14 DAY TRIAL // The Ratchet & Clank franchise has been around for many years and spanned console generations, not while reaching portable devices not to mention home ones.
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus is the next installment in the prestigious series, with developer Insomniac Games promising to deliver a brand new classic experience starring everyone's favorite Lombax, Ratchet, and his robotic friend, Clank.
The game wants to continue the very successful Future spinoff series, which saw the dynamic duo go on a series of inter-connected adventures, and will deliver a brand new plot with a few older characters, including some classic villains.
The first thing you notice with Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus is the quality of the graphics. The game is showing the age of the PlayStation 3, as the textures are pixelated or blurry, the character models aren't that high quality and there aren't a lot of actually interesting visual effects.
The graphics will still please longtime fans, as while they aren't pretty per se, they are arranged by Insomniac to produce a series of gorgeous environments bearing the traditional Ratchet & Clank style. From alien worlds to alien enemies, not to mention the different weapons and gadgets deployed by the two heroes, everything feels right if you played previous games in the series.
In terms of actual gameplay, Into the Nexus doesn't really innovate all that much, at least from the demo at Gamescom 2013. You still get to control Ratchet, who carries Clank on his back. You get to explore different environments and, of course, smash crates to get the precious nuts and bolts that can be used to buy things and upgrades.
There is one new element, in the form of a special gravity beam that can be deployed between two special receptors. These things basically replace the grind rails from previous games as they're just a way to get from point A to point B.
Combat is also pretty simple, as you can use your wrench or your different weapons to eliminate enemies. The arsenal was incomplete in the demo so we can't say for sure just how many new things are included in the new game.
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus is out this fall for the PlayStation 3.