Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

I haven't been into many of the Ratchet & Clank games in the past, and I'm not sure why. Probably because I did most of my platforming on the Wii. But I recently tried out the demo of the new Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time on the PS3, and was really impressed. It's reviewed very well, according to Metacritic ratings.

The demo takes about ten minutes, but shows off some great puzzle platforming and a boss fight. The time-shifting puzzles and slow-down really add a great gameplay element, using copies of yourself to perform cooperative actions -- sorta like Braid. Makes getting from point A to point B much more interesting.

And controlling your character is a blast. The controls are so tight, you feel really in control of your actions. Never once did I think I was a victim of awful controls or camera views, like I have in other recent puzzle platforming in games like Prince of Persia, Uncharted, or Assassin's Creed.

The game is also funny, good-looking, and kid-friendly. Alex really has a lot of fun watching the beat-em-up action and platforming. The environments are lush and full, but never distracting and never unclear about which direction to head. It uses a good, short, room-by-room method where you never wonder about which way to go. It's a bit linear, but each room is so interesting you don't care.

While I'm probably going to wait a bit to pick this up, it's definitely going on my wish list.