Ratchet and Clank on PS2 (2002)

Brief synopsis of Ratchet and Clank

The latest pair of unlikely heroes to be thrown together and subsequently bestowed with a world-saving quest is a furry mechanic called Ratchet and his newly-found robot sidekick Clank.

On a typically average day, the young Ratchet is fiddling around with his space ship and dreaming of excitement and adventure when, suddenly, in the distance, he notices a ship crashland. Upon investigation, he discovers Clank - a reject from a nearby robot factory - who tells him about an evil Chairman Drek and his unruly solution to his home planet's pollution problem. These plans involve building a new world using the best bits from all the other planets he can get his hands on. Oh dear!

And so begins the adventure of Ratchet and Clank, as they saddle up and blast off on a quest to save the planets and foil the evil Chairman's plans. Standing in their way is Drek's army of robots and warriors, but fret ye not because the daring duo have at their disposal a plethora of weapons and gadgets to aid their cause.

A whopping 35 different weapons and gadgets feature in the game, to be exact, including the flame-thrower-like Pyrocitor, the explosive Bomb Glove, the Suck Cannon, the Walloper, the Trespasser, to name but a few. These can all be purchased from automated vendors found throughout the gameworld for the price of a few nuts and bolts - the Ratchet and Clank monetary equivalent of coins.

An entertaining and immersive adventure awaits the player in this latest platform adventure from Insomniac. The expansive gameworld is populated by lively and humorous characters - Skid McMarx being a particular favourite - and benefits from some impressive level design. The developers assure us that the game is big enough to warrant some hefty time spending on it.

We suggest you do just that.