Although Ratchet & Clank is a long running series of computer games I had never heard of it before I saw Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time in my friend Stefan’s trophy list. Based on his recommendation I decided to buy the game.
A Crack in Time is a 3D Jump ‘n Run and Shoot’Em Up game. It reminds me a bit of Nintendo’s excellent The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess but features less puzzles and more action. While the concept of the game isn’t novel it excels at overall design:
- All the characters are beautifully animated, superbly voiced and overall very well made. They would be worthy of a cartoon feature film.
- The game is sometimes difficult but never unfair. There are a large number of save points which prevent frustration if you have to master a particularly hard challenge.
- Between the main missions it is possible to roam around the galaxy as much as you like. You can complete little extra quests, search for treasures or fight in a tournament as a gladiator.
- The game features a large set of weapons that Ratchet can use to fight the scores of enemies. In addition to pretty normal stuff like a blaster, grenades and a shot gun there are crazy things like a flying robot companion which will not only shoot at your enemies but also insult them. You can also throw a disco ball to force your foes to dance or feed them to a monster with tentacles named Fred through a dimensional portal. But the darling of the public is of course the Ryno V which unleashes hell on your opponents while playing Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture .
- When playing as Clank you have to solve complicated temporal puzzles which is mind boggling and great fun at the same time.
Overall Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time is wonderful crazy game. I really enjoyed playing it from beginning to end.