Ratchet & Clank series

The Ratchet & Clank series are 3D platform games developed by Insomniac 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, using a variety of weapons, usually guns, 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.

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, 2 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 in October 2005, Ratchet: Deadlocked (Ratchet: Gladiator in UK and Europe) deviates from the previous installments of the series by removing the platforming and puzzle elements and focusing on the shooting aspects. 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.

Going Mobile
Ratchet & Clank: Going Mobile was released in November 2005 only for mobile phones. A 2D platformer, it was not developed by Insomniac, but by the company Handheld Games. Ratchet & Clank are transported into your mobile phone and have to fight their way back out. There are seven weapons available, and twelve levels (including an Arena). Finally, they have to defeat Maximillian, Secret Agent Clank's nemesis.

Going Mobile is the first 2D Ratchet & Clank installment, specially made for mobile phones.

Ratchet & Clank (PS3)
At the 2006 Game Developers Conference, a Ratchet & Clank tech demonstation was shown for the PlayStation 3. It will be developed by Insomniac once again, and released after the upcoming Resistance: Fall of Man sometime in 2007.

Size Matters
Another R&C game, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, this time for the PlayStation Portable, is in development by High Impact Games, composed of former Insomniac Games employees, for an early 2007 release.