Between the arrival of virtual reality and the possibility that Sony will come out with a new PlayStation after about 2 years from the release of PS4, the current generation of consoles is not so new. If we add the billions of ports, remastered and remakes that have come out or that will be released in the next few years, it seems to be in a limbo of lack of ideas. Of course, some glimmers can be glimpsed, but to try it first hand we will have to wait a little longer. In this review, distorting the trend described above, however, we find ourselves talking about a remake of a classic PlayStation 2, a game that has studded the childhood of many players and that, anxiously, was awaited by all fans. : let's talk about Ratchet & Clank, and in this review I will explain why, in our opinion, this game manages not only to be one of the most functional remakes in the history of video games, but we can even say that we are faced with one of the best platformers of this generation. But let's start from the beginning.
This game hits shelves for a specific reason: the Ratchet & Clank movie will be released in theaters, and this title is the related game. Of course, we are not in Inception, and perhaps it also sounds a bit difficult to understand, but this video game, which sets the stage for the future adventures of the dynamic duo, is the game inspired by the film, itself inspired by the first chapter of the game released on PS2. For this reason Ratchet and Clank will make you experience a great feeling of dejavù: many already famous characters of the saga such as Quark, Dr. Nefarious and Drek will return to your consoles and you will surely see, at first glance, more or less the same product that 14 years old. ago went out on the shelves. Continuing to play however, on a deeper analysis, you will notice that in reality everything has changed.
The gameplay, full of all the news that the following chapters of the saga have added, creates a excellent combination of past and present. Each level, set in more or less the same past locations, now has new challenges and new methods of passing tests, but still winks at the past. The arsenal that will accompany you throughout the adventure will also see weapons taken directly from the PlayStation 3 chapters, distorting the whole conception that the old fans of the saga had of the first chapter. We are therefore faced with one of the best combinations ever made in a remake: Insomniac Games has not uprooted the soul of the game, but has implemented all the experiences it has accumulated over the years, creating a pure and fun game.
14 years is a long time and the Lombax, with his robodifect friend, needed a fix: nothing exaggerated, however, as the characteristic traits of the characters will remain unchanged, joining the style already seen in one of the last chapters of the series, Ratchet & Clank: Nexus. If the historical atmosphere, thanks also to the sublime dubbing, is recreated to perfection, the whole game environment and the whole plot was however "updated" to 2016: You will easily hear about bloggers, fictional famous personalities, and often jokes, such as easter eggs, will make you laugh between levels. Bright and vivid colors will accompany you from super-technological planets to planets rich in psychedelic alien vegetation, with breathtaking views in common.
During the game you will be able to accumulate bolts, a currency that will allow you to buy new weapons, from the most lethal to the most bizarre: these can be enhanced through the fragments that you will find in the game through a system of hexagons. Each level will be in effect a planet and, in addition to the primary missions, you will have secondary objectives that you can complete immediately or, if necessary (such as the lack of a certain gadget), at a later time, returning with your ship . Ratchet, unlike the previous chapters, will accumulate experience and level up: this will increase your life bar, thus allowing you to take more damage. During the game you can also collect cards that will be divided into two types: the most common will unlock, once three of the same type have been collected, the challenge that will allow you to obtain the relative Omega weapon; the rarest, the RYNOs, will unlock weapons of unimaginable destructive power. With his 12 hours of play, which will become a little more if you start completing all the side missions, Ratchet & Clank combines the old with the new, the past with the present, taking you back to a colorful and almost nostalgic universe. The game is available digitally on the PlayStation Store for € 34.99, while the retail version is available for € 40.99, somewhat negligible price for a title that, even if a remake of another game, will give you new and fun experiences.
