My first draft of this review featured a lengthy introduction ... and then I deleted it all so I could get to the point: you must buy this game. Whether or not you've played a
Ratchet game before, you'll find that the game's fantastic visuals, excellent presentation, and downright fun gameplay make it a must-have for any PSP owner. While the game certainly has some flaws, the overall experience of the game is above and beyond most PSP games. Not since
Daxter has a game on Sony's handheld exhibited such polish.
Your adventure begins after
Deadlocked, Ratchet's last PS2 outing. While on vacation, you run into a little girl named Luna, a self-proclaimed fan that wants to see more of your hero-ish qualities. From the very opening moments, you'll see that the developers have really polished the game. The cutscenes feature fantastic animation, great voice acting, and a wonderful personality. The game starts on a great note, becoming instantly likable, even for those that may be completely unfamiliar with these characters.
While the game may be exceedingly charming, that won't make up for lackluster gameplay. Thankfully, High Impact delivers in spades. The game has a great sense of progression, teaching you the various elements of the game in a natural and engaging way. The first few levels of the game will always introduce new elements, keeping the game constantly feeling fresh. Your character will move on from simple melee attacks, to collecting weapons, armor, and more.
The game's controls are fantastic, even if they do have a bit of a learning curve to them. For the most part, the game's controls are quite intuitive. Jumping feels spot-on, as does using your melee attacks. Being able to quickly switch weapons via the Triangle button is also a much appreciated feature. There are two issues that players will have to deal with, however. While movement is handled by the analog stick, strafing is done using the D-Pad. Players will discover that victory will come from efficient use of both the analog nub and D-Pad, and careful switching between the two. While it may seem unnatural at first, it should become second nature after a while. Once you adapt to the controls, you'll see that it works far better than, say, the likes of
Grand Theft Auto. The second issue for players may come from the camera system: you may feel like enemies are attacking from behind, or that the camera simply isn't where you want it to be. However, you'll also learn that you'll want to use the shoulder buttons and strafe at the same time: doing so allows you to effectively circle strafe around enemies. It takes some dexterity, but due to the great progression of the game, you'll find that this ability won't be too necessary until you've already mastered the controls.
Once you're feeling comfortable with the game, you'll be able to appreciate the game's incredible gameplay variety. The previous entries in the
Ratchet series have been known for their incredible weapons, and
Size Matters is no different. While you start with a generic blaster at first, eventually you'll acquire some fantastic weapons, including an explosive acid grenade launcher, a bee hive thrower, and a
Ratchet staple: a gun that transforms enemies into harmless animals. These weapons all have unique attributes, and masterful players will find themselves switching frequently between all of them. Due to a great level-up system, players will never find a weapon to become obsolete. For example, your standard blaster will eventually evolve into an even more powerful weapon over time. By purchasing other power-ups, it can become one of the most useful weapons in the game, allowing you to dual wield rapid-fire pistols that unleash a devastating amount of damage. Your character evolves as well, through a simple level-up system that increases the amount of damage you can sustain, and an interesting armor system that lets you mix and match various pieces of armor for special abilities. Because level-ups occur so quickly in the game, the player will always feel motivated to try something new. By the game's end, you'll have amassed a huge assortment of goodies and power-ups that will make you feel like you're nothing short of a god.
Size Matters delivers a truly satisfying experience that drives the player to keep on going.
While the main quest is satisfying and varied in and of itself,
Size Matters goes above and beyond by delivering even more gameplay variety. You'll play a small segment of the game as Clank, Ratchet's lovable robot companion. These segments can include squad-based gameplay, or go into the realm of the completely unexpected. For example, you'll end up in a Battlebots-inspired arena where you'll have to destroy opposing robots, each equipped with unique powers. Or, you'll be flying in space as Giant Clank in one of PSP's most impressive sequences. These
Star Fox-esque space segments are absolutely mind-numbing: the amount of particles and enemies that appear on screen is nothing short of breath-taking. While these are few in number, they're almost worth the price of admission alone. Also hidden in the game are a series of
Lemmings-inspired puzzles that are a refreshing change of pace from the rest of the game.
However, not all the extras are so entertaining. Special note has to go to the hoverboard racing segment, which is easily one of the worst gameplay experiences I have ever endured. Thankfully, it's only required twice in the game. But, players that want to unlock all the armor will have to take the pain of a poorly constructed racing game that features some truly atrocious controls.
No!!!
Except the hoverboard racing, the single player game is an absolute blast to play through. However, many may find that the game is a bit too short for their tastes: about 5-10 hours of play, depending on your skill level. But, with an expansive list of collectibles and secrets, players can easily extend that time. Like a classic RPG, the game even features a New Game + of sorts, allowing you to keep all your power-ups in a second playthrough. It's certainly a worthwhile experience.
But for those that tire of the single player campaign, High Impact has delivered a refreshing surprise: an Ad-Hoc and Infrastructure-enabled multiplayer mode. For a detailed explanation of multiplayer, please read my earlier
hands-on preview. While the multiplayer mode certainly won't win any awards, it's still a rather engaging experience that adds a great deal of value to this already impressive game.
Conclusion
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is yet another "killer app" for the system. It's not a port, nor a rehashed game: it's truly fully-featured, and it works splendidly on the go. The graphics are absolutely stellar, especially in the later areas of the game, where dozens of enemies will fill the screen with no effect on the framerate. The gameplay is incredibly satisfying, covering a wide variety of play styles. And, if that wasn't enough, there's also an Infrastructure multiplayer mode, so you can play against your friends worldwide. (And local Ad-Hoc mode too!)
Have no doubt:
Size Matters lives up to the incredible amount of hype it's been receiving. Anyone that has ever proclaimed themselves a PSP fan should be required, by law, to get this game. It's just that good.
PSP Fanboy Score: 9.0
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
2-12-2007 @ 1:00AM
Strangler said...
why is this game and daxter both short? whats up with that? were the ps2 versions of those games short too?
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2-12-2007 @ 3:36AM
Silver R. Wolfe said...
5 - 10 hours is not really short, comparably speaking. Gears of War averaged about 6 hours, I believe and the inclusion of a multiplayer mode, one that works anyway, will expand the life of a game.
Most likely the length of this game, and Daxter, was hindered by the UMD capacity. 1.8GB is a lot of space, especially compared with the diminutive 128mb DS games (only FF3 uses the 256mb cart at the moment, I believe), but when you factor in the graphical complexities for both these games, they probably take up a lot more space on the disc than say... Tales of Eternia.
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2-12-2007 @ 3:57AM
Strangler said...
alot of people cant play online multiplayer cause of the stupid wifi requierments, they make you pay for that everywher eif u want to use it even for an hour. the n gage didnt have that. Also, why dont they make something truly stelolar for the psp.
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2-12-2007 @ 4:32AM
moosey said...
from what i could decipher from stranglers text, he's saying you have to pay to play multiplayer on this. multiplayer has always been free with sony so i dont know wtf youre talking about, all you have to do is just connect to a wireless network and own the game dude
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2-12-2007 @ 5:49AM
Strangler said...
no i meant u have to pay for wifi access or the signal is piss poor unless you have it than you can only play at home but whats the point than?
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2-12-2007 @ 5:51AM
moosey said...
true, but most urban environments have at least a few free signals around, whether it be from a residence or business. i see your point though.
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2-12-2007 @ 6:05AM
Hammer said...
Moosey - I think Strangler is saying that he doesn't have his own wifi connection and resents having to pay to access wifi in a local cafe/iCafe etc.
This game does look rather good, but I'd rather have fewer cutscenes, no multiplayer and a longer RPG. But then that is just persomal preference.
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2-12-2007 @ 7:44AM
txa1265 said...
I have NO clue what he is talking about ... multiplayer over the internet has *ALWAYS* required an internet connection. Which costs money. To play online with something like the PSP or DS you need a wireless access point. You can easily grab a USB to WiMax card for cheap to do that.
As for the nGage - it didn't need added wireless because you were already paying the *phone bill*!
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2-12-2007 @ 10:10AM
Jose El Maton said...
Wow, it looks like I'm gonna have to pick this up sooner rather than later.
You see, game developers, do you SEE? Good work gets rewarded.
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2-12-2007 @ 10:58AM
txa1265 said...
Re #9 "You see, game developers, do you SEE? Good work gets rewarded."
Not quite yet ... this *is* the good work, now we see if it gets 'rewarded' (i.e. sales) ;)
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2-12-2007 @ 12:32PM
Alien said...
Man , why do I leave in the EU , this game will come out only on March 31 , and its my moste awaited game this far :,-(
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2-12-2007 @ 1:19PM
Sam K said...
I think what Strangler is saying is that you can't just go to any location that has a wi-fi hotspot and play for free. Many public wi-fi hotspots charge a fee to use.
Really, though, I don't think you can fault Sony or this game for that.
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2-12-2007 @ 6:40PM
pete said...
how many of us dont have wi-fi? i mean most people have high speed internet of some sort or another, and buying the wi-fi thingy is like, 20 bucks where you just plug it into the usb slot. and why would you even bring up the N-gage? its been dead for a few years and sucked horribly.
i'll be getting this game probably next week. and the online truely is fun. least the beta test was.
but will there be mic support? ive been trying to find out and i have no idea
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2-12-2007 @ 9:05PM
Kade Storm said...
It'll do better than Daxter. Same goodness with enhancements; live theme... AND INFRASTRUCTURE MODE, which will multiply this game's replayability and appeal by many folds.
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2-13-2007 @ 1:25AM
Strangler said...
"how many of us dont have wi-fi? i mean most people have high speed internet of some sort or another, and buying the wi-fi thingy is like, 20 bucks where you just plug it into the usb slot. and why would you even bring up the N-gage? its been dead for a few years and sucked horribly.
"
thats not the point, why would you paly an online psp game at home where you also have a pc and can paly coutner strike or quake 3 on ur pc instead? portbale gmaing is the most useful in a bus, on a break at work, on a plane, ona bench, etc. and all those places dont have wifi or if they do its a weak signal that they amke u pay for.
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2-13-2007 @ 2:28AM
Kade Storm said...
I'd play an online game at home, because I don't like being tethered to a friggin' TV! Believe it or not, I handheld game, mostly at home, which isn't much time, but still works out, and I prefer online gaming on my handheld rather than some PC or a TV.
Please, make up your mind! Are you condemning the feature because people can't afford WiFi, or because you're actually gamer who can't truly appreciate the true freedom of a handheld, even within the environment of a home. As far as I'm concerned, good wifi-portable gaming > pc/console online gaming!
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2-13-2007 @ 4:44PM
zjoe said...
WFT is Strangler talking about?
I can barely understand what he's bitching about wifi.
Drugs are bad, M'Kay. Don't do drugs, M'kay.
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2-13-2007 @ 7:35PM
txa1265 said...
The illustrious Tom Chick weighed in with a perfect 5/5 (extremely rare for him, one of gaming's few real journalists) on this game over at Yahoo.
http://videogames.yahoo.com/gamereview?cid=1951313566&tab=reviews&page=0&eid=504713
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6-13-2007 @ 8:52AM
adimaster said...
In this game, I have learned that there are different ways to beat the game. Like- you have to find different pieces of armor that Ratchet wears ( fire power costume in Pokitaru- where the game begins) then the game gets harder and harder once you progress. Do not get overconfident. The game takes practice and time. When you get into Ratchet's dream, hypershoot yourself all the way to the mirrors. Then, once Clank tries to get you out of the dream, he wakes you up. Once you go to Davi Moon, you have to defeat Luna and then go to Clank's body. It takes a while to defeat Luna. You have to repair Clank's body with a polarizer. Use your gravity boots to go around places. Once you get to the last planet, you find yourself in a room full of Ratchets who want to destroy you. Once you defeat them all, you get all sorts of prizes like the bomb suit and the bomb helmet. You get different weapons as you go, and at the end, you can level-up your weapons. Once you've defeated Otto, watch the credits ! They're awesome. At the end of the game, Ratchet defeated the enemy and wanted to go back to Pokitaru with Qwark when he's shrunk. And they had a lot of fun together. Tip: when you get to the gates, open the gridlock by using just ratchet and your grind boots to open the lock with your wrench.
Have fun with the game !
-Adimaster
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