Vanguard

Issue date: 10/15/07 Section: Entertainment

I recently received a copy of the demo for the new "Ratchet & Clank" game for the Playstation 3, "Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction" The title of the game shows one of the few changes that differentiates this title from the others in the series: the addition of "Future" to the main title. The rest of the demo is nearly identical, in terms of gameplay, as the original "Ratchet & Clank."

Utilizing the power of the PS3, developers Insomniac Games have managed to create graphics that are nearly Pixar-like in quality -- they aren't quite up to par with movies like "Cars," but easily surpass Pixar's earlier works like "Toy Story" and "A Bug's Life."

After getting a distress video from Captain Quark, the heroes set out to find him. If you have played any of the earlier games in the series, the gameplay will be immediately familiar. Players lead Ratchet through a rather linear world while jumping over gaps, grinding rails, destroying baddies and collecting bolts, the currency used to buy new weapons.

Weapons have always been the main attraction of "Ratchet & Clank" games, as each game introduces new, zany weapons. This one will be no different. The demo features four new weapons other than the customary wrench: the combuster, fusion grenades, the groovitron and the transmorpher. The combuster and fusion grenades are used to destroy large groups of enemies, while the groovitron and the transmorpher are used to make enemies temporarily harmless.

The only things that set this game apart, aside from the title and new weapons, are the next-gen graphics and the inclusion of six-axis controls. Later in the demo players will have to tilt the control to guide Ratchet and Clank through traffic during a free fall. The use of six-axis fits well in this case. The demo is now available for download on the Playstation Network.

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