That might sound funny or even erroneous, considering Insomniac is making another platformer, and the game is a seemingly formulaic sequel, and both this game and that other one focus on weapons. But after having spent long intimate hours with this new game, it's crystal clear that Ratchet and Clank Going Commando is without a doubt one of the best games of 2003, and one of my own personal favorites.
Going Commando is a stellar example of how to make a game better than its predecessor in every way. It leaves me with little to complain about. Weighing in as a healthy 20-hour platformer with multifaceted new levels, an impressive selection of previously unseen weapons and gadgets, many of which can be modified and upgraded, Going Commando is a work of videogame perfection. Everything, and I mean everything that was an issue from the first game, has been altered, improved or made for the better. And perhaps what I like best, despite the eccentricity of the comment, is that Ratchet is no longer an angry, selfish teenage furry creature from outer space. He's a commando, a little wiser, a little more forgiving and a lot more palatable. Though still furry…
Upgrades, Modifications and Enhancements
Building upon its original themes of expanding the platform genre with shooting and RPG elements, Insomniac Games' first Ratchet and Clank laid down the foundation for growth. Going Commando takes every facet -- weapons, gadgets, ships, armor, helmets, clothes, storyline, character growth, what have you -- and goes hog wild.
The storyline is the least interesting of the changes, but it does convey the grown up state of our heroic duo. Fully realized heroes after the first game, Ratchet and Clank start out as unemployed and at a loss. What's to do when there is no need for heroes? Until Abercrombie Fizwidget, the CEO of Megacorp, hires the pair to rescue back the company's prize experiment back from a smuggler's clutches, they spend a lot of time playing PS2 games starring themselves and, not surprisingly, Jak and Daxter. (Though it's cute, if Insomniac ever wants to end the comparisons between it and Naughty Dog, it could quit this kind of thing.) Told in cutscenes starring a familiar set of exaggerated strong-jawed, pupil-less characters and a new female ally, Going Commando pulls a few small punches. It doesn't claim to be dark, dangerous or too serious, but the narrative is engaging despite its teenage trappings.
It's not the story that drives this game, however, and it's just as well. Going Commando takes players on a 20-level militaristic platform journey, fueled by the promise of bigger better everything. The obvious focus is the arsenal of new weapons, but the game is broader in scope than mere weapons. But let's start there. The game offers 18 entirely new weapons. Five of the favorites from R&C are attainable at a special vendor (yes the vendors are back) or as uploads from a R&C save. That's 22 weapons. And, each weapon can be upgraded. If you count the upgrades as weapons (and Insomniac likes to), that's 41.
The weapons are flat out better than in last year's game. They're more traditional in form and function, less foofy, less clownish. For instance, few weapons resemble the silliness and disappointment of the Glove of Doom. Hence, when you pick up the Blaster, you attain a powerful shot gun that upgrades to a booming, wide-mouthed weapon. The Lancer? This automatic rifle upgrades to the Heavy Lancer, a deadly automatic rifle. The Bouncer is one of my favorites. It blasts out a single shell, and like the Glove of Doom, it breaks open into something else. That's where the comparison stops. The one ball opens up into 20 or so explosive bouncing bombs, forming a Fourth of July wall of exploding shrapnel. There are such great weapons here -- a foursome of body guard synthoids, turrets, rockets, a sniper gun, the infamous RHYNO, bombs (that upgrade to mini nukes) and a Sheepinator. This new cache of weapons is simply more efficient and deadly than before. Insomniac controlled its silly urges better this time.
Upgrading weapons is as simple as using them more often. In the menu, players see a small black gauge filling up after each use. When it's upgraded a smart reward screen shows the new, physically changed weapon, fully loaded. Each weapon can upgrade once, and by collecting Platinum Bolts, players can modify them with better strafing (providing singular aim on a target while strafing), damage over time (such as acid or poison), and area damage (damage that covers a bigger area). With so many weapons and such diversity to the weapons, half the fun is simply using them to see the new upgrades.
The enhancement of things hardly stops there. Ratchet finds upgradeable wrenches along his path, making him more powerful. He can increase his own health bar using Nanotech with as many as 80 hit points (also well presented). He finds eclectic vendors who sell protective armor. Ratchet can once again upgrade Clank with better jumping tools and he fits himself with several kinds of boots (including rail, gravity and boost to name a few), and a slew of new gadgets. Even his ship can be customized, upgraded and stylized. Players can tweak the look, adding different noses, tails, and they can give it a paint job too. More importantly, they can add new weapons and defense capabilities.
Level Design, Character Control
The game is designed so that several of the big ticket weapons must be attained after what appears to be heavy scouring, i.e. collecting. That very sentence usually implies returning to previous levels. But that's not the case. Level progression features less backtracking, which admittedly got to be tedious, even forced, in R&C. Instead, earning more bolts is simply a matter of entering into an Arena challenge. Like Roman-style gladiator fights, the Maxi Game Arena Battles pit you against a throng of enemies or huge bosses. Win a battle, earn bolts. The menu screen is smartly designed to let you upgrade from the vendor on hand at the Arena, try another kind of challenge, or to quit.
The option to return to any level is clearly still there, it's just no longer mandatory. Completists will see the clues in each level, whether it's a well-placed vial of Nanotech, a surface requiring Gravity Boots that you haven't earned yet, or the suspiciously empty spot on the map. There is always something. Oh yeah -- and let's not forget, this game is chock full of things to break. It seems like every shiny object can be broken. It's fun just to wander around seeing what break and what doesn't.
Other areas, such as the mid-game desert, which is literally packed with crystals and giant deadly insects, offer exploratory side quests that are, in their own way, like the Arena levels. Even the traditional race formula promotes successive tries for more bolts. Once Ratchet earns a special "driving" helmet, he can drive in several types of races in a single location for loot, each one increasing in difficulty. The racing is very arcade-like in nature, so it's instantly easy to pilot these crafts, though after the first round, they get harder. There are also a healthy amount of space shooting levels; nothing quite as cool as Starfox or Colony Wars, but solid fun levels.
While Going Commando isn't as seemingly open in design (the original game forced players to return to previous levels to mimic a more free design), the sense of progression never feels rigid here. In fact, the levels progress naturally. It helps that each level, or planet, is geographically huge. And like in the first game, players can usually start from two to three places on any one. I often had to methodically check my mission objectives because I'd foolishly believe I'd finished a level, when I'd really only finished half. Just like the first Ratchet and Clank, the giant levels are rampant with hidden Skill Points, Platinum Bolts and more, begging gamers to peak around every corner and look at each surface for the possibility of something extra.
Thankfully, the game is harder than the original. As Ratchet and Clank earn more weapons and upgrades, the enemies in turn carry more powerful weapons, travel and work in packs, and use strategy to defeat you. Some buckle down behind barricades, while others leave their little minute territory to chance you down. Around level 7, the game gradually requires more strategy and refined weapon management than before. And then again at around level 17, it doubles again. A perfect example comes about three-fourths of the way through. Tanks armed with powerful cannons come down a one-way bridge. If you blow the first two up, a trio of enemies spring forth from each. Kill these guys and another tank awaits you down the way, followed by a huge squadron of enemies. That's just the first section of five.
The brilliance of this level design is that players are free to use any set of weapons they deem best. But to be sure, many of them in conjunction are needed. So, instead of levels leaning toward the use of a particular weapon, constantly switching weapons to find the right one for the perfect gang of enemies is the best strategy for success.
For those who loved the Clank levels, they're back. Clank controls little robots plus new specialized ones. These new robots use hammers to smash obstacles or they extend themselves into bridges to close giant gaps over fiery pits. The new Clank levels seem a little easier than before. But God, they're still so fun.
Some subtle tweaks to the controls have made Going Commando a better handling platformer. Insomniac tightened up Ratchet's loose, skiddy shocks. Ratchet moves a whole lot less like Spyro, thank God, and more like Mario of Super Mario 64. Although Ratchet still feels a little loose, controlling him is far better, far more responsive, than before. No more Exxon Valdez! The ability to strafe is better too, thanks to the modifiers. In the later levels, you will be jump-strafing and blasting enemies in mid air as a regular part of combat. It gets harry. Heck, even Clank controls better. Clank was a hazard on those narrow space paths in the first game. Now he too is more tightly reigned in.
Graphics
The first Ratchet and Clank was one of the most visually appealing games of 2002. Going Commando takes all that incredible polish, all those immense worlds, all those polygons, and it adds more detail, more color, and it gives you even bigger arenas. The newly spherical worlds are a trip, both in design, but also just in terms of gravity. Insomniac plays with a whole lot of camera angles, using corkscrew passages, upside down and sideways levels, and with a few exceptions, the perspective changes are flawless.
There is no doubt that aliasing comes into play, but it's controlled. I've seen PC, GameCube and Xbox games with as much or more aliasing. So, yes, you'll occasionally see it, but until the new systems show up, we'll simply have to live with a little big of jagginess. And sometimes, the 60 FPS drops just a tiny little bit, but it's forgivable. The game is so consistent about everything, so polished and technically sound, these little nitpickings are hardly even worth mentioning.
Again, just like the first game, the huge levels are a marvel to look at. There are so many polygons in each, so many moving, animated objects, and nothing holding them back. There is absolutely no fog, no stutter, or pop-in.
While Insomniac's game is designed with a certain homogenized style, and the textures aren't the most elaborate, the plusses are far greater. Wait until you face off with these huge mech enemies, or find yourself trapped in an arena with dozens and dozens of enemies, shrapnel exploding everywhere, enemies dropping in from the sky, plasma coils snaking across the screen, and you'll get a feeling for the powerful technology behind it.
Sound
Supporting Dolby Pro Logic II, Going Commando is an excellent sounding game. The light techno is calmingly seductive, better than most platformers, and the sound effects from the weapons play their parts in creating monstrously loud eruptions of parting air. If the same voice actors weren't used, they definitely sound the same, and because both Ratchet's personality is less annoying, he's easier to listen too. Even enjoyable to listen to.
There is something very strange going on with regard to the sounds of the enemies in Going Commando. Killsbots sound like steam trains, little robotic enemies sound like chickens, while others sound like seagulls. When the big brainbot in the first Arena dies, he says Daisy.
Also, when you die at the hands of a military thug, spinning into a heap of lifeless fur, you'll always hear one last parting shot from him, like "Yeah, there's a lot more where that came from." Without a doubt, there is a wild array of unexpected sounds coming from these little guys, and the immense quantity of them is disturbingly pleasing.
