Quest for Booty is Ratchet and Clank’s first appearance on the PSN. With all the previous games in the series having done so well, does this latest installment live up to these high standards? Or is it just an attempt to bank on a successful franchise?
Quest for Booty’s story picks up where Tools of Destruction ended. Clank is missing and Ratchet is trying to find him. Through the tech of the ancient Lombax, Ratchet will do everything he can to find his friend. Along the way, you will run into some of your favorite characters from Tools of Destruction, as well as a few others from past games. Your adventures will take you from beautiful, tropical islands to terrifying cave mines. The game ultimately ends with a cliff hanger that brings even more anticipation to Ratchet’s next adventure.
The overall gameplay is very similar to the previous games in the series. You will still have Ratchet’s trusty wrench, as well as all the crazy weaponry we have come to expect from the series. You still will be bashing enemies, smashing crates, collecting bolts, and platforming your way through each level.
In this version though, there are some noticeable differences from its retail disc counterpart. First off, since Clank is not along your side your wrench will have some new abilities. You will be able to pick up glowing creatures and use them to illuminate the darker areas. You wrench also has the ability to move platforms around. This is the one major upgrade that helps out in areas that would normally require Clank’s helicopter abilities. These new additions take some time to get used to, but help change up the gameplay enough so that Quest for Booty does feel like a unique installment in the series.
You also have your huge arsenal of wacky weapons, but where this one differs from the rest of the series is most of these weapons are earned in sequential order. This isn’t a real negative, but it takes away the level of depth the previous games had with being able to buy numerous weapons and upgrade. There’s also no way to play through the game a second time through with your powered up weapons; everything has to be done from scratch.
The jump to PSN has not harmed the visuals or sound in the least bit. It is still a gorgeous game, and the voice overs and sound effects are just as crisp as always. This is by far one of the best looking PSN games out there, and ranks up there with some of the best looking games on PS3.
The only real negatives to the game would have to be the length. In total it should not take you more then 4 or 5 hours to complete, and at $15 that may be to steep for some gamers. This is really not to much of an issue since the four or five hours you do play is a lot of fun, and the production values are top notch.
Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty is exactly what the fans of the series have come to expect… a comedic, smash ’em up with a ton of great platforming. Although it still has its issues, and it would have been nice to see some more new features added in, this is a must buy for all Ratchet and Clank fans.
PlayStation LifeStyle’s Final Score
What it lacks in length, it makes up for in quality. A comedic side story that sets up the next Ratchet title. |
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