Ratchet: Deadlocked

Ratchet: Deadlocked, known as Ratchet: Gladiator in Europe and Australia, is an action and shooter game that is the fourth in the Ratchet and Clank series. This game features many upgrades from its predecessor, Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. It was released on October 25, 2005 in North America.

Modes
The game includes many of the same modes of gameplay as R&C: UYA 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 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. Each mode is changed to fit with the Ratchet and Clank universe, but still retain their main objectives and play styles.

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.

Plot
The plot is that, after the end of Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet and Clank are attacked by robots and are kidnapped by a character named Gleeman Vox for his TV show, DreadZone. Ratchet is separated from Clank and is fitted with a Deadlock collar, which will give him an electric shock if he tries to escape (strays into any restricted areas), or explode if he begins to get uncooperative or worse, less entertaining (according to Gleeman Vox). Much of the game will be the tapings of DreadZone.

The single-player campaign also features a co-op mode in which a partner will replace the two combat bots. The story mode will be fully playable in co-op much like  Halo and  Doom 3 for the Xbox. The players will be bound to each other within a certain distance by the game's "Deadlock collars" which will detonate if the players become too far apart. There are unlockable skins that can be chosen as well in co-op mode. The second player can unlock a Jak skin from the Jak and Daxter series.

Ratchet is forced to fight the Exterminators led by Dreadzone's favorite hero, Ace Hardlight. The Exterminators consist of Shellshock, Reactor, the Eviscerator and Ace Hardlight.

Weapons and Gadgets
Now replacing the RYNO from previous games, Insomniac Games has put in The Harbinger which upgrades to The Supernova. There is a new weapon upgrading system where each weapon can be upgraded up to 99 times.

Omega Mods

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

Alpha Mods

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

Power Ups
There are two powerups only accessible through multiplayer online and local play.

Quad Damage Is a temporary powerup giving you 4x the power to ALL of your weapons which usally results in a 1 hit kill.

Allied Shields A temporary shield that will surround you for a minute and protect you from heavy damage.

Bosses

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

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 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 and is still wearing that ridicoulus Mullet.


 * Jak: Unlockable skin in multiplayer.


 * 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.

One of the vehicles in the game, a buggy with a rear-mounted turret, is called the Puma, the name given in the machinima series  Red vs Blue] to the Warthog in [[wikipedia:Halo: Combat Evolved|Halo, a vehicle that performs a similar duty.