As a fan of every release of the Ratchet and Clank series, I was not surprised to find myself enjoying the traditional things in A Crank in Time that made the others so popular. Basically, the gameplay throughout each installment involves:
1. Lots of combat and cartoony over-the-top violence
2. Great jumping/platforming elements
3. Satisfying and constant rewards/secrets
4. Zany characters
5. Upgradable, interesting, and multitudinous, weapons
While each entry in the series sticks to this basic format, it seems that each has done something a little different to keep things from getting stale game after game. For example, the second game, Going Commando, offered some really fun races and space combat sequences that you could choose to enjoy and reward yourself with or mostly skip. I found myself playing these mini-games just for the fun of them long after the story no longer required it to be played. Up your Arsenal featured multiplayer and drivable vehicles that stayed true to the wacky cartoony nature of the game, but still nailed it with the destructive satisfaction of blowing stuff up.
With A Crack in Time, the story continues where Tools of Destruction left off with a intro movie to get you up to speed if you missed the previous titles. You were left with a bit of a cliffhanger at the end of the last game and this one answers everything. Actually, this is really the only entry in the series in which the story is a direct sequel to one previous. The other games were all separate adventures and could more or less be played in any order, although you would miss out in comic references to other events, recurring characters, and anecdotes, but otherwise would be fine. The story is a little deeper as well. You are now getting into more details about where you and Clank came from and the fate (or destiny) of the Lombax race. The developers seem to be moving into some deeper material here.
My only complaint about games through the series is that while they retain some recurring characters that we all love, sometimes other interesting characters from previous games don't make an appearance at all. For example, In Tools of Destruction, you are told that you are the only Lomax left in existence, however in a previous game; there was a female Lombax, Angela Cross, who was a pretty cool character. She inexplicably never appears again in the series. Captian Qwark more than makes up for this, however. He redeems himself fully in this title. Sure, he is still a coward that tries to take credit for everything, but you get the feeling that he is starting to realize it. He also helps you out much more this time around.
A Crack in Time dials in everything that made the other games so much fun, without question and finally adds trophies. Everyone should give this series a chance because the constant rewards, the non-frustrating yet so satisfying gameplay, and zany characters are all here in full force. There are clever puzzles in which you can use time devices to create other selves to help you push buttons to open doors. We have generous use of the grindrails traditional to the series which are fast and furious linear where you skate around from place to place, usually while you are being chased down. Space combat is back and they did a decent job with it. One complaint is that you cannot move vertically, but the areas to offer a decent variety and beautiful backgrounds and allow you to land on all the moons in each system hunting for hidden items and other things. They made it more sandbox-like in that you can either fly around aimlessly or decide to stop and get some side missions. These areas are all completely optional and you can come back to them any time. While doing so, you have access to several radio stations that, even after 2 play throughs, I was still hearing newscasts, interviews with Captain Qwark and music that I had not heard before. Pure polish.
Clank has always been your pal and he can pull his own weight when not attached to your back which is good because a large part of the game involves Clank not stuck to Ratchet's back, but rather dong his own thing. His elements are much different from the Ratchet portions of the game. Clank is less combat oriented and his levels involve more platforming and puzzles. He is a good character and his sections are a fun distraction from the comic mayhem going on with Ratchet.
The real robot in this game is Mr. Zurkon. Mr. Zurkon was featured as a limited use gadget in ToD, but is now an equipable weapon that can upgrade over time with the rest. He is basically a deployable sadistic killer robot that will constantly taunt your enemies and laugh at them when they explode. He has plenty to say and always has your back. He loves to kill things and listening to him is hilarious. These are the polished touches you can expect with this game.
Without spoiling anything, the ending of the game was probably the most epic among the stories told so far. When a game can bring a tear to my eye and a smile to my face, the game definitely deserves to be recommended to others. I can't wait for the next one!
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Looks like a brand new game. Very happy with it.
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Honest review from a casual gamer
Reviewed in Canada 🇨🇦 on October 28, 2015
