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Previous Ratchet & Clank saves unlock bonuses in A Crack in Time
For dedicated Ratchet & Clank fans, playing the previous two entries in the series is going to reward your devotion with a couple of unlocked bonuses in upcoming Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. Folks who played Tools of Destruction will receive discounts with weapons merchants and those who played Quest for Booty will be rewarded with a pirate hat, ThatVideoGame Blog reports. [Image Credit: PS Nation]A representative for Insomniac Games clarified for us that "You receive discounts on the returning weapons (Negotiator, Buzz Blades, Mag-Net Launcher, Mr. Zurkon, Groovitron Glove) for a Tools of Destruction save, and the pirate hat for Ratchet on the Community screen for the Quest for Booty save." Though neither bonus will dramatically affect time spent with A Crack in Time, it's always nice to see developers rewarding franchise loyalty.%Gallery-68684%
Ratchet & Clank Future to feature Japanese voice acting
Ryan, ahem, Schneider, just got back to us, adding a few new details to our previous interview with him. Firstly, it appears that the Japanese Ratchet model (the one with the big bushy eyebrows) will not be included in the US version of the game. What will make the cut, strangely, is the Japanese language track, allowing you to have all sorts of kawaii adventures with Ratchet and his robot pal.If you missed it, read the complete interview here.
PS3 Fanboy interviews Ratchet and Clank's Ryan Schneider
We got in touch with Ryan Schneider, our friend at Insomniac, and talked a little bit more about their upcoming Ratchet & Clank game. Ryan was able to tell us a bit about the game's massive size, potential Home integration, and more. The search for the Lombax Secret, and Ratchet's past, is certainly driving a much stronger story in this iteration. What sparked the change for a more story-oriented game this time around?I would say the quality of writing has been outstanding. TJ Fixman is our writer. He's a guy with his own agent, and he has movies optioned. We just have a terrific writer. It's not so much that we were taking a different tact to the story compared to the past. But the topic is more epic in general. We're exploring Ratchet's roots. Why is he the last of his kind? What is the Lombax Secret? Who are the Zoni and why is Clank the only one to see them? What kind of dynamic tension does that create? Will Ratchet trust his buddy Clank, or will he think he's got a bolt loose in his head, and he's gone haywire? These are the elements that make a good story. We've turned the lens inward. If you look at the past Ratchet games, it was about Ratchet against an enemy. Now, he's on a quest to discover something about himself. I think that alone makes the story more epic and more mysterious.Is the writer new to the franchise?Yes, this is TJ's first Ratchet game. TJ and Brian Hastings make for a great team. Bryan's our chief creative officer, and TJ's one of the funnier people I know. We love butt jokes -- and what's cool to us is that it does appeal to eight year olds and adults. The animators did a great job too. For example, in one scene Quark gives Ratchet and Clank a clue. It's the pirate guys and he says "check out this pirate design. It's perfect for parties and late night misadventures." Then, he leans into the screen and winks. It's not written into the script but it makes it come to life and makes it that much funnier.%Gallery-3204%
Ratchet and Clank demo is captured on video
Stop by a EB Games or Gamespot lately? You can pick up a Blu-ray demo of the upcoming PS3 platformer, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction. A must-watch for the inquisitive, thanks to the commentary. Sure, it isn't the best quality, thanks to its "hey, I'm a dude capturing video off a screen" feel, but for many -- it's the best you can do. Hopefully, it won't be too long before you're able to download this to your hard drive and give it a whirl. [Thanks, Justin!]
IGN interview Ratchet and Clank dev
In preparation for next week's Sony Gamer's Day, IGN have been lucky enough to get an interview with Brian Allgeier, Creative Director for Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction over at Insomniac. The trailer looks great, the screenshots look great, now this new interview sounds great. This game is shaping up to be a must have title for the PS3.With so much covered in the interview, I'm not going to try and summerise the entire thing. But I will pick out some parts that I found particularly interesting, personally. Firstly, a revelation. No multiplayer. At all. Ratchet and Clank Future will return to the platforming, adventuring roots of the original PS2 title. Before the series became more of a third person shooter, as in Deadlocked. Sounds ace. More focused development on the single player aspect will mean a much bigger, better game. Allgeier promises that we will see a new weapon, a new gadget and a new level at the Sony Gamer's Day, next week. As well as this, we'll be shown examples of ways Insomniac are "trying to make Ratchet Future the most vivid and vibrant Ratchet and Clank game yet". Can't wait to see that. Read the full interview for more on how the game will take advantage of the PS3, the differences in development when compared to Resistance: Fall of Man, and a potential hinted release window.
Ratchet and Clank show they do indeed have hearts of gold
Insomniac Games is making headlines in the most unexpected places! They've recently been featured on the ABC show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" where good stuff happens to people who don't generally experience good stuff happening to them. We're not being facetious -- it's true. It's a nice show. Watch it on April 22nd at 8pm central time (time zones are terrible) to see what's up.Basically, Insomniac created a replica of a 9-year old paralyzed boy named James and will put him into their upcoming Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction because the boy said his greatest passions included designing and playing video games. Go Insomniac, reaching out and stuff! Sony even did their part and equipped James with a PS3, PSP, PS2 and a harem of sexy games. Go Sony! Reaching out and stuff.If you want to hear about James and his family, we're going to go ahead and tell you to watch the episode. It'll be cool. Again, April 22nd and 8pm central. This post deserves our patented giant fuzzy-armed thumbs up.
Insomniac speaks about Ratchet
An interview has surfaced regarding the new Ratchet & Clank title as well as a brief discussion about a sequel to Resistance: Fall of Man over at PSU. Not Phantasy Star Universe, which is the only thing I ever see when looking at that acronym. Damn it, they really need to buckle and make a fantastic Phantasy Star V. Come on! Anyway, we'll summarize the good points of the review below. Development on Tools of Destruction started shortly after the last title, Deadlocked, shipped. So it's been under the knife for a while. The engine used to create R&C:ToD is based on the Resistance engine, but has been so enhanced that it really can't be called the same. A villain from Ratchet's past has emerged and wants him dead! The story takes place after the other games, so no worries... there's no prequel here. When asked about the wacky new weaponry, Insomniac said "we have some more outlandish types like the Tornado Launcher that sucks up enemies and whips them around - it's also controllable by the sixaxis motion sensor in the controller. There's the Plasma Beasts, which are slimy goo-like monsters that spring up and tackle enemies that are in range. And we've got the Groovitron, a disco ball grenade weapon that when thrown out causes the enemies to hypnotically dance to a groovin beat." The PS3 has the power to move mountains, once you give it enough time and understand what you're doing. The Tornado Launcher weapon couldn't have been created on any other system (well, maybe the Wii... but it wouldn't look that good). Resolution and frame rate are up in the air, still. Online? Co-op? They can't say. Release date? Fall. More Resistance? It's a mystery, but the silence is so deafening! Okay, that's it. If you want to read the whole interview, help yourself, but we didn't really leave that much out. Still worth a look![Via digg]
