Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus North American PlayStation 3 box art
Developer(s)	Insomniac Games
Publisher(s)	Sony Computer Entertainment
Composer(s)	Michael Bross
Series	Ratchet & Clank
Platforms	PlayStation 3
Release date(s)	AUS November 6, 2013 NA November 12, 2013 EU November 22, 2013 JP December 12, 2013
Genre(s)	Platformer, action-adventure
Mode(s)	Single-player

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus (known as Ratchet & Clank: Nexus in Europe) is a 2013 platform video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the fourth and final installment in the "Future" series. The series is noted for the inclusion of exotic and unique locations and over the top gadgets, a concept of the traditional Ratchet & Clank experience, that returns in this game.

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus received a favourable reception upon release, with reviewers praising the overall gameplay, controls, and humour, but criticizing the short length.

Gameplay

See also: Common gameplay elements in the Ratchet and Clank series

File:Ratchet & Clank - Into the Nexus PlayStation 3 gameplay screenshot.png

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus marked a return to the original series' inclusion of exotic and unique locations.

The gameplay is just like the other games in the Ratchet & Clank series but more focuses on Gravity. The game features new weapons and gadgets as well as some returning ones, including the Fusion Grenade and The Warmonger. The game introduces new weapons as well, such as The Winterizer, which creates a tornado freezing enemies and turns them into snowmen, The OmniBlaster, a fast short range weapon and a Nightmare Box, a device that scares enemies, usually in forms of clowns, an eye or a pirate leaving Ratchet all sorts of weapons to eliminate them. Skill Points, Cheats and Gold Bolts make their return. Gadgets include The Repulsor, which suspends enemies in mid-air.

The main goal is for the Nether to reach the other side of the rift through the protagonist Ratchet's dimension. Gravity is a vital entity in this game, as it is used to travel to hard to reach places. Clank also participates in 2D sections referred to The Netherverses which are mind bending puzzles, where Clank must navigate a treacherous maze while a Nether follows him.

Characters such as Zephyr, Cronk and Talwyn returned, not forgetting the half-hearted super-size hero Captain Qwark and The Plumber. The army of enemies called Thugs-4-Less (an army from the series' second game) returns. The Intergalactic Arena (named later as Destructapalooza) also returns. Raritanium is used to upgrade weapons. The game has three difficulty settings: Cadet, Hero and Legend. A Challenge Mode is also available.

Plot

Ratchet and Clank, on board the Nebulox Seven Prison Ship, are tasked by Talwyn Apogee to deliver notorious criminal Vendra Prog to the Vartax Detention Centre. The duo wake up Cronk and Zephyr, who deactivate Vendra's cryosleep chamber so they can deliver her; however, the chamber malfunctions and Vendra awakens, using her psychic powers to distort the Nebulox's gravity. Ratchet manages to overcome the broken gravity and repairs the proton field around Vendra's cell, before activating an external backup generator. Vendra's twin brother Neftin, aided by the Thugs-4-Less organisation, suddenly attacks and frees Vendra; Ratchet and Clank pursue the Progs to the Nebulox bridge, only to be immobilised by Vendra. Vendra activates a number of explosives placed throughout the Nebulox and escapes with Neftin, while Ratchet and Clank are sucked into space through the fractured bridge window, unable to save Cronk and Zephyr.

Escaping through the debris field, Ratchet and Clank latch on to an enemy ship which is proceeding to planet Yerek in the Zarkov Sector. Upon landing on Yerek, Ratchet feels disheartened about what happened to Cronk and Zephyr. He tells Talwyn, who urges the duo to return home because they are all she has left now. Seeking revenge instead, the duo venture into the forests of Yerek. During their explorations, they meet the Terachnoid Pollyx, who upgrades Clank with an experimental Rift Cracker to allow him to travel into another universe known as 'the Netherverse'. One of Pollyx's assistants gives the duo a Grav-Tether to move around the planet.

The duo reach the Meero Orphanage, the former home of the Prog twins, and discover that the Progs have built their own Dimensionator in order to open rifts to the Netherverse and allow the Nethers, the creatures which reside in that dimension, to enter their universe. Ratchet and Clank escape the oncoming Nethers and are rescued by Captain Qwark, bringing Ratchet's ship Aphelion with him. Qwark agrees to provide support for the team; Ratchet and Clank fly to Planet Kragg to compete in the Thugs-4-Less Destructapalooza Arena where they win a GrummelNet jetpack upgrade for Clank.

The duo fly on to Planet Silox, the centre of Vendra and Neftin's transdimensional experiments, and travel through the remains of Weeblesnog City to reach the Sky-train Station. The duo confront and defeat Neftin; Vendra then arrives and uses the Nether Dimensionator to bring the Nethers into their dimension. The Nether Leader, whom Vendra refers to as 'Mr. Eye', captures her and reveals she was a pawn in his master plan, before having her cast into the Netherverse. Ratchet and Clank escape, and with some help from Neftin, agree to rendevouz with him on Planet Thram.

On reaching Planet Thram, the duo meet up with the Smuggler, who offers to give Ratchet back his Hoverboots in exchange for ten Gargathon horns. Having done so, Ratchet and Clank find Neftin's hideout, where he gives them a Tourbot that he and Vendra stole from the Intergalactic Museum of History on Planet Igliak. Neftin asks the duo to steal the Lombax Dimensionator so he can repair it and help them to banish the Nethers and rescue Vendra; Ratchet agrees on the condition the Progs turn themselves in.

Arriving on Igliak, Ratchet and Clank make their way through the museum and get the Dimensionator to Neftin. Mr. Eye then arrives with the Nethers to destroy the Dimensionator; the duo quickly travel to the central city where they defeat four Netherbrutes, elite Nethers with advanced weaponry and armour that act as generals for the Nether armies. Mr. Eye attempts to reach Neftin to destroy the Dimensionator; Ratchet hoverboots through a freeway to reach Neftin, and engages in battle with Mr. Eye.

During the battle, Neftin uses the Dimensionator to launch Clank into the Netherverse where he locates and frees Vendra. Ratchet manages to defeat Mr. Eye; Neftin uses the Dimensionator to return Clank and Vendra before opening another portal to the Netherverse. Using her powers, Vendra is able to banish the Nethers and Mr. Eye once and for all. Neftin then turns himself and a powerless Vendra in to galactic authorities. Ratchet and Clank return to the museum's main hall with the now-inoperable Dimensionator, which Clank later takes with him.

In a post-credits scene, Cronk and Zephyr are shown as ghosts in front of a display dedicated to them in the Museum's main hall. After briefly trading insults, the two leave.

Development

During early development a prototype level was created to ensure the game felt as it should for a traditional Ratchet & Clank game. One of the game's key themes is gravity with various puzzles and gadgets based around the use of gravity. While developing the game inspiration for many of the gameplay features were taken from previous games in the series. The developers played through many of the previous games and took inspiration to bring back many favorite features and also to tweak the game engine. The 2D sections using Clank were inspired by a concept of turning Clank into a shadow. Insomniac Games' creative director Brian Allgeier used a projector to demonstrate Clank changing gravity. This eventually developed into the 2D Netherverses with gravity changing mechanics.

The plot maintains the Ratchet & Clank series' expected humor but also has a scarier direction while exploring the darkness of space. It continues Ratchet's personal story-arc and acts as an epilogue to the Ratchet & Clank Future saga. Into the Nexus was written by TJ Fixman. The villain's connection in finding their species is a key part of the plot in Into the Nexus and it follows previous Ratchet & Clank games in connecting Ratchet with the villains. The plot is also about Ratchet coming to terms with his decisions in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time.

The title shares some similarities with a cancelled project from 2006 titled Ratchet & Clank: NEXUS but no other similarities with the project are present. A working title for Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus was Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nether Regions referencing both the exploration of the darkness of space and acting as an innuendo common to the Ratchet & Clank series.

Release

The game was released on November 12, 2013 in North America and November 20, 2013 for most PAL regions, on the PlayStation 3 in both disc-based formats and also digitally through the PlayStation Store. It was released on November 6, 2013 in Australia, November 12, 2013 in North America, November 22, 2013 in Europe, and December 12, 2013 in Japan. There is also a download code for Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty included in this game.

Ratchet & Clank: Before the Nexus

A mobile application, Ratchet & Clank: Before the Nexus, allows players to earn Raritanium for upgrading weapons in Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus. The game is in the style of an "endless-runner" where the player must collect bolts and defeat enemies as promotion for Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus. It was released December 18, 2013 only for iOS and Android devices.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 77.06% Metacritic 76/100 Review scores Publication Score Game Informer 8/10 GameSpot 8/10 GamesRadar GameZone 7/10 IGN 8.2/10 Polygon 8.5/10

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus received mostly positive reviews from critics upon release. It holds an aggregate score of 77.06% based on 34 reviews on GameRankings, and 76/100 based on 60 critics on Metacritic.

Andrew Reiner of Game Informer scored the game an 8/10. He praised the visuals, particularly during action sequences where the screen is covered with explosions, particles, and flying nuts and bolts. He did say the series "shows its age" with its dated texture work and character models, but enjoyed the soundtrack, calling it "playful" and "energetic". Reiner also enjoyed the "excellent" weapons and gadgets for offering gameplay variety, as well as the replayability, controls, and the VVVVVV inspired Clank mini-game. Lastly, Reiner felt at odds with the game's length; he felt that even though the game "packs a punch", it ended sooner than expected, writing: "Into the Nexus' gameplay holds true to what we’ve known and enjoyed for over a decade. Should we be demanding bigger and better things? Maybe, but there’s something about this formula that just works. I walked away from it hungry for more."

IGN's Cam Shea awarded the game an 8.2 out if 10, liking the weapons, upgrades, and gadgets, as well as the Challenge Mode, and the "great" sense of humour. He had minor criticisms of the game, such as the "weak" final level, but said "Nexus is a fine return to Ratchet & Clank's inimitable brand of action-platforming." Shea summed up the review by writing: "Nexus may not be long, but it’s steeped in Ratchet & Clank special sauce. The characters are offbeat and funny, the story is well-paced, the art direction is distinctive and above all else it’s a blast to play, with always evolving gameplay and an ever-escalating arsenal. A great swansong for the series on PS3."

GameZone's Josh Engen gave the game a 7.5 out of 10, stating "Ratchet & Clank titles are a distraction from games like Call of Duty or something to play when a toddler is in the room. I know that this might not sound a shining endorsement, but nitpicking the game's shortcomings or comparing the character development to a titles like The Last of Us or Bioshock Infinite is a little silly. Into the Nexus is good. Not great. Not bad. Just good. And anyone who tries to take a heavy-handed position is being ridiculous."

Giancarlo Saldana from GamesRadar gave the game 3.5 out of 5, saying: "Nexus only lasts about five hours. Yeah, it’s pretty short, but those are some good five hours that’ll remind you of why you fell in love with Ratchet and Clank in the first place. Its $30 / £20 price tag makes it a great incentive to pick it up, and it delivers what you’d expect from the series. Nexus may not be the most conclusive of the Ratchet and Clank titles, but it is a (mostly) charming sendoff to years of PS3 gaming." Saldana mostly commended the "fun" gameplay and humour, but disliked the abrupt ending and the Clank side-scrolling sections.

In his review for Polygon, Philip Kollar scored the game an 8.5/10 and wrote: "The PlayStation 3 has been a rocky road for Ratchet and Clank, but Into the Nexus is a fitting end. It returns to its strong roots without depending on nostalgia alone to drive it, embracing the adventurous spirit that birthed the series over a decade ago. Into the Nexus is a wonderfully strong note for Ratchet and Clank to go out on for this generation, and hopefully a good indication of the more exciting adventures awaiting them in the next."

GameSpot's Cameron Woolsey scored the game an 8/10, praising the "fantastic" and "fluid" controls, the "wonderful" sense of humor which "keeps you grinning from ear to ear", and the overall gameplay. Woolsey did opine that some weapons were "uninspired", but said the "tight" action keeps the game "roaring forward" anyway. Woolsey stated: "Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus doesn't entirely break from the series' classic roots, but its focus on action over platforming makes it a fast-paced thrill ride, and the short length makes running through it again with Omega weapons in Challenge Mode irresistible. In what may be the last Ratchet & Clank for this console generation, the series takes its leave with a proper bang, reuniting you with your favorite characters and keeping you hooting and hollering all the way to the finish line."

External links

• Official website