Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty

Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, (known as Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty in most PAL regions), is the eighth installment in the Ratchet & Clank series. It was released worldwide on the PlayStation Network on August 21st, 2008 and was also released on Blu-Ray Disc in Europe, on September 12th, 2008. It continues from where Tools of Destruction left off. Clank was kidnapped by the mysterious Zoni, and Ratchet is determined to get him back. Due to its length, approximately 3-4 hours of playtime, it was released at a lower price point than most PlayStation 3 games. It is also the latest installment for the Ratchet and Clank series.

It was released on Blu-Ray Disc in the United Kingdom on November 14, 2008, despite reports in August that the Blu-Ray version had been canceled in that area.

Plot
The story of Quest for Booty is focused on Ratchet searching for Clank and continues the story from Tools of Destruction. Ratchet and Talwyn fly up to a floating pirate base on Planet Merdegraw with Aphelion and get on it. There they start searching for Captain Darkwater, who was an expert on Zoni culture, only to encounter Rusty Pete wondering while holding the head of Captain Slag. This attracts the attention of some pirates and a Rouge. The Rouge shoots Ratchet out of a cannon only to have him land on an adjacent pirate ship. Ratchet and Talwyn fight through the fleet and Ratchet catapults himself to another ship. They fight some more enemies and Ratchet catapults himself to another ship but ends up flying into a cannon. Talwyn is also thrown into the same cannon. The Rouge commands the pirates to blast them towards Morrow Caverns so Pythors can devour them. Rusty Pete pretends to be Captain Slag by putting his head on and successfully attempts to fool the pirates. He commands the Rouge to shoot Ratchet and Talwyn towards Hoolefar Island, where they will find exactly what they're looking for. The Rouge mercilessly agrees and the pirates blast Ratchet and Talwyn towards they island. Ratchet wakes up on the shore of Hoolefar Island and sees Clank trapped in an energy field. Clank says something then disappears. Ratchet and Talwyn traverse the wilderness and Ratchet zip lines toward the beach, where they are greeted by Barnabus Worley, the Mayor of Hoolefar Island. Mayor Worley tells them the supply beacon won't work so they can't send out messages. Ratchet fixes the 5 wind turbines, but the beacon operator tells him that someone uncoupled the power couplings and that they need a Standard GrummelNet Versa Bolt to reconnect the couplings. Ratchet buys one from the Smuggler for 10,000 Bolts. The operator fixes the bolt in and Ratchet cranks it. The couplings work and a bridge opens to a Grav-ramp with a trapeze that leads to the top of the beacon. Ratchet traverses it and cranks one final Versa Bolt and powers the beacon. The Mayor shows Ratchet The Obsidian Eye, the most powerful lorernthzian telescope. It does not work as the Obsidian Eye's power source; the Fulcrum Star is guarded by Darkwater's body in his ship. Ratchet decides to find it. Rusty Pete arrives at the island. He tells them of Darkwater's ship and brings them to Morrow Caverns where it is hidden. Talwyn accidentally gets trapped behind a door. As soon as Ratchet boards the ship he finds Darkwater's dismembered head. He picks it up and a map that falls out. Rusty Pete tells Ratchet he'll check for booby traps and sneaks over to Darkwater's body. He double crosses Ratchet and sticks the head of Captain Slag on Darkwater's body. Slag possesses the body, but so does Darkwater. Ratchet frees Talwyn from a cave and runs from Morrow Caverns with Talwyn, with Slag/Darkwater sending re-animated pirates after them. They get Hoolefar island on a sail barge just as Slag/Darkwater attacks and they defend the island from him. They get the The Smuggler to decipher the map. It is the map to Darkwater's cove, an island where Darkwater hid his treasure. Ratchet and proves himself as Darkwater and they get in to the treasure room, but as Ratchet runs to the star, a hole opens up and he falls down. Slag appears and takes Talwyn. Ratchet escapes from the Lythoin Caves he was trapped in and flies with the Smuggler to Slag's fleet. He frees Talwyn and they confront Slag/Darkwater. They defeat him, which breaks the curse that brought the pirates back to life. Slag falls into the sea and Rusty Pete drops the Fulcrum Star and jumps in after him. Ratchet grabs the Star and heads back to Hoolefar Island and powers the Obsidian Eye. He sees Clank surrounded by Zoni. They tell him "The Doctor" is coming soon. A door opens and a figure descends down the stairs. He slips on a duster and falls down. He gathers himself up and reveals himself to be Dr. Nefarious followed by his butler, Lawrence. The coordinates lead Ratchet to the Breegus Nebula.

Gameplay
Gameplay was first shown at E3 2008. This game features more puzzle solving and platforming than previous games in the series and will also introduce some new features, such as the ability to pick things up with the new OmniWrench Millennium 12. There is also Light/Dark gameplay where Ratchet must pick up creatures called Heliogrubs with the OmniWrench, in order to light up a dark area. The Omniwrench also has tether ability. The top of the wrench comes off and an energy tether beams out. It can be used to manipulate objects and move obstacles. The game features 5 levels, starting and ending above the Azorean Sea, providing 3-4 hours of gameplay. You can't return to locations for fun, instead you can play only missions. There isn't a challenge mode either. For the first time in the game series Captain Qwark and the Plumber were neither seen nor mentioned in the game. Though a statue a Qwark can be found in the at the bottom of the lake in Hoolefar island. It is shiny silver and is buried from the waist down. Ratchet starts off with the Combuster, Fusion Grenade, Tornado Launcher, Shock Ravager, Preadtor Launcher, and Nano-Swarmers all at V3. The Alpha Cannon is brought from the Smuggler and is already fully upgraded.

Reception
1UP.com's Nick Suttner described the game as "a rollicking few hours, polished to a sheen and even better-paced than its full-length predecessors" Suttner also said that the game looks slightly better than Tools of Destruction due to improved lighting and better textures.

IGN reviewer Jeremy Dunham says "Quest for Booty has been designed as a quick four-hour experience and it feels shortchanged because of it. Though its shooting and platforming sequences are fun and of high production, it still seems like there's something missing." but said that "there are some really cool puzzles and new gameplay elements".

Trivia

 * The game is called Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, yet Clank only appears twice in the game, both times in cutscenes. He features less in Quest for Booty than in Deadlocked but still appears in the title. This may be an attempt by Insomniac to distance themselves from Ratchet: Deadlocked which was poorly received by fans.

Download Space
Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty needs 3181 Mb download space and 3789 Kb free save space is recommended.



Weapons

 * OmniWrench Millennium 12
 * Combuster
 * Fusion Grenade
 * Nano Swarmers
 * Predator Launcher
 * Shock Ravager
 * Tornado Launcher
 * Alpha Disruptor

Note: All weapons in this game started at V3 (which was easy to upgrade too), because it was so short, and was the sequel to the events of Tools of Destruction.

Gadgets

 * Grind Boots
 * Gravity Boots
 * Swingshot
 * Kinetic Tether

Items

 * VersaBolt
 * Darkwater's Treasure Map