Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction Review

Over the course of their adventure, Insomniac's duo whisks through the galaxy, engaging in space battles and making quick stop-offs on distant planets. Granted, this groundwork is recognizable from previous Ratchet and Clank games. However, being on the PS3, Future goes the extra mile. The graphics, for example, are mind blowing. The first level resembles something out of the sci-fi movie The Fifth Element. Futuristic cars buzz past each other during rush hour, colossal buildings reach into the sky and bullet trains speed by, even with Ratchet innocently sliding along rails right in front of them. It all soon deteriorates into chaos -- and this is just the first level. Later levels take you through even more vivid-looking surroundings, including muddy jungles, frozen-over tundras and technical terrors. The animation runs very smoothly, with hardly any slowdown. Even when you destroy a dozen enemies with a grenade and pick up hundreds of bolts (the game's currency), there's barely a dent in the game's frenetic pace. Lighting details and character textures also lend to the game's visual surroundings. All of it is jaw dropping, especially on an HDTV.

The voice work is up to Insomniac's usual standards, filled with personality and hardly any dead spots. Ratchet still sounds like a kid at heart, Clank is all business but far from hostile and Quark is a panicked mess. The dialogue is still hilarious, even with the random chatter that plays in the background. On top of this, the music works on a rhythm all its own. The tempo changes constantly depending on what's happening on-screen. What sounds easygoing at first soon bursts with romping energy. It's a terrific soundtrack, one with great unpredictability.

With all the other drastically improved changes the game carries, it's nice to see that Tools of Destruction has the same great gameplay as previous games. Ratchet utilizes a number of weapons throughout the game, from simple blasters and grenades to more diverse offerings. One launches tornadoes, which zip around an enclosed area and suck up enemies. The sarcastic Mr. Zurkon is also an inspired addition, a mean little computer-controlled droid who verbally cuts down enemies while vaporizing them. Finally, there's the Groovinator, a weapon in a league by itself. It shoots out a disco ball that makes all on-screen enemies -- even the bigger space vehicles -- get down in Saturday Night Fever-like fashion. Powering up these weapons is a cinch, thanks to the automated vendors scattered throughout. Since you gather up thousands of bolts from fallen enemies anyway, buying upgrades is no sweat. Sometimes a particular weapon levels up automatically, depending on how often you use it.

Along with the awesome on-foot action and space battles, you'll also find SIXAXIS-specific segments. You control Ratchet during free-falls and in flight, dodging incoming missiles and other threats by tilting the controller. It also proves useful when controlling the launched tornadoes, as physically leaning shifts their on-screen direction.

Ratchet and Clank Future's action runs non-stop. There are intermittent story sequences and the occasional stage where Clank has to move things along by controlling fellow robotic minions, but otherwise it's a matter of "shoot everything and then shoot everything else". It lasts a good twelve hours or so, with plenty of rail sliding, puzzle solving and boss battling. After all is said and done, you have the option to go through the game again, with all the weapons and bolts you' acquired on the higher difficulty levels.