Ratchet and Clank is a PS3 hit

By AIMEE GREEN
For the Register

The PlayStation 3 feels like it's finally starting to hit its stride. With the release of the third-person shooter "Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction," system owners will have another fantastic game to keep them occupied.

Not that I was worried -- the "Ratchet & Clank" games have been consistently good.

This time around, Ratchet and Clank, his so-cute robot companion, are trying to escape the clutches of the evil and surprisingly funny Emperor Percival Tachyon. Yes, Percival. The emperor wants to wipe out the last of the Lombax race, and the story takes the player through the history of Ratchet's race.

"Tools of Destruction" has a fitting name -- Ratchet has a number of powerful, and bizarre, weapons at his disposal. In addition to more standard grenades and automatic weapons, Ratchet can use a tornado launcher, which shoots out a tornado controlled by the Sixaxis motion controls; plasma beasts, which are blobs that attack enemies; and one weapon that tosses out spinning blades. These are just a few of the many fun gadgets.

And then there are devices, too. My favorite is the disco ball Groovinator, which makes all enemies in the vicinity stop attacking and start dancing. It makes me giggle every time.

Ratchet also has gravity boots for walking on vertical surfaces, a grappling hook and hang-glider wings.

Each of the levels is a big puzzle. When you're not killing bad guys, you're trying to figure out how to get where you need to be. It often requires use of a certain gadget, and usually some well-timed jumps.

Each time you kill an enemy or break a crate (which are scattered around), you earn bolts and Raritanium, a type of metal. Both of these can be used to upgrade your current weapons or buy new ones. Weapons also automatically level up with use, growing stronger.

Occasionally, you'll play as Clank, who has his own special powers, including slowing time and levitating. There are a few levels in which you command Ratchet's spaceship.

The controls are concise and easy to learn. Ratchet always does exactly what I want him to do, and I never experienced any issues with dying because of a weird camera angle. Use of the motion controls is done well and, thankfully, kept to a minimum (just a few weapons and minigames).

Visually, "Tools of Destruction" is fantastic. Each of the worlds is colorful and inventive, and the characters' faces have expressive, realistic movements.

The characters themselves, meanwhile, are a riot, providing plenty of laughs amid the explosions. And on one pirate-themed level, the music closely resembles the theme to the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, a nice little nod.

The only thing I could possibly find wrong with the game is that it doesn't have any kind of multiplayer component. While I'm not of the mindset that a game needs multiplayer to be good, it's a little odd because past entries in the series had it. But that's just a minor complaint.

I had a blast playing through "Tools of Destruction," both literally and figuratively. It's always nice when a game provides both action and humor, and "Tools of Destruction" has that down pat. Buy it. Enjoy it.

Cool on 'Katamari'

It's with a little disappointment that I say the end is near for the "Katamari" series. Or at least it should be.

"Beautiful Katamari" doesn't take the ball-rolling game in a new direction, or even sideways. Rather, it's exactly the same game I've been playing for years now.

"Katamari Damacy" was fun and quirky when it first came out on the PlayStation 2, but after a PS2 sequel, a PSP version and now this Xbox 360 version, the series is just spinning its wheels.

It's not a bad game: The core game still turns a simple act (rolling a ball) into something that can be ridiculously fun (rolling up people and entire buildings). And chances are, Xbox 360 owners might not have played a "Katamari" game before. In that case, "Beautiful Katamari" is still worth a rent.

But veterans of the series will be disappointed. The one big step this version adds is an online multiplayer that's so lag-heavy that it's nearly unplayable. There also is an offline multiplayer, but there's not much to it.

The single-player experience, meanwhile, is a lot of fun, but it's far too short. I finished all the requests in a mere few hours. Yes, I can go back and replay each of the levels, and there are presents and cousins to look for, but it just doesn't hold up to extended gameplay.

Of course, "Beautiful Katamari" is also $20 less than a standard 360 game, but some would argue even $40 is too much for the amount of gameplay.

The promised downloadable content -- four levels at a whopping 200 points each -- adds another $10 to the game's price. Even worse, it seems the downloadable content is actually packaged on the disk; what you're paying for is the right to "unlock" that content. Which is absolutely ridiculous.

So, much as I love the concept and find the Prince adorable, I have to say only "Katamari" newcomers will have an interest in "Beautiful Katamari," and even that should be a rental.

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