Size Definitely Matters!
Supplier: Sony/High Impact
Reviewed By: Rogue5
Price: $39.99 (MSRP)
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Ask any gamer what their favourite PS2 exclusive action-platformer is and you’ll most likely hear Jak & Daxter or Ratchet & Clank as the answer. With a Daxter game already in the bucket, it’s about time PSP gamers were graced with Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (RCSM), the series’ first game on Sony’s more than capable handheld.
Let’s ditch the theatrics and get straight to the point: RCSM is, objectively, a great game. Your mileage of its greatness will undoubtedly vary, but if you have an affinity for action-platformers it’s safe to say you’ll appreciate what RCSM offers. Like the choo-choo that could, Size Matters achieves a steady pace of awesomeness and maintains it throughout the duration of its adventure.
Despite being over two years old, there is still something very appealing about seeing console-quality visuals rendered on the PSP. Size Matters captures what made the console Ratchet games visually impressive, squeezing it down into a nearly perfect 480x272 pixel representation. Details, such as Ratchet's myriad of facial expressions or the wide range of alien vegetation, give Size Matters a very organic, almost believable, aesthetic (despite being cartoony by design.) While the models, animations and level designs are top-notch, like all Ratchet games, the brilliance of various particle effects make up the jewels of Size Matters’ crown. Like a roundhouse kick to the face, the sparks, stars, and beams that compose the different muzzle flashes are as exciting to watch, as the weapons are to fire.
Speaking of weapons, there is as much variety as a Las Vegas Buffet – old classics are expected and completely new Tools of Destruction are introduced. Adding another layer of depth the weapons can be tweaked via upgrades obtained throughout the game. The six unlockable armour types ensure that Ratchet is as well protected as he is armed. Needless to say there are plenty of extras to ensure collection-freaks have reason to keep the Ratchet UMD in their PSP.
In order to shake things up High Impact rely on vehicles, hoverboard races, combat arena, and Clank sub-missions to keep the game from growing stale. Even though most of the different gameplay modes are staples in the Ratchet franchise, the hoverboard races do a particularily good job of break-up the game’s action and platforming, allowing you to unlock some sugary-sweet prizes along the way. At the very least the nuts & bolts bounties obtained by winning a race allow Ratchet to purchase upgrades much faster than conventional means (killing enemies and smashing boxes.) Playing as Clank is as much fun as you’d hope, offering it’s own set of unique puzzle and combat mechanics. For example, you’ll often control those wily gadgebots in order to open doors or hold-down pressure plates needed to proceed.
Along with tons of weapons and armour, a handful of different gameplay types, and an entirely new adventure, four-player ad-hoc and infrastructure multiplayer are used to round out the game’s replayability. Multiplayer standard modes, deathmatch and capture the flag, are present along with an objective-based mode called Iron Lambox. While not as robust as SOCOM: FTB, the inclusion of multiplayer in Size Matters only reaffirms High Impact’s goal of creating a console experience on the go from the ground up, rather than trying to shoehorn an existing console game onto the PSP.
In the case of Ratchet & Clank for the PSP, size certainly does matter. Their first outing on the system and the game is every bit a big and grandiose as their console adventures, proving that – despite all the well deserved hate – the portable is still capable of pulling off some awesome games. wait for Tools of Destruction on the PS3.
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