Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (Japanese: ラチェット＆クランク２：ガガガ！銀河のコマンドっす [Rachetto & Kuranku 2: GaGaGa! Ginga no Komandossu lit] [Ratchet & Clank 2: BangBangBang! Commandos of the Galaxy]), titled Ratchet & Clank 2: Locked and Loaded in Australia and most PAL countries, Ratchet & Clank 2 in Ireland, Holland, Portugal, Germany, and France; Ratchet & Clank 2: Totalmente a Tope (Ratchet & Clank 2: Totally on Top) in Spain, and Ratchet & Clank 2: Going Commando in the remaining countries of Northern Europe, is a three-dimensional platform game for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by Insomniac Games, and published by Sony in 2003. It is the second game in the Ratchet & Clank series. It was released on Tuesday, November 11, 2003, in North America. It is the first game to feature the Insomniac Museum.

This game takes place in the year 5355.

Gameplay
Like it's predecessor, Going Commando is a mix of platforming and shooting. This game features Nanomites, which is this game's equivalent to experience. Whenever an enemy is defeated, Ratchet gains Nanomites and the bar underneath his health display fills up. When the bar is full, Ratchet gains additional health. Each of the weapons Ratchet uses also have a bar that fills up when enemies are defeated. When the bar is full, the weapon upgrades, changing it's design and making it more powerful. Like the previous game, there are moments where the player takes control of Clank. Clank controls Microbots, which can be given the same commands as the Gadgebots from the previous game. Clank can also command robots that can change into a bridge, lift up walls that are in the way and hammer blocks that are in the way. Giant Clank returns, battling the Thug Leader in a giant mech and a UFO, with the latter being optional.

Space dogfights return, but this time, there are additional challenges that, while optional, have bolts for rewards. In Space battles, Raritanium can be obtained and used to purchase upgrades for Ratchet's ship, such as additional weapons and a stronger shield. New to the series are Arena Battles, where Ratchet fights against waves of enemies. Like the space dogfights, the extra challenges are optional, but bolts are rewarded from winning them. Ratchet also competes in Hoverbike races, where, again, bolts are rewarded fro winning them. Another new feature in this game is armor vendors, where armor can be purchased. Each armor provides an additional level of protection. Weapons from the previous game can be purchased; however, If the player has a Ratchet & Clank save file, the weapons will be free.

After beating the game, the player can enter Challenge Mode, where a new game is started with all the obtained weapons, but the difficulty increases. In Challenge mode, the player can purchase Mega weapons which are even stronger versions of the already upgraded weapons. Mega weapons (except the R&C 1 weapons) can be upgraded into Ultra weapons from further use. Challenge mode also has a Bolt Multiplier, which increases the amount of bolts the player earns. Skill points also return, but unlike the previous game, the names of the skill points are revealed as well as what planet they are obtained on. However, the reqirements for obtaining the skill points are still a secret within the game. There are Platinum Bolts hidden within the levels. Platinum bolts are used to purchase mods for certain weapons, such as a shock mod, an acid mod, and a lock-on mod.

Plot
"So, you need me to go on a dangerous mission in another galaxy?"

- Ratchet discussing the mission with Abercrombie Fizzwidget.

After defeating Ultimate Supreme Executive Drek, the duo Ratchet and Clank, rested on Ratchet's home on Veldin. Nearly a year after their previous adventure, they appeared in an interview for a Holo-Vision show called Behind the Hero. While in a break between filming this interview, they were teleported to the Bogon Galaxy by the founder and CEO of MegaCorp, a man by the name of Abercrombie Fizzwidget. It appeared that a masked "dupliferous criminal mastermind" had stolen MegaCorp's most valuable experiment: a cute blue fuzzball.

Clank was reluctant to partake in another adventure, so while he retired to a complimentary apartment in the city of Megapolis on planet Endako, Ratchet attempted to save the experiment from the Thief. The Thief hired Thugs-4-Less for assistance protection. The thief also kidnapped Clank, forcing Ratchet to come to his rescue. Upon his rescue, Clank went along with Ratchet.

Ratchet confronted the thief on planet Siberius, defeating her and reclaiming the experiment. The duo returned it to Mr. Fizzwidget shortly afterwards. After Mr. Fizzwidget "accidentally" ejected the duo from his ship, Ratchet and Clank climbed through a desert cave and were confronted by the thief who demanded the return of the experiment. During this demand, the thief accidentally fell off her ship, knocking off her mask and revealing that she was Angela Cross. Angela, a former MegaCorp employee, warned Ratchet that the experiment would ultimately doom the galaxy.

On planet Dobbo, Ratchet and Clank discovered that Angela's claims were true, and tried to persuade Fizzwidget to destroy the experiment, but their efforts were in vain. The duo then stumbled across an ad for the experiment, now known as the "Protopet," which was being cloned and prepared for mass release. At that point, it was revealed that Thugs-4-Less terminated its contract with Angela and had been hired by MegaCorp to "protect" Mr. Fizzwidget.

On planet Boldan, Ratchet and Clank were captured for "attempting to bump off" Mr. Fizzwidget. They were sent to a prison on planet Aranos. While in the prison, with help from his female Infobot admirer, Clank escaped and freed Ratchet. They immediately headed to Thugs-4-Less HQ to free Angela, who was also captured by the thugs. The duo vanquished the thug leader and freed Angela. Eventually, the three of them went to MegaCorp HQ in order to put a definitive end to the Protopet menace.

After they went there, the female Infobot revealed that Qwark, the disgraced superhero from Ratchet & Clank, was using the Protopets to restore his reputation. Fizzwidget appeared and destroyed her, and in a surprising plot twist, Fizzwidget was actually Qwark in disguise. Qwark then took Ratchet, Clank, and Angela prisoner and claimed in front of a live camera that they were the cause of this menace, and that he would be able to stop the Protopets using Angela's Helix-O-Morph. However, the Helix-O-Morph malfunctioned and mutated the Protopet into a giant Monster, eating Qwark and the gadget before escaping. When Ratchet finally defeated the mutated Protopet, Clank discovered that the cause of the malfunction was a set of batteries inserted backwards. Angela vanquished the wily Protopets across the galaxy by sending the gadget's beam through the HV signals, pacifying all of the creatures. The real Fizzwidget (who uses English words properly, unlike Qwark who simply said big words to make himself sound smart) was then revealed to have been trapped in a closet by Qwark.

Ratchet, Clank, Angela, and Clank's Infobot admirer are all shown talking in Clank's apartment while Qwark is shown at his new job as a MegaCorp test dummy for gadgets such as the Crotchitizer.

Soundtrack
The game's soundtrack, combining orchestral, electronic and ambient style, was composed and produced by David Bergeaud and Niels Bye Nielsen.

Critical reception
Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando was released to very positive reviews like most Ratchet &amp; Clank games. IGN awarded it a score of 9.4/10, while GameStats gave it a 9.1/10. Game Informer magazine awarded it Game of the Month when it was released. The game also received scores of 4/5 from Gamespy and 5/5 from X-Play. Overall, critics gave the game an average review score of 90%, according to Metacritic. The only problems cited within the game were the "cheaply handled" space battles and the level of difficulty (although some Ratchet & Clank fans have praised the difficulty level for the challenge it brings).

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando ranked #51 on the Top 100 Video Games in History TV special.

Cover Comparison
The North American cover features Ratchet and Clank, with Ratchet holding the Megarocket Cannon. The European cover shows Ratchet holding the Plasma Coil. The UK and Australia cover are nearly identical to the European cover, the only difference being the title (as they have slightly different names). The Japanese cover is the most different, featuring Ratchet holding two guns, (impossible to actually achieve in the game) the Lancer and the Megarocket Cannon. Similar to most Ratchet and Clank Japanese covers, the two characters are depicted in Manga Style with exaggerated character designs.

Characters



 * Fizzwidget, Abercrombie
 * Billy
 * Bunyon, Ace
 * Clank
 * Cross, Angela
 * Biker One
 * Biker Two
 * Factory Robots
 * Female Infobot
 * Hypnotist
 * Inventor
 * Mathematician
 * Matron
 * Mutant Crab
 * Mutant Protopet
 * New Age Mystic
 * Plumber
 * Dr. Putridson
 * Qwark, Copernicus Leslie
 * Qwark Fan-Boy
 * Ratchet
 * Shady Salesman
 * Slim Cognito
 * Thugs-4-Less leader
 * Tractor Beam scientist
 * Unnamed Protopet scientist

Bosses

 * Swamp Monster I (Oozla)
 * Chainblade (Galactic Gladiators)
 * B2 Brawler (Galactic Gladiators)
 * Thug Leader (Attack-Copter - Endako)
 * Angela Cross (Unknown Thief - Siberius)
 * Thug Leader (Ultra-Mech - Damosel Moon)
 * Arachnoid (Galactic Gladiators)
 * Megapede (Galactic Gladiators)
 * Swamp Monster II (Oozla)
 * Thug Leader (Giganto Mech - Snivelak)
 * Mothership (Damosel Moon)
 * Mutant Protopet (Yeedil)

Weapons



 * Blitz Gun
 * Bomb Glove
 * Bouncer
 * Chopper
 * Clank Zapper
 * Decoy Glove
 * Gravity Bomb
 * Hoverbomb Gun
 * Lancer
 * Lava Gun
 * Minirocket Tube
 * Miniturret Glove
 * OmniWrench 8000
 * OmniWrench 10000
 * OmniWrench 12000
 * Plasma Coil
 * Pulse Rifle
 * RYNO II
 * Seeker Gun
 * Sheepinator
 * Shield Charger
 * Spiderbot Glove
 * Synthenoid
 * Tesla Claw
 * Visibomb Gun
 * Walloper
 * Zodiac

The game's weapons, including the Gadgetron weapons imported from Ratchet & Clank (except for the Sheepinator, Zodiac, and Clank Zapper/Shocker from MegaCorp and the R.Y.N.O. II from Gadgetron) have Mega upgrades purchased separately in Challenge Mode. These upgrades increase the effectiveness of the weapons, and when fully leveled up change to an Ultra form.

Gadgets

 * Charge Boots
 * Dynamo
 * Gravity Boots
 * Grind Boots
 * Heli-Pack
 * Hypnomatic
 * Swingshot
 * Thermanator
 * Thruster-Pack
 * Tractor Beam

Items

 * MegaCorp Helmet
 * Biker Helmet
 * Box Breaker
 * Electrolyzer
 * Levitator
 * Infiltrator
 * Hydro-Pack
 * Glider
 * Armor Magnetizer
 * Qwark Statuette
 * Mapper
 * Platinum Bolt
 * Moonstones
 * Desert Crystals
 * Raritanium

Armor

 * Commando Suit
 * Tetrafiber Armor
 * Duraplate Armor
 * Electrosteel Armor
 * Carbonox Armor

Vehicles

 * Star Explorer
 * Hoverbike
 * Mining Hovercraft

Skins

 * Tuxedo Ratchet
 * Clown Ratchet
 * Beach Boy
 * Snow Dude

Planets and locations



 * Oozla, MegaCorp Outlet
 * Wupash Nebula
 * Maktar Nebula, Maktar Resort
 * Maktar Nebula, Jamming Array
 * Barlow, Vukovar Canyon
 * Endako, Megapolis
 * Feltzin System, Thug Rendezvous
 * Notak, Canal City
 * Slim Cognito's Ship Shack
 * Siberius, Frozen Base
 * Tabora, Mining Area
 * Dobbo, Testing Facility
 * Dobbo Orbit, Testing Facility Moon
 * Hrugis Cloud, Deep Space Disposal
 * Joba, MegaCorp Games
 * Todano, MegaCorp Armory
 * Boldan, Silver City
 * Aranos, Flying Lab
 * Gorn, Thugs-4-Less Fleet
 * Snivelak, Thug HQ
 * Smolg, Distribution Facility
 * Damosel, Allgon City
 * Damosel Orbit, Allgon Moon
 * Grelbin, Tundor Wastes
 * Yeedil, Protopet Factory
 * Burbank/Dantopia, Insomniac Museum

Galaxies

 * Bogon Galaxy
 * Solana Galaxy

Organizations

 * Thugs-4-Less
 * MegaCorp
 * MegaCorp Against Senseless Brutality
 * Team MegaCorp Racing

Trivia

 * Before you go into the Start Menu, you can see Ratchet playing a random sequence of games comprising of Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando Jak and Daxter: the Precursor Legacy, Jak II, and Sly Cooper and the Thievious Raccoonus.
 * There is a moment that playfully imitates scenes from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. When Ratchet picks up the hypomanic part after the grind rail segment and places it in his backpack the same way Jak does, Clank does the same dance as Daxter does throughout that game and the same tune plays. Ratchet shakes his head afterwards, causing Clank to giggle and simply say "Sorry. Ha, ha, ha."
 * The name of the game was a reference to one of the skill points in Ratchet & Clank named "Going Commando"
 * According with the developer commentary of Mike Stout and Tony Garcia, originally, the "Insomniac Pyramid console" was a Xbox console, then they had to change its look for legal reasons.
 * In the cutscene after you land on Planet Notak, Clank questions Ratchet on why they are late. Shortly after the question, Ratchet and Clank will turn to the player which is a possible 4th wall break.
 * Clank's eye color appears aqua in some cutscenes.