Secret Agent Clank (game)

Secret Agent Clank, titled as Clank & Ratchet: Maru Hi Mission * Ignition in Japan, is an action/shooter developed by High Impact Games exclusively for the PlayStation Portable. The game was released on June 17 2008, and is the sixth game in the series, it stars Clank as the main character, playing the role of a secret agent. It takes place after Size Matters but before Tools of Destruction. It will be re-released on the PS2 on May 26, 2009. This port is being done by Sanzaru Games.

As the title suggests, the theme is a spoof of the 007 series. To fit with this theme, he is wearing a tuxedo throughout the game. Like the original 007, Clank has an array of helpful gadgets and devices on his tuxedo, such as a bow tie that he can use as a boomerang, and a carnation that he can transform into a monster that eats enemies. Clank has at one point or another in the series been on a television show where he was a secret agent.

Gameplay
Secret Agent Clank sticks with the franchise's blend of the shooting and platforming genres, while also delving deeper into stealth and melee to fit Clank's abilities. For example, the game features mini-games where the player must press a sequence of buttons correctly to sneak through an area.

Giant Clank, a staple to most games in the series wherein Clank transforms into a monster-sized fighting machine, will also make an appearance. Giant Clank has the same abilities from Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters except that he will be manning a new superweapon called the Super-Colliding Super Laser.

Besides Clank, Captain Qwark, Ratchet and even Gadgebots are playable in the game. Qwark's gameplay segments are based on dubious accounts of his own exploits and are more action based. Ratchet's segments in prison force him to fight with enemies from previous games.



Story
This game focuses for the first time in the series on the adventures of the beloved robot sidekick, Clank, and his secret alter-ego, Secret Agent Clank, as the main playable character. Set after Size Matters, but before the events of Tools of Destruction, the premise behind Secret Agent Clank surrounds Ratchet as he's framed for a crime that he didn't commit. Unfortunately for the hero the trial is skewed against him and he is found guilty. To save his friend, Clank dons his Secret Agent Clank persona and investigates who's behind the accusations. Along the way, he acquires new abilities, such as Clank-Fu. He'll also receive, find and buy new weapons, such as the Tie-A-Rang and Cufflink Bomb. While Clank investigates, Ratchet fights previous henchmen he defeated and Captain Qwark travels across the galaxy while having a reporter bot write his autobiography. Ratchet was found guilty because of his "being a hero really doesn't pay" speech. The first area Clank explores is the Boltaire Museum which is where Ratchet was caught.

As Clank goes to the Boltaire Museum to halt the theft of a priceless jewel known as the Eye of Infinity, he sees, to his shock, Ratchet fleeing the scene of the crime. Ratchet is promptly found and arrested by local law enforcement. While retinal scans prove that the thief was Ratchet, Clank is convinced of his friend's innocence. While Ratchet is sent to prison, Clank investigates the theft further, traveling to various locales until he comes across an enigmatic figure known only as "The Kingpin". While going through an abandoned space facility, The Kingpin reveals himself to be none other than Klunk, Clank's evil doppelgänger, first introduced in Up Your Arsenal. Klunk steals Clank's transport, forcing him to enlarge and track the vehicle.

In the meantime, Ratchet confronts some of his old enemies he has placed in prison while Captain Qwark travels around the galaxy to start his autobiography with a less-than-thrilled reporter-bot, Biographical Analysis Robot Neo Eight Yellow or B.A.R.N.E.Y., coming along for the ride. When Clank finally confronts Klunk, the evil mastermind reveals his plan: he had stolen the Eye of Infinity to use as a refractor for a massive laser system perfectly poised to destroy every planet in the galaxy within a single shot. Klunk, acting through Ratchet (via a mind-control helmet), would threaten to use the laser for a planet to rule. Just in time, Klunk, posing as Clank, would stop Ratchet from destroying the galaxy, placing the hero in jail forever while Klunk, as Clank, would be idolized by the populace.

Halfway through their battle, Klunk activates the laser, knowing that only he knows the password. Clank knocks out Klunk and manages to deactivate the firing sequence while Qwark accidentally beams himself aboard the satellite, retrieves the Eye of Infinity, and dismantles the device. Ratchet is exonerated of the crimes filed against him, B.A.R.N.E.Y., secretly working for Klunk, tries to assassinate Qwark, but is stopped by Clank, and Klunk is placed in Ratchet's custody, being turned into a new vacuum cleaner to use in the apartment.

Characters

 * Clank
 * Klunk
 * Prison warden
 * Qwark, Copernicus Leslie
 * Ratchet
 * Thugs-4-Less Leader

Weapons

 * Tie-A-Rang
 * Cufflink Bomb
 * Blowtorch Briefcase
 * Tanglevine Carnation
 * ThunderStorm Umbrella
 * Holo-Knuckles
 * OmniWrench 10K
 * Dual Lacerators
 * Shard Gun
 * Walloper
 * Shock Rocket
 * Bee Mine Mk. II
 * Pork Bomb Gun
 * Plasma Whip
 * Mine Launcher
 * RYNO

Gadgets



 * Jet Boots
 * Holomonocle
 * Black Out Pen
 * Hypnowatch
 * Agency PDA
 * Bolt Grabber
 * Therm-Optic Shades
 * Omni-Key
 * PDA
 * Slim Cognito's Bolt Extractor

Planets and locations

 * Boltaire - Outside
 * Boltaire - Main Halls
 * Prison Planet - Max-Security Cellblocks
 * Asyanica - Skyline Rooftops
 * Glaciara - Countesses Villa
 * Glaciara - Ski Slopes
 * Prison Planet - Mess Hall
 * Rionosis - Azcotal Alley
 * Rionosis - Mountainside Ascent
 * Le Paradis Des Tricheurs Casino - Main Floor
 * Prison Planet - The Exercise Yard
 * Le Paradis Des Tricheurs Casino - High Stakes Room
 * Venantonio - Secret Laboratory
 * Venantonio - Canals
 * Fort Sprocket - Mine Shafts
 * Fort Sprocket - Galactic Bolt Reserve
 * Prison Planet - Showers
 * Spaceship Graveyard - Launch Pad
 * The Quasar Fields
 * Hydrano - Dam's Edge
 * Underwater Base - Main Bulkhead Lock
 * Underwater Base - Super Secret Base
 * Underwater Base - Klunk's Villainous Lair
 * The HIG Treehouse

Reception and Reviews
Secret Agent Clank has got mid to high reviews, ranging from 6.5/10 from IGN to 85/100 from Game Informer, most scores fall in the 6-8 level with a Metacritic score of 71/100. X-Play also gave it a 4/5.

Development
The game has been in development since before the release of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. In July 2007, rumors of the game's existence surfaced when David Bergeaud, who composes music for the Ratchet & Clank series, accidentally revealed the game in his online resume. The actual game was not confirmed by Sony until a pre-TGS 2007 conference

Interconnectivity between other games
A code found in the IRIS Supercomputer in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is included for this game, when the code is typed in on the game, you'll unlock the Zoni skin.

In Secret Agent Clank's Treehouse there is a code that unlocks the Convist Ratchet skin for Ratchet in Tools of Destruction.

Developers for the company have also stated that PSP users who have a Size Matters save file will be given special bonuses.

Also, those who pre-order get an action figure.

Trivia
This is the only game where Ratchet's real hands are shown, which is in the Shower area, when he meets the Plumber.