long road to the final boss battle. Possibly the nearest to classic gameplay you will encounter in the whole game. The Campaign is short and very repetitive and is almost an insult to the entire collection before it. There is replay value if you wish to complete and find every gold bolt. But by the end of the 4hour story mode you’ll be fed up with having to abandon your quest to defend your base.
However, all is not lost. Online and co-op is featured thou out this title, this does make the story mode less of a grind but the real fun is with the competitive multiplayer. There is only one game mode, but my word is it good. It combines the base defence and base attacking into a package RTS fans will enjoy. First you must capture Nodes; these provide your weapons and a steady stream of bolts. Next buy an attacking force and then all hell breaks loose. Attack the opponent’s base or defend your own. Or capture the enemies’ nodes; cripple their income while increasing your own for the next attack. This can be played 1v1, but 2v2 is much better, teamwork is essential for success. One attacks while the other defends or captures nodes, there are options here and no two games are played the same.
This game is limited, but that is reflected in the much lower price tag. The co-op and online is its saving grace and despite the problems it’s still a Ratchet and Clank game at heart, It looks and feels as it should. The weapons, plat-forming and grinding it’s all there. But the base defence is a huge let down. The online will entertain but it can’t compete with other full priced titles. So unfortunately only the hard-core Ratchet fans should apply. If you are new to the series you will be but off from playing other Ratchet titles. It doesn’t reflect a true Ratchet game and it’s a shame.
By Chris Sowry 5/10
