STACK #200 Jun 2021

GAMING FEATURE

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Rejoice, PlayStation fans, for Ratchet and Clank are back this month in a whole new, PS5-exclusive adventure! While we wait for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart , let’s take a look back at the history of the universe’s greatest ever Lombax/robot pairing. Words Amy Flower YOU BUDDY RIPPER!

I t was 2002 when PlayStation fans were first introduced to the rather odd couple of Ratchet – a hot-headed, smarty-pants feline creature known as a Lombax – and his very handy robot pal, Clank. The PlayStation 2 game was simply titled Ratchet & Clank , and players the world over soon fell for the

with up to eight players able to face off in variations on classics like ‘Siege’, ‘Capture the Flag’ and ‘Deathmatch’. This one saw the introduction of big bad robot Dr. Nefarious, who has a desire to eradicate all biological life in the Solana Galaxy. Ratchet and Clank call on the only person known to have confronted the doc, Captain Qwark. But he’s let himself go somewhat… 2005 saw developers Insomniac trying something slightly different, giving us spin-off Ratchet: Gladiator (aka Ratchet: Deadlocked ). This one eschewed most of the platforming and puzzling that the Ratchet & Clank series was renowned for, in favour of the series’ more combat arena-oriented play – and Clank wasn’t playable. The story involved Ratchet, Clank and Al being taken captive, and our Lombax hero forced to take part in brutal gameshow DreadZone . Our intrepid pair took a well-earned break in 2006, before returning in style come 2007 and the arrival of Sony’s PlayStation 3 console. The first title in the ‘Future’

It didn’t take long for a follow-up to appear, in 2003’s Locked & Loaded – known as Going Commando in its homeland of the US - kicking off a tradition of groan-worthy pun titles. Also exclusive to the PS2, this honed the look and feel of the series, and added a super-cool weapon levelling feature. As for the story, our now celebrity

pair’s space-based platforming and puzzling adventures – plus the wild weaponry with which to play. Story-wise, the Blarg polluted their planet so much that they needed a new home, so Supreme Executive Chairman Drek hatched a plot to pilfer parts from other planets to Frankenstein something new together. Clank convinced Ratchet to help him find the legendary superhero Captain Qwark, because he’d help save the targeted planets, right?

twosome are summoned by the head of the Bogon galaxy’s MegaCorp to help recover a stolen prototype. When you’re on a good thing, make more! The following year saw the release of Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal. While the gameplay remained solid, worlds became bigger, vehicles were added, Clank gained his Gadgebots and four-player local split- screen action debuted,

36 JUNE 2021

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