After playing through "A Crack in Time", "Into the Nexus" feels like a bit of a downgrade. Ratchet's design was changed yet again, and this time to make him look more "cute", which doesn't really fit his character.
The gameplay was kinda wonky, too. Instead of the mainstay third-person free-cam type of feel, this was more locked down and played more like a twin-stick shooter. The new grav-boot mechanics was a neat addition though. The game also ran rough. The improved graphics along with the fact that ItN is a very explosive game made for pretty severe frame drops in many areas. That being said, the game DID look beautiful. My poor PS3 just couldn't handle it.
In terms of plot, it was weird. It picked up from where ACiT left off and delved more into the quantum physics plot points. We get alternate, evil dimensions and the looming threat of an interdimensional eldritch abomination. It was fun and entertaining, but not nearly as interesting as ACiT. However, the new villains were cool, and I enjoyed their redemption arc.
The weapons are pretty different from ACiT. They're a lot more powerful, too. Given the short length of the game, I suppose the developers decided to spice things up by letting the player have power trips with weapons that, when leveled, did SIGNIFICANTLY more damage. Almost made the game a cakewalk.
Going back to the fact that this game is short, there's also not much extra content aside from the main plot. The Thugs-4-Less gladiator arena was only two cups long, and each challenge was relatively easy. I've yet to re-experience the rush that was the Impossible Challenge from GC.
One of my favorite things, however, was the museum level. Usually museum content is hidden behind NG+ and some form of completion, but this time it was an actual area in-game. It was cool to see callbacks to the PS2 era.
Finally, the clank sections here were far different than anything ever done with him. His sections were side-scrolling 2.5D sections with gravity manipulation. Not as likable as his Great Clock time puzzles, but still better than the Gadge-bots.
It's a nice little epilogue to the franchise for the time being. However, with Rift Apart coming out soon, and not knowing whether it'll be a direct sequel to this entry, or a continuation of the reboot, it's at least nice to know our dynamic duo has not been left behind like Jak and Sly. Their story and legacy continues.
The gameplay was kinda wonky, too. Instead of the mainstay third-person free-cam type of feel, this was more locked down and played more like a twin-stick shooter. The new grav-boot mechanics was a neat addition though. The game also ran rough. The improved graphics along with the fact that ItN is a very explosive game made for pretty severe frame drops in many areas. That being said, the game DID look beautiful. My poor PS3 just couldn't handle it.
In terms of plot, it was weird. It picked up from where ACiT left off and delved more into the quantum physics plot points. We get alternate, evil dimensions and the looming threat of an interdimensional eldritch abomination. It was fun and entertaining, but not nearly as interesting as ACiT. However, the new villains were cool, and I enjoyed their redemption arc.
The weapons are pretty different from ACiT. They're a lot more powerful, too. Given the short length of the game, I suppose the developers decided to spice things up by letting the player have power trips with weapons that, when leveled, did SIGNIFICANTLY more damage. Almost made the game a cakewalk.
Going back to the fact that this game is short, there's also not much extra content aside from the main plot. The Thugs-4-Less gladiator arena was only two cups long, and each challenge was relatively easy. I've yet to re-experience the rush that was the Impossible Challenge from GC.
One of my favorite things, however, was the museum level. Usually museum content is hidden behind NG+ and some form of completion, but this time it was an actual area in-game. It was cool to see callbacks to the PS2 era.
Finally, the clank sections here were far different than anything ever done with him. His sections were side-scrolling 2.5D sections with gravity manipulation. Not as likable as his Great Clock time puzzles, but still better than the Gadge-bots.
It's a nice little epilogue to the franchise for the time being. However, with Rift Apart coming out soon, and not knowing whether it'll be a direct sequel to this entry, or a continuation of the reboot, it's at least nice to know our dynamic duo has not been left behind like Jak and Sly. Their story and legacy continues.