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IGN Review of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters made its debut on the PSP early last year and was generally met with words of praise and smiles of joy. Now, the trusty old PlayStation 2 is getting its hands on a port of Size Matters so that Ratchet and Clank's portable adventure can be brought to a new audience. Unfortunately, this port was a mistake. A terrible mistake. I won't claim that the PS2 version of Size Matters is a terrible game -- far from it. But a host of gameplay problems, glitches and a laughably poor multiplayer make this a truly inferior Ratchet title.
For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, this well-established series follows the mechanically inclined Lombax named Ratchet and his small-but-handy robotic companion Clank. Size Matters finds the two heroes relaxing on a tropical island after a variety of laborious adventures. As is customary with these sorts of openings, the vacation abruptly ends and puts our lovable stars on a mission to rescue a kidnapped girl.
While not necessarily a critical flaw in the game considering Ratchet and Clanks' emphasis on gameplay, Size Matters has an extremely weak story. Cutscenes don't mesh particularly well with the overall pacing of the game and the entire narrative just feels loose and flippant. The last Ratchet and Clank game I played was Tools of Destruction, and although the traditional narrative wasn't overly compelling, it felt more reasonable in its flow and execution.
But Ratchet and Clank games are more about a great mix of shooting, platforming and RPG elements. You control Ratchet, while Clank helps in backpack form, and navigate the heroes through a variety of locales as you blast your way through enemies and collect Bolts along the way. Bolts are the currency of choice in the Ratchet universe and can be spent on new weapons, ammo and even adding modifications to your existing arsenal. You'll be spending the majority of the game mowing down your opponents with weapons such as the Lacerator, Concussion Gun and the ever-helpful Shock Rockets while running, leaping and grinding towards the end of each level.
This intrinsic gameplay is clearly the strongest attribute of Size Matters and its only saving grace. Ratchet not only has a full collection of attack items but can also equip varying armor sets that include elemental alignments. Match up an armor set and you can even alter Ratchet's attack, like setting his wrench on fire. Furthermore, when the game is performing at its best (avoiding camera issues, etc.) it feels at least somewhat precise and command input is responsive. At its peak, Size Matters reminds us why the Ratchet and Clank series is so fun. But this isn't always the case. Unfortunately, the remaining majority of my experiences with the game were negative, and that's a shame because the core nugget of the franchise is extremely satisfying.
Although I'm fully aware that Size Matters was originally a PSP game, it looks horrendous on the PS2. No matter how you approach this latest version, Ratchet and Clank's adventure just isn't pretty. Environments are bland and blocky while certain object models look like they were pulled right out of a PSone title. Yes, this was a PSP game, but that doesn't mean it was a good idea from a graphical standpoint to move it over. PS2 titles can do infinitely better than what you'll see here.
More troubling are the numerous gameplay issues that plague Size Matters. Most noticeable is the camera, which rabidly jitters, pans and slings itself up and down during battles within confined areas. It'll get caught on the oddest things, pointing straight at the ground and destroying any chance you have of surviving certain confrontations. This isn't a consistent problem, but it pops up enough to be a serious annoyance.
I was also decidedly frustrated at the resilience that some of the enemies show during later levels. I could unload over seventy shots of a fully leveled, fully modified weapon at a pack of enemies and they'd show no sign of damage. There are clearly some balancing issues at work because that sort of situation is simply unacceptable.
Moving on, the mini-games featured in Size Matters are not only underwhelming but severely flawed. The Skyboarding sections control awfully because turning is extraordinarily difficult and hit-detection is questionable at best. Clank's "destruction derby" that he participates in isn't quite as wonky but just wasn't that fun. Sure, these items offer distractions from the main mode of play but ultimately do little to compliment the experience.
Then of course, I simply can't forget to mention that pure-and-simple glitches that you'll see from time to time. The game's audio will often cut out completely following a cutscene, making what should be a highly dramatic or intense moment lose its momentum due to an awkward silence. But the most obnoxious portion of the entire game is clearly towards the end when you have to guide Ratchet across a metallic chasm by magnetically drawing a platform forward. While standing on these magnetic platforms, you lose almost all logical control of Ratchet. For example, pushing back on the analog stick will send him walking forward and to an inevitable death. It's ridiculous.
©2008-03-11, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved
For those of you unfamiliar with the franchise, this well-established series follows the mechanically inclined Lombax named Ratchet and his small-but-handy robotic companion Clank. Size Matters finds the two heroes relaxing on a tropical island after a variety of laborious adventures. As is customary with these sorts of openings, the vacation abruptly ends and puts our lovable stars on a mission to rescue a kidnapped girl.
While not necessarily a critical flaw in the game considering Ratchet and Clanks' emphasis on gameplay, Size Matters has an extremely weak story. Cutscenes don't mesh particularly well with the overall pacing of the game and the entire narrative just feels loose and flippant. The last Ratchet and Clank game I played was Tools of Destruction, and although the traditional narrative wasn't overly compelling, it felt more reasonable in its flow and execution.
But Ratchet and Clank games are more about a great mix of shooting, platforming and RPG elements. You control Ratchet, while Clank helps in backpack form, and navigate the heroes through a variety of locales as you blast your way through enemies and collect Bolts along the way. Bolts are the currency of choice in the Ratchet universe and can be spent on new weapons, ammo and even adding modifications to your existing arsenal. You'll be spending the majority of the game mowing down your opponents with weapons such as the Lacerator, Concussion Gun and the ever-helpful Shock Rockets while running, leaping and grinding towards the end of each level.
This intrinsic gameplay is clearly the strongest attribute of Size Matters and its only saving grace. Ratchet not only has a full collection of attack items but can also equip varying armor sets that include elemental alignments. Match up an armor set and you can even alter Ratchet's attack, like setting his wrench on fire. Furthermore, when the game is performing at its best (avoiding camera issues, etc.) it feels at least somewhat precise and command input is responsive. At its peak, Size Matters reminds us why the Ratchet and Clank series is so fun. But this isn't always the case. Unfortunately, the remaining majority of my experiences with the game were negative, and that's a shame because the core nugget of the franchise is extremely satisfying.
Although I'm fully aware that Size Matters was originally a PSP game, it looks horrendous on the PS2. No matter how you approach this latest version, Ratchet and Clank's adventure just isn't pretty. Environments are bland and blocky while certain object models look like they were pulled right out of a PSone title. Yes, this was a PSP game, but that doesn't mean it was a good idea from a graphical standpoint to move it over. PS2 titles can do infinitely better than what you'll see here.
More troubling are the numerous gameplay issues that plague Size Matters. Most noticeable is the camera, which rabidly jitters, pans and slings itself up and down during battles within confined areas. It'll get caught on the oddest things, pointing straight at the ground and destroying any chance you have of surviving certain confrontations. This isn't a consistent problem, but it pops up enough to be a serious annoyance.
I was also decidedly frustrated at the resilience that some of the enemies show during later levels. I could unload over seventy shots of a fully leveled, fully modified weapon at a pack of enemies and they'd show no sign of damage. There are clearly some balancing issues at work because that sort of situation is simply unacceptable.
Moving on, the mini-games featured in Size Matters are not only underwhelming but severely flawed. The Skyboarding sections control awfully because turning is extraordinarily difficult and hit-detection is questionable at best. Clank's "destruction derby" that he participates in isn't quite as wonky but just wasn't that fun. Sure, these items offer distractions from the main mode of play but ultimately do little to compliment the experience.
Then of course, I simply can't forget to mention that pure-and-simple glitches that you'll see from time to time. The game's audio will often cut out completely following a cutscene, making what should be a highly dramatic or intense moment lose its momentum due to an awkward silence. But the most obnoxious portion of the entire game is clearly towards the end when you have to guide Ratchet across a metallic chasm by magnetically drawing a platform forward. While standing on these magnetic platforms, you lose almost all logical control of Ratchet. For example, pushing back on the analog stick will send him walking forward and to an inevitable death. It's ridiculous.
©2008-03-11, IGN Entertainment, Inc. All Rights Reserved