Insomniac Community Day: Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One Hands-On
Recently at the Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, CA, Insomniac Games held a Community Day event for all their fans to attend where they had the latest demo of Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One that I was fortunate enough to play how it’s meant to be played, with three other gamers!
The Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One demo begins with the standard four player select screen with the characters Ratchet, Clank, Nefarious, and Captain Qwark. The entire campaign is online or offline with drop in drop out co-op where the screen scales as other players move away from each other. The main gameplay is set around launching the other three players across large gaps and activating switches that require two or more players.
I thought that Insomniac Games North Carolina did a fantastic job in applying the Ratchet Universe in a co-op game. The co-op mechanics didn’t feel “tacked on” and each idea felt fresh as well as environments that they were used in. Hopefully this mantra comes across in the final game and avoids relying too much on the same basic mechanics. If players are left behind or miss a gap, the neatest and most useful feature is the ability to use a grapple hook that allows other plays to easily sling themselves back onto other players instead of falling to their deaths. I used this frequently and feigned jumping off the map only to save myself for my own enjoyment and to keep other players worried about me…
Grappling is useful crossing large gaps and satisfying when things go according to plan.
There are opportunities for players to grief each other, too. You don’t always have to play nice. All players have the ability to suck up via vacuum other plays and launch them across large gaps or completely off the map into oblivion. Most of the gameplay was very mashy and extremely easy throughout the demo and Ratchet fans will feel very at home aside from the occasional enemies that require teamwork or special weapons strategies. Even though the game felt mashy, it is important to understand who this game is aimed at. This is definitely very much a family friendly game, but also could be a great game for hardcore gamers just to shoot the breeze via voice chat while racking up trophies and competing for the best score.
In case you’re wondering… does All 4 One have a story? When I asked this question they said, “Absolutely! All 4 One is a full Ratchet & Clank game with everything you know and love: story, cutscenes, humor, and weapons!”
Once again, Insomniac Games lives up to the “looks like a Pixar movie” goal. After talking to a few fans who just finished the demo they all said it looks damn nice just like a Pixar movie. Each of the four characters are detailed just as much as they are in the full blown single player campaigns. Frame rate did take a hit as a multitude of enemies and bolts flew out from everywhere on the screen, but this is something to be addressed when the game goes gold and ships around later this year.
I look forward to the long and short co-op sessions with the rest of you all when All 4 One hits retail later this year.
