Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction
File:R&C FTD Box Art-RP-thumb.jpg
Developer(s)	Insomniac Games
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Series	Ratchet & Clank
Engine	Insomniac Engine v.2.0
Platform(s)	PlayStation 3
Release	NA October 23, 2007 NA October 30, 2007 UK November 9, 2007 JP November 11, 2007 AU November 15, 2007
Genre(s)	Platform, Shooter
Mode(s)	Single player

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction in Europe & Australia, Tools of Destruction for short) is a PlayStation 3 video game developed by Insomniac Games, released on October 23, 2007 in North America and on November 9, 2007 in Europe. It is the sixth installment in the official Ratchet & Clank canon (although Secret Agent Clank takes place before it) and the first PlayStation 3 installment.

Plot

Ratchet and Clank are assembling a bike in Metropolis on Planet Kerwan when they get a message from Captain Qwark asking them for help in defeating "a few thousand heavily armed robotic commandos" that have just invaded the city. After their bike fails, they reach the Planetary Defense Centre, only to find Qwark missing and Ratchet as the reason for the invasion. Emperor Tachyon, crown prince of the Cragmites is after Ratchet, the last lombax in the universe and is leading the invasion for that purpose alone.

Ratchet and Clank hijack the Emperor's ship and head into space, crashing later on the swamp-world of Cobalia, in the Polaris Galaxy, the duo battle their way through the hostile wildlife and reach Cobalia's spaceport, where the duo meets "The Smuggler" and his talking parrot. In exchange for restoring the planet's gel-creation factory to full operation, the Smuggler "procures" a ride to Stratus City, which is as far as he can take them.

As they reach the planet, The Smuggler informs the duo of their location, and the mostly-unknown history of Tachyon, and reveals the Cragmite race was wiped out by the Lombaxes, leaving Tachyon the sole-survivor and Lombaxes to be hailed as saviours of the Universe. In order to avoid being shot down for carrying a Lombax, the Smuggler ejects the duo over the city of Stratus. While in the city, Clank is visited by invisible robotic creatures "Zoni" which outfit him with new wings. The Zoni will continue to retrofit Clank or aid him several times through the game.

At the hall of knowledge in Stratus City, the duo discover the co-ordinates of the lombaxes' home planet, Fastoon and head for it, only to find that the planet was deserted ages ago, sometime after the great war. Ratchet spots an old ship there and is compelled to repair it, in doing so re-activating its A.I., Aphelion. Aphelion manages to reveal some data on what happened to the Lombaxes from her time in the Great War, but is unable to recall their fate. After further battles with Tachyon's forces, they reunite with Qwark who reveals that Tachyon is after the Lombaxes' secret, rumoured to be the powerful weapon that wiped out the Cragmite race and is in the possession of Max Apogee.

The duo head off in their new ship for The Apogee Orbit Station, base of famed(but missing and presumed dead) hunter Max Apogee. They are initially attacked by the station's two chief warbots and their leader Talwyn Apogee, daughter of Max Apogee. However once Ratchet is identified as a Lombax, they lower their weapons. Talwyn reveals that the "lombax secret" had been stolen years ago by a team of space pirates under the command of Captain Slag and her father had left to pursue them. They team up and head out to search for the Lombax Secret.

Upon finding a deserted Lombax outpost, the duo encounters The Plumber, who tells that them that a weapon powerful enough to destroy the cragmite race all at once doesn't exist, however the Lombax Secret does. After providing them with an unusual golden gear ("just in case") the plumber tests out his toilet-shaped transportation device and vanishes. The duo meet up with Talwyn and the warbots, and find a Lombax database that reveals that the Lombax Secret is a helmet named "The Dimensionator", the ultimate piece of Lombax technology, which generates wormholes and opens portals to other dimensions to whoever wields it. The Lombaxes used it to banish the Cragmites to another dimension to free the galaxy from their oppressive rule.

Seeking answers, Ratchet and Clank break through the pirate defenses on the Kreeli Comet to access IRIS, the ultimate supercomputer, where they are able to briefly repair it and learn of the Dimensionator's location. Unfortunately, while the duo are able to seize it, Slag and his pirates force Ratchet to surrender it. The duo soon tracks them down, and Ratchet, hell-bent on getting it back, fights Slag in a massive duel, in which Slag is utterly destroyed. Rusty Pete and the pirates, as per to the pirate code, declare their allegiance to Ratchet. Clank, heeding the Zonis' advice, urges Ratchet to destroy it, as wormhole generation is too dangerous for anyone to use, but Ratchet argues how Clank is always putting him down with his superior intelligence and he doesn't truly understand how he feels about finding out about his origins.

Before Ratchet can use the helmet, Qwark arrives and steals the Dimensionator, declaring he will become a hero to Polaris by throwing the Dimensionator into a black hole, but the escape pod he pilots instead takes him to Tachyon on the Cragmites' abandoned homeworld. Ratchet and Clank, their relationship still drifting apart, confront Tachyon, but its too late, as he activates the Dimensionator and summons a small force of Cragmites back to the Galaxy. The energy shockwaves cause the platform they are standing on to collapse, and the duo are separated in the fall to the planet's catacombs.

Ratchet reunites with Talwyn and the warbots at his ship, having seen no sign of Clank, he assumes his trusted sidekick to have died in the fall, and begins mourning him, but Clank soon arrives and Ratchet, overjoyed, finally acknowledges Clank was right and resolves to destroy the Dimensionator before more Cragmites are unleashed.

The duo and Talwyn's gang, after saving the last free world in Polaris from being conquered by Tachyon's Cragmite-reinforced army, confront Tachyon's assembled armada on Fastoon, where Tachyon is planning to colonize it as the new Cragmite homeworld. Massacring wave after wave of Tachyon's soldiers, destroying his warships, and killing all of the summoned Cragmites, the assembled gang finally confronts Tachyon in the Court of Azimuth, the heart of the Lombax planet.

Tachyon reveals the fate of the Lombaxes: Tachyon was found as an egg and, because he was the last Cragmite in the universe, was raised by Lombaxes, and upon learning of his origins, assembled his army, equipped with Lombax technology and weaponry, and laid waste to Fastoon. As the planet burned all around them, the surviving Lombaxes, assembled in the Court itself, agreed to use the Dimensionator to send themselves to another dimension to rebuild their race and hopefully convince Tachyon to cease his rampage. Two Lombaxes remained behind, however, the Guardian of the Dimensionator, and his infant son...Ratchet. Tachyon reveals he killed the Guardian in his quest to secure the Dimensionator, but was unable to find and kill Ratchet as his father had sent him to Veldin in the Solana galaxy for his own safety (explaining how Ratchet came to be there). Tachyon, understanding Ratchet's desire to know about his origins, opens up a portal to the Lombax Dimension, where Ratchet sees a futuristic city inhabited by his people, and Tachyon offers Ratchet one chance to be with his people and never be bothered by him again.

Ratchet, though extremely tempted, refuses. He knows the entire Universe wouldn't be safe as long as Tachyon wields the Dimensionator. Because his friends, the Polaris Galaxy, and especially his people (guessing Tachyon would one day invade and destroy the Lombaxes in their dimension) would either be destroyed or conquered by Tachyon if Ratchet left, and because Ratchet wants revenge for his father, he refuses to leave, and Ratchet and Clank confront Tachyon in a final battle.

The repeated weapons fire causes the Dimensionator to malfunction (exposing to Ratchet the dangers of using wormhole technology) and Tachyon is sucked through an unstable wormhole, dragging the duo with him. The three arrive in a meteor field in space, and continue their fighting until Ratchet destroys Tachyon's War Throne. As Tachyon barely resists being pulled into a nearby black hole, Tachyon yells that he is the only living person who knows Ratchet's real name and his purpose. As he is sucked in, Tachyon yells that they can't get rid of him so easily and that the Cragmite's return to the universe is inevitable (hinting he has a way to survive the black hole).

As the field is ripped apart, Ratchet and Clank are saddened to find the Dimensionator is broken, and is missing a 3 3/4 centicubit hexagonal washer, which is conveniently exactly the same washer the Plumber give them "just in case". The device is temporarily fixed before sending the duo back to Fastoon, with Ratchet barely surviving the trip.

The assembled characters go back to relax on Apogee Station, with Qwark becoming the pirate's new leader (and Rusty Pete trying, in vain, to teach him how to utter pirate growls, questioning how he "ever became Captain of anything") and the warbots re-enacting Ratchet and Tachyon's battle (with Zephyr wielding Ratchet's wrench and Cronk the permanently-broken Dimensionator) for Talwyn. Ratchet and Clank themselves, however, have a heart-to-heart talk, where Ratchet asks if Tachyon was telling the truth about his father and people, and while Clank admits he detected no lies in Tachyon's voice, he believes Ratchet accomplished his purpose; he defeated Tachyon, something even the Lombaxes could not do.

Suddenly, a dimensional rift opens and three Zoni, visible to all, emerge and envelope Clank in an unusual energy and begin dragging him towards the rift, effortlessly shirking off Ratchet's attempts to stop them from taking his friend. As they approach the opening, the Zoni tell Clank they are bringing him "home" and intend for him to learn "who he is" and "what he'll become", with the unusual energy making Clank willing to go (The Zoni have referred to Clank as "Sire" throughout the game, implying he is some form of long-lost royalty to their species). The Zoni and Clank disappear with the rift, and Ratchet and the others are left standing there, helpless, it's posible that another instalment is in progress.

Gameplay

See also: Common gameplay elements in the Ratchet and Clank series

Tools of Destruction retains much of the basic gameplay found in previous Ratchet & Clank games, the game being primarily a shooter-platformer. The player controls Ratchet most of the time, with some sections using Clank, as they explore various worlds to complete missions, using Ratchet's wrench and other exotic weapons gained during the course of the game. At times, Ratchet may enter free-fall, or with an upgrade to Clank, will be able to fly; during these periods, the player uses the tilt functionality of the SIXAXIS controller to maneuver Ratchet. The tilt-sensing abilities of the SIXAXIS are also used to control some weapons and gadgets, such as steering the path of a mini-tornado, outlining a path for a laser-cutting tool, or using a marble to complete circuitry. More conventional weapons include the Negotiator, a rocket launcher, the Combuster, a standard blaster pistol, and the Alpha Disruptor, an extremely powerful laser, but expensive to upgrade and with limited ammunition. Notably, this is a Lombax weapon found on planet Sargasso and not purchased from a vendor. The weapon it upgrades into is the most powerful in your "normal" arsenal. However, a zoom-in sniper rifle was not included in the game's arsenal for the first time since it was introduced. On Rykan V, Reepor and Fastoon, Cronk and Zephyr accompany Ratchet and fight with him. While immune to damage, their weapons are far less potent than Ratchet's.

At times, the player will control Clank in a mode similar to previous games, using robotic creatures called Zoni to fight foes, remove debris or reconstruct bridges, and to power devices in the level. Clank possesses the ability to slow down time as well during these sections, allowing him, for example, to make his way under a rapidly closing door.

Weapons gain experience as previously implemented in the series, but in addition, the player can collect Raritanium crystals and use them to upgrade the weapon in additional ways beyond the experience path; weapon improvements are presented in a tree-like structure and require that all previous upgrades be obtained for that weapon first before later upgrades can be purchased.

In addition to weapons are objects known as "devices". While they are selected and used similar to weapons, they may or may not directly damage foes but instead provide an effect beneficial to the player. The "Groovitron", for example, is a disco ball that causes all foes to dance for a brief time, allowing the player to deal with them while distracted. The carrying capacity of such devices are generally very low (2 or 3 units for each). Device vendors in addition to weapon vendors can be found in the game.

Armor can be bought from an armor vendor on certain planets. Each upgrade to the armor decreases the amount of damage the player takes from enemy weapons. These armors cost a large amount of bolts.

Beyond the main gameplay, Tools of Destruction features an arena with several challenges, "Gyro-cycle" courses that use a turbo-charged bike, and on-rails space combat.

Tools of Destruction is the first game where Ratchet, Clank and other characters converse with one another with lipsynced dialogue during gameplay, out of cutscenes.

Main Characters

• Ratchet - The main protagonist of the series.
• Clank - Ratchet's robotic sidekick.
• Captain Qwark - A bumbling superhero who aids Ratchet by spying on Tachyon.
• Emperor Percival Tachyon - The last Cragmite who wants to kill Ratchet and dominate the universe.
• The Plumber - A recurring character who helps the duo out.
• Talwyn Apogee - A young woman who works with Ratchet and Clank along their way. Her father was last seen searching for the "Lombax secret."
• Cronk and Zephyr - Talwyn's robotic guardians who constantly squabble with one another. They are meant to represent the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 respectively, constantly mocking each other for their technical faults and praising their own abilities. They also had a third partner named Willy (representing the Wii), who does not feature in the game due to his habit of jumping up and down and waving his arms when ever there is any action, which caused him to be destroyed prior to the game.
• Captain Slag and Rusty Pete - The leader of a pirate group and his right hand man, respectively. They were created by Tachyon but have become a separate threat.
• The Smuggler - A sneaky trader who builds Ratchet the RYNO IV- Ratchet has to assemble a complete holo-plan, the parts of which are scattered across planets. Ratchet also sells Leviathan Souls to the Smuggler for bolts.
• The Zoni - Ghost-like robots which Clank controls like the Gadgebots from previous games. They start out as helpers of Clank, but take on a more sinister role at the game's completion, spiriting Clank away to another dimension as their leader, and ending the game on a cliffhanger.
• Aphelion - A talking space ship that was seriously damaged on planet Fastoon. Ratchet and Clank repaired her and now have her as their ship and companion on their adventure.

Production

The game was first announced at the 2006 Game Developers Conference, where a Ratchet & Clank next-gen tech demonstration was shown for the PlayStation 3. Many new worlds and weapons will be introduced into the game like in previous installments of the series. It will also be more of a platform game, as Insomniac wanted to stop the series from becoming the more weapon based combat game it had become in the previous games Up Your Arsenal and Deadlocked.

There are reported to be a total of 31 weapons, gadgets, and combat devices, further divided into 15 weapons, 8 gadgets, and 8 devices. Unlike Going Commando and Up Your Arsenal, the player cannot unlock weapons from previous games using a memory card, due to their having a much lower polygon count.

It was also announced that the game would have some sort of remote play with the PlayStation Portable game, Secret Agent Clank. There is no official word regarding the interplay, but a secret area in Tools of Destruction contains a code that can be used in the upcoming Secret Agent Clank.

Demo

The game's demo was released October 10 on the PlayStation Network. People who pre-ordered the game from GameStop or Electronics Boutique can get the demo disk for free; however, the disc was made earlier than the download. The disc was the same demo from E3. The demo, which is available from the Playstation Store found on the Playstation 3's XMB or Xross Media Bar is 1611mb large to download. ]</ref>

Reception & Reviews

Publication	Score
Gametap	10 out of 10
GameSpot	7.5 out of 10
Gamesmaster	9.0 out of 10
GamePro	5 out of 5
X-Play	5 out of 5
PSM	9.5 out of 10
IGN	9.4 out of 10
Game Informer	9.25 out of 10
Game Trailers	9 out of 10
Official PlayStation Magazine (UK)	9 out of 10
Official PlayStation Magazine (Australia)	9 out of 10
NTSC-uk	8 out of 10
Famitsu	38 out of 40
Electronic Gaming Monthly	9 out of 10
Compilations of multiple reviews
GameStats	91 out of 100 (based on 40 reviews)
Metacritic	88 out of 100 (based on 68 reviews)

The game has been met with universally positive reviews, and has been largely heralded as one of the greatest games on the PS3 so far. On Metacritic, it has received an aggregate score of 88 from 68 reviews, giving the game a ranking of "generally favorable reviews", but some sites criticized the game claiming it to be too easy to play.

IGN, who gave the game a 9.4 out of 10, said "Not only has it supplanted Going Commando as the best title in the franchise, it's also the best game of any series on the PlayStation 3 thus far -- and that's saying a lot when you're up against Oblivion, Ninja Gaiden, Warhawk and Insomniac's very own previous effort, Resistance: Fall of Man." Also on IGN's weekly PS3 podcast, they called it the best video game they've played on any platform in 2007. GamerNode, who gave the game 9.5 out of 10, said "In Tools of Destruction, Insomniac is back doing what they do best, and they do it better than ever, This is the best Ratchet & Clank adventure to date, and at this point the best game the PS3 has to offer.Cheatcc gave the game 5/5 across the board saying it is one of the best games of all time. X-Play gave it 5/5 with its own personal episode. NTSC-uk said "...it never stops being anything less than great fun to play and hugely engaging".

Awards

Tools of Destruction earned the following award nominations and wins:

• Spike TV Awards: Best Action Game.:
• GameStooge Awards: Best PlayStation 3 Game, Best Action Game, Best Graphics - Artistic.
• Gaming Target: "52 Games We'll Still Be Playing From 2007" selection.

It also placed runner-up for various awards in IGN's Best of 2007, includng PS3 Game of the Year.

Sales

Tools of Destruction sold nearly 75,000 units during October of 2007. While this value is lower than other previous PlayStation 3 titles (such as Warhawk and Heavenly Sword, both which broke 100,000 sales in their first month of release), the game has outsold Ratchet: Deadlocked's first month of sales by nearly 20,000 units. Sony Computer Entertainment of America has stated that they are "very happy" with the initial sales figures.

In an interview with MTV News in March 2008, Ted Price stated that Tools of Destruction has sold over 1 million units so far and compared with the rest of the Ratchet series, it "has sold as many as the other games have at this point in its lifecycle. We were also panicked because we thought, 'Wow, there aren’t that many games on PlayStation 3 this Christmas and Ratchet should really be one of those big ones.' But then we realized that PlayStation 3 still is in the hands of consumers who tend not to be Ratchet fans. They’re the older consumers who are more interested in M-rated games. It hasn’t made its way necessarily to family play. And that’s the kind of game Ratchet is. So what we expect and what we’ve seen in the past is that it will have a long tail. … What’s cool for us is there aren’t that many family-friendly games out there [on the PS3] that provide competition for Ratchet.”

Future

Insomniac has stated that: "Ratchet & Clank Future" marks the beginning of a new saga. However, no details for a sequel have been shared at this time. However, within the game, a weapon description (Alpha Cannon) hints at a sequel.

External links

• Official website
• The Insomniac Games official website
• Sony of Japan's Ratchet & Clank Future Website

See also

• The Full Moon Show