Parent's Guide: Ratchet & Clank: Nexus - Age rating, mature content and difficulty

Hot on the heels of the escaped space witch Vendra Prog, crime-fighting heroes Ratchet and Clank must travel to the most haunted sectors of the universe to bring the escaped criminal to justice. What follows is a combat-heavy 3D platform game, where players bash, smash and shoot their way though waves of enemies with an arsenal of crazy weapons - there's a gun that turns bad guys into snowmen, grenades that spawn mini black-holes and a deployable robot called Mr. Zurkon who cuts through your enemies with a combination of his firepower, and his deadly one liners that are sure to raise a smile.

It's worth bearing in mind though that this is a game that uses a trickier control scheme than the average platformer, with the emphasis on combat meaning the game uses a dual analogue control scheme, much like you'd find in games such as Gears of War or Mass Effect - although with the addition of an easy difficulty and a wrench you can hit people with, without having to worry about the right analogue stick, it's possible to fumble your way through without much skill with a gun.

Besides fighting, there's a fair amount of puzzles, platforming and exploring to be done - being futuristic law enforcement folks, Ratchet and Clank have all manner of gadgets to help them get around the place, from jetpacks and grappling hooks to more exotic items, such as anti-gravity boots and a gun which lets them create pink jet-streams to ride around in. The little robot Clank has a new unique ability to enter a 2D parallel universe known as the 'Netherworld' through pink rifts in the real world, leading to little maze-like levels where you need to guide a ferocious 'Nether' creature to the entrance by manipulating the direction of gravity. Floors become walls and ceilings become the ground as you work your way around pits of deadly pink goo, press switches and move crates around to proceed.

Fully voice acted with little reading required, Ratchet and Clank is almost like an interactive Pixar film, with witty dialogue and jokes along the way, and a killer sense of humour. Both the young and the young at heart will be laughing along as they explore the game's five planets, and help put Vendra back behind bars.

Being an action game, Ratchet & Clank: Nexus involves a lot of fighting, sometimes whacking enemies with your wrench or shooting them with guns. Weapons are all over-the-top and cartoony, from oversized laser blasters to a gun that turns enemies into snowmen, not to mention your trash-talking robot, and battles end with the bad guys disappearing in a puff of smoke amidst explosions, leaving behind a pile of bolts (the game's currency) in their wake. There's no blood or guts whatsoever, and no swearing to be seen either.

Age Ratings

Format Reviewed: Playstation 3