Since we first saw it, we’ve had some lingering doubts about Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One. It certainly looks like a great game, but can a four-player adventure that gives off a distinct brawler/party-game vibe really be a “true” Ratchet game? The developers at Insomniac’s North Carolina studio certainly think so, and their enthusiasm for All 4 One is infectious.
“This has been a game that’s been almost criminally fun to make,” said Chad Dezern, studio director at Insomniac North Carolina, during a press event last night. “We’ve been fascinated by the idea of taking these four characters, putting them together, and just seeing what happens.”
“These four characters” refers to Ratchet and Clank, as well as towering space-idiot Captain Qwark (now President Qwark), and their robotic nemesis, Dr. Nefarious. While it retains a lot of the basic mechanics of previous Ratchet games – the heroes can use a variety of interesting sci-fi guns, bash through enemies using close-quarters attacks and collect as many Bolts (used as currency) as possible – All 4 One seems more like Gauntlet, with linear levels and a very heavy emphasis on cooperation.
The game begins just after the end of Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time, and President Qwark has been called to receive an award for a heroic deed he never performed. Ratchet and Clank tag along to keep him out of trouble, and it quickly becomes apparent that the “award ceremony” is a painfully obvious trap orchestrated by Dr. Nefarious.
Long story short, he unleashes an enormous beast called a Light-Eating Z’grute on the heroes, which – after it destroys Nefarious’s hovercraft – they defeat with his help. However, the Z’grute attracts the attention of something called Ephemeris the Creature Collector, which immediately kidnaps the heroes and takes them to Planet Magnus.
After the four are rescued from stasis by a little girl, Ratchet discovers that Magnus has been terrorized by Ephemeris, who’s all but destroyed the local civilization and turned the place into an open-air game preserve for the galaxy’s most dangerous monsters. It’s enough to make Ratchet and Clank come out of retirement (again) – and with nothing better to do, Qwark and Nefarious tag along.
After we’d watched a few cutscenes, Insomniac switched gears and showed off a new area, Octonok Reef. Here, the four heroes have to work together to pilot a big, round raft through dangerous, mine-filled waters by using vacuum guns to power four turbines on opposite sides of the raft. In order to negotiate the hazards ahead, you’ll need to coordinate your efforts on specific turbines at just the right times.
Also on display was the new Terawatt Forest level, a gloomy, possibly haunted woody environment in which the heroes busted out a new item: the Orb-o-Matic. Created by Dr. Croid – an inventor who may have had something to do with the creation of Ephemeris, and who the heroes are tracking – the Orb-o-Matic is essentially a giant hamster ball that keeps the heroes safe from harm and enables them to power up certain objects.
After they’d wandered through the woods for a while, the heroes encountered a colossal robot called a Guardian – which, as it turned out, they could power up and ride on. As it lumbered through the forest, the game shifted to a rail-shooter, with each of the four heroes manning a turret on the Guardian’s back. If two or more targeted the same enemy, they’d deal out bonus damage – something that happens during normal combat, as well. Eventually, the small-fry enemies fell away, and the Guardian started going toe-to-toe with other guardians that lurched out of the shadows to attack. We could describe it further, but you’ll glean more from watching the video below:
Game Designer Video Games Centre iPad 2 demo game mobile games
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