Ratchet & Clank Future A Crack Archives

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time

The game takes place after Quest for Booty, with Ratchet searching the Breegus System of the Polaris Galaxy for Clank with the help of Captain Qwark, who is located in the Great Clock. Clank is being held captive by Dr. Nefarious, who claimed to be helping the Zoni repair Clank, but is actually seeking to use the Great Clock for his own ends. Ratchet and Clank must reunite to stop Nefarious from taking control of time, and along the way learn more about their own pasts.

A Crack in Time is a third person action adventure game with elements of shooting, role playing, platforming, puzzle solving and open space exploration. It allows Ratchet to explore several areas in space with the Aphelion, completing side missions on moons and travelling to planets within star sectors. Ratchet is able to wield several new weapons in battle, including Constructo Weapons that can be customized fully. While devices from Tools of Destruction are not present, both the Groovitron and Mr. Zurkon which previously featured as devices are featured as weapons, and can be upgraded along with other weapons. Clank has completely new gameplay based around his own time powers, using his temporal recordings to solve puzzles and the Chronoscepter to defeat enemies, rather than simply commanding units as in previous games.

Gameplay

Overview

A Crack in Time is a third person three dimensional action game with elements of platforming, shooting, role playing, puzzle solving and open exploration. The player controls Ratchet, a lombax who wields an arsenal of weapons, gadgets, and flies a sentient starship known as the Aphelion, and Clank, a robot trainee for the role of Caretaker in the Great Clock who can make use of his Chronoscepter to manipulate time. Ratchet retains much of his core moveset, as well as make use of the OmniWrench Millennium 12 ability to manipulate objects, with the main new addition being the Hoverboots that allow him to traverse environments very quickly. Clank's use of the Chronoscepter and ability to create temporal recordings make his puzzle-solving gameplay vastly different from previous titles.

Gameplay is split between the duo. with Ratchet exploring the open segments of the Breegus System using the Aphelion, which can land on planets and moons to complete main and side objectives, which normally involve either platforming through linear sections or combat sections shooting enemies. Between planets and moons, Ratchet will fly the Aphelion in space combat, speak to new individuals to be set different objectives, and can also compete in the Agorian Battleplex arena to defeat waves of enemies. Main objectives completed allow Ratchet to proceed with the story, while side objectives award prizes in the form of bolts (currency used to purchase new weapons and armor), Zoni (used to upgrade the Aphelion), constructo mods (used to modify functionality of constructo weapons), gold bolts (used to unlock extras such as skins) or holo-plans for the RYNO V (which will grant Ratchet the weapon once all are collected).

Control will often switch to Clank, who is undergoing training to become the Senior Caretaker of the Great Clock. Clank must complete puzzle-solving objectives using temporal recordings to unlock paths forward, and also use the Chronoscepter in planet rooms to stop temporal anomalies on a planet. These are required both for main objectives to proceed with the story, and side objectives to unlock areas both for Ratchet and Clank to find hidden items.

After completing the game, the player can choose either to warp back before defeating the final boss, or proceed to replay the game in challenge mode, which allows Ratchet to keep all weapons with their respective upgrades and all Aphelion upgrades, and fight more powerful enemies. In this mode, Ratchet can purchase the Omega version of his weapons to upgrade them beyond the maximum. As these weapons are much more expensive, challenge mode has a bolt multiplier for enemies that were destroyed before Ratchet takes a hit.

New to the game, players can record their in-game statistics and showcase their preferred and customized constructo weapon using PlayStation Network.

Ratchet equipment

Ratchet begins with ten units of nanotech, representing his health. This is can be increased by earning experience points from defeating enemies, up to 199. Ratchet can also purchase armor from a GrummelNet armor vendor which can reduce the amount of damage taken.

A Crack in Time features 18 weapons, of which 12 are new (though two, the RYNO V and the Rift Inducer 5000, are iterations of the R.Y.N.O. and Rift Inducer respectively) and 6 return from Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty. All weapons can be upgraded up to level 5, and purchasing their Omega upgrade allows them to be upgraded five times more. This includes Groovitron and Mr. Zurkon, which were previously available in Tools of Destruction as combat devices which could not upgrade. The primary addition to the arsenal are three constructo weapons, the Constructo Pistol, Constructo Bomb and the Constructo Shotgun. These can be modified in terms of both appearance and functionality when constructo mods are found.

Seven gadgets are featured, of which four can be equipped using the directional pad: the Swingshot, the OmniSoaker, the Hoverboots and the Hologuise. The returning Gravity Boots, Grind Boots and Heli-Pack are summoned when required. The Swingshot, Gravity Boots and Grind Boots are initially available, while all other gadgets are unlocked throughout the story. The Hoverboots are the most significant addition, allowing Ratchet to traverse quickly through areas and to glide in the air without the Heli-Pack (before reuniting with Clank). Several locations will feature speed boosts that the Hoverboots can take advantage of to reach otherwise inaccessible areas. Ratchet also retains his OmniWrench Millennium 12 from Quest for Booty, and can pick up and throw objects with it.

Spaceship and minigames

Ratchet can fly the Aphelion in space combat on a two dimensional ecliptic between planets and moons. The ship can fire selectable blasters and missiles to defeat enemies during missions and casual exploration in which it can destroy asteroids and ships for bolts. These weapons and its armor can be upgraded by acquiring more Zoni.

Ratchet can also play the arcade game, My Blaster Runs Hot.

Clank gameplay

Clank's gameplay primarily involves his use of the Chronoscepter. With the weapon, Clank can not only attack enemies, but reflect projectiles at enemies by reversing them in time, causing them to destroy enemies from a distance. Clank can also throw Time Bombs to significantly slow enemies or objects for a limited time. Much of his gameplay involves platforming and combat similar to Ratchet's.

To solve puzzles, Clank can create temporal recordings of himself on colored time pads. These allow him to record his actions and proceed through a room, and once he has unlocked the door and proceeds through it, he gains access. Several temporal recordings are used at once, simultaneously, in order to keep certain pads pressed to unlock the key. These allow Clank to complete main and bonus objectives.

Clank can also make use of planet rooms, in which he can use the Chronoscepter to destroy time anomalies in a time fixing mini-game. The Chronoscepter fires a beam at anomalies, which appear either red, orange or yellow, with the intent on turning them all blue. Clank must also destroy seekers to prevent them from damaging anomalies further, and can collect power-ups to speed up the process.

Synopsis

Setting

A Crack in Time takes place in the Polaris Galaxy, and Ratchet begins in the Breegus System, located at the very edge of the galaxy. This is a lawless section of the galaxy, with little connection to the outside, although Grummel Net Industries still operates here. The primary inhabitants are the peaceful fongoids living in tribes, the junk trading vullards living in outposts, the warlike agorians living in war camps, the highly intelligent terachnoids living in large cities (such as their homeworld of Terachnos), and the female robotic race known as valkyries. Aside from their own presence on planets and space ships belonging to them, they can be found throughout several moons that are scattered throughout sectors with varied environments. Dr. Nefarious has also established his own influence, and many of his robotic forces (most commonly Nefarious Troopers) are found throughout the moons

Clank begins and spends much of his time in the Great Clock, a Zoni construct located in the center of the universe (give or take fifty feet). This is a large structure made up of multiple different rotating layers, which keeps time throughout the universe and is watched over by caretakers and by the Zoni. There are several planet rooms which oversee planets across the universe, from which time anomalies can be repaired. Due to Dr. Nefarious' destruction of much of the Clock with the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler, the Zoni have largely evacuated the Clock, leaving only Clank and Junior Caretaker, Sigmund, in charge.

The damage caused by Dr. Nefarious to the Great Clock has also caused several time anomalies to appear across planets. On many planets visited, time will sometimes loop or freeze in random areas, due to the volatility of space and time. Unlike in Tools of Destruction, the Zoni are visible to all here, and Ratchet can even use them to help upgrade the Aphelion.

Plot

The story focused on Ratchet, still searching for Clank while Clank himself came to terms with his own origins in the Great Clock.

The game began with Clank who had been in suspension inside the Great Clock for over a year in the custody of Nefarious and his butler, Lawrence. Nefarious suddenly discontinued his "partnership" with the Zoni after being denied access to a part of Clank's brain, which was the key to something called the Orvus Chamber. Nefarious then unleashed the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler and sent it to kill them. Dr. Nefarious proceeded to create chaos throughout the Great Clock with his Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler, which the Zoni and Clock's equipment were vulnerable to. This event caused Clank to awaken and escape from Nefarious's clutches. After briefly escaping, Lawrence immobilised Clank with an orb of gratuitous immobilization. Nefarious and his troops then left the Great Clock which had later suffered heavy damage.

Meanwhile, Ratchet traveled into the Breegus System with Qwark in tow. Talwyn had warned that the sector was 'crawling' with mercenaries. Aphelion was suddenly hit with a strange wave of energy and promptly crashed into Zolar Forest on planet Quantos. Ratchet and Qwark were both saved from death by a strange anomaly that froze the Aphelion wreckage in mid-air. As Ratchet and Qwark explored the jungle, they soon encountered a Fongoid mother, looking for her missing children. After saving her children, they both met the Fongoid Chief who knew of a way to fix Aphelion. He lead the two of them to the Temple of Zahn. Inside the temple, Ratchet found an item named the Zoni Vessel - a container used to capture lost Zoni. Ratchet collected three Zoni on the planet and the resulting energy created fixes and upgrades on the Aphelion for him.

Ratchet, Qwark and the Fongoid Chief then came back to the village to witness a mass kidnapping of their race by someone known as Lord Vorselon. Vorselon mistook Ratchet for someone called "Azimuth" and captured Qwark along with the Fongoids. Ratchet followed Vorselon's ship and released the captured Fongoids along with Qwark. After helping them escape by shuttle, Qwark directed Ratchet to Torren IV to locate the mysterious General Alister Azimuth that Vorselon had mistaken Ratchet for.

He finally met Azimuth who was in fact another Lombax on Torren IV in the Molonoth Fields. Azimuth initially thought Ratchet was an assassin in a Holo-Guise and attempted to flee, but after a brief chase, Alister recognised Ratchet's face and compared it to his father, Kaden. Alister later explained how Kaden was one of the first Lombaxes to theorize the Great Clock's existence and taught Ratchet how to use his father's Hoverboots. Azimuth told Ratchet to meet him in Axiom City on planet Terachnos in order to find a way to talk to Clank. The two of them infiltrated a Pollyx Industries building once on Terachnos and managed to locate another Obsidian Eye (which was abundant throughout the galaxy, built by the Zoni) on Lumos in the Korthos Sector, allowing them to communicate with Clank. They were forced to escape and destroy a VX-99 before leaving the planet.

Meanwhile, Clank was reactivated by the Junior Caretaker of the Clock, Sigmund. After following Sigmund through the Clock to a mnemonic chamber, Clank discovered his father, Orvus. The Zoni leader then left the Great Clock to Clank as a sort of inheritance after giving Clank a Chronoscepter to help with his care-taking duties. Clank continued through the Clock, destroying the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler in the process and entered the Orientation Room with Sigmund. Inside, Clank learned that Orvus and the Zoni built the Great Clock to keep the balance of time in working order after a small rip in the time-space continuum, caused by the improper use of time travel by the Fongoids that destroyed over eighty-three celestial entities. Clank was also warned by Orvus that the Clock should not be used as a time machine under any circumstances as it was built to keep time, not alter it. He was then informed of how to fix temporal distortions located on various planets and proceeded to do so. Shortly afterwards, Clank secretly watched Sigmund viewing a message from Orvus, who apparently traveled to planet Zanifar to meet another scientist and would not be back until morning. As Orvus was nowhere to be seen and through observation of Sigmund's mournful warning to the recording, Clank knew something bad has happened to his father.

On his space station, Nefarious was furious with Vorselon for letting Ratchet, Qwark and the Fongoids escape. Claiming to be bringing in specialists, he opened his office door and bid the Valkyries to enter.

Ratchet and Azimuth arrived on Lumos and began to search for the Obsidian Eye. Part-way through their journey, Ratchet asked the General to stop and give him some straight answers about the Lombaxes, his father and why the General was not with them. Azimuth angrily replied that Ratchet asked too many questions and that his father would not be like this. Ratchet argued that he was not his father and asked Azimuth again. The General then finally answered Ratchet and said it was because he had failed his race.

Azimuth told the tale of an "inventor" who approached the Lombaxes with ideas for technology that was light years ahead of their own, years after the conclusion of the Great War. Kaden warned Azimuth not to trust the inventor, but Azimuth thought otherwise and allowed the inventor access to all of the Lombax's technology and secrets. The inventor, revealed to actually be Emperor Tachyon, then used this to form his own army (proving Aphelions' claim of Tachyon using stolen Lombax technology in Tools of Destruction).

The Lombaxes took refuge in the Court of Azimuth, but Kaden refused and went back home to save Ratchet's mother from the soldiers. By the time he arrived, Tachyon's forces had already murdered her. Azimuth said he was unsure of how long Kaden survived before being killed but claimed responsibility for his friend's death. Azimuth then told Ratchet that both of them could fix it together, using the Great Clock. The General said he could undo what was already done by using the Clock's abilities and promised Ratchet that if he stuck with the General, he would get his family back.

Ratchet and Azimuth found the Obsidian Eye on Lumos after fending off an Agorean invasion and Ratchet finally got to talk to Clank. Clank was surprised that Ratchet had found him and asked about who Azimuth was. Ratchet was unable to explain fully as the signal started to decrease in strength. Before the message cut out, Clank pleaded Ratchet to travel to Zanifar to help his father and told him to look for a time portal. Before Ratchet could ask about who Clank's father was, the signal stopped. Clank asked Sigmund to synthesize a time portal on Zanifar for Ratchet and Alister to use.

On the flight out of Lumos, Alister told Ratchet something about the Clock. If they succeeded in changing the past, the present as they knew it would no longer exist meaning that Ratchet would never meet Clank at all. Despite this, Ratchet knew this is his only chance to save his parents. Azimuth then split off from Ratchet to distract Nefarious's forces while Ratchet headed for Zanifar. After taking a side trip to rescue Qwark from the Agoreans (who had been paid by the Fongoids to take the superhero off their hands) and defeating a War Grok who Qwark called 'Snowball', Ratchet used the time portal on Zanifar to travel two years into the planet's past. He learned that Nefarious and Lawrence crashed their asteroid there and somehow appeared to brainwash the Fongoids inhabiting the planet to build an outpost. He sneaked into the base and saw Nefarious with a captured Orvus, who still refused to tell the Doctor how to get into the Orvus Chamber despite running out of strength to resist. Nefarious ordered the Hypersonic Brainwave Scrambler to attack Orvus who suddenly disappeared after saying that the one who would enter his Chamber was safe from the Doctor. A residual image left behind was tracked back to Clank. Ratchet exclaimed his confusion, alerting Nefarious to his position. The Lombax then tossed a bomb at Nefarious creating a large scar on his right eye before diving out of the window. When Ratchet returned to the present, this change to the past causes the scar to appear on the current Nefarious who then screamed in anger. Before leaving Zanifar, Ratchet received a message from Vorselon, who had managed to capture Azimuth. Ratchet then took off towards Vorselon's ship.

Ratchet arrived on Vorselon's ship and fought his way through the ship's forces, eventually coming into confrontation with Vorselon. The Terraklon assassin claimed he would tell Ratchet where Azimuth was if he was defeated. Ratchet did defeat him, but Vorselon retreated before he told of Azimuth's location. Ratchet searched the ship some more and eventually found Azimuth in a containment field. Azimuth ordered Ratchet to leave and forget about him, but Ratchet refused and lowered the containment field. After releasing the General, Azimuth was angry at Ratchet for not listening to him, until Ratchet mentioned that he traveled back in time. Azimuth became hopeful and inquired as to how far Ratchet traveled. Ratchet replied it was not far enough. Despite this, the pair managed to escape Vorselon's ship.

Back on the Great Clock, Clank took another trip into his subconscious and puzzlingly met The Plumber, who claimed he took a wrong turn into Clank's memory banks and was originally intending to head into Qwark's brain (which he thought he was in because of all the emptiness he saw). The Plumber then said that Clank must accept his new responsibilities, even though the first steps were the hardest. The Plumber then said "I would not risk any more than six minutes", before Clank abruptly awoke. Sigmund noted that he had some strange neural activity during Clank's brief trip, but dismissed it. Clank then traveled to the Orvus Chamber with Sigmund and proceeded inside. The two of them viewed a message left from Orvus for Clank, but it cut off before it finished. Lawrence had cut the power and immobilized both Clank and Sigmund with another orb of gratuitous immobilization. He informed Nefarious that Clank had lead them directly into the Orvus Chamber. Nefarious ordered Lawrence to initiate "Unnecessarily Evil Initiative Omega 91" just as Qwark arrived at the base in a nurse outfit.

Ratchet received a message from Azimuth who picked up a repeating distress call from planet Vapedia. Ratchet immediately recognised it as Clank's unique signature. After defeating one of the Valkyries in a space fight, Ratchet headed towards Vapedia to help Clank, unaware that the distress call had been faked by Nefarious. The leader of the Valkyries, Cassiopeia, was waiting for Ratchet and Azimuth, promising to kill both of them as well as Clank. Ratchet and Azimuth split up; the General going after Cassiopeia and Ratchet heading into the citadel. After surviving various death traps, Ratchet confronted Cassiopeia who taunted him by saying Clank wanted to leave him. Clank was revealed to be suspended in a container, unconscious. Cassiopeia fought with Ratchet and was ultimately defeated. Cassiopeia was sent tumbling downwards to her doom and ended up breaking Clank's container, sending him falling as well. Ratchet dived off the platform to grab him using his Hoverboots and narrowly avoided sending both of them falling to their deaths. The two of them finally re-united and headed back to Aphelion.

Clank forgave Ratchet for him not being able to help Orvus and swore to make Nefarious pay. Even though Azimuth said he would have the support of the Lombax Praetorian Guard once the past was changed, Clank explained that using the Clock improperly was too great a risk for the universe, despite Azimuth's solid reasoning that they had to save the Lombaxes. After realising that the risks involved were not worth taking, Ratchet agreed with Clank much to Azimuth's disappointment. The General then left them as Ratchet and Clank left together to stop Nefarious.

The duo traveled to Nefarious's base to stop his plans. However, their attempt to sneak aboard using Qwark's disguise as "Nurse Shannon" failed and the three of them were captured by Nefarious and his guards. Nefarious explained his plan to use the Clock so that he could undo his defeat at the hands of the duo and create winning streak in the present time where every villain won and every hero lost. He then sent Ratchet and Clank flying to the swamp ruins of Gimlick Valley on planet Morklon attached to an asteroid (which Nefarious created if he ever needed an "super-ironic death scenario").

The Zoni Ratchet captured protected the two of them from the impact and they began to search for a way back to Nefarious's Space Station. After hearing about the Battle of Gimlick Valley from a local, the pair managed to alter the past of the planet using a time portal from Sigmund so that the inhabiting Fongoids gave them an Agorian ship to get back to Nefarious. They eventually traveled to the station and engaged the Doctor in combat. After a long confrontation ending on the top of one of Nefarious's ships, Nefarious suddenly froze and collapsed. Before the duo had a chance to escape, Lawrence took the escape pod, leaving Ratchet and Clank on a collision course with the base. Ratchet was ready to say his goodbyes, but Azimuth appeared in his ship and shouted for Ratchet to jump on. The duo did so as Nefarious's base exploded.

Ratchet, Clank and Alister arrived back on the Great Clock. Clank told Ratchet that the Clock needed him as it was what he was built for and extended a hand for him to shake. Ratchet took Clank's hand and hugged him close to him to say goodbye. Azimuth was confused as to why they haven't used the Clock to save the Lombaxes, to which Ratchet replied that the past should stay how it was. Ratchet walked with Clank inside the facility despite Azimuth's angry shouting at Ratchet to stop. Azimuth finally snapped, outraged that Ratchet no longer wanted what he did and was consumed by his desire to fix his error in the past. He fired a blast of energy from his wrench which hit Ratchet directly on his chest. The impact killed Ratchet, causing him to fall off the platform while Clank vainly tried to grab him. Azimuth then attacked Clank and started to head towards the Orvus Chamber. Clank gave chase to the General and managed to seal the chamber before Azimuth could get inside.

Clank approached the center of the Orvus Chamber, where the switch for the flow of time stood. He began to remember the words of Ratchet, Orvus and Sigmund before he suddenly remembered what The Plumber told him during his trip into his subconscious: "I would not risk any more than six minutes."

Clank realized that what The Plumber meant was the Great Clock's ability to control the time flow. Breaking Orvus's one rule of the Clock, Clank reversed the flow of time for six minutes to just before Ratchet's death. When the shift backwards stopped, the time remained frozen where Clank saw Azimuth in the process of firing the blast at his friend. Clank pushed Ratchet out of the way of the energy blast just as time resumed itself, saving his friend's life.

Ratchet and Clank then gave chase to Azimuth who tried to get into the Chamber again. The General managed to get inside and initiated a massive time shift to save the Lombaxes. The Clock could not take the strain and began to break apart. Ratchet and Clank managed to defeat Azimuth in a fight and attempted to stop the shift. Azimuth screamed at Ratchet to stop, but Ratchet argued the point of the Clock was only to keep time, not change it. Azimuth then realized the error of his ways and sacrificed himself to stop the shift, preventing the Clock destroying itself and the universe. Clank told Ratchet that he should be proud of Azimuth as he picked up the General's pocket watch as a memento.

Later, Ratchet helped the Zoni fix the Great Clock and told Clank to take care of himself before leaving sadly. Clank began to play Orvus's message again, but then stopped it. He realized that finding out about his own family meant that he could not leave Ratchet. He promoted Sigmund to Senior Caretaker of the Great Clock and left the chamber as Orvus's message started playing again. Clank jumped into Aphelion just as Ratchet was about to take off, much to the Lombax's delight. The duo took off into the stars as Orvus's message narrated over the scene.

Meanwhile, Qwark and Snowball remained trapped on an asteroid where Nefarious's station once was, with Qwark calling out for help to no avail. Snowball acted excited, with Qwark understanding he was hungry for blood. While panicking, Qwark ran around in circles to avoid getting eaten by Snowball. The screen turned black, with Qwark yelling at Snowball to go "easy on the goods."

Development

The title for the game was voted on by Insomniac employees after narrowing down the choices. As time travel is a part of the storyline, "A Crack in Time" was deemed an appropriate title.^[1] The original name for the game was "Clock Blockers," but Sony Computer Entertainment scrapped the idea.^[2]

Creature design explorations for A Crack in Time were uniquely inspired, featuring unexpected mechanical elements, very contrasting shapes, and big thick-to-think transitions.^[3]

The beta version of A Crack In Time featured an unknown planet (possibly Zanifar), and a darker, more intimidating Nefarious Space Station design. Ratchet was intended to original wear the Scavenger Suit, and use the OmniWrench 3000.

A Crack in Time was announced at the Game Developers Conference 2009, with the first trailer and title revealed.^[4]

Approximately 10,000 lines of dialogue had been written by writer T.J. Fixman for A Crack in Time, while a further 10,000 had been cut.^[5]

Insomniac had originally believed that A Crack in Time would be the last game in the series. However, it sold well enough that the franchise continued at Sony's request.^[5][6]

"My Blaster Runs Hot" weapon contest

A contest called "My Blaster Runs Hot" was held before the release of A Crack in Time, where fans could create weapons. The weapon that won was to be included in the game. Five finalists were chosen, and fans voted on the best weapon.^[7]

The finalists were:^[7]

At San Diego Comic-Con 2009, the Spiral of Death was announced as the winning weapon.^[8]

PlayStation Home

To market the game, a Ratchet & Clank-themed game space was included in PlayStation Home. It contained three levels, including a firing range game based on the past, present and future series enemies. A Ratchet & Clank personal living space was made available for purchase, named "Ratchet & Clank: Home Sweet Home", along with a Ratchet costume, Nefarious helmet and Slag gloves were made available for purchase.^[9]

Pre-order content

Special pre-order packages awarded bonus content to players who pre-ordered A Crack in Time. The four packages available were the power package, space package, discovery package, and bolt package. Each of these packages were specific to a specific retailer. These packages did not add exclusive content, rather, they unlocked it earlier in the game.^[10]

The pre-order packages available were as follows:

• The bolt package was a pre-order package that allowed the player to start with the Bolt Grabber, Box Basher 2000 and five thousand bolts.
• The discovery package was a pre-order package that allowed the player to explore the Insomniac Moon where cut content from the game is shown.
• The power package was a pre-order package that allowed the player to start with extra health and the CryoMine Glove.
• The space package was a pre-order package that gave the player a hotrodskin for the Aphelion as well as five thousand starting bolts and a PlayStation Home avatar skin.

Collector's edition

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (known as Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time in most PAL countries) is a 2009 platformervideo game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty.^[4] The game was released for the PlayStation 3 in North America on October 27, 2009,^[2] in Australia on November 5, 2009^[1] and in Europe on November 6, 2009.^[3]

Upon release, the game received positive reviews from critics, with praise particularly aimed at the story, visuals, and gameplay. A fourth and final installment for the future series, titled Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, was released in November 2013 for the PlayStation 3.

Gameplay[edit]

A Crack in Time game features both returning and new gameplay mechanics to the Ratchet & Clank series. One such mechanic involves the Chronosceptor: A staff that repairs broken objects when you hit a broken object with it. This device may also be used like Ratchet's wrench, to fight off enemies.^[5] By using special "time pads", Clank can also record up to a minute of his actions and then a holographic Clank replays them, while the real Clank does something else. Up to four copies of Clank can be recorded at a time. These holographic Clanks can help to solve puzzles.^[6] In addition to gadgets like the Swingshot and Gravity Boots from previous games,^[7] Ratchet has a pair of hoverboots, allowing him to move more quickly around planets and moons.^[8]

In a noticeable departure from all previous games in the series, Ratchet can now fly his ship freely between planets on a two-dimensional ecliptic in various zones,^[9] going to small moons and completing optional challenges, earning special items such as Zoni, gold bolts, and weapon mods in the process.^[8] The ship's blasters, missiles, and armor can also be upgraded by obtaining additional Zoni. The game also has new weapons known as Constructo Weapons. These fall into three main categories; shotgun, bomb, and pistol. Each weapon can be modified with additional features and altered in appearance to make a weapon unique to the player.

Plot[edit]

Following the events of Quest for Booty, Dr. Nefarious has been assigned by the Zoni to repair Clank. In truth, the doctor is using the partnership as a front to find the key to a room called the "Orvus Chamber" from Clank's memories. When the Zoni deny him access, Nefarious betrays and chases them away with his robotic forces, inadvertently allowing Clank to escape. He is eventually cornered by Nefarious, who reveals that he has been taken somewhere called the Great Clock, a Zoni construct designed to keep time and located in the center of the universe ("give or take fifty feet"), before being immobilized.

At the same time, Ratchet and Captain Qwark are struck by a mysterious anomaly and crash-land on the planet Quantos in their search for Clank. Lord Vorselon, Nefarious' personal assassin, launches an attack on the planet's Fongoid population in search of someone named Alister Azimuth, mistaking Ratchet for them. After both the Fongoids and Qwark are captured, Ratchet repairs his ship with help from the Zoni and journeys to Vorselon's warship to rescue the hostages. Realizing that Azimuth could be a potential ally, he decides to track him down. Meanwhile, Clank is revived by Sigmund, the Junior Caretaker of the Great Clock. Sigmund helps Clank learn more about the Clock's function, to maintain temporal normality across the universe, and also asks for his help in repairing the temporal damage across multiple planets caused by Nefarious. Clank also meets Orvus, a Zoni and the Clock's designer, who converses with the robot as a digital program in his subconsciousness. He reveals that he is Clank's true creator and that he now leaves the Clock in his care.

On planet Torren IV, with some intel from Qwark, Ratchet tracks down Azimuth. He is revealed to be another Lombax left behind when the race fled Tachyon's vendetta and was a good friend of Ratchet's father Kaden. Azimuth guesses that Clank has been taken to the Clock based on his own research and the Lombaxes decide to team up to find another Obsidian Eye in the hopes of being able to talk to Clank. In the Clock itself, Clank learns from an eavesdrop on Sigmund that the real Orvus disappeared two years ago after agreeing to meet with Dr. Nefarious. Whilst searching for the Eye on planet Lumos, Azimuth hesitantly explains that he was indirectly responsible for the near-extinction of the Lombaxes when he gave Tachyon their technology and was exiled for his crimes. The General plans to change what happened by using the Clock to rewrite history, allowing Ratchet the chance to get his family back. Ratchet and Azimuth find the Eye and use it to communicate with Clank, who brings them up to speed about Orvus' plight and implores them to go to planet Zanifar to save his father.

On Zanifar, Ratchet uses a time portal created by Sigmund to travel back in time and attempt to rescue Orvus, who is being tortured by Nefarious for information on how to enter the Chamber, the central control room of the Clock. Orvus warns Nefarious that the Clock is not to be used as a time machine and disappears after the doctor tries to attack him. Shortly after returning to the present, Ratchet learns that Azimuth has been kidnapped by Vorselon, who forces Ratchet to come and save him. Although initially angry that Ratchet chose a rescue mission over finding the Clock, Azimuth relents upon learning of Ratchet's time travel, assuring that using the Clock is worth the risk. At the Clock, while testing out a piece of equipment, Clank encounters the Plumber in his subconscious, who cryptically tells him not to 'risk any more than six minutes'. He and Sigmund then open the door to the Orvus Chamber, but are immobilized by Lawrence, who had been following them through the Clock on Nefarious' orders. Ratchet and Azimuth intercept a faked distress call from Clank on planet Vapedia, where they defeat the local Valkyries and rescue him. After Clank repeats Orvus' warning of the damage to reality the Clock could cause if used incorrectly, Ratchet gives up on the idea of using it to save his family and the Lombaxes. An upset Azimuth leaves.

Ratchet and Clank meet with Qwark to infiltrate Nefarious' space station and destroy his armada so that he cannot reach the Clock. The plan fails when they are confronted by Nefarious himself, who explains his plan to change time to make a perfect universe where villains always triumph over heroes as retaliation for his previous defeat. Nefarious launches Ratchet and Clank to the barren planet Morklon so that they don't interfere with his plans, but with help from Sigmund, they are able to use a time portal to secure a working ship that helps them return. Ratchet and Clank fight and seemingly kill Nefarious before narrowly escaping with the help of Azimuth as the doctor's malfunctioning ship destroys the station.

Regrouping at the Clock, Clank reveals that he intends to stay there to fulfill his father's wishes, to which Ratchet sadly agrees. However, Azimuth insists that they could still use the Clock to save the Lombaxes, which Ratchet again refuses. Furious at being denied the chance by one of his own kind, Azimuth strikes and kills Ratchet before racing for the Orvus Chamber, where he is only just locked out by Clank. Though conflicted on what to do, Clank remembers the Plumber's advice and uses the Clock to reverse time just six minutes, saving Ratchet's life in the process. In the new timeline, Azimuth manages to reach the Chamber before Ratchet and Clank and initiates a time shift to save the Lombaxes. As the Clock begin to shatter around them, Ratchet injures Azimuth and inadvertently breaks the controls trying to stop the shift. Feeling remorse for risking existence itself to change the past, Azimuth manages to stop the Clock from completely breaking at the cost of his own life.

In the aftermath, Ratchet aids the Zoni in repairing the last of the damage and wishes Clank well as he leaves. However, realizing that Ratchet means more to him as family than his duties at the Clock, Clank changes his mind and promotes Sigmund to Senior Caretaker, reuniting with his friend before he departs. A message from Orvus plays, encouraging Clank to do what he feels will make him feel whole, even if that means leaving the Clock. In a post-credits scene, Qwark is stranded in the debris of Nefarious' station, desperately calling for help while his hungry pet War Grok tries to eat him.

Marketing[edit]

The title and logo of the game, along with a trailer were revealed at the 2009 Game Developers Conference.^[10][11]

In March 2009, the PlayStation Blog later announced that a design contest for a weapon would be run until April 10, with the winning design being featured as a usable weapon in the game, as well as a real-life replica being made for the winner and a trip to Comic-Con for the weapon's unveiling to the public.^[12] The winning design was the "Spiral Of Death", a weapon that shoots glowing sawblades that after a certain range, return to the user, somewhat like a yo-yo.

In July 2009, Sony announced that players who pre-ordered the game from selected retailers in North America would be able to unlock one of four additional in-game content packs. It was confirmed however, that the package will simply unlock the items earlier in the game—the player can still earn these items while playing.^[13] A collector's edition of the game was released in the UK, featuring a 3D-cover, artwork book, and a voucher for use on the PlayStation Network which unlocks the Insomniac Moon, an ingame area which showcased content cut from the game.^[14]

A Ratchet & Clank-themed game space was released for PlayStation Home, the PlayStation 3's online community-based service. The "Ratchet & Clank: Time Travelers" space has several casual mini-games, like the Firing Range (past, present, and future) that have rewards like a model of Ratchet's ship for the users personal spaces. Users can also purchase a costume of Ratchet and a Clank back pack from the space's shop. In addition to the game space, there is a themed apartment, the "Ratchet & Clank: Home Sweet Home", that users can purchase. Both the game space and apartment were released on October 15, 2009 in the European and North American versions of Home.^[15] Both the Game Space and apartment were released to the Asian and Japanese version on November 19, 2009.

Ratchet & Clank-themed action figures were released in January 2010.^{[citation needed]}

Sequel[edit]

On July 10, 2013, a fourth installment was announced. Into the Nexus was released exclusively for the PlayStation 3 on November 12, 2013.^[16] This is an epilogue to the Future sub-series.

Reception[edit]

A Crack in Time received positive reviews from critics. IGN's Ryan Clements called it "One of the best Ratchet games ever made" and also noted that it plays like the other Ratchet installments and that players who are not yet tired of the series formula will enjoy it.^[9]Eurogamer scored the game 7/10 criticizing the game's lack of innovation and describing it as "more of the same".^[8] Reviewer Ellie Gibson did however praise the game as a "quality platformer" commenting specifically on its "superb combat system, decent puzzles, fun weapons, pretty visuals and [...] variation".^[8]GameTrailers said that "If A Crack in Time is indeed the final Ratchet & Clank game, then the series has been finished the right way".^[23]PSM3 scored the game 90/100 calling it as "Massive, rewarding, funny - all you'd expect, plus some cute new twists".^[17]

GamePro reviewer Will Herring felt that the game's camera angles were problematic at times, a statement echoed by Joe Rybicki of GameSpy,^[22] but praised its new innovations, calling the hoverboots one of the game's "most enjoyable additions [to the series]".^[20] Rybicki found the game's weapon selection "lackluster", especially early in the game, while praising some of the time-based Clank levels.^[22] Dan Ryckert, of Game Informer, said that "the Clank sections are the best puzzles seen in the series to date".^[7]

GameDaily's Robert Workman found that the game's audio was "superb".^[26]

A Crack in Time was nominated for the "Outstanding Achievement in Animation", "Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering", "Outstanding Achievement in Original Story", and "Adventure Game of the Year" Interactive Achievement Awards from the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences.^[27]

References[edit]

External links[edit]