Ratchet & Clank: Quest For Booty
 

R&C has been my favorite PS3 game, so I downloaded this one as soon as it became available. Took about an hour to download, which is surprising since PS3 downloads are usually very slow, and this game is around 2.3 GB.

It only took 4 hours to get through. And I'm one of those players that smashes every crate, kills every enemy, and pokes around every corner for extra coins. Faster players can probably get through in under 3 hours.

While the gameplay looked the same, I don't think the cutscenes had that Pixar-look that made the last game total eyecandy. Cutscenes are also much shorter, which is fine by me. But overall there's not much story.

The only new stuff involves the wrench. You can use it's new magnetic power to manipulate objects for the platforming sections. And you can pickup/carry/throw a few objects when required. Other than that, there's nothing really new.

No new weapons or tools. There's only about 7-8 guns altogether. Many of the favorites are missing, including the penguins and disco ball. The nano-swarmers are there, but it's not the kill-all monster like in the last game. The tornado gun is back, and it still sucks. And there's no weapon upgrade system. The guns will upgrade on their own as you use them.

I didn't notice anything to collect, other than the basic coins (or whatever they are). The coins are only really used to get stuff from the smuggler. But you will require his help, so grab the coins.

Gameplay was fairly basic. There was only one section I had any trouble getting through (one of the major gunfights). I'd say the platforming to shooting ratio was probably 50/50.

I don't really see much replay value. I played through the first game three times to keep upgrading the weapons and collect all the bolts. I may play thought this one again for the hell of it, but there's nothing more to achieve in the game.

Overall, I enjoyed playing R&C again. I just wish there was more. The game wasn't very deep, and it was over fairly quickly. Worth the $15 to a R&C fan. But don't expect too much from this game.

And the final note is something along the lines of "See you again in Fall 2009". If we have to wait another year for more R&C, I hope it's a full-blown game and not just another shallow chapter.

Here's some reviews:

IGN - 7.4
1Up - B
Total Playstation - 7.0
GameZone - 7.8

Anyone else get this?

I will today. Thanks for the review.

I'll probably pick this up eventually, but have avoided getting anything from the PSN during the first four months I've had the system. I really don't like the idea of entering my credit card info on the console, even if it's not all that different than purchasing things over the web. It irks me that I can't walk into a store and get a PSN point card like I can with the 360 or Wii. That said, R&C is my favorite game on the PS3 so far, so I'm sure I'll cave in and buy Quest for Booty.

Downloaded it last night, but only played to the second save point.

No disco ball? :mad:

I see you are in Indianapolis, Meijer sells $20 PSN cards.

I believe it was mentioned this week at the convention, or sometime recently, that it's a full-out game. Insomniac is planning an every other year approach, with Resistance filling in the gap years.

I was pretty disappointed in QFB. I wasn't expecting a grand tale, but it just didn't quite feel right somehow. Spending a quarter of the game turning on turbines, then the latter part of that level just repelling waves of pirates seemed cheap. The last level was the closest to a good feeling R&C game, I think. Also, during the second "story book" cutscene, no sound was playing :(.

Thanks for the heads up. I'll check there. I'd tried 4 or 5 other chains and been told they didn't carry them.

Here's the Gamespot Video Review. The written review is only a 7.5, but the video review seems much more positive.

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God, that guy's a geek. Did he film that bit in his mother's basement? Still, I'm glad to finally hear something positive. The R&C series has ruled me for six years now so I figure I'll buy it, but I haven't bit yet because of the price point and the limited length of the game. I'm not saying everything has to be GTA IV, but R&C thrives on leveling up Ratchet and upgrading his wapons. Going from V3 to V5 doesn't do that much. Anyway, I'm glad to hear somebody liked it, even if his biggest criticism (No arenas. Really? That bothers you????) has me questioning his sanity and tastes a bit.

I finished it last night: I actually had the hardest time with the 3 swings near the end, I kept falling into the ocean.

My son & I were playing it on last night and we both really enjoyed it. We are only to the turbine activation part though.