[E3 2009] A Crack in Time Hands-On
Insomniac's latest Ratchet & Clank outing is easily the most visually impressive yet. We go hands-on to see how it plays.
Published: June 3, 2009
For a series that's had no less than eight entries across three different platforms since it began just seven years ago, Ratchet & Clank has gone in some very interesting directions. A few of the titles have been quasi-spin-offs, what with Ratchet taking a turn at a download-only excursion and Clank getting his chance to shine as a secret agent, but they've all fed into an over-arching storyline that's started with a lone Lombax and his robo-pal against some of the galaxy's worst villains and spiraled out to include love interests, bot-napping, prophecies and, now, time travel.
It turns out Ratchet isn't the last Lombax in the galaxy, as evidenced by the arrival of General Alistair Azimuth, a time traveling, grey-haired, dual wrench staff-wielding Lombax. A Crack in Time picks up immediately after the events of Quest for Booty where Clank is still being held by the Zoni and Ratchet's still trying to track him down, with the reveal that Dr. Nefarious (from Up Your Arsenel) has returned, though for what purpose it's not entirely clear.
We were able to play through one section, dubbed Krell Canyon, for ourselves and were shown some of the more mind-bending bits that we'll get to in a second. To say that A Crack in Time looks "better" than the already impressive Tools of Destruction would be an understatement. The addition of self-shadowing and an even smoother framerate than before gives what was previously approaching an almost Pixar-level amount of detail to the visuals and animation an even bigger nudge toward looking pre-rendered. The game is, frankly, stunning, rich with deliberately saturated hues of orange and red in the canyon, which contrasts nicely with the enemies soaked in purples, all of which clashes with some sparklingly azure streams. The effect is even more "living cartoon"-like than any of the previous games, and it's absolutely amazing to see in motion.
Krell Canyon, a massive level with some vertical elements that's 20% bigger than the Sargasso Swamp from Tools of Destruction, has apparently been overrun, and Ratchet -- still Clank-less at this point, but no longer without his normally robot-aided long or high jump abilities thanks to his trusty rocket boots -- needs to clean things out a little. It started simple, with just having to take out some of the purple beasts being ridden around, which we did with a handful of weapons both new and old. The Ripper Blades were back, sending out little buzz saws that would arc in and hit enemies, but they were joined by some new toys.
A sniper rifle that highlighted weak spots on enemies (and bosses, but more on that in a second), Cryo Mines that could freeze enemies and then have them shatter if hit (by, say, a sniped blast into their weak spot, maybe?) and the OmniSoaker (which sucks up everything from water to more viscous things like nectar that could be used as bait for little critters called Tetrimites which would otherwise gobble up Ratchet in seconds) helped us make short work of enemies. Most amusing, though, was the Sonic Eruptor, a living weapon that would send out a mating call (read: belch) and, if timed just right, could let loose with a massive blast when activated when the on-screen meter at the top filled completely.
After blasting and wrench-smashing enemies for a bit, it eventually spawned a Hydra Tank, which, as the name implies, was a three-turreted destruction machine that had to be taken down one "head" at a time. After dealing enough damage, a bolt could be latched onto with Ratchet's Quest for Booty-imported electric tether and ripped out, overloading the head and causing it to explode. After all three were yanked, the tank would explode.
The Ratchet bits felt instantly familiar, and though there were some distractions (like being able to chase a Zoni Vessel, around the levels by grinding and using new bounce pads) it was more or less par for the course, albeit with some fun new ways to dole out destruction. Clank's new mechanic, however, fully embraced the theme of time in one of the most impressively creative puzzles we've seen from Insomniac. During some of the little bot's sections, he could step on a time pad, which would record clanks exact actions. Stepping on multiple pads meant multiple "tracks" and, when layered together, these ghost Clanks would carry out their duties for as long as they were recorded. This culminated in an amazing display of recording and re-recording of pressing switches to raise and lower platforms that would allow Clank to open a set of progressively more complex door switches. It's really quite impossible to explain beyond saying that each of the paths required a careful amount of pre-thinking to properly let Clank's echoes reach their end goal. They were mind-bending and they were awesome.
Despite suffering a few slip-ups in recent years, the Ratchet & Clank franchise appears alive and well. Insomniac is attempting to build more of an emotional connection between its two leads, and as such the story in A Crack in Time will have more heart and gravity to it as it helps to bookend and close out the arc that started with Ratchet & Clank Future. After seeing the Clank segments, we can't wait to play more. Luckily, we won't have to for long; the game ships this Fall.
It turns out Ratchet isn't the last Lombax in the galaxy, as evidenced by the arrival of General Alistair Azimuth, a time traveling, grey-haired, dual wrench staff-wielding Lombax. A Crack in Time picks up immediately after the events of Quest for Booty where Clank is still being held by the Zoni and Ratchet's still trying to track him down, with the reveal that Dr. Nefarious (from Up Your Arsenel) has returned, though for what purpose it's not entirely clear.
We were able to play through one section, dubbed Krell Canyon, for ourselves and were shown some of the more mind-bending bits that we'll get to in a second. To say that A Crack in Time looks "better" than the already impressive Tools of Destruction would be an understatement. The addition of self-shadowing and an even smoother framerate than before gives what was previously approaching an almost Pixar-level amount of detail to the visuals and animation an even bigger nudge toward looking pre-rendered. The game is, frankly, stunning, rich with deliberately saturated hues of orange and red in the canyon, which contrasts nicely with the enemies soaked in purples, all of which clashes with some sparklingly azure streams. The effect is even more "living cartoon"-like than any of the previous games, and it's absolutely amazing to see in motion.
Krell Canyon, a massive level with some vertical elements that's 20% bigger than the Sargasso Swamp from Tools of Destruction, has apparently been overrun, and Ratchet -- still Clank-less at this point, but no longer without his normally robot-aided long or high jump abilities thanks to his trusty rocket boots -- needs to clean things out a little. It started simple, with just having to take out some of the purple beasts being ridden around, which we did with a handful of weapons both new and old. The Ripper Blades were back, sending out little buzz saws that would arc in and hit enemies, but they were joined by some new toys.
A sniper rifle that highlighted weak spots on enemies (and bosses, but more on that in a second), Cryo Mines that could freeze enemies and then have them shatter if hit (by, say, a sniped blast into their weak spot, maybe?) and the OmniSoaker (which sucks up everything from water to more viscous things like nectar that could be used as bait for little critters called Tetrimites which would otherwise gobble up Ratchet in seconds) helped us make short work of enemies. Most amusing, though, was the Sonic Eruptor, a living weapon that would send out a mating call (read: belch) and, if timed just right, could let loose with a massive blast when activated when the on-screen meter at the top filled completely.
After blasting and wrench-smashing enemies for a bit, it eventually spawned a Hydra Tank, which, as the name implies, was a three-turreted destruction machine that had to be taken down one "head" at a time. After dealing enough damage, a bolt could be latched onto with Ratchet's Quest for Booty-imported electric tether and ripped out, overloading the head and causing it to explode. After all three were yanked, the tank would explode.
The Ratchet bits felt instantly familiar, and though there were some distractions (like being able to chase a Zoni Vessel, around the levels by grinding and using new bounce pads) it was more or less par for the course, albeit with some fun new ways to dole out destruction. Clank's new mechanic, however, fully embraced the theme of time in one of the most impressively creative puzzles we've seen from Insomniac. During some of the little bot's sections, he could step on a time pad, which would record clanks exact actions. Stepping on multiple pads meant multiple "tracks" and, when layered together, these ghost Clanks would carry out their duties for as long as they were recorded. This culminated in an amazing display of recording and re-recording of pressing switches to raise and lower platforms that would allow Clank to open a set of progressively more complex door switches. It's really quite impossible to explain beyond saying that each of the paths required a careful amount of pre-thinking to properly let Clank's echoes reach their end goal. They were mind-bending and they were awesome.
Despite suffering a few slip-ups in recent years, the Ratchet & Clank franchise appears alive and well. Insomniac is attempting to build more of an emotional connection between its two leads, and as such the story in A Crack in Time will have more heart and gravity to it as it helps to bookend and close out the arc that started with Ratchet & Clank Future. After seeing the Clank segments, we can't wait to play more. Luckily, we won't have to for long; the game ships this Fall.
