Secret Agent Clank

It’s the sidekick’s time to shine! Ratchet’s mini robo buddy Clank goes all Sam Fisher in a mission of stealth, cunning and stylishness. Yes Clank is dressed to kill and loaded with plenty of bad guy foiling gadgets to aid him as he tries to discover why Ratchet was caught apparently stealing a priceless gem and jailed, amongst some of the galaxy’s most dangerous criminal’s, most of whom were banged up there by Ratchet himself. It will take all of Clanks wits and one liners to solve this mystery while Ratchet just focuses on surviving!

Clank is no fighter, he has got some moves, he knows a bit of the old Kung-Fu but when it comes to the towering villains he must face, kicks and punches aren’t gonna cut it for very long. Stealth is key and although it is possible to fight after being spotted by guards sometimes there are moments in the games where ninja-like behaviour is absolutely necessary to avoid mission failure. One glance from the wrong NPC or slight skim of a laser alarm and it’s load last checkpoint time.

Of course every secret agent has a top secret efficient agency behind them that provide only the best intel and the most extremely useful items that no spy should be without. For example what’s a secret agent to do without holographic disguises, long range weaponry and a giant Venus Flytrap type plant that sprouts up from underneath your enemies devouring them in an instant!

As you progress through the game you’ll happen upon a range of weapons that would be useful to Ratchet during his stay in the Big House. Everyone knows that the only way to smuggle an arsenal into a prison is by cake and Ratchet is more than grateful, as his levels – arena type survival matches are frustratingly tricky and repetitive and have to be completed in order to get back into the story missions. Captain Quark makes an appearance in a few levels of his own, describing your conquests as his own to an autobiographer, a very funny addition to the game. As Quark is battling Giant Ninjas and Dragons he’ll “remember” some other dire peril that’ll be added to the gameplay, a nice touch and a good laugh. Then there are the Gadgetbot missions which are totally different but fun in their own way, more puzzle oriented. But I personally resented having to play them when I wanted to get on with the story. I really want to call the Ratchet, Captain Quark and Gadgetbot levels “Bonus Levels”, that’s what they feel like but usually Bonus Levels can be skipped. They add a-lot of diversity to the game but a bit more choice would have quite possibly been a good idea.

The camera is terrible, there’s no other way to describe it, whether set to passive or active it’s just all wrong and very off putting. During fight scenes where you’re constantly being chased a-lot of the action can be missed as your running around in circles, quickly turning to shoot or throw weapons and quickly turning back to carry on running and bouncing around like crazy hoping that the health has re-spawned only to die on the very last round or wave of enemies and have to start all over again.