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After finishing the insanely long and epic Fallout 3, it seemed like a good idea (at least to me) to tackle something a little shorter and a little more tongue-in-cheek.

Ratchet and Clank fit the bill.

I had played through more or less 75% of this game a couple of months ago and for whatever reason I just never picked it back up. Since I played through so much of it, playing through it again was a little frustrating. Every time I made it to a new planet I would almost immediately say “Oh yeah, I remember this part.” It turns out that I had played through all of the game except for the last three levels.

The frustration had nothing to do with the game, which was a blast. Most of the game is not very difficult if you use the weapon selection wisely. There are somewhere around 12 different weapons that can be used to rain destruction on your foes. Some of the weapons aren’t very useful (I don’t think I used the taunter a single time) while others (such as the visibomb and tesla claw) can clear the room in a short amount of time.

The game is fun but for the most part it is not particularly challenging. Checkpoints are frequent, the puzzles are clever without being brain busting, platforming elements are often tricky but not throw-your-controller cheap, and the number and difficulty of foes is reasonable. Overall, the difficulty is balanced to be fun without being difficult.

The exception to that: The final levels and the final boss. Confession time: I saved up and bought the RYNO rocket launcher and maximum health boosts which made the last levels and fight much easier. If I did not have the RYNO the last levels and the final boss (especially the final boss) would have absolutely whooped my ass. Repeatedly. The last boss battle is no joke. A lock on & strafe combat mechanic really would have helped with the last areas; the absence of that mechanic is the only major weakness of the combat system.

There is not a whole lot to say about the story. The writing is clever and witty even though the story is not particularly deep. The plot is a little cliche – it’s kind of the normal video game go-and-save-the-world story, but it is very tongue in cheek and funny.

Overall, there is nothing ground breaking here, but this is definitely a fun and clever game with great gameplay and a wide variety of ways to smash the bad guys.

I have the PS3 Ratchet and Clank game, but before I play it I am going to have to track down the other PS2 games first for continuity. My playtime clocked in at roughly 20 hours, a nice change of pace from the epic 150 RPG.