Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction [PS3]

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There's so much going on, in fact, that it's almost painful to look at for the first few minutes. As recently as a year ago, even the best platforming games showed a notable difference in quality between elements in the foreground and background. That meant that you always knew what to pay attention to, because the active monsters, buildings and vehicles looked just a bit better than those making up the background. Now, with everything rendered in equal HD detail, the sensation of dropping into Ratchet's world is disorienting. In the best way, of course - this is what we've wanted from the HD generation all along, and it's absolutely beautiful.

Insomniac has given Ratchet's arsenal a major overhaul, but the collection of guns and gear is just as massive as always. Nearly every weapon becomes more powerful with use and can go through a second round of upgrades on repeat playthroughs. In addition to bolts used to buy guns and armor, there's the new collectable Raritanium, which can be spent on a branching series of upgrades for each weapon. With guns that shoot blades or plant dormant plasma beasts waiting to attack enemies that wander near, there's just as much wild combat as in previous episodes.

One addition is SixAxis functionality. You'll tilt the controller to guide Ratchet in moments of free-fall by using Clank's new Robo-Wings and to hack some doors in a new mini-game. All those elements are programmed with seamless ease; the only time the SixAxis feels clunky is while guiding whirlwinds launched from the new Tornado Gun. That's unfortunate - the gun is a major new entry and we just didn't enjoy using it often because of the inability to control the tornados with any precision.

We're amused that a few elements from previous games make a comeback. Some are a little dated; the need to grind rails in some levels feels like a throwback to the 'extreme sports' tendencies that plagued gaming years ago. But Ratchet and Clank has a definite kitchen sink mentality - there's an absurd amount of ideas, content and gear crammed into this game. The saving grace is that most of it feels effortless and natural, so that when you're running up vertical ramps, creating gelatinous green launching pads to reach a plateau in order to burrow through a small opening and explore as Clank, the whole process feels exactly right.