Gaming Trend

Gaming Trend Review

by Mike Repella

Sony has been on a kick lately, porting many of its games made for the PSP to the PS2. This isn’t such a bad idea when they are porting decent games, like Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters. It allows a good game to be played by a much wider audience due to the PS2’s huge install base. But, when you port an already bad PSP game to the PS2 nothing good can come of it. Which is what we get with Secret Agent Clank for the PS2.

The Ratchet and Clank series has almost always hit a home run. The games are known for their comedic storylines, fast paced run and gun action, upgradable weapons and powers, and great platforming elements. Throughout previous games in the series, the player has primarily controlled Ratchet, with Clank being used for side missions or as a power up. This time around, the developers focused almost entirely on Clank. Turning the game from pure action, into a mix of action, puzzle game, rhythm game and even snowboarding, with none of the particular game play styles being that good to begin with. Each element is certainly not up to the high standard set by previous Ratchet and Clank games. 

Secret Agent Clank starts out with Ratchet being framed, arrested and sent to jail. This leaves his rescue up to Clank who does his best James Bond impression throughout the game to rescue him. The game’s box art itself is a parody of the famous 007 swirling tunnel shot.

Since this is a PSP to PS2 port, the game’s visuals don’t exactly shine. They aren’t even good compared to other PS2 games or other Ratchet and Clank games on the PS2. From what I can tell, the developers for the PS2 version haven’t added anything to the game to make it look any better than the PSP version.  Still, the game is playable and the graphics aren’t so bad that they are distracting. Just don’t go into this one thinking that the visuals are going to be on par with previous Ratchet and Clank games.

The one thing that is on par with previous games in the series is the sound. The same actors who traditionally do the voices for Ratchet, Clank and even Commander Quark are all back. They deliver their lines exactly the way we have come to expect and that is a good thing. The music and sound affects in the game are also on level with what we have heard in past games. Overall the sound hasn’t suffered in its transition from the PSP to the PS2.

I am still amazed at Sony’s decision to only include one analog stick on the PSP. In a true trickle down affect, that decision hurts the camera control for this PS2 game. Since Secret Agent Clank was originally designed for the PSP, the right analog stick wasn’t intended to control the camera. On the PS2 version the developer have added the option to use the right analog stick for the camera, but the camera will fight you for control and it will do its best to stay right behind Clank’s head. After fighting with the camera for a while I found it best just to leave the right stick alone and let the game control the camera. 

I could live with substandard graphics, poor camera control, and average sound if the gameplay was good. But that is where Secret Agent Clank completely takes a nose dive. Sure the game does feature some play time with Ratchet, using the tried and true run and gun play style that Ratchet and Clank has perfected. But those segments are few and far between and hardly make up for the rest of the game. Most of the game will be spent with Clank and he isn’t exactly a world beating gun slinger like Ratchet. Instead you will have to use stealth to make your way through levels, those rare times where you do have to fight will mostly be done through quick time events. In other games I have found that if stealth gaming isn’t done right, then it is either really boring or extremely frustrating, in this case Clank’s stealth gameplay is boring.

The very first level of the game combines the above mentioned stealth elements and ends with a rhythm game. This particular Rhythm game is so frustratingly hard that I can see a lot of gamers giving up on the game right then and there. For some reason the developers decided to turn some of the stealth aspects into a rhythm game that is both extremely hard and not rhythmic at all. The first level alone features a rhythm section that is about five minutes long and gets progressively harder towards the end. If at any time during this segment Clank runs out of health, you have to start all the way back at the beginning. This is a harsh penalty especially considering that the last two sections of the rhythm game come at you so fast that it was impossible for me to hit all the buttons in the right order. I spent over an hour and a half trying to beat that one part, and that was just the first level. It was at this point that I started to really dislike Secret Agent Clank.

My dislike of the game grew even more when I was suddenly faced with a puzzle game. In order to progress in a stealth level I had to unlock a jump pad that required me to align different colored shapes dropping out of a tube. The player can slide the tube back and forth to align the colored shape with the column they want to drop it in, but this puzzle game is in no way on the level with Tetris or even Puzzle Quest. To put it simply, the puzzle game is not fun; it is ill conceived and frustrating at best. Yet another strike against this title.

So what exactly does Secret Agent Clank have going for it? For one, it is still a Ratchet and Clank game and it does contain a silly storyline filled with jokes and one liners. Captain Quark makes an appearance and is even playable during his own puffed up retelling of events.  Ratchet is also playable and his levels consist of him trying to stay alive while in prison with the use of his usual assortment of weaponry. It’s just a shame that Ratchet’s play time is so limited. Also, the game retails for just $19.99, so it is a cheap investment.

Fans of Ratchet and Clank who do not own a PSP will be the only ones who will definitely want to check this game out. But keep in mind, it's a short game, coming in at around 8 hours tops. So this may be a rental only if you have to play this game. If you have a PSP and enjoy the Ratchet and Clank series then I would definitely recommend getting the PSP version over the PS2 version. Everyone else who isn’t a Ratchet and Clank fan should stay away from this title as it will leave a bad taste in your mouth towards the rest of the otherwise stellar series. 

Gaming Trend Score

58

1. Graphics: 50
2. Audio: 85
3. Controls: 60
4. Gameplay: 40
5. Value/Replay: 70
6. OVERALL:58