Superhero Media: Ratchet & Clank

First video game edition of Superhero Media! For the pedants among you, this is the HD Collection for PS3 version of the original Ratchet & Clank game. Ratchet & Clank is the first game in the series, but was actually the second I played, this resulted in me initially finding it a bit disappointing because the controls weren't as refined and many of the options in the game were limited. That said, Ratchet & Clank is a hell of a lot of fun and it's easy to see how they keep getting sequels. The opening adventure sees the creation of Clank, a robot designed to kill, but thinks better of it, his discovery of the villain's master plan and his flight to Ratchet. So the great team-up begins! The opening "cinematic" is all of five minutes long, so the mythos building happens mostly throughout the game and into the next two. 

The first half of the game focuses on the titular heroes trying to find Captain Quark, the galaxy's greatest superhero and inform him of the evil Supreme Executive Chairman Drek's plan to destroy several planets. Once Quark's complicity in Drek's plan is uncovered, Ratchet wants revenge and Clank tricks him into continuing to try and save the galaxy. The entire point of Quark is that he's old and fat and sold out, which may have worked well for a character in a single game, but the big green turd is in every damn game. Quark gets "redeemed" every now and then in the series, but why do they keep him around when he betrays them semi-regularly? Perhaps not entirely relevant, but I'm just somewhat sick of Quark and the role he plays in the series. 

 

 

This is an origin story, with Ratchet and Clank changing from mechanic and renegade killbot (respectively) into a dynamic superhero duo. Over the coming games, Ratchet will refine his equipment and Clank will upgrade, their origins and destinies will be explored and we'll even return to some of the places we've already been. The original Ratchet & Clank trilogy is a rewarding series of games with surprising depth, great humour and moments of genuine character. The first game doesn't quite live up to the others in retrospect, but is well worth the effort to see where it all began.