Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Insomniac Games |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | NA November 11, 2003 EU November 21, 2003 JP December 11, 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Platformer, Shooter |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (13+) PEGI: 3+ OFLC: G8+ |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 2 |
| Media | DVD |
| Input | Gamepad |
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (Ratchet & Clank 2: Locked and Loaded in Europe[1]) is a 3D platform/shooter for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony in 2003. It is the second game in the Ratchet & Clank series.
Like its predecessor, Ratchet & Clank, Going Commando was given high review scores, and has a 92% average on Game Rankings.[2]
Contents |
[edit] Gameplay
As in Ratchet & Clank, the player traverses the game in a third-person perspective, armed with various types of weapons to defeat enemies and explore areas. Clank has a much larger role than in the first installment, and now can control other robots and transform into a giant form of himself.[3] New to Going Commando are hover bike races, space combat missions, and an arena, where the player can take on waves of enemies to earn money.[3]
The weapon system in Going Commando is very different from its predecessor, in that weapons are now upgradeable.[3] Each weapon now has an experience bar, and when it is used to kill enemies, the bar gradually fills.[3] When the bar is full, the weapon levels up and becomes more powerful. The game features a large assortment of weapons, including the standard mêlée wrench, a lava-spewing gun, rocket launchers, blasters, and the Sheepinator, which turns enemies into sheep.[3]
In the game, there is a place where the player can use their save file from Ratchet & Clank to access a selection of "retro" weapons from that game.[3] All of the "retro" weapons are significantly reduced in power, and cannot be upgraded. Some gadgets from the original Ratchet & Clank, such as the Swingshot, appear again. Others, such as the Thermanator, which freezes water or melts ice, or the Glider, are entirely new.
[edit] Story
[edit] Characters and setting
The main characters from the first game return in Going Commando. Ratchet's personality is very different, as he is more willing to do tasks assigned to him. Clank is given more control by the player than in the previous game. Going Commando also introduces a few new ones, such as Angela Cross, a female Lombax. Throughout the game, the eccentric Abercrombie Fizzwidget aids in the player's mission, giving tasks to complete.
[edit] Plot
After defeating Drek in the previous game, Ratchet and Clank become celebrities. However, things start cooling down after a while. After an interview with Behind the Hero, Ratchet and Clank are suddenly teleported to the Bogon Galaxy by Abercrombie Fizzwidget, the founder and CEO of Megacorp, a company that makes everything from household appliances to heavy weaponry. Fizzwidget asks the duo for their assistance in recovering a stolen biological experiment, called the Protopet.[4] Then, Ratchet receives weeks of training to prepare him for the missions he will be assigned.(Including:Martial Arts, Heavy Weaponary, Stealth, Camouflage, Survival, Dancing,and Origami
Ratchet flies to a flying lab in Aranos, and searches for the Protopet. Eventually, he finds the Protopet in a cage only big enough to fit the biological experiement, on a pedestal. The thief reveals himself, and Ratchet attempts to lie about his business on the ship. The thief takes the protopet, and leaves the ship. Ratchet returns to his ship, and contacts Fizzwidget, saying that the thief esacped and he had no idea about the whereabouts of the thief.
Ratchet confronts the thief on the frozen planet Siberius. He defeats the theif, reclaims the experiment, and returns it to Mr. Fizzwidget. Later, after Mr. Fizzwidget accidentally (although Clank believes it was a deliberate act) ejects Ratchet and Clank from their ship, the thief approaches, demanding the experiment back, not realizing that Ratchet doesn't have it. The thief's mask comes off accidentally, and it's revealed that he is actually a woman, Angela Cross. After learning that the experiment has been handed back to Megacorp, she warns that it will ultimately doom the galaxy.[5]
On planet Dobbo, Ratchet and Clank discover that Angela's claims are true (the experiment turns out to be a dangerous predator), and try to persuade Fizzwidget to destroy the experiment, but their efforts are in vain.[6] The duo then stumble across an ad for the "Protopet" (the experiment), which is being prepared for mass release. On planet Boldan, Ratchet and Clank are captured for "attempting to bump off" Mr. Fizzwidget (at this point and time, Ratchet was threatening a poor-quality robot Fizzwidget look-a-like.). They are sent to a prison, but escape, and eventually the three of them go to Megacorp HQ to end the Protopet menace once and for all.
After they get there, the female Infobot (who gets destroyed by Quark) reveals that Captain Qwark (the disgraced superhero from Ratchet & Clank) kidnnapped the real Fizzwidget and took his place. Quark was about to use the Prototopets to restore his reputation. [7] He takes Angela's Helix-o-morph (a gadget that will repair the fatal flaw in the Protopet) and zaps the original Protopet. But something goes wrong, and the original Protopet mutates into a gigantic monster. When Ratchet finally defeats the Protopet, Clank discovers that the batteries in the Helix-o-morph are in backwards. Angela corrects this, and amplifies the device with Megacorp's TV transponders to cure all the Protopets in the galaxy, after she zaps the original, ending the threat once and for all. The real Fizzwidget then appears, who was tied up in a closet the whole time. In the end of the game we see Ratchet, Clank, Angela (aka the Thief) and the infobot back at Ratchet's home where they find out that Qwark is now working for Megacorps but to his luck he is a test dummy receiving more probs and is tested on numerous times
[edit] Reception
 |
This section is a stub. You can help by expanding it. |
The game had good reception from IGN with a score of 9.4(0.2 higher than the first game in the series' score). It got 9.1 from Gamestats.com (0.3 higher than the first game's score from them). The game received Game of the Month in Game Informer magazine when it was released. It received a 4 out of five from Gamespy.com and XPlay.
[edit] Trivia
- The title screen showing Ratchet playing a game will not only cycle through scenes from both Ratchet & Clank and Going Commando, but also from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II and Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus. All three series are generally considered to be part of the Playstation 2's mascots.
[edit] References
- ^ GameFAQs. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Info. Retrieved on 15 November 2006.
- ^ Game Rankings. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Reviews. Retrieved on 15 November 2006.
- ^ a b c d e f (2003) in Insomniac Games: Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Instruction Booklet (in English). Sony Computer Entertainment.
- ^ Fizzwidget: A few days ago this, top secret, biological experiment was stolen from our testing lavatory, by this duplitheros criminal mastermind and I need you to get the experiment back. (Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando)
- ^ Angela: This changes nothing! Where is the experiment? Clank: We have returned it to Mr Fizzwidget. Angela: Ugh. You've just put the whole galaxy in imminent danger. (Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando)
- ^ Ratchet: Mr Fizzwidget, do you copy? Anyone handling the experiment must exercise the utmost caution. (Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando)
- ^ Qwark: Allow me to explain, I'm about to save the galaxy from the Protopets and you are about to be come public enemy number one! (Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando)
[edit] External links
|
Ratchet & Clank • Going Commando • Up Your Arsenal • Deadlocked • Going Mobile • Size Matters |
