Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal Preview

When Insomniac Games throws a party online, you had better bring your helmet and strap it on tight. The format calls for fun, and a bit of schooling.

The event was an editors’ tourney online for a special beta of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Some of the editors performed reasonably well, some (yours truly) were less than stellar, but the game showed off the online capabilities of the latest PlayStation2 title in the Sony locker. And the Insomniac gamers took few gamers while showing off their latest effort.

R&C: Up Your Arsenal is the third in the vaunted series, but the designers were quick to point out that this may be the most ambitious of the three. The single-player game takes place on a mapboard that equals or exceeds the first two combined.

As for the multiplayer, the game will allow up to eight players, and the game is geared for rankings with a taut system to ensure that players do not bail out if losing a battle. Two mapboards were available for the multiplayer games – one on a glacial setting, the other in a desert setting.

The multiplayer battle has several ways to play. You can establish a time limit or kill limit. The tourney featured a capture-the-flag style of gaming. The idea was to take your opponent’s base while stopping them from taking your base.

The game has vehicles and power-ups scattered throughout the battlefield, as well as stationary nodes, which have gun mounts. Working through to the enemy’s base was not always the easiest, and the targeting involves using the right thumbstick to target, while moving with left thumbstick.

This is very much a twitch-based game; and represents reflexive gaming at its best. The graphics are bright and colorful, with lush environments and the terrific animations that have long marked this series.

The controls allow for three ways to play the game, through first person, third person and locked-on strafe modes. Each of the modes utilizes a similar control concept but does present a decidedly different view of the game. Use of a USB headset allows teams to communicate with each other and the sound is exceptional.

As mentioned, the online multiplayer mode allows for scenarios from 2 to 8 players, divided into two teams with different skins from the Ratchet and Clank world available. You can operate vehicles, man turrets, and convert nodes to your team’s side. If you die, there is a quick respawn countdown. Converting enemy nodes to your color will allow you to spawn closer to your objective. As you progress through the game and rankings, you can level up weaponry.

In addition to the standard array of weapons (including the sheepinator), you can also get a holo-shield glove, a mine glove, and gravity bombs.

The online battle in Up Your Arsenal is a fast and furiously paced challenge. But it is also a whole lot of fun – even when you are getting beaten on by Insomniac developers. Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal promises to be the biggest and best R&C title yet. From the looks of the online game, it appears this promise will be easily achieved.