Aaron Caraway

April 12th, 2016 saw the release of Ratchet & Clank on PS4, part of a now 14-year old video game franchise held exclusively on Playstation consoles.

The latest installment in the Ratchet & Clank series is a video game adaptation of the animated movie of the same name, which is an alternative re-telling of the original 2002 title on Playstation 2, conveniently also titled Ratchet & Clank. “The Game based on the Movie based on the Game”, as developer Insomniac Games describes it.

Ratchet & Clank (2016) tells the story of Ratchets joining the Galactic Rangers and saving the galaxy from evil Chairman Drek with a small robot named Clank, originally a warbot in Dreks army but much smaller and less intimidating than intended thanks to some defect. Players explore several alien worlds in their quest to defeat the Blarg (ruled by Chairman Drek of Drek Industries), using various (one such example being the Groovitron, which forces any enemy in the area to dance – another is the Pixelizer, a shotgun which transforms enemies into low-resolution retro versions of themselves) to progress.

Much of the game hearkens back to the original 2002 release, although Insomniac Games does take the opportunity to call attention to other titles in the franchise through popular guns and artwork in the extras menu. The game also uses some scenes directly from the upcoming film.

Ratchet & Clank (2016) is available at any major electronics retailer for 40 dollars exclusively on Playstation 4 consoles. The Ratchet & Clank movie opens in theaters April 29th.