Ratchet: Deadlocked

Ratchet: Gladiator, titled as Ratchet: Deadlocked in NA, and Ratchet & Clank 4th: GiriGiri Ginga no Giga Battle in Japan, is an action/shooter game. This game features many upgrades from its predecessor, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. It was released on October 25, 2005 in North America. It is more intense and darker than its predecessors and was both criticized and praised for it's heavily reduced platforming and increased shooter gameplay elements.

Modes
The game includes many of the same modes of gameplay as Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal such as online games with nine other people (ten people max to a game), and many of the same weapons. New modes and attributes include co-op gameplay in single player mode (better named, "story mode" now), and newer, more devastating vehicles. Also, the addition of a vastly more RPG style in the form of custom armor and weapons.

Multi-Player
The online mode features five modes: A completely revamped version of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal ' s "Siege" (in which players captured nodes and attacked the enemy base) called Conquest. This new mode features nodes which players must capture and vote upon upgrades to sustain their lead. Points are awarded for taking and defending nodes as well as several kill variations (Sharp shooter for a sniper kill, road kill for running over an enemy, and a Humiliation kill for defeating a foe with the series trademark default weapon the wrench). Other modes are classic multiplayer modes such as Capture the Flag (CTF), Deathmatch (Team Deathmatch is also part of this), King of the Hill, and Juggernaut. The losing players or teams have their Deadlock Collars detonated. Each mode is changed to fit with the Ratchet & Clank universe, but still retain their main objectives and play styles. The online multiplayer is still highly popular, with hundreds of players logging on each day. Insomniac has removed Ratchet's sidekick, Clank, as a playable character. In addition, many of the platforming elements from the previous games, including gadget-based puzzles, have been removed.

The second mode of multiplayer is local play which enables up to 4 players with the use of a multitap to play against each other. Unlike the first game, local play only lets you choose from four colors instead of eight, and has all the options of online play, except you don't have your name floating above your head, so you instead Player 1, Player 2, Player 3 and Player 4. Also, the screen is split up to be shared with three other players.

Plot
Heroes from all over the galaxy have been kidnapped and forced to compete on the leading Holo-Vision program in the criminal Shadow Sector of the Solana galaxy: DreadZone. It was the brainchild of the insane media magnate Gleeman Vox, and was watched by trillions of sentient beings throughout the sector. It featured illegal, uncensored, gladiatorial combat to the death, with the former hero Ace Hardlight as its uncontested and undefeated champion. Regardless of whether he liked it or not, Ratchet was forced into becoming the newest contestant on DreadZone. As Al attempted to unlock the dreadlock collars, Ratchet, to everyone's surprise, was eventually able to defeat every Exterminator, including Ace Hardlight. Ratchet became the grand champion of DreadZone. Gleeman Vox offered Ratchet a huge deal to make Ratchet head of the Exterminators and to make Ratchet-related products. Ratchet turned it down. Then later, Clank and Al reprogrammed the DreadZone shuttle to take Ratchet to the control level. Ratchet destroyed the containment fields, freed all the heroes and defeated Gleeman Vox himself. Vox then set the station to self-destruct, as part of a plan to have Ratchet and Vox to die together on live Holo-Vision, giving Vox the best ratings he had ever had, but at the last second, Clank brought a ship that rescued Ratchet. Ratchet first rescued Slugha and left Vox to die alone, when the DreadZone station blew up with only Vox left in it. After the credits, it is shown that Nefarious & Lawrence are still on the asteroid and apparently made it to the DreadZone, however, when they got there the station had already exploded. Nefarious confused said "Lawrence, whats going on?" as Lawrence had said they were coming within range of a space station. Lawrence then said he didn't know the station would suddenly explode. Nefarious screamed "LAWRENCE!" and then had another malfunction, picking up radio single show, Lance and Janice. Vox's robotic arm was then seen traveling through space.

Basics
Ratchet: Gladiator is quite different from the rest of the Ratchet &amp; Clank franchise games, gameplay-wise. The large levels were replaced by shorter, combat-based (instead of the normal platforming sequences in other games) action sequences that the players may repeat any number of times for extra bolts and Dread points, skill points, or just for fun.

The skill point system had also been altered. Instead of having a single list of skill points (and some of them were not location-dependent), you had a list for each planet/station you visited. This resulted in a huge amount of skill points, since each planet had 15 specific points (165 total), larger than in any other game of the series. Also, unlike in the other Ratchet &amp; Clank games, you were directly told exactly what you needed to do in order to complete the skill point.

Also, the weapons have been altered. The weapons have the highest customisability to date, since every weapon could have any combination of alpha mods and an omega mod. These mods could be swapped around, removed, and added at one's leisure, so long as there is enough alpha mods, and one has the omega mod. Also, all but three of the weapons could be purchased before entering the Avenger Tournament.

Characters

 * Alvaro, Juanita
 * Big Al
 * Clank
 * DreadZone Testbots
 * Eviscerator
 * Eugene
 * Green
 * Hardlight, Ace
 * Hydro Girl
 * Kid Nova
 * Lucy
 * Merc
 * Ratchet
 * Reactor
 * Sasha
 * Shellshock
 * Venus
 * Vernon
 * Vox, Gleeman
 * Wanamaker, Dallas

Bosses

 * King Leviathan (Mini-boss)
 * Shellshock
 * Reactor
 * Eviscerator
 * Ace Hardlight
 * Gleeman Vox

Ratchet's weapons

 * Wrench
 * Scorpion Flail
 * Magma Cannon
 * Dual Vipers
 * The Arbiter
 * B6-Obliterator
 * Hunter Mine Launcher
 * Fusion Rifle
 * Holoshield Launcher
 * Miniturret Launcher
 * The Harbinger

All of the weapons in Deadlocked can be upgraded to level 10, and 99 once the game is completed. Once the weapons reach level 99, their visual effect changes to a rainbow-ish shot, similar to the rainbow trails cheat in ACIT.

Merc and Green's weapons

 * Pistol Flux LX
 * Range Warrior
 * Bogo
 * Alpha Ravager
 * Beta Ravager



Ratchet's gadgets

 * Swingshot
 * Grindboots
 * Charge Boots
 * Gravity Boots

Merc and Green's gadgets

 * Shield Link
 * Hacker Ray
 * EMP Grenade (classed as a gadget due to not being directly offensive)
 * Wrench (Solely used for nodes)
 * Grind Cable

Omega Mods

 * Acid
 * Shock
 * Freeze
 * Morph
 * Napalm
 * Mini-Bomb
 * Brainwash
 * Time-Bomb

Alpha Mods

 * Ammo
 * Aiming
 * Impact
 * Speed
 * Area
 * Jackpot
 * XP
 * Health

Ratchet's armor

 * Marauder Armor
 * Avenger Armor
 * Crusader Armor
 * Vindicator Armor
 * Liberator Armor
 * Renegade Armor

Items

 * Versa-Wrench Lite
 * Versa-Wrench Multicore
 * Versa-Wrench Striker
 * Fission Lance
 * Obsidian Blade
 * Charge Boots
 * Gravity Boots

Skins

 * Marauder
 * Avenger
 * Crusader
 * Liberator
 * Vindicator
 * Alpha Clank
 * "The Muscle"
 * Vernon
 * King Claude
 * LandShark
 * Squidzor
 * Kid Nova
 * Jak (co-op and multiplayer only)
 * W3RM
 * Starshield
 * Venus
 * Ninja Ratchet
 * Battle Bot (multiplayer only)
 * Dread Bot (multiplayer only)
 * Eviscerator (multiplayer only)
 * ShellShock (multiplayer only)
 * Mr. Sunshine (multiplayer only)
 * Ace (multiplayer only)
 * Reaper (multiplayer only)
 * Thriller (multiplayer only)
 * Renegade (multiplayer only)
 * Eugene (multiplayer only)
 * Santa Ratchet (Japan version only)
 * Genome Ratchet (Japan version only)
 * Saurus Ratchet (Japan version only)

Driveable Vehicles

 * Landstalker
 * Puma
 * Hovership
 * Hoverbike

Planets and locations
(in order of appearance)
 * DreadZone Station
 * DreadZone's Battledome
 * Catacrom Four
 * Sarathos
 * Kronos
 * Shaar
 * Orxon
 * The Valix Belt
 * Torval
 * Stygia
 * Maraxus
 * Ghost Station
 * The Battledome Control Level

Power Ups
There are two power-ups only accessible through multiplayer online and local play.
 * Quad Damage - A temporary power-up giving you four times the power to all of your weapons which usually results in a one hit kill.
 * Allied Shields - A temporary shield that will surround you for a minute and protect you from heavy damage.

Critical reaction
Deadlocked initially received mixed reviews.

IGN Reviewer Jeremy Dunham wrote: "Though diehard Ratchet and Clank fans will probably miss the puzzle and platform elements that made the earlier games a more complete experience (this one included), the shooting mayhem of Ratchet: Deadlocked is still a whole hell of a lot of fun. Insomniac's hilarious storytelling doesn't miss a beat even when presented in this year's more limited form either, and the awesome combat sequences are marred only by occasional (but very noticeable) battle slowdown and infrequent camera issues experienced during rail grinding.

''Ratchet's problems are easy to live with, however, when you realize just how much the multiplayer option has to offer. Five different game types, almost a dozen varying planets, plenty of customizable options, several cool power-ups, and an excellent stat tracking system are just a few of the reasons that you and nine other friends can should enjoy your next few months via Network Adaptor. Throw in a cool co-op mode and plenty of unlockable goodies, and you don't need any other reasons to pick this one up''".

Metacrictic gave it a score of 81%. 1Up gave it a B+. Eurogamer gave it a 7/10. And GameZone and IGN gave it an 8.8/10.

It is believed to be the most morally ambiguous and darkest of the original series. The weapons appear to be built in a more destructive sense, and they do not have the fun like appearance which they have in the other series. Players who start playing Deadlocked as their first Ratchet & Clank game will take more time to master the other previous titles due to the analog lock-strafing capabilities. The co-op functionalities make this game, even that the story is short, look a fantastic experience for players who like to team up with friends.

Cameos

 * Courtney Gears: Seen on one of Big Al's computer screens, and mentioned by Dallas and Juanita. She is recovering after the UYA boss battle and she appears alongside Reactor as his girlfriend in the Reactor: Introspective cutscene.


 * Dr. Nefarious: Makes a brief cameo at the end looking for the DreadZone station. He is still stuck on a meteorite, and still has that head radio flaw, revealing a hilarious voice over with Lance and Janice.


 * Lawrence: Makes a brief cameo along with Dr. Nefarious.


 * Jak: Unlockable skin in multiplayer. Note that only the second player in the co-op mode can use it due to Ratchet and Jak being dimensional enemy counterparts.


 * Captain Qwark: Makes a small voice cameo at the end of the game, in which he says to Ratchet that the whole "heroes being kidnapped" rumor is false, because nobody came to capture him, and "who could make a series about galactic heroes without Captain Qwark?". His cameo is only heard, not seen, for he is talking to them on a phone call. And there is also a cheat that makes all DreadZone Strikers turn into copies of Captain Qwark and makes them slightly dumber and easier to kill.

Trivia

 * On the Japanese cover, and on preview versions of the game, Merc and Green had legs.
 * Agent Zero's (from Spyro 2: Ripto's Rage) name appeared on the scoreboard of heroes competing in DreadZone.
 * This game's plot is a parody to the film The Running Man which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was also parodied in this game.
 * Ratchet was a playable character in Jak X: Combat Racing, if the player had saved this game on their memory card. In this game he wears his Marauder armor.
 * This game is sometimes considered a spin-off, as it's events have little to no affect on the normal series.
 * This game can be considered the only Ratchet and Clank spin-off game created by Insomniac games.

Quotes

 * "Would the person driving a light green Manray 5 please report to security, You're parked in my space!" - Dallas
 * "They say war is hell, Juanita Alvaro, but where's that leave Dreadzone, huh?" - Dallas
 * "There's one thing about Ratchet: You give him any lip and he'll beat you into a lead sandwich! You'd better believe that one, Juanita!" - Dallas
 * "Ratchet's got this match on ice ladies & gentlemen, the juice is cold and the genetic brand-ex Gelatin is definitely jigglin'!" - Dallas
 * "Folks, just a reminder tomorrow it's Kick-Your-Best-Friend-in-the-Pants-Day! Free popcorn to all who participate!" - Dallas
 * "Ratchet's exterminating with extreme prejudice! It's a good thing we're out of range, Juanita... We are out of range, aren't we?" - Dallas
 * "Have you ever seen the Diablo in the pale moonlight? I have, and it's fantastic!" - Dallas
 * "Will you lose your lunch if you have to watch one more reality dating show? Is your Blargs Gone Wild DVD scratched from overuse? Then it's time to turn to something a little more... dangerous! It's time to blow #@$@ up!" - Gleeman Vox


 * "Run, Ratchet, Run!"-Dallas