Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus (PS3) Review

Early this summer, a new Ratchet & Clank game was announced; this time, it was a traditional game, and what a better way to end the series on the PS3 before making its leap to the PS4. Today, I take a look at the latest Ratchet & Clank game, subtitled Into the Nexus.

Story

The story starts with Ratchet & Clank escorting Vendra Prog, a dangerous criminal, to the Vartax Detention Center. Things go awry when her brother, Neftin, and the Thugs-4-Less organization, attacks the Nebulox and breaks her out. Now it is up to the duo to put a stop to what evil plan they have.

As it was announced, the game serves as an epilogue to the Future sub-series, as various aspects from previous installments are brought back to have part in the plot. The story is not quite as strong as A Crack in Time, but it is quite interesting to see how things turn out in the end.

Vendra and Neftin Prog

For the first time in the series, we have a primary female antagonist, Vendra Prog, which is quite refreshing and she seems very sinister.

Returning characters include Talwyn Apogee, her warbots Cronk and Zephyr, and Captain Qwark. Due to the game’s short length, we don’t get to see much more of them. Even Qwark and Talwyn weren’t given much to do. Though, I did like the moments with Ratchet and Talwyn. As you can tell, they really care for each other, something that the comic series also explored. The game also has its hilarious moments, especially during the museum mission.

Gameplay

The game returns to the more traditional Ratchet & Clank formula, as Ratchet can purchase weapons with bolts, the main currency, and upgrade them with experience points from fallen enemies. Just like Tools of Destruction, you can collect Raritanium to upgrade your weapons even further, improving their statistics like rate of fire and ammo. The shooting mechanics from Full Frontal Assault are also present, where you aim with L1 and fire with R1. Ratchet can also buy armor to protect himself from harsher enemy attacks.

Mr. Zurkon has a family? I'm sold!

Some weapons like the Warmonger and Mr. Zurkon return. Some of the other weapons are basically recycled versions of other weapons from previous games; for example, the Netherblades are like the Buzz Saw Blades and the Nightmare Box is like the Decoy weapons, except it frightens enemies.

Returning from Up Your Arsenal, you can once again try out a weapon through VR training before you can consider buying them. Some gadgets like the Swingshot return and it’s much faster to use since in Full Frontal Assault, it was very slow. The Levitator, now called the Jetpack, from Going Commando and the Hoverboots from A Crack in Time and Full Frontal Assault also return. The Jetpack is used to fly and the Hoverboots are used to get around faster and to access areas you can't reach by jumping off ramps.

There are times when Ratchet has to walk on magnetic surfaces with the gravity boots and leap from place to place. There is also a gadget called the Gravity Tether, which acts like the tractor beams from Portal 2, as it can help with reaching high or far places that he cannot normally reach.

The gladiator battles return, involving various challenges like defeating enemies or going through obstacle courses. Completing these challenges will earn you a number of bolts. Another way to earn bolts are to collect Gargathon Horns on Planet Thram and trade them to the Smuggler, similar to the crystal gameplay from Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal and the Leviathan soul gameplay from Tools of Destruction.



Clank's gameplay

Clank's gameplay revolves around him traveling the Netherverse in a side-scrolling view. He can also change the gravity so he can walk upside down or sideways, useful for getting through obstacles. Your main objective is to lure a creature called a Nether back to where you entered so Ratchet and Clank can clear an obstacle.

To increase replay value, there are Gold Bolts and Holo-Plans to collect. Gold Bolts are large bolts which can used to purchase Omega Weapons in Challenge Mode, just like the Gold Weapons from the first game. Like Tools of Destruction, A Crack in Time, and All 4 One, you collect pieces of a Holo-Plan and when you collect them all, the Plumber will construct the secret weapon.

Graphics, Level Design, and Audio

The game is just as colorful and vibrant as the previous PS3 titles and the cutscenes are a joy to watch. Like in Up Your Arsenal, where the dominant colors are brown and orange, the dominant color in Into the Nexus is purple; it’s even in the cover.

The voice acting is, once again, great. One notable change, however, is Talwyn’s voice actress, as she is no longer voiced by Tara Strong; instead she is voiced by Ali Hillis. Some gamers might remember her as the voice for Liara T’Soni from the Mass Effect series. As Talwyn’s new voice actress, she doesn’t sound too different and it doesn’t serve as a distraction, which is fine.

For the third time in a row, Michael Bross composes the music for the game, and he did a great job overall. The main theme is just as great as All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault. The beginning sounds like the game was saying “Hey guys, we have another traditional Ratchet & Clank game!” and it sounds epic, as well as haunting; there's even a bit of "Night on Bald Mountain" in there. I also laughed when the song “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” by Wang Chung played in one of the cutscenes.

Conclusion

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus may be a short game, but I had a lot of fun playing it and it was worth the $30. It brought back some of the characters we know and love from the Future series, and it’s full of comedic moments. The gameplay is nicely done, as it has some replay value that will keep you occupied for a while.

To be honest, this one felt more like a Tenth Anniversary game than Full Frontal Assault was, despite being the series' eleventh anniversary. It has elements from almost all the previous installments: the Gold weapons from the original, the Nanotech leveling system and gladiator battles introduced from Going Commando, the Weapon VR training from Up Your Arsenal, the armor selection from Size Matters, the Raritanium gameplay from Tools of Destruction, the visuals of A Crack in Time, the character models from All 4 One, and the shooting mechanics from Full Frontal Assault.

It was a great swan song for the series on the PS3, and it is highly likely that it will make its leap to the PS4 in the near future and bring us even more adventures.

And that concludes Ratchet & Clank Month. I enjoyed the opportunity to review all installments in the series and I enjoyed reading all your feedback on It's Tail Time. Stay tuned for more blogs in the future.