Why Future: Tools of Destruction Is Jarring
Vložit
- čas přidán 1. 04. 2023
- In this video I go into some detail about Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction which launched on the PlayStation 3 back in October 2007. The PS3 at that time was seen as nothing more than a joke and Insomniac had a lot on their plate to deal with.
#retro #ratchetandclank #insomniacgames - Hry
Not only the first Ratchet game I ever played, but also the first game I ever played and that was singlehandedly responsible for making me fall in love with the entire series. Also, the video on the channel The Golden Bolt delves into this game’s development including the cut content; it’s a very interesting watch
I definitely need to check it out! Thank you for stopping by!
It was also my first game ever that's why it's my favourite
It's actually kind of insane how this game didn't completely drop the ball despite its shortcomings. Like yeah it wasn't doing anything too standout like Mario Galaxy was but for the series next gen transition and a generally early 7th generation game it still holds up better than many others from within the same time period.
I definitely agree with that statement. I mean its insane how fast they got it out in the first place with the hardware switch. Especially since the HD era of gaming games in general just haven't been the same.
I guess one big standout difference between the original trilogy and the future series was the overall tone of the world around them.
For the original trilogy, the world and the people around Ratchet and Clank were pretty silly in general, and its plot didn’t really have any real tragic sequences of death or loss, and even the “death” of Quark in Up Your Arsenal was played up for laughs and didn’t linger to make the player feel like this was a sad occasion.
The future series’ radical shift in trimming out most of the silly elements made it lose a lot of its charm. It’s still fine, but I don’t think the narratives are better due to the shift towards serious and dramatic tones over the comedic, light-hearted nature of the originals.
Great analysis on the original trilogy vs future. In a way I understand what they wanted to do. But I do wonder how the series would have been if they kept things light-hearted.
What I found jarring about TOD and pretty much every R&C after it is that it lacks any stylistic and narrative cohesion with the PS2 games, to the point where it feels like an entirely new IP but with "Ratchet and Clank" still in the title. Nearly every cutscene feels like watching an Infobot commercial from the original, except they're presented earnestly and expect to be taken seriously. The fact that it also retcons past events and then can't even be consistent with itself either just further pushes that jarring feeling. Gameplay is about the only thing that doesn't feel out of place apart from trying to force the motion control nonsense for puzzles and even a weapon or two.
That's a great take on it. I think the move to HD overall was problematic for the gaming industry not just Insomniac.
Yeah, I still love the future trilogy but even as a kid I could tell something was off. Like we aren't following the same Ratchet and Clank from the PS2 era.
@@tpx7414 I remember it hitting me like a brick wall right when they get to the Lombax home world, which isn’t just Veldin for whatever reason, and they find the rundown ship that Ratchet takes super seriously because it’s an old Lombax ship, but it just looks almost identical to the one that Megacorp gave him back in 2.
It's also the start of when the series slowly moved away from the more late 90s - early 2000s sci-fi/techno/electronica type music to more Pixar style orchestral score type music. Not a fan of this change. PS2 games had way more memorable soundtracks. Only track I really remember from ToD is the ending Daft Punk style credits music
Still love ToD, but it's the start of a few missteps in the series that Insomniac have unfortunately doubled down on over the years
@@aninfinitemindofmusicandreams even though it was a completely different style, TOD still had a great soundtrack. It was composed by David Bergeaud, same composer from the PS2 games. He left the series after TOD and that's when the music really started going downhill. I can't remember a single track from any game after TOD.
I recognise it has its flaws, but TOD is my second favourite entry after GC. I just really enjoy this one!
Another banger, I love the Ratchet and Clank series you've been doing.
I'm getting there. Just been taking breaks in between games to play others so I can deliver fresh options on 'em. Thanks for sticking through the wait!
I flipping loved the razor claws
lets gooo, gonna binge your previous RC vids!
Thank you kindly. I hope you enjoyed the video!
This video accurately summed up a lot of my feelings about this game. I remember when I first played it, I felt... whelmed. Not underwhelmed or overwhelmed, just whelmed. It didn't really do anything bad but it didn't do anything outstanding either. It just felt like another good R&C game. Looking back, I'm not surprised to learn that it went through such development hell because it really shows in some areas where the hitboxes on the level geometry are all over the place.
Hey man and thanks for stopping by. Nice summary of ToD there with it being well whelming. Did you enjoy any of the ps3 games as much as you did the ps2?
@@Natquerx I did enjoy A Crack in Time as much as the PS3 games. It felt much more ambitious as a game. Like they really tried to introduce a lot of new things. It easily has the best Clank sections; though I wish they'd made them a bit more challenging. It has the best worldbuilding of any R&C game up to that point. I loved the customisable weapons, the space exploration, and the tone of the story. I did feel that the level design wasn't quite on par with earlier games, although that trend had started to set in by UYA. The main issue was the lack of David Bergeaud's funky tracks in the ost. The new composer didn't do a bad job but, I feel like it lacked a bit of the classic R&C identity with the new atmospheric soundtrack.
A Crack in Time might be equal to UYA, for me, but not quite on the same level as the 1st and 2nd games. And I do have a real soft spot for Deadlocked.
i wouldn't mind the future saga so much if it was a seperate continuity/reboot rather than acontinuation of the PS2 games coz like. despite TOD being ratchet's bumbling first steps into a new identity for the series going forward, the modern ratchet games are still great in their own right and they do improve on the story in the games after TOD.
but man oh man, i'm forever going to dislike the lombax lore they introduced in TOD, why did they need to make the silly space rats the saviors of the universe. i just want ratchet to be just a guy from space nevada who just happens to be the only competent person in the galaxy because every other hero is either a jerk, lazy, or qwark.
I 10/10 agree with that. I think the real issue was them wanting to continue on from the PS2 era versus making it entirely separate. I also would have preferred him being just a lombax in space hanging out. The whole lombax lore arguably made him less interesting than the latter.
@@Natquerx let ratchet be just A Guy! same with clank!!! trying to give them these grandiose backstories and histories just makes their universe seem a lot smaller!!!!!
I disagree
The way they explain it makes sense
Not every hero, Kid Nova is pretty cool, I mean he survived dreadzone and if u check his score at the end of the game I believe he beat or almost reactors score. A spin-off with him could be interesting if done right
If Tools of Destruction had trophies I would've kept it but I sold it after I beat it. They should port this, Quest For Booty Into The Nexus and a Crack In Time for PS4 & PS5 with trophies.
We can only wish!
Awsome content mate keep it up!❤
Thanks for stopping by!
Great video man!
I love this game as it was my first ps3 game and my first experience with RAC. The issue i have really is the problem Going Commando had which was the MASSIVE difficulty spike out of nowhere. After Planet Sargasso, enemies become bullet sponges and take you out in only 3 hits even if you have the latest armor. Also waves 1 and 2 of the weapons from grummelnet vendors are nearly useless as they barely do any damage in the game's second half. I can say for most of the last third of the game i used only the Alpha Disruptor and Negotiator as it was the only weapons that made any progress on enemies. For a game called Tools Of Destruction, it feels like most of your tools can barely make a dent in anything
I loved this game, it was the reason I bought a PS3 in the first place, it was the first game where I actually felt like I was playing a Pixar movie, it was just gorgeous, and honestly I really liked that it was just a single player experience, I've always felt like Up Your Arsenal would've been better if they focused only on the single player campaign, I know that's not everyone's opinion, that there are a lot of people who loved the multiplayer, but I didn't play online multiplayer games until the PS3 came out, before that the only multiplayer I used was offline split screen.
Fair enough. I wonder how UYA would have turned out if single player was the sole focus?
You better cover Quest for Booty before A Crack in Time.
Rac hype loving this series
I think the biggest thing TOD did to the series was the overarching story and deep lore. Rac 1, 2, UYA and deadlocked had stories that complicated and connected as much as the future games. I think it is also notable how this entry introduced us to many of the weapons that would comeback in the later games, notably Mr.Zurkon and the Groovytron (I don’t know how to call it in English since I play these games in my language where it is called the Discotron).
I'm important to note the stylistic revision was deliberate. If you watch the developer diaries for TOD you'll see they regarded the PS2 titles as more or less satire first, sci-fy second, while for the next gen of RnC they wanted, basically, to reverse that. To give us a more serious, proper sci-fy story and hero, but still maintain the comedy in a way similar to Dreamworks or Pixar movies. They wanted the series to "grow up" in their words and you'll note ToD was the last game to get an ESRB warning for "crude humor". Some of this required a bit of retconning, because if the universe is suddenly going to allow for serious stories, it must be presumed it wasn't always a giant SNL skit. This is basically a "soft reboot" of the franchise. We can presume most of the characters back stories are still mostly the same, so the older games aren't suddenly invalid, but they probably didn't play out exactly the same. I haven't played it myself, but I kind'a feel the PS4 Ratchet 1 remake is probably the retconned version that exists in the Future series.
In any case, neither version is wrong, it's simply a preference. They wanted to take the series in a different direction and, for myself, I actually prefer the future games to the PS2 originals. The satirical, crude, sometimes borderline offensive humor of the ps2 games was hit and miss for me, and I prefer the more pixar style of the future games. No hate to anyone who prefers the PS2 games though. They're still very good and I replay them from time to time.
As for the Lombaxes, I actually enjoy what they did with them, even if it requires we basically ignore Angela ever existed. And even though he's the last of the Lombaxes and all that jazz, I don't see that as making him "the chosen one" or whatever, Ratchet is still a regular guy, just with a tragic history. He still sees himself as handyman first, galactic hero second. And I don't view the Lombaxes as guardians of the universe or something, I feel the intent from the stories was to actually establish that they were a builder or maker species all with ADD who were constantly trying to make every device in the galaxy "better." It just so happened that with their obsession for creating and building things (they work gears and sprockets into the reliefs and artwork on their buildings for crying out loud), they took it a bit personal when another species came along that destroys everything they don't steal and only steal what will help them destroy. Anyway that's my wall of text.
Ive never liked the story of the future trilogy. Ive always seen it as the defanging of the Ratchet and Clank series as the original games, satirized capitalism and capitalists. Even Up Your Arsenal had commentary on manufactured pop idols with Courtney Gears.
In my honest opinion Ratchet Deadlocked/Gladiator is the last true Ratchet and Clank game.
Fair enough.
Ah, back in time in early 2000s i have played all ratchet and clank games on my ps2. When ps3 game out it was just out of reach for me and many people here in EU. In 2019 i have bought used ps3 slim on fbmarket and i have played all the games i have missed. Amazing games, amazing story. I can only imagine how good this games look back in ps3 era when they came out.
What happened with the ps3 and the EU? I'm from NA so things were fine other than it being overpriced.
The thing I had the most problem with this Ratchet game compared to the PS2 games was that Ratchet's runcicle is much slower in TOD than any on PS2 which makes the game feel bit more sluggish
The thing that frustrates me most about tools of destruction isn’t exactly tool’s fault but dear god it got boring seeing so much of the combuster mr zurkon and groovitron in the future games. Especially the groovitron which is honestly overpowered in the later games when it’s a weapon so you can just pick it up from ammo crates even though it’s fine in ratchet tools of destruction because of how limited devices are. A lot of the early period of the game you can’t even backtrack to buy more because of device vendors being limited and you not having a ship. Should of kept the device subset of equipment if they really wanted groovitron to be a thing being able to stun a bunch of enemies on a whim should not be as plentiful as normal ammunition.
The idea that it's different from the original four games because it didn't innovate so much is a pretty interesting argument and it does seem to fit with what I thought of the game.
In terms of the single player experience would you say that Up Your Arsenal innovated so much? The level design is definitely weaker compared to the previous two, the weapons are good but the levelling system to level five is redundant and the use of the Qwark Vid-Comic as the minigame seems a lot cheaper than the ship minigame in Going Commando and doesn't particularly innovate on the lite-metroidvania genre.
I also would recommend sticking to the point of the video. You have an argument, then say why your argument is right. Anything else such as explaining what gadgets there are or recapping the story is ultimately pointless because likely the people who watch this are already Ratchet fans.
Nonetheless, it was a good video and I hope you improve! God bless!
Hey man thanks for stopping by and being constructive. I would not say UYA was huge in innovation but when coming off of the original or GC it feels more "refined" which of course is subjective. Regarding your other comment I will see if I can get more feedback from others. As my intentions here were a retrospective with a reason as to why I feel the game is this way or that. It's been so long as I've played them that this also serves as a little recap I can always look back on.
I was able to get Ratchet and Clank TOD and CiT in a duel box set for $4 AUD in 2011 brand new, best purchase on the PS3 I ever made
My favorite game of the whole saga you cannot change my mind
One of my favorites
3:07 You could do this is R&C 3 as well
I feel like its most similiar to RAC 1, i like hows therrs good exploration
Gelinator is so fucking COOL. ah my god. its sad we used it only on one planet tho.
I'm currently playing through the whole saga, After playing 1,2,3 and deadlocked in order going to this it does feel... IDK different? I think jarring is accurate. It does feel like a reset in some areas, with some R&C 2 bits mixed in, Its certainly not bad but I don't think its going to be one I come back to once completed. I hear quest for booty writing is more punchy so I'm looking forward to see how that plays out when I get to it soon.
Did you ever get around to Quest for Booty?
Also the movement is slow. Feels like walking through water.
I download ToD on rpcs3 but i cant complete this because minigame is broken and i cant move Ball :/
That's odd. I didn't have any issues outside of some crashes. Did you ever get it fixed?
@@Natquerx no, i try use kayboard and some outher way to play this minigame but everytime after 2-3 sec i can't move Ball and Just lose
@@TgPL0 Are you running the game at unlimited FPS? If so, try running the game at 60 FPS capped. If the game is running uncapped, the ball segments break. You can change the FPS on the fly while the game is running, so you can easily switch between 60 and unlimited whenever you want.
@@TeruDN bro that was 4 Months ago and I just couldn't move the ball
@@TgPL0 Just letting you know how it went for me. Yes, if your frame limit is any higher than 60, the ball doesn't move.
I beat it without armor. But the power scaling of weopons sucked. And dialogue trees are no good
This was their true prequel to a Crack in Time. The rest felt in between felt like dlc / filler
As a lover of the original trilogy , I just got a ps5 and tried to dive into the game and Jarring it is. I don't know what it is but I am really struggling to get into it
Have you managed to get into it now?
@@Natquerx not yet, im sorry is it really worth it? I just finished getting the platinum trophy for the first 3
Nah it's not worth forcing yourself if you aren't enjoying it. @@Broncosbrown9
ToD is a great game but one i hate for what it represents, it took Ratchet and Clank in a direction that i dont like with these grand stories about destiny and crap instead of the down to earth often low stakes adventures that put Ratchet and Clank in the position of nobodys trying to fix stuff, in my opinion Size Matters is the final canon Ratchet and Clank game and im always so sad that we lost that grounded realistic style for this whimsical prophetic shit.
You know something did you notice this game came out after an the ps2 but 2 years later in 2007 this game feels rush to be honest it reminded people like jak III came out one year ago to jak II and I don't think tools of destruction feels like it has changed because looking back after the end of ps2 era and now it's Ratchet and clank is officially 21 years old after it's lastest release of rift apart I wonder we would see another ratchet and clank in the near future with a new era.
Don't quote me on it but I think people asked Insomniac on twitter about a new R&C game. They simply said they were busy with other projects at the moment so who knows if we will see even another entry on the Ps5.
Really, REALLY hated the new softer character models in ToD. Ratchet used to be so cool, but suddenly he was just a teddy bear
Even as an 11 year old I felt this game just wasn't as good as the prior games, though it still was fun
It sucks there were less NPC like ratchet 1
buen video👍
The problems I have with the game so far is the gameplay, it's just so dull, there's been no attempt to make it feel fun enough, it's like they were more focused on making the game look pretty with the technology at the time.
I can agree with that statement especially since the PS3 was in its infancy at that time.
Tools of destruction is my favourite one
Its not really jarring, its just that this game has way too many plot elements that the ended up removing half of them for Crack in Time.
i dont understand ANY of you r&c reviewers. I grew up with 2,3 and deadlocked and got tod 2 years after the ps3 released. Today i own every single r&c game except for rift apart. Tod is my favourite....
wrong, that means I think Tools of Destruction jarring. I think it's a great game.
Tools has it's moments. Then again Genji is fine, Ridge Racer yes please, Resistance 1 is fair. People meme that conference so much and I don't see the issues. The price sure, the games are really exciting to me then bland third parties these days. What no familiar IPs cough sure. What odd ads/media marketing for an entry level blu ray player/game console like PS2.
No sixaxis mentioned huh. I don't mind it. Other games use it more smartly to aim like Heavenly Sword crossbow, some other games PS3/4, I think the tornado launcher had a bug at least for my PAL copy of the stick not working while the freefalling, robo wings, defibrillator and geo laser do work with the stick and can work well with sixaxis depending on subtle use of it. As someone used to motion controls in games nowadays then going yeah I do really like it I see the good and bax design in them and yeah Tools has some not as good udes of it. On (cough Rift Apart doesn't use it at all why?)
The demo blew my mind I played it a few times before launch. The scripted moments and box pieces/goo on the ground is overdone bur still nice. The scripted buildings I dee through their pretty pathetic now and soet od were see through back in the day too. Even old gen you had games with destruction more player controlled.
Portal having player controlled portals (white walls you can't but got to have balance of can and can't use) is more exciting then Rift Apart rifts or the yellow rifts in set locations why? It's pathetic and less fun.
Wow the 360 was cheaper didn't change whatever games on it for third parties and a few first over time appearing/audience appeal change. I had both over time but still.
The skill tree is eh in Tools and the rest in the series. RIP devices. But the Ratchet 2&3 was fine enough.
The fur wasn't there yet it looked off at least on his face then the ears. Crack in Time they got the hang of it and later games. But Tools Ratchet is pretty off.
3 rings then the 2 from Ratchet 3 was fair.
Didn't realise the hyper strike joined from the long jump so cool there as replaying it.
Gelnator is good use. The rest are fine. Helipods are strict so not as flexible sadly. Geolaser is fine. Defibrillator I mean Decryptor I always forget it's name for some reason, puzzle gadget ball power point puzzles are fun enough not as bad as the infiltrator but fun enough like the trespasser (when not getting stuck on it sometimes) or the electrolyzer timing.
They could have been weapons but cool enough. I never use them much but this play through I am. Fewer ammo doesn't help. I hate the groovitron, wow a music stun option and over used in the series yawn.
Stun gas, a copter (aka spiderbot glove but flying), leech bombs so nanotech/health steal and more is useful. I always liked the😮 idea but oh well. Or they were like other weapons so had some place but most would skip them I assume and not alone in that because of what type of use cases they have. Same as Infector or Holoshield I like them but struck to level them up/weak fi enemies or forget to protect myself with the shield.
If they were forced I wonder what they would use them for in puzzles.
Some weapons are similar but when you vet many pistol/grenade launcher/rockets the others are cool to have.
The Fusion grenade throwing isn't to the ground only so that's nice quality of life there. Sure an electric whip, but they tried at least, only so many spins you can put on a glove, a pistol, a grenade, a throwable decoy and more, elements or the let it do it for you robots/turrets. Many people don't likely use certain ones yet we have more than just generic guns in the series. Buzz Blazes are the disc blade gun but repeated every game in the series since........ so yeah.
The bounce is a grenade launcher and splits snore. Lava gun cor spraying hmm I guess nor yeah that is disappointing thinking it over but other crowd control weapons exist like the tornado, or a rail gun style hols it down lock on and fire predator launcher missiles (aka new to the series, rail and sniper aka flux rifle are not the same).
Sharp Reaper is a fair shadd shotgun. It's no Halo Needler as a submachine gun/semi automatic heavily repetitive pistol but it's something.
I mean you go and come up with 20+ new weapon ideas or ones to fit the formulas players will use its not easy.
Plasma whip dude the Shock Ravager is the plasma whip (yes it controls different so it's not the same but it can work more than the whip did and it's lacking autotargeting which I agree is more fun/challenge then it doing it for you, that and the electric enemies only so many robot/pirate/etc exist it's limited to) what are you even saying of oh it has this impact, actually look at the weapon types. Like come on. XD Sigh.
Raritanium is fair. I never notice differences in them and used it to follow the get rid of it out of boredom not because I like the system. I am doing a no raritanium run now to see what changes then less features. It's not that bad of a change, weapons felt weak in the game too quickly somewhat and they do more with no raritanium to them. So the damage/rate/ammo count and more aren't that much a necessity.
Ship uses are ok. The strategies of leaving the cursor/reticule on bosses no the enemies yes. It's no 3D movement complexity but hey I can take the forward movement and moving along it, it's not Crack in Time 2D plane but ship sectors. I like a crack in time but even that seemed odd to me. Still better than Starfield space travel.
I forget how eh some jokes are and other times fair funny jokes. Ah the moustache/glasses. It wants to be movie serious and kid like. It's fine. It was less crude and that's fine. But they do have less punch. Less Ratchet 2016 bland and only quality of life great besides cutting half the game.
No idea what reference that was.
The plot is fine.... cliffhanger...... its a fine game. It is 2&3 elements but HD and new ideas and that's totally a fair start. A dramatic shift would have been off and they didn't have the talent of using the PS3 fully yet either so it's a good game but just different while being fair elements familiar.
Why should every game do that? Exactly we wait till they can meet that. :) Or they work around stuff of ideas then come back again possibly. With a tough console to work with yeah good luck with that. It's not easy to do that always and well Crack in Time WAS that dramatic change for the series. It was next gen like ideas I think. One people praise. Whatever they cared about in the game no idea story/gameplay wise. Me gameplay wise. Rift Apart I hated it for not upping things but it's not that with a deboot back from a 2016 reboot. I expected them to think hmm returning and seeing what the past games did or new direction they chose existing with some eh directions of what they looked back at.
With Tools they learned tougher hardware and design on there before then is possible. Especially in 2 years you can't be serious. For Rift Apart it was 2016-2021 (Song of the Deep small team in there, and whatever mobile game they had too) and working on Spiderman took a while for that and Miles Morales. Then Wolverine as well and VR games prior somewhere. Aka busy.
Rift Apart is a Tools of Destruction with Crack in Time elements that suck for a new console and barely use it. Wow it's faster yeah where are more dynamic rifts, no control over the yellow ones cough Portal allows control anywhere but some walls by design to balance what you can use it for not strict areas for it you can't control, we don't get those so it's a pathetic game with scripted faster moments what creativity when a HDD 2009 PS3 game has the better groundwork and Rift Apart is not a good followup in writing or gameplay.
Engine change made sense. More planets huh. Yeah some story telling missing hmm. Fhen again Future saga has had issues. Online yeah there is a reason All For One/QForce exists to fulfil that. Quest for Booty for PSN as well. What Sony wanted.
You have to use the jellanator gadget for certain missions though
This is true.
And at this point series quality is getting worse(minus ACIT and nexus)
Might be a controversial opinion, but this is my favorite game besides Deadlocked and Going Commando. Id rather play this than ACiT anyday
That is fair enough!
8:26 - 8:33 i dont hink ive ever seen anyone reference these 2 bozos in my entire gaming/youtube viewing career.
;)
Algorithm
This is the very first R&C game i ever played
reducing to atoms everything in sight with the ryno was REAL good
I just finished playing this game for the first time after having played the ps2 era for many times as a kid. And oh boy jarring pretty much sums it up perfectly. The core gameplay is fine but it’s so shallow. The weapons are sooo uninteresting nothing stands out and in the first half they are so goddamn OP that I completed the arena levels without getting hit once but in the last levels all weapons get so weak in comparison that only the alpha cannon is viable. Also enemy variety is the weakest it has ever been. Too many levels only fighting pirates than fighting fishsoldiers again and for the last levels only the spongiest oddworld like creatures. It get boring really fast as you explore a great range of planets and big levels but always fighting the sameish enemies. Also bossbattles with unskippable railsegments…you have to complete EVERY GODDAMN TIME! I didn’t really cared for the story because I just wanted to get done with it. Like you said this game didn’t bring anything new to the table besides the gello gun which they forgot about halfway through the game. Also that stupid pirate dancing game got old way too quick but they dragged it along all the way to the end. Also no activities like racing, hoverboards or optional side missions. The clank parts with almost no checkpoints and weird pacing seem like an afterthought too. All in all i will never play this game again, might be a good thing I skipped this back in the day I missed out on nothing.