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PSN Tuesday: Fall sale, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, Saints Row 2 downloads
This week's PSN update is now live! The PSN fall sale starts, which sees several titles on PSN discounted, more so for PlayStation Plus subscribers. Additional goodies include full downloads of Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One and Saints Row 2 -- the latter is available free of charge to those who have redeemed their Saints Row: The Third pass. Then there's the avalanche of DLC for Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, Batman: Arkham City and several other new releases up for consideration. For the fairly massive list of what's available on PSN today, hit up the PlayStation Blog.
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One dev diaries show off a small team, big game
Insomniac Studios may have some explaining to do for its recent release, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One -- and they're happy to do it. In a series of three developer diaries, the Insomniac team behind All 4 One explain how being small can still make a big game great, all while having what looks to be a fun time. That's what really matters, anyway -- that someone, either developers or players, have fun with the game. But only one of those groups can enjoy it; after all, that's what it's All 4.
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One review: All 4 Naught
Compromise. How much is a person willing to compromise their Ratchet and Clank gameplay expectations for a linear "co-op" title? This is the fundamental question anyone familiar with the series must ask themselves before delving into the jejune experience of Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One. Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One had to make several sacrifices for the sake of a multiplayer-focused experience. The first victim is my use of the words "co-op" or "cooperative campaign" in this review: From the outset, All 4 One is all about competition. Players are passively taught to just rampage through the game, blasting every crate of bolts and snatching up every collectible animal they see before the other players get their grubby hands on them. %Gallery-125572%
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One broadcasts opening cinematic
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One's opening cinematic is highlighted by the series' trademark humor and polished animation. The clip also conveniently plays over the game's installation process, so that's a nice distraction for those who pick up the game today.
Ratchet and Clank All 4 One trailer pits the team against Octomoth
No, Octomoth is not some kind of Voltronesque union of a dozen robotic moths -- in Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, it's actually more of a squid than a moth. But hey, on a world where there's practically no gravity, we can't possibly expect the moths to look like Earth Moths.
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One against a boss
This clip of the Z'Grute boss battle from the upcoming Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One gives a pretty solid idea of the teamwork required to survive. We hope your friends and family can be this coordinated.
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One trailer is all about the single-player experience
Cooperation is paramount in Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, seeing as how it's a four-player co-op experience. And in keeping with that theme, we ask that you co-operate with us by watching this latest trailer. Or don't. Either way, all we ask is you follow our every word as law.
Sony unveils San Diego Comic Con lineup, panels, crazy arcade cabinet
Sony's presence at this year's San Diego Comic Con is, like Qwark's chest, large and complex. Beyond bringing major retail releases like Resistance 3 and Twisted Metal for attendees to play, the publisher is showcasing a variety of wares from PSN indies like thatgamecompany's Journey and Minority Games' Papo & Yo. The company is hosting several presentations on a handful of its games -- everything from Starhawk to Uncharted 3 -- along with with the chance to play a variety of unreleased PlayStation titles. If that weren't enough, the construction of a full Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One arcade cabinet specifically for SDCC 2011 should help to get you on board. Take an early peek at the cabinet in working order just below the break.
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One arrives on Oct. 18, pre-order bonuses detailed
Four friends, armed to the teeth with an enormous arsenal of weapons, may be sufficient to overcome Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One's menagerie of levels, but wouldn't it be helpful to have an extra Mr. Zurkon hovering overhead? The trailer we've dropped after the break answers that question with a resounding "YES," showing off Mr. Zurkon and the other three pre-order bonuses that folks will pick up at various (sigh) retailers. Alongside the pre-order news, Sony announced that Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One will launch on October 18, living up to its previously noted "Fall 2011" launch window. That leaves just five months to decide where to pre-order -- but let's not kid ourselves, you're gonna go with Zurkon. It's just the right thing to do.%Gallery-124103%
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One preview: Making teamwork work
In theory, it sounds like a great idea: Sit down with three other people and play Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One together. But in practice, four-player co-op can be chaotic and downright nasty: "Just hit the switch, dumbass! Gawd you suck at this game." Cordial coordination is challenging enough when all four of you are on the couch together. But how often does that happen? A lot of players will be teaming up online -- with strangers, no less -- and that can often mean complete radio silence. Insomniac is trying to design All 4 One to work in both cases, on the couch and online. "Certainly we think that both are extremely important," says gameplay programmer Mike McManus. "We don't want either to not work." %Gallery-121057%
Latest Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One trailer focuses on story
Aside from being loaded with story, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One's newest clip is also heavy on the lulz. Watch as Quark, Nefarious, Ratchet, and Clank all have their fates decided by a familiar-sounding narrator, just after the break.
Ratchet & Clank All 4 One preview: For all
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One isn't "casual" in the sense that makes gamers cringe. It's not a microtransaction-based minigame collection with friendly avatars. It's "casual" in the universally accepted way: It's fun for anyone who feels like dropping into it, with minimal startup time. All 4 One is also a competent action game, from what I saw, with a series of really exciting set pieces connected by interesting platforming. But it's all about experiencing these set pieces together.%Gallery-118995%
Ratchet & Clank All 4 One features 3D
During a SXSW Interactive demo event, Sony let us know that Insomniac's co-op action platformer Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, will add new depth to its Lombax-tossing action by featuring stereoscopic 3D visuals. You know, as first-party Sony games tend to do. It's like your eyes are playing in co-op! The announcement was actually first made by Sony's Jack Tretton on CNBC. You can see that presentation here. We got a chance to play All 4 One during SXSW (in 2D, however), and we'll bring you our impressions soon.
What's in a Name: Insomniac Games
We were unable to sleep while wondering about the origin story of Insomniac Games' name, but now we've got the answer from CEO and President Ted Price. Time to make that warm glass of milk and go to bed: It was the spring of 1996 and we were getting ready to announce our first game (Disruptor) at E3. At the time, we were doing business as Xtreme Software. But, right before we began working on the press release for the game, we found out that an Arizona database company was also called Xtreme. I don't know how they found us, but I remember getting a letter from a lawyer explaining that we couldn't use their name. Suddenly we had a few days to find a new moniker. We put up a white board and started writing down every name we could think of. We had about 100 that seemed viable. Some of the more popular ones were Ragnarok, Black Sun, Monument, Planet X and Firestorm. My personal favorite was one that [Chief Creative Officer] Brian Hastings had suggested - Ice-9. We liked it so much that we got permission from Kurt Vonnegut to use it. Ironically, it turned out that someone who HADN'T gotten permission from Kurt was already using it. And similarly all of our other favorites were in use. With about 24 hours to go Insomniac Games popped up. It made sense given we weren't sleeping much anyway. And incredibly, no one else was using it. Since then our logo has changed a couple of times. But fortunately the name has stuck. Insomniac Games' next two titles, Resistance 3 and Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, are scheduled for later this year on PlayStation 3. Like this feature? Be sure to check out the What's In A Name Archives.
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One trailer shows off co-op destruction
The Ratchet & Clank series has always been known for its weapons. But what happens when you have four players working together, each armed with his or her own tool of destruction? If everyone equips and uses the same weapon, the effect can be combined -- as can the effects of different guns. Watch how the destruction unfolds in this new trailer:
Four other Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One titles Insomniac considered
When Insomniac announced the co-op focused Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One at Gamescom last month, we were all thinking the same thing: How did the series with the clever titles – Going Commando; Up Your Arsenal; Size Matters; Quest for Booty – miss out on the most obvious title here? 4play. Duh. It turns out the guys at Insomniac didn't miss it, they just decided not to use it. "At the end of the day, I think we didn't want to scare off the parents who might be buying the game for their kid," series writer TJ Fixman told an audience at PAX this weekend. "So we went with 'All 4 One.'" Better still, they had other names, four of which they shared with us last night and, since we heart you, we'll share with you here. Multiple Organisms Bros b4 Foes (Community Manager James Stevenson clarified the 'b4' spelling) Fiends with Benefits Even better, we were later told there's a spreadsheet with over a hundred possible titles on it but, without that in our possession (send it to us, Insomniac!) we've got to do the next best thing. We're asking for your contributions in the comments below. But before you get to that, we're going to ask you to vote for your favorite title in the poll below. Our guess: "All 4 One" isn't going to make the top spot. %Poll-52349%
Insomniac shares more details on Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One (can you believe they didn't go with Four-play as the subtitle?) feels like a whimsical, cartoon version of Gauntlet. Using a more distant automatic camera, instead of the standard behind-the-back perspective used throughout the series, this Ratchet game introduces four-player cooperation to the franchise -- and that also means crazy four-player destruction, given Insomniac's flair for futuristic weaponry. Announced at Gamescom this week, the game features series regulars Ratchet, Clank, Qwark and Dr. Nefarious in a new story that still fits within the loose continuity built over the years. If you think it's a little too loose, you'll be pleased to learn that Insomniac will release a series of comics that bridges the gap between Ratchet & Clank Future and All 4 One.
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One coming to PS3 in Fall 2011
Insomniac has announced a new Ratchet & Clank game for the PlayStation 3. Yeah, we know you've heard that one before, but this time it's a four-player, online co-op platformer. Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One features drop-in / drop-out play between four characters -- Ratchet, Clank, Qwark and Dr. Nefarious -- and blatantly discourages space diplomacy by equipping everyone with absurd weaponry. Thankfully, that part of the franchise hasn't changed. Look for Ratchet and Clank and those two other guys in stores during Fall 2011. (Dibs on Qwark!) %Gallery-99656%
