Product Description

Concluding the events set into motion by Tools of Destruction, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time will at long last answer some of the franchise fans' largest questions. After discovering that Clank's disappearance was engineered by Dr. Nefarious, Ratchet races to rescue his best friend. Unfortunately, he discovers that Clank's capture is just the beginning of Nefarious's latest diabolical plot. In this follow-up to the best-selling series, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time puts players into the role of both Ratchet and Clank as they attempt to reunite and save the universe. Along the way, both will finally uncover the hidden truth behind their origins, and discover their ultimate destinies. As the duo come closer to reuniting, they'll have to ask themselves the biggest question of all: Do Ratchet and Clank’s destinies lie with each other? Or is it finally time for the universe's greatest duo to separate for good? Powered by Insomniac Games' fourth-generation PLAYSTATION3 system technology, A Crack in Time will continue to bring the experience of playing your own CG-animated movie to the PS3 system. Players will use new gadgets such as Ratchet's Hoverboots to explore levels and can take off in Ratchet's ship to discover nearby moons and planets. Clank will use new abilities to manipulate time to try and stop Dr. Nefarious.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #63 in Video Games
• Brand: Sony
• Model: 98124
• Published on: 2009-10
• Released on: 2009-10-27
• ESRB Rating: Everyone 10+
• Platform: PLAYSTATION 3
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: .60" h x 5.40" w x 6.77" l, .30 pounds

Features

• New space gameplay that gives players the opportunity to engage in space battles, explore the surrounding star system, and discover hidden items and collectables.
• An original new adventure and story that answers many of fans' most-asked questions and wraps up the story arc that started in earlier games, 'Tools of Destruction' and 'Quest For Booty.'
• Non-linear levels with plenty of hidden areas to explore, and new gadgets like the Hoverboots that let Ratchet soar to new heights.
• All-new Clank gameplay and special "Time" abilities that bring new meaning to "past selves," and multiple personalities.
• The series' renowned arsenal gets even larger with brand new weapons, as well as weapons that players can customize with various modifications.

Amazon.com Product Description

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time is a single player platform shooter that reunites Sony's famous space age duo for another comedic romp through the universe. The final game in the Ratchet & Clank Future sub trilogy, A Crack in Time answers many questions raised in the previous two games in the sub series, and introduces addictive and challenging new puzzle-solving Clank gameplay. New time-warping Clank gameplay. View larger. New modable weapons for Ratchet. View larger. Clank's self replication abilities open up a world of platforming fun. View larger. The Story Concluding the events set into motion by Tools of Destruction, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time will at long last answer some of the franchise fans' largest questions. After discovering that Clank's disappearance was engineered by Dr. Nefarious, Ratchet races to rescue his best friend. Unfortunately, he discovers that Clank's capture is just the beginning of Nefarious's latest diabolical plot. In this follow-up to the best-selling series, Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time puts players into the role of both Ratchet and Clank as they attempt to reunite and save the universe. Along the way, both will finally uncover the hidden truth behind their origins, and discover their ultimate destinies. As the duo come closer to reuniting, they'll have to ask themselves the biggest question of all: Do Ratchet and Clank's destinies lie with each other? Or is it finally time for the universe's greatest duo to separate for good? Gameplay: New Time-related Abilities and More As with previous Ratchet & Clank games the action in A Crack in Time is a blend of platforming, shooter scenarios and puzzle-solving. Seeing as the premise of the game is that the constantly impending rescue of Clank by Ratchet, action naturally toggles between the scenarios that both find themselves in separately. Playing as Ratchet players engage primarily in a mix of exploration and comic shooter style gameplay that occurs both on planetoids and on space ships throughout the gameplay area. As players come in contact with non-player characters (NPCs) they will often be asked to perform duties such as rescues, for which they will be given rewards that Ratchet can then use to purchase new weapons and items. Many of these weapons are brand-new to the Ratchet & Clank franchise and can be upgraded and moded throughout the game for maximum impact against the run-of-the-mill enemies that cross your path, and of course the inevitable bosses faced. The lion's share new play elements in A Crack in Time are seen in its Clank gameplay though. A blend of self replication and time manipulation, Clank's new abilities are revealed in an early level in the game in which players are able to peer into Clank's memory. Here they meet Clank's maker, Orvis, and see that Clank has access to two hidden abilities/items: limited physical self replication and the Chronoscepter, which helps Clank to both fix broken items and slow down time. With regard to replication, mechanisms called "Time Pads" allow players to record Clank as he performs calculated physical movements and actions. These can then be saved individually and later replayed in specific combinations in the presence of the real Clank to solve puzzles requiring extreme speed or that he be in multiple places at the same time. Similar in usage to this is the Chronoscepter which can be used against swift moving objects or enemies while platforming in order to get into positions which otherwise would be impossible to reach. Used separately as well as together these two make for new wrinkles in Clank's abilities to solve complex puzzles across 3D spaces and in evasion and combat of enemies. Key Game Features An original new adventure and story that answers many of fans’ most-asked questions and wraps up the story arc that started in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty. Nonlinear levels with plenty of hidden areas to explore, and new gadgets like the Hoverboots that let Ratchet soar to new heights. All-new Clank gameplay and special "Time" abilities that bring new meaning to "past selves". The series’ renowned arsenal gets even larger with brand new weapons, as well as weapons that players can customize with various modifications. New space gameplay that gives players the opportunity to engage in space battles, explore the surrounding star system, and discover hidden items and collectibles.

Customer Reviews

Well-Crafted & Fun For All Ages
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack In Time is a great conclusion to the series, but the beautiful part about it is that you can play it without having played any of the other games before it. When you first pop in the disc you're greeted with a short movie that explains all of the events leading up to this game. Once that's over, you're up to speed and ready to roll.

The story is quite interesting, it's loaded with laugh-out-loud humor, and the characters are voiced to perfection. This rivals any of the Hollywood CGI movies that have come out in recent memory in terms of animation, story, humor, and the acting performances.

The game is loaded with variety. As Ratchet, you'll be flying around in your spaceship, in kind of an open-world setting, where you can visit various planets and moons in each space sector and accomplish side-tasks. The moons are spherical and come in two really fun varieties: platforming segments which will you remind you of Super Mario Galaxy, and shooting segments which will you remind you of Super Stardust HD. The planets are where the story actually takes place and you will explore much larger environments and meet new characters. In space, you can get into dog-fights with Dr. Nefarious' minion space-ship fighters, or you can meet up with various other space-travelers and help them with their requests. Your ship is upgradable, you just have to find little creatures called Zoni. There are 40 of them hidden throughout the game's universe, many of them are found by completing the optional moons. While roving around in your ship, there are also 4 fictitious radio stations to choose from. They all feature wonderful music of different varieties for different tastes, and DJs that will make you laugh out loud with their banter.

The weapons are ingeniously conceived, and you'll find yourself laughing when you see what some of them do. Humor is a big part of this game. But it's not all about humor. There is some serious gameplay here, too. Fun platforming, creative puzzles, RPG-like systems where your character levels up as he gains experience, granting him more hit points, and all of your weapons level-up with use, as well. Also, the weapons can be upgraded with parts that you find hidden around the universe, and some of the weapons can even be custom-painted.

Some of the best gameplay in this package comes from Clank and the new time-based puzzles. There will time-pads placed around the Clock at the Center of the Universe (the area that Clank traverses throughout the game), and you can record yourself doing things on these time-pads, then play back the action simultaneously while doing something else with your present self. In other words, you can set up recordings of past-selves to help your present-self accomplish tasks that would otherwise be impossible alone. The mechanics may remind you of a game called Braid. It's all very-well implements and often ingenious, always fun.

The game itself is rather easy to get through on the lower difficulties, it will be appropriate for children and adults alike who may not have much experience gaming. You'll get to see the whole game without much difficulty. But there are also Normal and Hard difficulties, which amp up the challenge, and seasoned gamers will find them more than sufficient to give them a fun time that's not too easy or too frustrating. This game is perfect for all-ages, it's appropriate for kids as well as adults, and I recommend it highly!

And I thought ToD was good...
First let me start off by saying if you liked Tools of Destruction (I loved it), stop reading and buy this game, it's quite a bit better, really the same game with a bunch of noticeable improvements! The story is great and the writing is quite clever as usual. This is definitely the funniest Ratchet game yet, getting to play with Quark is worth it on its own! They have a lot of cool new puzzles (During Clank's play time) and some great action with Ratchet. The weapons are brilliant again, you get some of your old favorites (with minor alterations) and some great new additions. Not to mention the voice acting is great yet again.

Now in the interest of keeping this spoiler free, I won't go into Clank's story/gameplay because it will give away some of the fun, but just know that his new abilities and his new responsibilities are tied to the game title and they are very cool!

Ratchet plays the same as usual except for a few new gadgets (hover boots being my favorite) and some awesome new tools! They've also added a bit of a space shooter into the game which is a blast and introduces many "side quests"(Not to mention a great little Quark mini-game). Lots to do in this one guys, tons to collect, it's quite long and the replay is immense as usual!

My advice, add this one to your collection if you've played Tools of Destruction, if you haven't you may not get the story right off the bat and you'll really miss out on a lot, although the gameplay will still be fun as usual. I do suggest playing Tools of Destruction first.

Well that's about it, this game is just what you would expect from the Insomniac team, a very polished, fun, pixar-like experience that will excite and compel you to play forward.

Disappointing!
I've played every previous Ratchet & Clank game to 100% completion (except the PSP games). This is my favorite video game series of all time other than the Zelda series.

A Crack in Time just doesn't measure up to previous R&C games.

1. I beat the game in 11 hours on Medium - that's crazy! Not enough gameplay. I couldn't believe how few planets there were. The moons just don't count as unique gameplay and are more like mini-games.

2. The very premise of the game is a problem, as it contributes to a feeling of something lacking - seems obvious, but the game is just not RIGHT without Ratchet & Clank together. Sometimes you're playing as Ratchet alone, sometimes as Clank alone. But worse is when you are playing as Ratchet with another character leading you around. Although you can ignore them and explore on your own, there's a sense of urgency to play in a more linear fashion than in previous games. I like to explore every corner of the planets, and meanwhile, a character is yelling, "Ratchet, come on! We don't have much time! We have to do X!!"

3. Even with hints turned OFF, the game gives you so many stupid hints. I don't recall it being so bad in other games. The characters that are playing with Ratchet will say, "Why don't you try using that [blank] to accomplish [blank]?" There's rarely an opportunity to puzzle something out for yourself, because of all the very obvious hints, or outright explanation of how to do something.

4. This is a personal preference thing, but I hate the Clank time puzzles.

5. The time portal stuff that Ratchet does is cool, but underdeveloped. It seems thrown in there, which is disappointing because it has great potential.

6. The maps are annoying - first of all, there are at least 10 colors on each map, which makes it difficult to tell where you've been and where you haven't. Plus, the maps are autofilled. I've read some people like this, but I don't. The first time Ratchet steps foot into an area, even a HUGE open area, the whole thing autofills that you've explored it. That means that feature is totally useless. Have I really explored this whole area? Almost certainly not. I like to find as much stuff as possible before getting the treasure mapper (the device that indicates exactly where each gold bolt and holoplan is). It's more fun that way, but the autofilled map makes it harder to know where I might have missed a little corner where a bolt might be hiding.

7. The weapons are disappointing. The Dynamo of Doom is practically impossible to control. The Tesla spikes are useless because the enemies tend to follow you. That means you have to stand near the spikes and let enemies hit you in order to have them run into the spikes. Many of the weapons are retreads, which is not necessarily bad, but at least bring back or rip off the GOOD ones from previous games!

8. No swimming or underwater anything?? Come on!

I'm being pretty hard on the game, but it still gets 3 stars. I only criticize because I love! I feel oddly protective of the series and just feel strongly that this entry doesn't measure up. The whole time I was playing A Crack in Time, I was feeling nostalgic for the original three PS2 games. This is a game to purchase when it's a Greatest Hit.