The Playstation 3 seems to be waking up from its slumber recently with a decent catalogue of games finally gracing the console, one of the more recent releases is Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction, the first truly next generation platform game to hit the console, but is it a disappointment or is it the game that we have all been hoping for? Read on.

The story behind the game sees Emperor Tachyon being hell bent on taking out the last Lombax, which just so happens to be Ratchet, and obviously you have to stop him while also searching through the galaxy trying to figure out what happened to the rest of your race.

The way the story is told is brilliant, there is plenty of humor as usual from both Ratchet, Clank and the Emperor who broadcasts amusing messages throughout the game via the various tannoy systems which are spread throughout the cities. The animation though is perhaps the developers greatest accomplishment in telling the story, it is to their credit that during the cutscenes you would be forgiven for thinking that this was a pixar movie, they really are that good and go a long way to making this game what it is.

The game starts with you crashing your ship and then proceeds to follow your adventure as you work your way through the various planets searching for answers. Each level, as you would expect, is filled with all sorts of enemies, these range from Space Pirates to Drophyds (tiny fish like creatures housed inside a large robot). As you defeat the enemies bolts will spill out for you to collect, these act as the in game currency and allow you to buy new weapons and equipment at the various outlets you will pass on your travels. Weapons are also upgradeable by finding the rartanium which is spread throughout the games universe.

The combat is very much the centre of attention though and there is plenty of it to keep you occupied, also thanks to the wide range of weaponry and equipment available it is also very varied and at times humorous. Take for example the Groovitron Ball, throw one of these when you are in a jam and all of a sudden multi-coloured lights project over a certain radius, causing all in it’s path to break out their dance moves, this obviously makes them a lot easier to take down, which makes this a very handy weapon and although you can only carry three at a time it is well worth having one in your possession everywhere you go.

Weapons also have their use outside of combat, take for example the gel gun I managed to acquire in one of the levels, with this weapon I was able to fire cubes of gel, which then enabled Ratchet to reach platforms he was otherwise unable to, and if the first cube didn’t quite make the platform high enough.

Some of the other weapons that you will find throughout the game include the Fusion Grenade, Tornado Launcher (which fires a Six-axis-controlled tornado), the Shock Ravager (electric whip), the Nano-Swarmer (unleashes a swarm of insects) and the Shard Reaper (a buckshot weapon which allows you to shard your enemies). The weapons and equipment really do make the game what it is, just as you start to become happy with what you have something else always appears, making for one varied and fun packed adventure.

Outwith the combat there are various other obstacles to keep you busy, such as the grind rails, where you grind along jumping from one rail to another while trying to avoid the oncoming trains, there are also some other distractions such as the sky diving, where you use the Sixaxis to try and keep Ratchet from crashing into the various obstacles which are in his path. Clank also gets some action later on in the game, but we won’t spoil everything.

Graphically this is one of the best looking games on the Playstation 3 to date, the environments look fantastic, take Kortos for instance with it’s huge domed buildings hovering in the sky, the city is just bustling with life and really has a personality of it’s own, whilst on the opposite end of the scale, the pirate filled planet of Ardolis is a dark and dreary place which really does feel like it belongs to villains.

Ratchet and the other characters also look impressive, one of the funniest moments I had in the game was when I destroyed my first Drophyd robot and his little fish head started to flap about on the ground, what make me laugh the most was that when I stood on him and he flattened to the ground, it just reminded me of coyote from roadrunner being hit by a large boulder which had fell from the sky. Just to add to the perfection of the overall presentation the sound in Tools of Destruction is equally impressive, the voice acting is very well done and helps each characters personality come to life.

The only downside to Ratchet and Clank is that it is a little linear, Ratchet will usually follow a set path in order for you to complete the missions although some levels are more guilty of this than others, however as this is usually the case with platform games anyway then perhaps this was to be expected.

Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction is an impressive first outing for the pair on the Playstation 3, sure it may not offer much different from previous versions of the game, but the additions that are in help to make the game even better than it was before, and anyway you know what they say, if it ain’t broken then don’t fix it.

Rating: 9.6/10