Polished Metal
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time perfects the series' formula, buffing every last aspect to a perfect sheen... but does little else in the process.
Published: October 24, 2009
Along the way, you'll visit the usual alien locales, though this time around there was clearly an attempt to build up a set of alien races. Gone are the days of exploring a planet utterly devoid of indigenous, sentient life. Now, you'll meet up with far more races that know not only what Ratchet is, but that there were Lombaxes some time in the not-so-distant past. The planets he explores aren't especially huge, but they demonstrate some rather great level design that always circles things back into something of central hub, allowing you to immediately explore the next part of the planet without feeling like you have to backtrack. That said, there are also some decidedly Metroidvania-style bits that you won't be able to get to until later in the game, encouraging repeat trips back to older planets and star systems -- something that's done near-effortlessly with the in-game stellar map.
Those systems are no longer a static map with set planets, they're littered with open space to traverse -- albeit on a flat plane. Various small moons, outposts and other landing sites are scattered around the areas surrounding the storyline planets, and they're the meat of the game's exploration (as much as I'd like to say otherwise, the "hidden" items are usually pretty damned easy to find). They're something else, though: small, compartmentalized spherical world challenges akin to the stuff seen in Super Mario Galaxy, and that's most definitely a good thing. Some of them will openly embrace the idea that, with a high enough vantage, Ratchet can use his new hoverboots to glide around the mini-planets to out-of-the way areas. They're a fantastic way to break up the normal exploration bits and use Insomniac's earlier invention in a great way.
When you finally do explore those story-driven planets and even some larger ships circling them, you'll come to fine they're rife with the usual R&C goodies; gravity boot sections, the wrench tether bits introduced in Quest for Booty, grind rails, and even the occasional bit of hoverboot dashes off jumps. What really hit me, though, was just how varied they were. It goes beyond the normal ice/fire/jungle/water planets; there are alien cities built up around things far more. Case in point: The Hollow, a giant smelting cave on Torren IV, which is not only rich with the meek little Vullards, but has a constant set of embers flitting around. You end up helping them out, which in turn unlocks more of the planet, but just the whole approach to a junk-filled planet was very, very well done.
So too are the rest of the game's visuals. Adding self-shadowing to all the creatures in the world, while a bit low-res, really does help them to pop and gives everything that much more of a world that very well could be running on a farm of rendering machines happing right in your little PS3. The game's framerate, which usually sticks close to 60 frames a second, can tend to dip more than I remembered the last two games doing, though that may be a result of the game ditching instances of tearing completely. There's also a barely noticeable bit of weirdness on all the effects in the game. From far away, it looks like they're being rendered as blocky, low-detail effects, and even up close they have a sort of pronounced interlaced look about them. It's not a huge deal, but it's clear Insomniac's engine, despite being the most tenured on the PS3, is starting to show some signs of age.
Luckily, the same can't be said for the audio, which is fantastic. All the voice acting, from the main characters right down to the "common" aliens you'll chat with while exploring space are all delivered with plenty of professional punch. The music, while not quite as plucky and decidedly more cinematic in tone (definitely not a bad thing) still has the odd theremin-powered bit of flair to it, though it's clear the story being brought front and center deemed some of the cutscenes to be scored with a bit more theatrical flair. The change most definitely works, though I can't honestly recall much in the way of music now. The same classic sounds for weapons fire and bolts being collected are of course present, and they sound as good as ever.
I haven't even delved into the My Blaster Runs Hot 2D Smash TV-style mini-game or the variety in weapons (which, admittedly, are starting to sort of smear together at this point) or the battle arenas, but to be honest, at this point you know what to expect from this series; plenty of tight, polished shooting, controls that make doing everything from jumping to running around a joy to actually pull off (this really makes itself apparent during the final boss fights where you'll have to juggle multiple bits of gameplay including the almighty grind rail segment). That's not a bad thing, but it's most definitely a nice summary of what A Crack in Time offers. It's.... well, it's a Ratchet & Clank game, and as sure as that's become synonymous with a clever, imaginative mix of platforming, puzzles and exploration, you won't find a better example of the fomula here. Just don't go expecting anything radically different and you'll be able to close out the trilogy on a seriously strong note.
