
	Platform Playstation 3 Genre Platformer / Action Publisher SCEA Developer Insomniac Games ESRB E +10 (Everyone) Released August 21, 2008

- Polished Ratchet adventure - New ideas presented without messing with the old - It’s more of what you may already love

- It’s very short - Difficulty level can be uneven - It will leave you wanting more

Review: Overlord: Raising Hell (PS3) Review: Ninja Gaiden Sigma (PS3) Review: Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (PS2)
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Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty

Score: 8.5 / 10

As a video game collector, I’m not too keen on where Sony is trying to take us with this title. So far, most of the downloadable content on consoles has been limited to demos and “arcade” style simpler games that are both inexpensive and simplistic. I’ve never had a desire to collect a downloadable game – until now.

Seasoned developer Insomniac has decided to give us a bite-size treat this summer with what might be thought of as episodic content. Priced at only $14.99, this adventure is only going to take you three to four hours to complete. If you look at it this way, it’s around the same price as going to the movies only perhaps a lot more fun.

The game picks up right where Tools of Destruction left off. Clank has been taken away from the Zoni and you team up with Talwyn to find him. This game is all

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about pirates and the music and environments suit this perfectly. I had just about gotten over the pirate overload from the Caribbean movies but now I’m back to barking “arrrrr” to my friends and co-workers. (Sorry about that.)

There are some major differences in the game that you won’t be used to. Besides not having Clank strapped to your back (which limits how far you can jump) you’ll start the game with

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several weapons already partially levelled up and then be thrown into a situation where you have nothing but your wrench. You’ll eventually get those weapons back, have an opportunity to buy another but you won’t encounter a vendor anywhere in the game. The lack of weapons in certain areas certainly makes the challenge a bit higher and it lets you focus on platforming.

Speaking of challenge – the game now allows you to select the difficulty level (easy, medium or hard) which may add some replay value for you to go back and try at a harder level. I played on medium and found only one area in the game that was very difficult, causing me to replay it numerous times.

Overall, the game feels like a fully polished Ratchet adventure that is just on the short side. I feel it’s a good value for the money, although as I mentioned I’m somewhat uncomfortable not owning the content on a physical disc (I will be importing a European Blu-ray later this year).

I felt a slight pain at the end of the game when the cliffhanger it leaves you on mentions that you can continue the adventure in the Fall of 2009. That’s over a year away and although I should have expected it, seeing it on the screen made it more real somehow.

I do feel as though I might have missed something. The trailer shows Ratchet under water and I never experienced that in game play. Yes, there’s an excuse to go back into the game and play it again. I love the worlds they have created that much, and if you’ve ever liked the series even a smidge then you will too.

Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty is short, beautiful and is perhaps just enough to tide you over until next year. I’m not entirely convinced about the distribution method but overall it’s a good value for the money and as long as you’re connected, you’re ready to go. AAAAAAR matey!

- Syd Bolton

(September 26, 2008)