Published by Sony Computer Entertainment

Rated “E” for Everyone. Contains animated blood, comic mischief, and fantasy violence.

Perhaps the most familiar and comforting franchise on the PlayStation system, the Ratchet & Clank series found its fun groove very early on and has been repeating and building on it for eleven games. If you’ve played one you know exactly what to expect with any of the others and the latest, A Crack In Time, is no different. You have platform puzzles, action-adventure worlds, a crazy arsenal of weapons and gadgets, items to collect, and zany characters that act out scenes of satire and slapstick. The main difference this time is that the series has never looked so good, delivering one of the most visually stimulating games on the PS3.

Ratchet is a long-eared, furry hero and Clank is his robot buddy. They are cartoon characters living in a cartoon world and yet this time they are presented at a level of detail that you would think could only be reserved for real world characters. Running at 60 frames per second, the game delivers a new level of visual polish and gloss and is so intense, so vivid, that you almost have to avert your eyes to avoid overload and eye strain. It looks gorgeous, blindingly so.

The story this time revolves around a cosmic clock located in the centre of the universe. It plays an important role in managing the flow of time and so becomes the desire of many who want to use it to change the world. Some want to use it to bring back lost loved ones, others to repair the universe, while the evil Dr. Nefarious wants to use it for world domination and to seek vengeance on all organic life.

Not only have Ratchet and Clank been drawn into foiling everyone’s plans to manipulate time, but for Clank, who was kidnapped by mysterious aliens in a previous adventure, the clock holds a key to an important role he must play, a fate that will reveal a great deal about who he really is.

For most of the game you play as Ratchet, hopping across the universe with various partners (including the fame-seeking Captain Qwark) and following the trail of various rescue missions. At one point Ratchet explains that “rescues are kinda my thing” and indeed it seems that as soon as you rescue one character, another has been trapped somewhere else. It’s a process that goes on and on and you’ll find yourself rescuing someone you already rescued before.

There are three main game modes:

In the core world exploration you jump platforms, get into shoot-outs, and explore villages or complexes amongst lush forests or gleaming space stations. There are rails to ride, doors and catapults to activate with your wrench, batteries to gather and place into sockets, and special tracks to rocket along and launch through on your hover boots. Very familiar, but made fresh by the gorgeous scenery.

In space exploration you fly about in a star fighter, travelling between planets and sectors of space, helping out ships in need and getting into dogfights with patrols. Battling other fighters can get tedious, there’s just so many and it gets repetitive, but thankfully there are ships to tow and radio stations to listen to as well.

In planetoid exploration you take on platform challenges on asteroids and moons so small that you literally move across the surface by rotating the whole planet. While there are still fights, the main goal is to complete platform challenges and look for special collectibles to unlock upgrades and surprises. These are short, fun challenges that in many ways are no different from the platform challenges on the world levels, but offer a different perspective.

There are two new puzzle innovations that I enjoyed a great deal. The first are the Chrono Trigger puzzles where you must record multiple versions of yourself in order to press floor buttons and get past barriers to open a large door. You record your movements once, and then as a ghost image plays, record a second set of movements, and so on. These puzzles never get too complex and are always rewarding,

The second involves a special gun that can absorb and shoot liquid. You begin by aiming it at a fluid source, drawing up a supply, and then shooting it where needed. In some cases it’s to shoot bait to draw away enemies, in other cases it’s to get a device working. It’s an interesting idea and I hope they do more with it in the future.

As always there are a multitude of weapons to unlock, although few are as wacky as we’ve seen earlier in the series. There are rockets, beams, mines, and grenades, but also new guns that fire saw blades bowling balls of energy, and portals from which inter-dimensional creatures reach through to help. Some stun enemies, either with ice, nets, or disco music. Most are close-range, which I found became a challenge as more and more shoot-outs took place over a distance.

My favorite weapon is Mr. Zurkon, a body guard robot who talks about himself in the third person and has some of the best lines in the game. He’s such a great personality that frankly he deserves his own mini-game or adventure.

All of the weapons and Ratchet himself evolve with use, upgrading in health, damage, and effect. Some can be customized with special upgrades and paint jobs unlocked with collectibles. Frankly I never found much use for these.

A Crack In Time is a solid addition to the series which never has a problem delivering the goods, but does seem to strain in finding new ways to keep the action fresh. At times the adventure here is repetitive and long and I find myself making the usual complaint that there are not enough levels with Clank. I find he inspires some of the more original experiences in the series, this time a set of Matrix-like levels that take place within a character’s consciousness, and it’s with him that I’m left wanting more.