Ratchet & Clank series

The Ratchet & Clank series are 3D platform games developed by Insomniac Games and High Impact Games and published by Sony.

The series's two main characters are Ratchet, a Lombax mechanic, and Clank, a robot that was originally designed for destruction, but due to an error, does the opposite of his originally intended purpose.

Ratchet is controlled by the player for the majority of the game series, using a variety of weapons, to eliminate opponents. At times, Clank becomes playable for short sequences.

The currency of the game's worlds are bolts, and the health unit is Nanotech. There are also space combat levels.

The series is incredibly diverse rocketing from planet to planet, and galaxy to galaxy. The series is incredibly colorful and dramatic, on some planets the sky looks nothing like the sky of the real world as you can see many planets and other features of space from the surface your on.

The duos main goals are to defend the Universe from evil. In every game, there is an evil mastermind who tries to either dominate or destroy the galaxy.

All of the PlayStation 2 games run on a modified version of the Jak and Daxter engine.

Ratchet & Clank
Ratchet & Clank was released on November 4, 2002 in North America and Europe. In the game, Chairman Drek plans to take pieces of different planets across the Solana Galaxy and create one planet for his people, the Blarg. Aside from the two protagonists, the game also introduces Captain Qwark, who appears in the following games.

Ratchet & Clank was the first Western game to be bundled in with the PlayStation 2 in Japan.

Going Commando
The sequel, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando (Locked & Loaded, in the UK and Europe), was released on November 11, 2003 in North America. There are many improvemnets over the first game, in that weapons, and also Ratchet's spaceship, can be modified. Going Commando also introduced strafing to gameplay. The game takes place in a different setting than the first game, this time in the Bogon Galaxy.

Ratchet's personality is drastically different in Going Commando, since many people complained about his attitude in the first game.

Up Your Arsenal
The third game in the series, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (Ratchet & Clank 3 in the UK and Europe) was released on November 2, 2004 in North America. UYA improves on Going Commando by adding more weapons and mods. In UYA, Ratchet and Clank take on Dr. Nefarious in his plan to turn all of the Solona Galaxy population into robots.

Up Your Arsenal is also the first game in the series to offer online competitive multiplayer.

Deadlocked
Released on October 25, 2005, Ratchet: Deadlocked (Ratchet: Gladiator in UK and Europe). In Deadlocked, Ratchet and Clank are captured and forced to compete in an underground sport called "DreadZone" in a remote section of the Solana Galaxy known as the "Shadow Sector", run by the media mogul Gleeman Vox. Deadlocked supports online play and a cooperative mode.

In Deadlocked, Clank is reduced to a supporting character, reflecting the game's title.

Size Matters
Another R&C game, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. Now available for both the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable this time however developed by High Impact Games, a company composed of former Insomniac Games employees. The game picks up where Deadlocked stopped. Ratchet and Clank are having a well-earned vacation on Pokitaru when a little girl named Luna is kidnapped and the duo are lured into a scheme plotted out by an ancient race of Technomites.

Secret Agent Clank
Secret Agent Clank is the next game in the series. This is the first game focused on Clank, who goes on a mission to rescue Ratchet after he is found guilty for a crime he didn't commit. It is then up to Clank to prove his innocence. This game takes place after Size Matters and before Tools of Destruction.

Tools of Destruction
The first R&C for the PS3 was released October 23 2007, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction was developed once again by Insomniac Games for the PlayStation 3. Not too much is known about the game, but it is known that there will be new kinds of weapons called "combat devices", there will be answers to Ratchet's past and other little details as well as a new galaxy to explore known as Polaris.

Quest For Booty
Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest For Booty is the first game to be downloadable content from the PlayStation Network. It is the 8th installment in the Ratchet & Clank Series, and takes place after Tools of Destruction, it see's Ratchet trying to track down Clank, after the Zoni took him away at the end of Tools of Destruction. It will be released on the PlayStation Network on September 30th 2008, and will be sold at a price of $15.

Ratchet & Clank Future 2
Insomniac Games has confirmed that there will be a Future 2 game. That is for the PS3. Release dates range from late 2009 to mid 2010.