Ratchet & Clank Preview - E3 2015

We get some hands-on time with the intergalactic heroes

Posted by Alex V on June 27, 2015 - 9:22pm EST

Insomniac Games have made a big impact on the history of PlayStation exclusives with their Ratchet & Clank series. From the first game back in 2002, the third person action adventure franchise has become a fan favorite, putting the titular heroes into the spotlight for a number of years. But lately, the situation has changed. The last few entries (All 4 One, Full Frontal Assault) have underwhelmed, and Insomniac Games themselves announced a few years ago that they will no longer be developing exclusively for PlayStation. But, following last year's Sunset Overdrive on Xbox One, it seems the studio is ready to return to their roots, with the PS4 exclusive Ratchet & Clank. We got a chance to see and play the game at E3.

Despite my personal annoyance with re-using the same name as an original game in the franchise, the developers hope that this is a true reboot. Perhaps there was some value in this; given the rather convoluted overarching story from the PS3 era, it was about time for the franchise to start over. But not only is this a new start for the heroes, the game also plans to tie into the upcoming film of the same name, created by Rainmaker Entertainment and Blockade Entertainment. The game will even include footage from the film.

Though the game is planned as a re-imagining of the first game, it will have a variety of gameplay elements from different past entries in the series. This includes features like strafing and the inclusion of weapons from across the whole series. Of course, there will be new content as well, new planets, new boss fights, flight sequences, and more.

Ratchet & Clank marks the PlayStation 4 debut of intergalactic heroes, Ratchet, Clank and Captain Qwark, as they battle to save the Solana Galaxy from the evil Chairman Drek. We got a chance to play through two sections of the game. In the first demo, our goal was to stop a train with a bomb that was heading for the Hall of Heroes. We jumped onto the train, and it began moving, so we climbed, jumped, and shot our way to the front of the locomotive. The train was moving the whole time, and occasionally we had to dodge overhead and side obstacles that would have otherwise knocked our heroes off. The action gameplay will be instantly familiar to those who have played the original R&C games. Shooting and jumping felt light and responsive, and it was satisfying to break the environments and enemies into a million bolt pieces for us to collect.

The weapons remain a unique highlight of the franchise. From the Combuster to a Fusion Bomb, Ratchet had a variety of attacking options at his disposal. It was better demonstrated in the second demo we played - a boss battle in a fiery monster development laboratory. Here, we had to use the weapon wheel to pick the best tools for the job - although we found the time to also use the Groovitron (which made the boss monster dance disco) and the Pixelizer (temporarily transforms the enemy into an 8bit version of themselves). After enough damage was dealt, the boss disappeared, while spawning some smaller enemies to keep the player busy. These smaller enemies also helpfully dropped health and ammo, until the boss re-appeared and we could finish the job.

All said and done, there was a closing cutscene that provided a few laughs. It's clear that Ratchet & Clank aims to not only retain its signature gameplay and visual style, but also the focus on characters and humor. Despite the demo's short length and relative ease of combat, we got a solid look at how the game is shaping up. It's safe to say that fans will be pleased, at least with those major elements. The game also looked great, with bright colorful visuals, smooth framerate and solid voice work.