It may have been ten years since Ratchet and Clank first smashed onto the PS2 - but we're still not entirely sure what he actually is. Known as a Lombax, which seems to translate as part cat, part alien rabbity thing in a fetching shade of orange and yellow, Ratchet was just one of many characters to find their feet on the PS2. With his poshly voiced robotic assistant Clank in his pocket, the dynamic duo were the star of many a platform game, and managed to squeeze out an impressive average of a game a year over the course of the next decade. The latest game in the series, Q Force, is intended in part to mark the tenth anniversary of one of Sony's largest mascots - but oddly, it's taken the series in a rather different direction.
While the games up until now have all been platform games of a pretty similar formula, Q Force is instead more of a tower defence game, with a distinct platformery twist. There's a rather flimsy plot tying things together here, but all you really need to know is that you, playing as either Ratchet, Clank, or the Zapp Brannigan alike Captain Qwark, have been tasked with going to a group of planets, and fighting your way past a veritable army of enemies in order to reactivate their Planetary Defence Centres. But as you may imagine, there's a bit of a twist.
Attack and defend...
Rather than fighting your way through willy nilly, Q Force is instead an intricate balance act between attack and defence. From pretty much the second you start playing, regular waves of enemies will start to make their way towards your Q Force base - and it's up to you to stop them destroying the six generators found within. At the same time, you'll have to venture outside your base whenever you're given a few seconds of breathing room, in order to explore the surrounding planet as you try to disable the shields, and eventually storm in and take over the grungarian Planetary Defence Centre.
As you may imagine, there are a few things you can do to make your life a bit easier. The first is the ability to buy defences for your base -with enemies being funnelled into your base through two narrow corridors, you're able to plant shields, turrets, mines, and plenty of other spiky defensive things by walking up to one of the silver placements and pressing circle. But by far the most helpful defence you'll ever have access to is that of a second player.
Fully playable in split-screen co-op (or online if your friends are distant), the ability to bring along a friend makes things a lot easier. With someone to stay behind and guard the base - repairing generators if they take damage, replenishing mines and building turrets when funds are available - you're free to explore the surrounding area as much as you like, where you'll discover all sorts of hidden items.
Starting each level with only your trusty wrench in hand, you'll have to explore if you want to be able to properly defend your base. Hidden around each level are several large, green canisters which give you access to a choice of special weapons (once you've completed a quick minigame), from the fairly standard (bigger, more powerful guns), to the weird (a disco ball grenade that causes enemies to start dancing uncontrollably - even tanks), to the hilarious (Mr. Zurkon, a hovering robot friend who'll take pot shots at enemies while destroying them with words of truth) - but arguably more valuable still is the cash you'll find (in the form of nuts and bolts), hidden in dozens of crates around the level. With one player seeking out the money, and another putting it to good use, it's easy to see how co-op can make your life that much easier.
There's a wide range of different types of enemies that'll attack your base, too.
The more time goes by, the stronger the waves that'll be sent towards your base, leaving you with a race against time to take down the shields around the enemy's base before they throw their worst at you. With a handy bar at the side of the screen showing you how close the next wave of baddies are to your base, it can often lead to a rather hasty dash back to your base in an attempt to beat the grungarians - something which can be something of a problem in levels as maze like as these. With the map being about as helpful as a chocolate tea pot, finding your way around each level, locating the enemy shield generators, and even finding your way back to base can be more than a little bit of a challenge - which isn't great when there's a troop of enemies seconds away from kicking down your door.
Sadly, though, the game isn't without its flaws - at least one of which is a big enough issue to make you think twice before picking a copy up. While the fact that the in game map isn't really good enough is frustrating, it's the fact the game gets incredibly hard when you're playing in single player that's the most disappointing. With a second player in tow, your life is made a lot, lot easier - to the point where we'd actually suggest, if you don't have someone who'd be willing to play through the game with you, it may be worth thinking twice about picking it up in the first place. Trying to defend a base, and explore a planet at the same time, on your own, is about as easy as it sounds - so you'll either end up playing online with a random, or coming up against a brick wall time and time again.
With only five levels to play through, too, Ratchet and Clank: Q Force isn't the lengthiest of games around, although a few attempts have been made to lengthen things a little bit. Each level has a number of unlockable goals to give you an excuse to go back and have another play - one for finishing the level, one for finishing the level in under a certain time (for masochists only), and another for finishing the level without losing a generator (see above), but there's also a nice list of challenges to complete, such as hovering for a certain distance, or defeating a set amount of enemies with a weapon, which unlock "skill points" that in turn let you unlock cheats, concept art, and more.
With a budget price (£15 on a disc, or £12 from the Playstation Store), and as one of the games to come under Sony's genius Cross-Buy scheme, where buying a game on one format lets you download a digital copy of it on the other across the PS3 and PS Vita, Ratchet and Clank: Q Force certainly isn't terrible value for money - although the amount of fun you get out of it will defend hugely on whether you have a co-op partner who's willing to be your wingman. With a friend in tow, Q Force is worth a shot - without one, (and the PS Vita one may well be single player - or at least online co-op only by default), it's a game that'll do more than test your resolve.
Format Reviewed: Playstation 3
