Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction

It's actually pretty damned impossible to fault Tools of Destruction on any level: this is the epitome of platforming excellence.

The single best game you can find on the PlayStation 3 right now, and at the end of the day, it's the best in the series. If you own a PS3, you need this game in your library. It is the absolutely definition of a must-have title, and right now is the front-runner as game of the year, hands down.

There’s just so much to collect, so much explosive firepower to wield, and so much charm to the environments and characters that you’d be crazy to let this game pass you by.

Brings the previous generation’s top gameplay, injects it with a few Sixaxis treats and pumps up the presentation to a top standard for a package that few will want to miss.

A sparkly, hi-def retread of established ideas. It's a new battle, but not a new war. [Dec 2007, p.68]

All in all, for the slight faults the game has and the sometimes repetitive nature the game employs, you cannot deny that this is a stellar title and will do much to propel the series to future titles.

While games like "Twilight Princess" entice players with familiar settings and gameplay elements, Tools Of Destruction force feeds them. [Dec 2007, p.104]

Better than any PS2 game. It has a better shooting mechanics, weapons and controls than the first 2 games, and a much better level design of the planets compared to the third game and Deadlocked and Gladiator. Also the gadget and the Clank sections were improved a lot.

If this was my first Ratchet & Clank game, I'd give it a 10/10. However, after playing the previous releases, I feel like the trilogy is more fun in every way, and offered more than what this was. This game didn't add many new things, and felt worse in some ways. The weapons for one were not as fun to use. Didn't care much for the story either. I feel like my brain was shut off for the majority of playing it. Still, I can recognize it is a decent game with polish, but just doesn't have the same charm as the trilogy.

This game is just as it sounds, many different weapons to cause destruction to all planets with an Emperor that wants you dead so it can rule the universe. Extremely quirky and silly given the plot and characters, we have an over-the-top adventure which lacks a detailed story yet is oddly charming enough to win over the younger audience. As a kid, I would've said this was a 9/10. Nowadays 7/10 is more appropriate as it lacks the story to keep it acclaimed. It's simply a fun brainless game.

On a replay: Complaints after the first level: - Please don't render environments within jumping distance if I can't actually land on it. I complain about this way too much. - The jump pads operate in slow motion for no reason; it's kind of annoying. This is minor, though. - They advertised this as cinematic on the cover... "Cinematic" doesn't really matter so much two console generations behind. They just make things blow up while you're on grind rails, pretty much. And they put effort into making it feel more like Pixar with speech patterns and mannerisms, but the original games already had a certain charm to them that lacks here a bit. - The antagonist isn't very believable. I mean, I get it's kid-friendly, but Ratchet breaks this guy's robo-suit to escape in the intro level, and I'm like "...so we beat him?" The story works fine as a set-up for the Future series. But I don't really care about the protagonist's allies. Plus, the unlockable skins aren't really good, so why should I try to get Gold Bolts? By far, my least favorite part of this game is the mandatory flying levels, as they move in a fixed direction instead of the free-flying combat of 2, or even A Crack In Time. Also, the arena is really underwhelming compared to other games, like 2 or 3. They could've easily added 10 more challenges. There aren't really any side games aside from those; No racing or moon missions like in 2. The gadget mini-games aren't annoying, but the pirate dance is strictly novel, totally nonsensical, and really plain and boring to me. Again, this disguise portion was done better in 3. It's really easy to have enough money at any point in the game. I personally prefer having to be strategic with investments. In challenge mode, the only real incentive is to buy everything... Challenge mode is honestly a little easier to me. What else is there? The weapon selection interplays well between different types of weapons, but certain weapons seriously lack power compared to others as the game goes on (fusion grenades get pretty pointless). If there were more weapons, the arena could've been easily expanded further. On the plus side? The environments in these games usually do look pretty nice from certain angles, despite their cartoonishness. The level lay-outs are memorable, and the progression of difficulty is engaging. I think this is where they really locked into the best weapon upgrade system, but I still think it improved slightly on subsequent releases. Overall, decent game for any fan of the series. Worth playing as a starting point to this Future sub-series on PS3, but if you only play one on PS3, pick A Crack In Time. I also like Into the Nexus more than this. If you can pick ANY R&C game to start with, just do the first three that were released on PS2.

Not nearly as fun as A Crack In Time. Too gimmicky, platforming isn't as varied, and the weapons aren't as fun, unlike in Crack.