'A bright spot' for PS3
2007-11-02 08:57
San Francisco - A fox-like alien and
his robot sidekick on a mission to save the galaxy could also
help save sales of Sony's PlayStation 3, which has struggled to
find a game so good that it gives people reason to buy the
pricey console.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 has had several, including this year's
Halo 3, but Sony is still trying to find a megahit of its own as games like Heavenly Sword and Folklore have failed to make the kind of splash needed to convince holdouts.
Now comes Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, a
beautifully crafted game that is being compared to Pixar
animated films and touted as a must-have for Sony fans.
"We're using lots of the same techniques that would be used
in a Pixar film," said Brian Allgeier, creative director on the
Ratchet titles at developer Insomniac Games.
Seasoned video game fans can be forgiven for rolling their
eyes - claims by industry executives over the years that their
games are "Pixar quality" have turned out to be just so much marketing bluster.
But the Ratchet & Clank that hit stores last week comes
closest to delivering on that promise.
"The new Ratchet is a watershed for gaming because it
provides the first interactive entertainment experience that
truly feels like inhabiting a world-class animated film," the New York Times gushed this week.
The game is also evidence that Sony's bet on its powerful
new Cell processor is starting to pay off as developers get the
hang of tapping its capabilities.
'Reason enough to buy the system'
"We never could have had this level of action on the screen
before," Allgeier said in praise of the PS3 hardware.
Metacritic.com, which combines ratings from review sites
and magazines, has given the new Ratchet a score of 90, the
highest so far for any game exclusive to the PS3.
"Tools of Destruction is an amazing PS3 game that fully
leverages the power of the console. It sets the bar high for
not only the series but for all PS3 games to come. It is,
without a doubt, reason enough to buy the system," GamePro.com
said in its review.
Sony badly needs a hit for the PS3, which has lagged the
Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii. By the end of September, the PS3
had sold about 5.6 million units, compared to more than 13
million each for the Xbox 360 and Wii.
The game, the seventh for the franchise since 2002, stars
the fox-like Ratchet and his robot sidekick Clank as they try
to defeat the evil Emperor Tachyon. Their adventures lead
through 15 locations and involve space combat, skydiving and
railgrinding sequences.
"All along we've gone in more of a shooter direction and
we've decided to go back to our roots with a platformer, with
more exploration, more adventure," Allgeier said.
The game levels are stitched together with short animated
clips that elaborate on the story and amount to about half the
length of a feature film. With an industry rating of E 10+, the
game should be suitable for everyone but small children.
"This is one of the few epic adventure games this holiday
that will make people laugh," Allgeier said. "It's kind of a
bright spot amid a lot of darker-themed games."