Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters
(Sony for PS2)
By Mike Delano
The Ratchet and Clank series is fast becoming the Megaman for the 21st century, for better or worse. The immediate, fine-tuned controls, engaging gameplay, and overall polish recall the best Megaman titles, and the Ratchet games have a likeable personality that the blue bomber could never muster, especially after the transition to the sleeker X series. But the Megaman games eventually devolved into a mess of interchangeable sequels, and when the developers tried to inject new ideas into the formula, they didn’t work.
It’s too young a series to have to make any big changes, but the frequency of the Ratchet and Clank releases are starting to make the sameness of the games more striking. The last three entries on the PS2 were all great, but similar and Size Matters follows that pattern. As an advertisement for the PSP, the fact that it looks and plays just as good as a PS2 game, is nearly as long and is an original rather than a port, speaks volumes for the system. But that’s just love for the hardware – as for the game itself, it’s another Ratchet and Clank game, which is more than enough to recommend it, but not enough to distinguish it from its predecessors.
(www.us.playstation.com)