ratchet and clank
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Ratchet and Clank is coming out on the 23rd [Update]
Various blogs and news aggregators have been reporting that Ratchet and Clank: Future Tools of Destruction may be getting released earlier than expected, with the evidence being recently changed EBGames and amazon.com sales date (to the 23rd instead of the 30th) as well as Insomniac's recent confirmation that R&C has gone gold. We contacted Sony to get the official word, and unfortunately it looks like there is going to be no early release for Ratchet and Clank.Jennifer Clark, the Sony PR contact for Ratchet and Clank, confirmed to PS3 Fanboy that production is complete and some copies are starting to ship out to retailers now, but that the official release date is still October 30th and won't be changing. She did mention that some a lot of stores may release the game early. So go get your Ratchet on if you can find it.
New areas and wild jumps shown for Super Mario Galaxy
Localization producer Nate Bihldorf demoed Super Mario Galaxy for MTV's Stephen Totilo last week, promising to show us all something new in the much-anticipated platformer. The resultant clip embedded above has Mario roaming around a sidescroller-ish alternate path in the Good Egg Galaxy and messing with gravitational pulls (Check out the extended jump at the three-minute mark!). Stephen makes sure to jokingly ask during the presentation, "Now, was this part also stolen from Ratchet and Clank?" Nate laughs off the reference to Insomniac's claim that SMG's spherical worlds were directly inspired by the Ratchet and Clank series, but explains that he hasn't heard the accusations.As usual, we've got more past the post break. Hustle on over there for a short video of what happens when you drop down the pipe of a smaller planet.
American PSN updates for October 11th
So the European PSN update may not have been up to snuff, but today's American updates have finally been listed on the PlayStation.Blog. This week we're happy to see Everyday Shooter finally being released alongside the Ratchet and Clank demo. Best update ever? This is certainly a contender for the title. The full release list is as follows: Everyday Shooter full game ($9.99) Ratchet and Clank demo (free) Conan demo (free) NHL 2K8 demo (free) Uncharted behind the scenes video (free) Folklore trailer (free) Fallout 3 trailer (free) Ratchet and Clank wallpaper (free) Everyday Shooter wallpaper (free) The Assassination of Jesse James movie trailer (free) Spiderwick Chronicles movie trailer (free) Walk Hard movie trailer (free) %Gallery-4926% %Gallery-3204%
Insomniac 'flattered' by Mario Galaxy concept
Did Nintendo's mascot plumber take a cue from a heavily-armed Lombax and his robot buddy? Insomniac Marketing Director Ryan Schneider seems to think so. In an interview with Kikizo, Schneider said, "There's evidence all around us I think, of certain games that have borrowed from Ratchet and Clank. One that we're even extremely flattered by is Super Mario Galaxy, with their spherical worlds; we did spherical worlds in Going Commando, and Up Your Arsenal.""It would be amazing to think that [Mario creator Shigeru] Miyamoto-san thought that was so cool that he wanted to incorporate it into Mario Galaxy. Granted, he's doing it in a different way, but it's still a spherical world, so it's flattering to see those sorts of things," he said.We're not convinced, however, that it was hours of Ratchet & Clank that inspired Miyamoto's Mario ideas (though now that we think about it, that Mario Sunshine water pack is awfully suspicious ...). We wonder if the levels aren't an idea culled from strenuous play sessions with Tetrisphere. We've embedded videos of all three below as evidence to present; any other games with spherical worlds you can think of?Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is due out October 30.
Ratchet and Clank PSN demo (finally) dated
IGN is reporting that they have finally found out when the Ratchet and Clank demo will be availaboe on the PSN. The demo has supposedly been ready to go for months now but Sony has simply refused to put it up for download. All that will change, however. Come October 4th we'll all be playing the first level of our favourite PS3 mascot platformer. Presumably this is the US release. No doubt the EU PSN will get it around ... January 2008? If we're lucky.
Developers Studio: Brian Allgeier and Ratchet & Clank
Just as we did before with Heavenly Sword, we've got another Developers Studio for you via the PlayStation Blog. This time, we're getting the focus on Ratchet and Clank from Insomniac's own Brian Allgeier. When he describes the game as "A Spectacularific Galactic Sci-Fi Adventure" you really start to know how they come up with such creative weaponry -- they'll all about having fun.The folks at Insomniac answer a number of questions about their upcoming PS3 exclusive (hitting shelves this Fall, no less), including their favorite part of the game and describing one of the bosses. Can we mention that the boss battles are epic, giant forces to be reckoned with? Anyway, please check out the full interview at the PlayStation Blog and leave us your thoughts. We can't wait to play this game -- it really does seem to live up to the "Toy Story quality" graphics boasted oh-so-many years ago.
PSP Fan Art Fridays: Ratchet & Clank
Do you want to share your PSP-related fan art? Send us an e-mail. A new piece of fan art will be shared every Friday. It seems almost criminal that we hadn't featured a Ratchet & Clank fan art yet. Luckily, this week we got this Ratchet fan art e-mailed to us from Matt. It's interesting to see a more slender Ratchet. It sort of reminds us of the PS3 version of his character model. Not only that, but the lighting and stern look of both Ratchet and Clank is refreshing. Thanks for sending in this great fan art Matt! Please let Matt know what you think of it in our comments section. %Gallery-3450%
Jack Tretton teases E3 surprises, promises "more than 100 titles" by year end
Sony has been going full throttle on it's new PlayStation.Blog with some of the biggest names at the company doing regular posts. This time, the president and CEO of SCEA, Jack Tretton weighs in with an interesting post about the past successes of the PlayStation brand and some of his thoughts of the future. It's interesting stuff and definitely worth reading. He also gives game-starved PS3 owners some good news by implying that the drought is almost done: "We have more than 15 games coming from our own internal studios alone this year for PS3. Our third party partners will weigh in with a host of great games giving us more than 100 titles by year end on that system alone."Later on in the piece are hints that we're in for some cool surprises at E3 too, stating that not only will we see new stuff on the known titles like Ratchet and Clank or Heavenly Sword, but also they will announce "a few surprises we have up our sleeves that no one has seen." Intriguing and exciting stuff and we'll find out in less than a month! Anybody want to start the random unsubstantiated guessing on what they're gonna show? I say ... Killzone Bowling and Barbie's Xtreme SOCOM Adventures.[Via N4G]
Ratchet & Clank: ToD focus on storyline, not weaponry
Insomniac has once again impressed the world with the amount of imaginative detail in their games. Those who saw Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction in action recently would agree. We've got some more details on the game you may find interesting, so please, read on.A few new weapons have been revealed for the title. In addition to the Groovitron (shoots out a disco ball and forces all enemies to dance like crazy ... each enemy with a unique set of dance moves), there is something called the Gelinator. This gun shoots out large jell-o-esque cubes that you use for platforms, or stack them onto each other to reach higher areas. The beauty comes in their wobbly form, something that was just too darn pretty to pull off on the PS2. Finally, there's a Visicopter: a portable RC helicopter you control with the Sixaxis once launched. Use it to scout ahead or kamikaze the heck out of an unsuspecting enemy.This installment is focusing on the story, instead of the weaponry (although they've got some brilliant stuff there anyway). Moving the characters forward and developing them will be a big part of this game, but more importantly, Insomniac wants skeptics to see that they're moving forward when developing for the PS3 (pretty smooth segue way, huh?). Skeptics thought that in the released trailer, the actual game couldn't have so much going on at once. After the presentation given for the game, however, many now believe that it's very possible.
SGD '07: New Ratchet & Clank gallery proves very promising
When we first saw the screenshots for Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction a while ago, we were giddy because it seemed like the best graphics ever for a cartoony-art style game. We didn't think there could be much improvement on the game itself as well as the genre. We stand corrected. The latest batch of screens for Tools of Destruction show the PS3 in its prime. The game looks stunning and we're very excited to get our hands on this game. Look for it this November -- if all goes well. A video of the game is also available, after the break.%Gallery-3204%
Deal of the Day: Ratchet and Clank only $20
While Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters won't even be out in Europe for another week, those of you in America can pick up the game for a very modest $20 over at GameExpress.com. In fact, we Europeans should take advantage of the PSP being region free and nab us a great bargain too. To be honest, I'm surprised if any self respecting PSP owner hasn't bought it by now. You owe it to yourself to save yourself a bit of money on this great game.[Via CAG]
Here are a few more Ratchet and Clank screenshots
Now, we're not going to say "whoa, check out all these brand new screenshots" or anything. There are a few. One or two aren't new. But some of them aren't ringing any bells in my memory... then again, little does. Not because I don't have a memory, but because I don't have any bells on my person.We're looking forward to Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction -- due out in Fall, most likely. The zany weapons Insomniac comes up with are always a joy to fiddle around with and the story is generally wacky enough to keep our interest the whole way through. Did I mention how much I love the fuzzy ears and tail of Ratchet? Well whatever, check out the screens and give us your favorite weapon from the franchise so far!
Ratchet and Clank help out on Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Though they're better known for instilling galactic peace via the use of unnecessarily large weapons, Sony's Ratchet and Clank are about to try their hands at construction on this week's episode of American heartstring puller, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. Specifically, Insomniac Games is constructing a digital replica of one of the show's subjects inside its upcoming PlayStation 3 title, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction.9-year-old youngster and game designer hopeful, James Westbrook, will find himself free of his wheelchair and in the cockpit of a spaceship, a craft all owners of the game will presumably be able unlock when the game releases towards the end of the year. Even the team at Insomniac must have been pining for sleep after completing the project within a week -- under normal circumstances, it would have taken a month. You can see the whole story of the Westbrook family on ABC this Sunday, April 22 at 8PM EDT.While some may label this as nothing more than a product's grab for television airtime, the end result will far outweigh any coincidental marketing benefits. See, if it makes a little boy happy, not even the snarkastic bunch at Joystiq have anything nasty to say. Good show, Insomniac.
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.
Three Speech retracts PS3 BioShock, but not other release dates
Three Speech, the "semi-official blog handled by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe," has retracted their claim that BioShock is coming to the PlayStation 3. The kerfuffle began when Steve Boxer, one of the only non-anonymous writers for the site, stated the PlayStation 3 would be getting the game. He wrote in a post about upcoming games, "Another hotly anticipated title from 2K Games (also appearing on Xbox 360) is BioShock." Of course, having this posted on Sony Europe's semi-official blog did bring the statements some weight. The post also stated September would see the releases of Killzone, Heavenly Sword, Ratchet & Clank, Lair and Warhawk. None of these release dates have been retracted, but Sony America says the only game with a confirmed date is Lair in July.It would be nice to finally get a statement on what Three Speech is to Sony. This is the second time in two weeks Three Speech has gone off-message. They state on their site, "Three Speech isn't part of PlayStation, but it does get to speak to PlayStation. You could say we're 'semi official'." Our requests to Three Speech for the name of their editor and a list of their writers have been ignored previously. We continue to question who Three Speech is and what they represent. If they are a handled by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, like Sony America says, it might be time to tug the leash.
Insomniac launches podcast, listen to sleep-deprived developers [update 1]
With Insomniac Games launching its podcast today, It now seems like everybody has an online audio show. But the Insomniac approach intends to be different than most because gamers get to hear what goes on inside a developer; the twice-monthly show should could be a great marketing and community-building move.Insomniac plans several regular segments, including interviews with members of its staff and even gaming personalities outside of the Resistance and Ratchet developer. The show will cover basics like gamers' mail and Insomniac product updates as, but we'll be regular listeners if it pulls off its fly-on-the-wall aspirations.[Update 1: Insomniac let us know that it changed its mind and won't have a "/podcast.html" URL for the audio show. Instead, the main page will be updated when the podcast goes live in the next few hours.]
Next Ratchet & Clank officially titled
1UP informs us that the forthcoming Ratchet & Clank adventure is featured on the cover of April's Electronic Gaming Monthly, complete with its full title, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. Brian Allgeier, design director for Insomniac Games, notes that the name "works on many levels. It signals a new era for the franchise, ties into the game's story, and includes one of our signature subtitle double entendres."Tools of Destruction might even mark the first time that Insomniac's playful choice of words survives the trip to Europe. You might recall the PlayStation 2 titles, Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal, being respectively changed to the more polite Locked & Loaded and Ratchet & Clank 3. It's just as well Insomniac didn't go for their original and somewhat less subtle choice, Ratchet and Clank To Come: Implements of Ravaging.
Top 100 selling games of 2006
Next Generation has the top 100 selling games for 2006 and the only PSP exclusive game on the list is Daxter coming in at number 92 with 240,000 copies sold. That sounds quite bad on paper until you realize that multi-system games make up most of the list and the vast majority had a PSP iteration (like Family Guy and NFL Street 3). So while there may not be many PSP exclusives on the list, it did undoubtedly help several titles on the list reach their respective positions. I would be very curious to see the overall year's worth of just PSP games. I also can't help but hope that this week's Ratchet & Clank fairs as well as Daxter. What PSP game that didn't make the list do you wish was a top 100 seller?
Ratchet & Clank online beta test
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is one of the few titles from Sony that will future Infrastructure multiplayer in the future. Gamer Advisory Panel members just received an e-mail inviting them to a beta test, with registrations limited to the first 2000 entrants. (We're not allowed to link to the application form, sorry!) With a beta test happening in the coming weeks, Ratchet & Clank is probably pretty far along in development. The game's supposedly going to come out in March, but wouldn't it be awesome if it came out just a little bit earlier?If any of our readers are GAP members and partake in the beta test, shoot us a comment. We'll try to make you famous.
TGS 06: Every PSP game previewed
There are way too many PSP games at this year's Tokyo Game Show. Because not all of us have time to read all the impressions and previews of all the games coming out, PSP Fanboy has created this nifty guide for all the games that were previewed. You'll get a thumbs up or a thumbs down from the major video game news sites. If a game looks like it might be a real winner, we'll award it "The Official PSP Fanboy Entranced Korean Award." These are the games that'll end up in Korea on giant PSPs, luring people to their eventual doom. And, that's pretty cool. Read on to see all the previews!
