A Hands on impression for Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. He says its very similar to the past few games but with better graphics. The did change some of the game play elements so you can see how amazing the planet is. For example once you use a jump pad, the camera zooms out to show how big the world really is.

Some of the weapons that were in the demo were the disco ball wich makes your enemies dance and morhping gun that turns them into penguins.

I have the E3 demo of Ratchet and Clank Future right in my very own home; Sony made it available for journalists to download after the show. Since I didn't get the chance to play it at E3, I took it for a spin and found myself quite entertained.

This shouldn't really have been surprising considering that the previous games in the series were acclaimed. But I didn't get up to much Ratcheting on the PS2, although I did play all the Jak games. I'm not sure why: both involved fuzzy characters that shot things with big guns, but only Ratchet was designed that way from the beginning instead of having gunplay awkwardly grafted on later, like a third arm. And that makes all the difference.

Future doesn't really diverge much from the standard formula: you run, double jump, and shoot things. So, no, this isn't a particularly novel experience: it feels like you're playing one of the PS2 games with nicer graphics. But that's not bad. They use the power of the PS3 to render a giant cartoony City of the Future, a vast megalopolis with airborne traffic jams and bridges that span the highest floors of endless rows of skyscrapers.

And some of the gameplay elements actually let you take in some of this beauty instead of staring down your gun barrel. Big jump-buttons on the ground blast Ratchet high into the air, as the camera zooms out to show the depth of the city beneath and around him. Apart from the straightforward platforming, you'll be able to grind rails that soar through the city as the camera takes a side-on view of all the scenery rushing past. And there are moments where Ratchet ends up free-falling through the sky, and you can use the motion sensor to move him around in the air as he plummets to Earth (but why would you when you can turn it off instead)?

Of course, Ratchet's signature is his wide arsenal of crazy weapons. Four are on display in the demo: your standard guns, but also two wackier items. One lets you throw a disco ball into the air; its hypnotic 70's rhythms and flashing lights cause enemies to catch Saturday Night Fever instead of attacking you. Another turns enemies into harmless penguins, who you can then beat the crap out of as they stand there, cute and helpless.

The demo doesn't have much beyond that. I'm looking forward to getting deeper into this one when it launches in November.

Sayyed via blog.wired.com »