Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal
released on Nov 02, 2004
A 3D platform video game and the third installment in the Ratchet & Clank series. The gameplay is similar to previous games in the series but introduces new features such as a new control system and more levels in the upgrade system for weapons. It follows Ratchet and Clank's adventure through a fictional universe to defeat a robotic villain, Dr. Nefarious, who intends to destroy all organic life. Characters such as Dr. Nefarious and Sasha, a Cazar starship captain who helps Ratchet throughout the game, are introduced, and a number of characters return from the original Ratchet & Clank.
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Clearly the best one of the trilogy that follows everything the previous games did great without adding a lot to the formula. The main improvements of the game are more QOL based than game/level design based but there are still a few with the most important which is the weapons upgrade. In R&C2, you could upgrade your weapons to level 2 and that was it, this time you can go up to level 5. That is a nice improvement that will make you use more different guns until you get to the end of the game and you will start to use your most useful guns. I don't have much more to say other than it has the the coolest weapon of the trilogy and also the hardest final boss.
Out of all the PS2 games this one has my favorite progression system. Weapons be purchased, leveled up and upgraded individually, armor can be upgraded, max health can increase - there's a lot. You combine that with everything else and a solid gameplay loop and it's easy to keep coming back to this game. The humor is really strong as well and there's a good deal of variety. I will say my main complaint is that some levels of the main campaign are more memorable than others.
Up Your Arsenal is another good sequel. Although it's not as ambitious as the previous game Going Commando, what it does well hasn't changed from the previous games, the gameplay is still frenetic and fun. It has some changes I like, and some I don't.
What I've noticed is that there's a shift in focus that started in Going Commando but has reached its culmination here. Which is that it's finally dropped all pretense of being a platformer, and has cemented itself firmly as being a fast paced run and gun shooter. I don't actually have an issue with this in theory, because I never thought Ratchet and Clank had outstanding platforming to begin with. The problem with this change for me is the simplification of the level design, and how that affects the feel of the worlds and player choice. The previous games had worlds with branching paths for the player to choose from. One path could be a puzzle section and another could be a combat section, and there was a lot of fun in exploring the worlds from different angles. They felt organic, and always rewarded with a new gadget or story progression event. The levels in Up Your Arsenal are mostly straight lines to the end. They're finished so quickly that there's hardly any time to appreciate the ambience of the world, and the few split paths they do have usually only lead to titanium bolts, a cosmetic unlocking item. The mission list is functionally useless in this game.
It also has less variety compared to previous games. There's no grind rail sections, hoverbike races, or space ship battles. Instead there's Galactic Ranger missions where you fight enemy hordes, fine at first but there's just too many of them and it's always the same thing. The writing is funnier, but it lost a lot of its edge and corporate satire, and feels more like a typical Saturday morning cartoon.
As far as improvements, there's a second weapon wheel which cuts down on constant menu opening. The weapons got an upgrade up to 8 levels which keeps them useful. There's less Giant Clank levels, which I detested. The bosses are better, they're back to being about as good as the first game's bosses again. I did enjoy the story more than Going Commando's weird evil furby thing, but that's mainly because I loved Dr. Nefarious and his apathetic butler as characters, and not because the story is complex or has any sort of character development like the first game. It added a mini hub, and it's nice that it let me buy armor upgrades without having to remember which level the armor vendor was thrown into.
Even if it's not quite as varied or innovative as the previous games, Up Your Arsenal is still a fun game, and a solid entry worth playing.
What I've noticed is that there's a shift in focus that started in Going Commando but has reached its culmination here. Which is that it's finally dropped all pretense of being a platformer, and has cemented itself firmly as being a fast paced run and gun shooter. I don't actually have an issue with this in theory, because I never thought Ratchet and Clank had outstanding platforming to begin with. The problem with this change for me is the simplification of the level design, and how that affects the feel of the worlds and player choice. The previous games had worlds with branching paths for the player to choose from. One path could be a puzzle section and another could be a combat section, and there was a lot of fun in exploring the worlds from different angles. They felt organic, and always rewarded with a new gadget or story progression event. The levels in Up Your Arsenal are mostly straight lines to the end. They're finished so quickly that there's hardly any time to appreciate the ambience of the world, and the few split paths they do have usually only lead to titanium bolts, a cosmetic unlocking item. The mission list is functionally useless in this game.
It also has less variety compared to previous games. There's no grind rail sections, hoverbike races, or space ship battles. Instead there's Galactic Ranger missions where you fight enemy hordes, fine at first but there's just too many of them and it's always the same thing. The writing is funnier, but it lost a lot of its edge and corporate satire, and feels more like a typical Saturday morning cartoon.
As far as improvements, there's a second weapon wheel which cuts down on constant menu opening. The weapons got an upgrade up to 8 levels which keeps them useful. There's less Giant Clank levels, which I detested. The bosses are better, they're back to being about as good as the first game's bosses again. I did enjoy the story more than Going Commando's weird evil furby thing, but that's mainly because I loved Dr. Nefarious and his apathetic butler as characters, and not because the story is complex or has any sort of character development like the first game. It added a mini hub, and it's nice that it let me buy armor upgrades without having to remember which level the armor vendor was thrown into.
Even if it's not quite as varied or innovative as the previous games, Up Your Arsenal is still a fun game, and a solid entry worth playing.
i'd rank this second-place of the first three ratchet & clank games (with r&c 1 on top and going commando on the bottom.)
the gameplay is improved over the second, but the writing is mixed. we've reached the second R&C that introduces a brand new love interest for ratchet for absolutely no reason. that said, there are a lot of funny jokes! so i'd say it's a pro on the comedy and a con on the plot. having started with the 2016 R&C and then going backwards, i can say that by the third entry i'm definitely getting tired of 2000s kinda-edgy jerkass ratchet.
the gameplay is improved over the second, but the writing is mixed. we've reached the second R&C that introduces a brand new love interest for ratchet for absolutely no reason. that said, there are a lot of funny jokes! so i'd say it's a pro on the comedy and a con on the plot. having started with the 2016 R&C and then going backwards, i can say that by the third entry i'm definitely getting tired of 2000s kinda-edgy jerkass ratchet.
The best game in the franchise if you haven’t played any of them since you were 13. Very much the Tokyo Drift of Ratchet and Clank
The one truly pitch-perfect R&C game. The series on the whole is terrific, but there's something about the humor & action in UYA in particular that make it stand out as the best one for me. I still think of jokes & quips made in the game to this day. Plus the platforming, weapons, characters ---- they're all as great as ever.