Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is the fifth game in the Ratchet & Clank series, that was originally designed for the PlayStation Portable, but was later released on the PlayStation 2 as well. It is the first Ratchet & Clank game on the PlayStation handheld. Size Matters was developed by High Impact Games, a company spawning from the original Ratchet and Clank developer, Insomniac Games. It is the first Ratchet & Clank game to get an E10+ rating by the ESRB and +7 by PEGI. The original PlayStation Portable version was released on February 14, 2007 in North America, and the PlayStation 2 port was released on March 11, 2008.

Gameplay
Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters has most of the basic gameplay elements from the other Ratchet and Clank games. The weapons are similar from previous games in the series except for the R.Y.N.O. Weapons can gain experience, and mods that are similar to the ones in Up Your Arsenal can be purchased for weapons. Several locked doors require Ratchet to use a shrink ray and then complete a "grind lock" course, dodging mines on the rails and hitting switches with your wrench to safely pass through doors.

Through the game, Ratchet will collect armor pieces for seven different sets of armor, including two sets exclusive to "challenge mode". While Ratchet can mix and match any of the four parts (helmet, body armor, gloves and boots) between any of the sets of armor, collecting and wearing each piece of armor in a set gives Ratchet an additional advantage; for example, using the full Wildfire suit, Ratchet's wrench will set his enemies on fire for additional damage including the additional feature of 28% less damage taken. Certain combinations can also create new sets of armor with unique effects, as well as a boosted defense.

Mini-games include Skyboard Races, demolition matches with Clank vehicles, a basketball-like robot throwing competition, and a robot control game very much like in concept to Lemmings.

Plot
While on a vacation in Pokitaru, Ratchet and Clank meet a little girl named Luna, who's writing a school report on heroes(or heroths'in Luna's case). Shortly after meeting Luna she is kidnapped by mysterious robots.After chasing and fighting robots, Clank then stumbles upon a mysterious technomite artifact from an ancient race.Ratchet says the technomites story is false. Ratchet and Clank then set out to save Luna. In the process, they discover a forgotten race of smart, but diminutive, inventors known as the Technomites.

Later on in the game, when Ratchet and Clank finally catch up with Luna, she turns on them, ordering robots to knock Ratchet out and send Clank off to fight for his life in a robot battle arena. Clank escapes and makes his way to find Ratchet, who has a dream about 2 Qwarks (seen are doctors having to kill Ratchet with a chainsaw), the Nightmare Clank(who resembles Klunk) appeared, and Ratchet finally wakes. Clank frees Ratchet, and the two destroy the station, and determine that Luna herself is just a robot used by the Technomites specifically to lure Ratchet into a trap, all controlled by the Technomite Emperor Otto. Otto's goal is to create an army of Ratchet clones, using the DNA he was able to extract, then grow them to full size as to capture the most intelligent people in the galaxy and use a brain transference machine to gain their intelligence for himself. However, Ratchet and Clank are able to stop his plan, and thanks to the help of a rather confused Captain Qwark, they're able to reduce Otto's intelligence down to that of a chimp, rendering him non-threatening.



Weapons

 * OmniWrench 10K
 * Lacerator
 * Acid Bomb Glove
 * Concussion Gun
 * Agents of Doom
 * Scorcher
 * Bee Mine Glove
 * Suck Cannon
 * Sniper Mine
 * Mootator
 * Shock Rocket
 * Static Barrier
 * Laser Tracer
 * RYNO
 * CUT (HIG Treehouse only)

Gadgets

 * Hypershot
 * Sprout-O-Matic
 * Polarizer
 * PDA
 * Shrink Ray
 * Bolt Grabber
 * Box Breaker
 * Map-o-Matic

Planets and Locations

 * Pokitaru - Jowai Resort
 * Ryllus - Vetega Jungle
 * Kalidon - Mechanoid Factory
 * Metalis - Junkyard LXIV
 * Dreamtime
 * Medical Outpost Omega - Surgical Facility
 * Challax - Technomite City
 * Dayni Moon - Farming Cooperative
 * Inside Clank
 * Quodrona - Clone Factory
 * California - HIG Treehouse

Trivia

 * One of the Clank challenges description says The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, which is a reference to the internet flash comic of the same name.
 * Size Matters was developed by High Impact Games, a company spawning off the original developer, Insomniac Games.
 * The Description of the Triple Wave Armor in the Armor Info section mentions, "as one Gadgetron Research Scientist famously reported, 'It's Over Nine Thousaaand!!!'" This being a reference to the character Vegeta. Vegeta's infamous line in the anime Dragon Ball Z, "It's Over Nine Thousaaaaand!"

Reception
PSP Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters PSP received overall positive reviews. Game Informer rated it 9 out of 10 and awarded it the "Handheld Game of the Month" for April 2007. Metacritic has it rated at 85 out of 100 with users ratings at 9.3 out of 10.

PS2 Size Matters PS2 received lower scores, with IGN only giving it a score of 6, due to its poor graphics, glitches, and difficulty.