Clank debuts aboard a clunky game

Ratchet and Clank has received a lot of love from Sony fans in the last couple of years, emerging as one of the top franchises PlayStation has to offer. After many approaches starring Ratchet, the time is nigh for little Clank to be called to action. Thus bourns Secret Agent Clank, an adventure filled with variety, where the fates of Clank, Ratchet and Qwark cross paths.

Following the theft of the most important piece of jewellery in the universe, Agent Clank is assigned to the case, while his bosom buddy Ratchet is being held captive as the lead suspect of the crime. Wearing his brand new tuxedo, Clank will have to discover the whereabouts of the jewel and reach the bottom of this set up, in order to clear Ratchet's name.

Secret Agent Clank is built on the same groundwork that made the series what they are. Expect a lot of tentative humour, obnoxious weaponry, mini-games sections, some platforms, lots of in your face action, weird and well designed foes and some new features thrown into the mix. But there is also some unexpected stuff to be found on Secret Agent Clank. For instance, Qwark is actually the hero in most of the boss fights, giving an interesting twist to an old cocktail.

And while Ratchet sections are narrowed to a one-man-army kind of gameplay, Clank hogs the best – and the worst – parts of the game to him. Introducing stealth action elements, you may find yourself executing sneak attacks, pretending to be a statue or constantly evading the flashlights of the security guards, or even assuming their identities with a hologram gadget. But not all is good and new in Secret Agent Clank. Some features are new and bad, while others are already too worn out to even matter.

The rhythm mini-games are well drawn, exploring some of the concept behind Guitar Hero. And it plays well on screen also as you end up seeing Clank pulling stunts that wouldn't leave him a notch behind Catherine Zeta-Jones in Entrapment. In opposite, the mini-game that came to replace Clank's "skating" inside locks to break them is as uninspired as an economy report from the IMF. Even the stealth action sections tend to become a bit dull after you sneak attack an enemy for the thirtieth time. But that's not the worst part in the adventure. As a whole, Secret Agent Clank feels as disjointed a ninety years-old woman with terminal osteoporosis.

You simply don't get the flow from previous games, as you keep alternating between very distinct gameplay sections, in a way that many times seems forced. To make matters worst, there's a handful of side missions you can complete after the main task, which results in, sometimes, a complete lost of bearings – "Is this a story mission or a side quest? Damn… I'm lost!".

And since High Impact Games justified the non-existence of multiplayer by calling it a "story intensive game", Secret Agent Clank takes a nose dive the second you get a bit bored. With a swampy path separating the narrative from the players and lacking any MP, you end up with a game that's easily finished in 5 or 6 hours. A bit more if you decide to lose yourself in the midst of the side challenges or questing for titanium bolts.

The presentation layer retains the charm and charisma of Size Matters. Relying heavily on the typical anthropomorphic setting, it brings to life some memorable metaphors, recognizable if you are no stranger to the lore of Ian Flemming's James Bond 007. From Goldfinger's Oddjob to the Texas Hold'em tables of Casino Royale, there's a lot of fun stuff to watch and hear.

Secret Agent Clank is a very pretty game for the PSP, but surely has some dirt under the nails. From a camera that gets a bit awkward from time to time, a pretty disjointed feeling that follows the game from start to end, dull sections and a UMD reader that occasionally ruins the experience in the rhythm mini-games, lagging behind the action. It simply isn't as polished as previous instalments of the series. I wish better luck for Agent Clank in his next assignment.

Presentation – Technical: B

Presentation - Visual: B+

Presentation – Audio: B-

Gameplay: C

Value: C+

Overall: B-

McDoomer logging out.

I agree ... yes , you gave one of my most wanted games a B- but I agree . Shore I would have given the gameplay a B instead , but I do understand why some may like the game less then I do ... overall a solid review :)

i wnat to buy a PS3 just for R&C

 Thanks :)