ratchet and clank's dial ticks just a tad toward their cousins jak and daxter's level of edginess, finding a balance that allows them to remain fully recognizable as ratchet and clank while still having a more serious and realized plot. i LOVED the writing in this one. the gameplay was good too, acting as an obviously halo-inspired take on the annihilation nation challenges from up your arsenal.
confused by the random and not tone-fitting transphobic joke in the post-credits scene, though. what was up with that?

"Heroes never die, they keep coming back as re-runs!"

Mindless gonzo combat as an analog for scathing potshots at manufactured celebrity - a much more resonant theme now than on release - they made you, and will turn on you in an instant for being exactly what they created you to be. Unquestionably a downgrade from the previous games though, Ratchet is barely an entity in this and you can't even play as Clank - but boy does this do the whole forced 2000s grit cringe WAY better than Jak II and III. In fact this whole thing feels like a predictor of the gaming generation to come - with an emphasis on fleeting short-attention-span gameplay over depth, so you can crank out these missions (in dull, empty environments) as fast as possible without having to really think about it. But it's also reasonably fun at doing that, plus the story is loaded with searing social satire and is absolutely fucking hilarious to boot (Dallas and Juanita ftw). PS3 port is rife with visual glitches and framerate drops. Grindrail sections are HOT ass. Had a good time with it no doubt, but also really glad they got this out of their system.