Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction [PS3]

One of the most anticipated titles for the PS3 this year is the upcoming action title, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. The latest installment of the Lombax and his diminutive sidekick appears to be one of the best showpieces of what the system can do. The worlds that Ratchet and Clank fight across have never looked so spectacular, with gigantic stages packed with dozens of opponents, tons of destructible objects and lots of explosions. We managed to check out a new build of the game at Sony's Pre-TGS press reception, which appeared to be very close to complete.

One of the first things that we managed to check out was a brand new planet, the swampy world of Cebolia. Unlike the metropolitan stages that we'd seen at previous demos, Cebolia was packed with a ton of dangerous flora and fauna that all wanted to make our two heroes into a mid-day snack. Odd crawling centipede-like aliens spat green goo as the duo approached, while strange blob shaped creatures played possum until Ratchet's back was turned, at which point they jumped from the ground and attacked. Even sections of the stages were hostile, with gigantic swaths of toxic water and steam vents that would fry Ratchet when they went off.

The largest threat on this planet was a different kind of alien: a flying fish that shot what appeared to be electric bolts towards the pair and could only be downed by targeting and weakening sections of its body before the head could be assaulted. Once the fish was destroyed, however, it exploded into a mass of special items such as Rareitanium and Leviathan Souls. Raritanium is a special metal that can be collected and used to upgrade a weapon in a couple of ways, such as increasing the firing rate, the range or its damage upon impact. Leviathan Souls, on the other hand, can be redeemed for a ton of bonus bolts through special traders.

In fact, collecting bolts appears to be a bit easier with the inclusion of these souls and other power-ups, such as the Jackpot Power-Up. Contained in a mystery box (which suggests that there are other kinds of special conditions we weren't able to pin down during the demo), the Jackpot Power-Up increased the number of bolts collected from any activity. This meant whether Ratchet was breaking a box, destroying a lamp post or defeating an opponent, he'd get at least twice the number of bolts for that action. This feature lasted for at least fifteen seconds, and definitely helped push Ratchet towards being able to afford special devices such as the Groove-A-Tron disco ball grenade.

Apparently, Cebolia is also where Ratchet gains his first of many new accessory items. In the middle of the stage, he acquires what's known as the Gelinator, which allows him to project a viscous cube of a Jello-like substance that he can bounce on to reach previously inaccessible areas. By continually shooting the cube with additional gel, Ratchet can grow the cube, allowing it to gain size to help him leap to extremely high ledges and platforms. This item can also be placed in some toxic pools to help him traverse seemingly uncrossable rivers or locations. We'll have more on Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction soon.

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