The digital delights of Sony’s scrumptious PlayStation Network service know no bounds. Aside from letting punters compete in online gaming, stream films, browse the Internet and more, its premier attraction rests in the copious supply of downloadable games ripe for the picking. From PSN exclusives to PSOne Classics, minis and plain old add-on content, Sony’s online space is chock full of goodies battling it out for your hard-earned digital dollars.
Welcome back to another installment of Inside PlayStation Network, where every Monday – Friday we’ll pluck a PSN release—be it new or old—and put it in the spotlight for a thorough dissection. Fancy getting a new PSN game but don’t know what one to plump for? Perhaps this feature will help. Didn’t realize that a game was available in your region until now? We’ve got you covered. Or, perhaps you were musing over what those lucky Japanese folk were tucking into over in the Land of the Rising Sun? You can be sure our coverage will extend to those rare regional exclusives as much as those firmly embedded on the public consciousness.
For our first entry of the week, we take a gander at Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty.
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Developer: Insomniac Games
Region(s) available: Europe, Japan (North America retail-only release)
Players: 1
The second instalment in the Ratchet & Clank Future trilogy, Quest for Booty is a bite-sized offering with a heavy emphasis on good, old-fashioned fun. Just as well too, since the game is woefully short, clocking it at around two-three hours in length. The game does away with the abundance of mini-games and other distractions found throughout previous entries in the series, sticking firmly to the bread-and-butter platforming, run-and-gunning action. Oh, and let’s not forget the vibrant locations and eyeball-popping lighting effects, too.
Picking up right after the events of Tools of Destruction, Quest for Booty sees Clank robot-napped by Zonis, leaving his partner Ratchet hot in pursuit. Narrated by Rusty Pete and the disembodied head of Captain Slag, the game packs plenty of the series’ trademark humour throughout, largely thanks to the aforementioned narrators’ perennial bickering. The cut-scenes are largely gone, however, instead replaced by static, 2D images.
Quest for Booty weaves a non-stop thrill ride of heated battles and intense platform sequences, with a few puzzles sprinkled in for good measure. As mentioned, the game does away with a lot of the mini-games, including staples such as the arena missions. Weapons can still be upgraded, albeit only twice and there’s no gold bolts to sniff out or any skill points to earn. Also conspicuous by his absence is the fan favourite Captain Quark, and of course Clank, leaving Ratchet to fly the flag. What it lacks in some series staples however, Quest for Booty more than makes up in pure, unadulterated fun.
Join us again tomorrow morning as we take another glance Inside PlayStation Network.