The loveable duo makes the jump to PS3, how does Tools of Destruction expand on the Ratchet & Clank formula?
What Is It? Ratchet & Clank established itself on the PS2 as a 3D platforming shooter series. The games were well received, they hold up today, and are generally just a great time. Tools of Destruction is the first PS3 entry in the series and the hardware leaps are immediately noticeable. The game is incredibly smooth, I would have believed you if you told me it was a PS4 title (outside of the cutscenes, at least).
The story is familiar; the world is in imminent danger and the loveable wombat, Ratchet, and his robot partner, Clank, are the only hope. The script is always a bit offbeat with decent bits of humor mixed in, the game leaves the story in the background most of the time and never takes itself too seriously. You’re here for a fun time and the developers understand that.
You’ll spend the majority of your time controlling Ratchet with Clank as your makeshift backpack. The crux of the game is in the wild assortment of weapons it offers. Tools of Destruction’s selection is far from the most imaginative in the series, but what it might lack in creativity it makes up for in strength and variety. There are some really great weapons here. Early on, the Predator Launcher will lock on to multiple enemies and, after upgrading it by using it, even fire multiple rockets at each enemy. This is amazing with crowd control. Later on, when the enemies have gotten considerably stronger, you will likely lean heavily on the Negotiator which is a single, massive rocket.
Each weapon can be leveled up four times to achieve its final form, but they can also have their individual stats upgraded through a second currency type. I am always a big fan of “upgrading something by using it” in games, and the game offers enough of the crystals required for the stat upgrades that I was able to max out my most used weapons without grinding.
The depth and variety of the weapons comes to a head in the final boss fight which feels more like a real time strategy encounter than a shooter. You will need to have the right weapon ready at the right time based on the incoming attacks. Ammo will be sparse and you have to put a lot of hits on the boss, so finding out when to throw your auto-attack gadgets vs bringing out the big guns vs death by 1,000 cuts, etc… The game smartly pauses the action when you are quick-selecting between weapons, so you can take your time to get the right attack ready.
Elsewhere, there is some good platforming throughout. Nothing spectacular, but competent enough to be fun with a few standout spots like the grind boot rail sections. You will also spend a bit of time in aerial combat, this aspect is maybe the most improved from the PS2 games as it controls like a dream, making these sections incredibly fun instead of slightly frustrating as they were in the previous generation. There are a few Clank sections as well, these are pretty good too. The action is rounded out by some minigames which are fun on the surface but show up a few too many times for my tastes.
The Best Part: The game doesn’t leave you starving for bolts. This was an issue throughout the PS2 games where some of the weapons or armor upgrades would require enough bolts to make them difficult to earn. For me, this game is better with more stuff. More guns, more armor, more devices. Let us have it all. That’s not to say you’ll always be able to immediately afford everything the first time you can buy it, but with very minimal grinding (find those bounties for the smuggler!) you will be able to buy everything by the time you finish the game. Getting to experience the entire suite of weapons without spending hours replaying areas for bolts is a great touch.
The Worst Part: The motion controls. To be fair, these aren’t actually that bad, but every once in a while they won’t work how you want and it is extremely frustrating. These are used in a recurring minigame (fancy lockpicking), skydiving, and for one of the weapons (a tornado which will move via your controller). All three are a mixed bag, but I’ll call out the tornado gun being the outright worst implementation of this feature. The tornado will often take off in whatever direction it wants, ignoring my pleas of turning my controller the complete opposite direction. I get that this was a shiny new feature of the Dualshock 3, but that doesn’t make it a fun addition to the game.
The Verdict: Tools of Destruction is a great game. It is, in my opinion, significantly better than any of the PS2 titles. This is primarily due to the controls being way tighter all around. This is most noticeable in the aerial combat sections, but everything on foot is just a tad better here. The visuals are a massive improvement and the small tweaks to the formula by lowering the grinding to get all of the weapons and, generally, making the game a bit easier also work in its favor. The only misstep is showcasing the motion controls which isn’t bad, just not a notably fun addition.
This is a great entry into the Ratchet & Clank series. It maintains the core of what made it great while pushing it forward, mainly through refinement rather than pushing in new directions. If you have a PlayStation 3 and haven’t, Tools of Destruction is an easy recommend.
How to Play: PlayStation 3
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