Also for: Playstation 2
They're back, Ratchier and Clankier than before, but apart from that, they're the same old Lombax 'n' robot duo in Ratchet & Clank 2: Locked and Loaded (released Stateside as Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando). This time the odd couple gets hired to rescue a cute, seemingly beloved lab pet that was stolen from a certain professor Fizzwidget. The culprit is an unknown intergalactic thief in mask and cape. You'll follow kidnapper across the galaxy on a circular trail of addictive 3D platforming mayhem, enjoying some twisted humor and humorous twists in the process.
Bringing your trusty wrench and a couple of guns you smash and zap your way through droves of well-designed, thematically diverse levels. This series keep impressing me with its finely detailed worlds. They are animated well beyond what you'd expect of this era, with fully detailed, 3D-rendered buildings as backdrops. Residents' ships fly past in the background, until you reach them later in the level and discover they're not background objects at all, but fully interactable ones. You can even destroy them to gain currency.
A few of the levels are completely devoted to ship-to-ship combat in space, but most of them you spend running around planet surfaces. Excluding a couple of gladiator arenas, the level design is a replica of the predecessor's, with the starting location branching out into a few directions that all lead to a juicy reward or story progression. Navigating them is easy, surviving might be trickier.
Gameplay-wise, not much has changed since the first game. Insomniac removes some annoyances and adds a few features, like a whole new arsenal of weapons and rudimentary leveling. You may upgrade your guns by simply using them enough, which is a clever way to reward experimental gameplay. Killing any enemy, no matter how big or small, now also adds experience towards a permanent increase in maximum health, which should help players who are having a hard time.
Some quality of life improvements also makes life a little smoother, like a strafe button and an auto-pause when you bring up the quick-selection wheel.
Locked and Loaded maintains the steady level of polish of its predecessor, further establishing the series as one of the top representatives of Playstation 2-era technical excellence. The stylized universe ages well, as you can tell by how comfortably the characters translates into the 2012 HD remaster I played.
I know many regard this as the pinnacle of the franchise. Anyone who starts off with this game will likely have a hard time regressing to the previous entry. To me the sequel just seems a bit too familiar, like I'm playing the same game over again. Honestly, in retrospect, I have a hard time differentiating between the two. I just miss the euphoria of novelty.
Locked and Loaded reminds me of modern day expansions, with a brand new story within the framework of the standard game. It hardly contains enough new gameplay features to call it a stand-alone game. This is how the zeitgeist of the early 00:s generally treated sequels, and many of us bought into the idea. Just take a great game and remove the worst parts to make it even better. On the plus side, this meant we could have two quality games in the same series released just one year apart.
I enjoy the core action platform gameplay slightly more this time around. The pacing is calibrated to near perfection, with faster, more challenging and geographically less drawn out levels. On the other hand, I care less about the many offshoots, side mechanics and gadgets. I never failed to curse the sight of the two (why does it have to be two?) different lockpicking mini-games, that require superhuman spatial awareness skills. Just selecting the correct gadget in the pause menu is an unwelcome break from the adrenaline rush. I'm also disappointed to dislike the Clank levels, both in his normal and overblown size.
Even though I enjoyed the predecessor more, Locked and Loaded is undeniably a good sequel. I had some dizzying fun, and got me a good dose of heartfelt laughs. The cutscenes are hilariously spoofy science fiction stuff. One great scene had me arrive at a planet just in time to see the thief take off. Clank wonders why the two of them are always late to the scene. Then the pair of them answer their own question by looking through the fourth wall at you, who likely have been exploring too much.
But why shouldn't you explore? The levels are just too condensed with stuff to find: mini-games, secrets, a few different paths on every planet, stashes of bolts, or weapons to buy and upgrade. When you leave a planet, you're likely not finished with it. Insomniac sure crammed a lot of effort in there, and I'd hate to see it squandered. Some of the mechanics, like the tractor beam, are so underutilized it feels as if they're thrown in as a discount. Refraining from exploring feels like disrespecting the wealth of ideas.
Above all, Ratchet & Clank 2 cements the core concept of the franchise: the joy of exploring creative ways to destroy stuff. With the brilliant addition of weapons that upgrade by simply using them, it goes even further down this path. Smashing everything breakable around you rewards Ratchet with bolts, which acts as currency in his world. You channel these into new weapons that increase fire power, thus hastening the process of mayhem and earnings. The wheel keeps spinning.
It almost sounds like a twisted political statement when you put it that way. But don't worry, I won't dwell on it. Most of all, I respond to Ratchet & Clank as I respond to the safe playground of the Marvel Cinematic Universe releases: It does not alter my life's course, but for a time it makes the journey a heck of a lot more fun and exciting.
[Screenshots from MobyGames: www.mobygames.com]
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