Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, known as Ratchet & Clank: Nexus in PAL regions (Japanese: ラチェット＆クランク INTO THE NEXUS Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus), is a game for the PlayStation 3 released in November 2013 in a disc-based format and also through PlayStation Store digital downloads. It has been labelled as a "traditional" Ratchet & Clank experience, longer than Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, but shorter than Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time, and more similar to the latter as opposed to the recent multiplayer focused Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault. Into the Nexus serves as an epilogue to the Ratchet & Clank Future saga.

Overview
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus returns to Ratchet's personal story and acts as an epilogue to the Ratchet & Clank Future saga. The game is single-player and story driven, returning to traditional Ratchet & Clank gameplay. It is a shorter adventure then a full length release but is the longest downloadable-on-release Ratchet & Clank game, being much longer than previous short adventure Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty. The plot involves Ratchet and Clank being stranded at the edge of the galaxy after two criminals escape from a detention facility. They find an inter-dimensional event that threatens the universe and Ratchet is forced into deciding what is really important.

Every physical copy of the game comes with a download code for Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty.

Gameplay
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus is a single-player platform adventure game. The game features a variety of weapons and gadgets typical to the Ratchet &amp; Clank series. It is a more traditional Ratchet & Clank game with Creative Director Brian Allgeier stating he wanted to "make Ratchet feel like Ratchet again".

Some environmental changes, such as earthquakes, effect the gameplay.

Among the gadgets included are ones compatible with one of the game's themes of gravity. Various puzzles include zero-g space using gadgets to navigate the area. Clank puzzles also involve gravity and allow the player to control Clank in different ways to complete areas in an alternate reality known as the Netherverse which are 2D platforming based action puzzles, in addition to his use to Ratchet's moves with his Heli-Pack.

The game features travelling between planets and exploring the darkness of space. There is significant freedom allowing the player to travel between planets and choose paths or even explore open areas. Some sections are optional while others can be explored in whatever order the player decides.

Skill points, cheats and gold bolts are included in Into the Nexus as is the game mechanic of collecting bolts to purchase weapons. Raritanium is collected to upgrade weapons in addition to experience gained when using each weapon.

Previous Ratchet & Clank games
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus includes elements from previous Ratchet & Clank games such as arena combat and upgradable armor. GrummelNet weapon vendors include a firing range allowing weapons to be tried before purchase, similar to the VR deck in Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. Into the Nexus also has a focus on replay value, including Challenge mode.

The control system is similar to the one used in Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault.

There is also an area similar to the Insomniac Museum.

Trophies
The game has 23 PlayStation trophies including a platinum trophy. The trophies, excluding hidden trophies and the platinum trophy, were first revealed on Insomniac Games' website through a Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus Interactive Trophy List Super Adventure.

Difficulty
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus has three difficulty settings: Cadet, Hero and Legend. There is also a challenge mode.

Insomniac Games Tweets
On July 9, 2013 mysterious Tweets appeared on Insomniac Games referencing Thugs-4-Less. The first Tweet was a link to the Ratchet & Clank wiki's Thugs-4-Less Henchman article. Shortly after a link to a Thugs-4-Less Prison clip from Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando was Tweeted. Later that day two more related Tweets were made. The first asked who Thugs-4-Less' next employer would be, with another link to a YouTube clip from Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando. The second used the hashtag "#THUGLIFE" and an image of a Thugs-4-Less Henchman. The PlayStation official Twitter page Tweeted an image to Insomniac Games on July 10, 2013 with the text "When Worlds Collide Heroes Return". Insomniac Games then posted the image stating there would be big news on July 11, 2013.

Announcement trailer
On July 11, 2013 Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus was announced and a trailer was released. thumb|left|Announcement trailer.

Ratchet & Clank: Before the Nexus
A mobile application, Ratchet & Clank: Before the Nexus, allows players to earn Raritanium for upgrading weapons in Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus.

Production
The game was released on November 12, 2013 in North America and November 20, 2013 for most PAL regions, on the PlayStation 3 in both disc-based formats and also digitally through the PlayStation Store.

It was released on 6 November, 2013 in Australia, 15 November 2013 in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, 21 November 2013 in Spain, and 22 November, 2013 in Italy. It will be released on 6 December 2013 in Japan.

Gameplay development
During early development a prototype level was created to ensure the game felt as it should for a traditional Ratchet & Clank game. One of the game's key themes is gravity with various puzzles and gadgets based around the use of gravity.

While developing the game inspiration for many of the gameplay features were taken from previous games in the series. The developers played through many of the previous games and took inspiration to bring back many favorite featured and also to tweak the game engine.

The 2D sections using Clank were inspired by a concept of turning Clank into a shadow. Insomniac Games' creative director Brian Allgeier used a projector to demonstrate Clank changing gravity. This eventually developed into the 2D Netherverses with gravity changing mechanics.

The game uses Insomniac Games' newest PlayStation 3 engine.

Plot development
The plot maintains the Ratchet & Clank series' expected humor but also has a scarier direction while exploring the darkness of space. It continues Ratchet's personal story-arc and acts as an epilogue to the Ratchet & Clank Future saga. Into the Nexus was written by TJ Fixman. The villain's connection in finding their species is a key part of the plot in Into the Nexus and it follows previous Ratchet & Clank games in connecting Ratchet with the villains. The plot is also about Ratchet coming to terms with his decisions in Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time.

Title
The title shares some similarities with a cancelled project from 2006 titled Ratchet & Clank: NEXUS but no other similarities with the project are present. A working title for Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus was Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nether Regions referencing both the exploration of the darkness of space and acting as an innuendo common to the Ratchet & Clank series.

PlayStation Vita
A PlayStation Vita version is possible but Insomniac Games are being cautious after previous problems in developing the Vita version of Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault. On July 19, 2013 Amazon France listed Ratchet & Clank Nexus on PlayStation Vita for release November 4, 2013. It was removed shortly after.

The Trophy lists for the game show a PS3/Vita list, as well as having a Cloud Upload feature in the game, both normally intended for sharing progress between PS3 and Vita games, showing that the idea was at least planned for during development.

Soundtrack
The composer for Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus is Michael Bross who also composed the music used in the announcement trailer. The soundtrack is orchestral with spooky elements to go with the theme of some haunted areas. The music for the final boss is divided into three pieces and some themes from previous games are referenced in the soundtrack. Certain pieces of the soundtrack were recorded from a live orchestrated performance by Nashville Music Scoring at the Ocean Way Nashville Recording Studio.

Voice cast

 * Ratchet - James Arnold Taylor
 * Clank - David Kaye
 * Qwark - Jim Ward
 * Cronk - Daniel Hagen
 * Zephyr - Paul Eiding
 * Talwyn - Ali Hillis
 * Plumber/Smuggler - Jess Harnell
 * Vendra Prog/Zurkon Jr. - Nika Futterman
 * Neftin Prog - Fred Tatasciore
 * Dave B. Mitchell

Transporting Vendra Prog
Ratchet and Clank were escorting the dangerous criminal Vendra Prog on the Nebulox Seven Prison Ship to the Vartax Detention Center, where she was set to serve a quintuple life sentence for a violent assault on Pollyx Industries and the kidnapping of CEO Pollyx.

As they approached the Vartax Detenion Center Ratchet and Clank had to re-couple the ion convertor after damage to the ship from Teratropes. As they completed this they received a transmission from Polaris Defense Captain Talwyn Apogee. She made Ratchet promise to wake Cronk and Zephyr, who were asleep on the ship, before bringing Vendra Prog out of cryosleep.

On route to waking up Cronk and Zephyr they met the Plumber who was picking up contract work between fixing toilets. After being woken up Cronk and Zephyr accompanied Ratchet and Clank to take Vendra Prog out of cryosleep. As she was removed from cryosleep the power core was disrupted after a power fluctuation which disabled gravity on the ship.

While Ratchet and Clank went to secure Vendra, Cronk and Zephyr attempted to restore gravity to the ship. After avoiding several attempts on his life from Vendra manipulating hazards on the ship, Ratchet repaired the containment cell, restoring the proton field restraining her. By this point Cronk and Zephyr had managed to reroute power to the external generator and had Ratchet reactivate it from outside the ship.

After restoring gravity Vendra's twin brother, Neftin Prog, who was also wanted for taking part in the assault and kidnapping on Pollyx Industries, attacked the ship with hired Thugs, Thugs-4-Less. Thugs-4-Less invaded the ship to free Vendra. Ratchet and Clank fought their way to the Nebulox Bridge to find Cronk and Zephyr restrained and the ship loaded with Pyrocidic bombs. Vendra and Neftin escaped and the explosives were detonated. Ratchet and Clank were blown out of the bridge into space but Cronk and Zephyr were consumed in the explosion.

Vendra realised they Ratchet and Clank had survived the explosion and the Thugs attacked them in the debris of the ship. They defeated several Thugs hunting them and avoided several attempts to be rammed by a ship piloted by the Thug Satch. By Grav-Leaping Ratchet managed to avoid the ship and jump onto a Thug ship heading to the planet Yerek.

Yerek
Once on Yerek, after mourn the loss of Cronk and Zephyr, and contacting Talwyn, explain the bad news, despite her pleas for Ratchet and Clank to come back to Meridian City to avoid losing them as well, they vowed to make things right by recapturing the twins. While tracking down the twins o Yerek, they found several abandoned cities that were seemingly haunted. Eventually they found that it was the Nethers escaping into their dimension through Nether Rifts. In tracking down Neftin and Vendra, Ratchet and Clank received help from Pollyx who had been kidnapped. Thugs-4-Less were protecting Neftin and Vendra Prog and Ratchet and Clank also received assistance from Talwyn Apogee as they infiltrated the Thugs-4-Less outpost.

They eventually found an inter-dimensional event that threatened the universe and Ratchet was forced into deciding what was really important.

Characters

 * Announcer
 * Apogee, Talwyn
 * Azimuth, Alister
 * Battery Bot
 * Blazebot
 * Bleep
 * Big Al
 * Binklemeyer, Nevo
 * Bleep
 * Clank
 * Croid, Frumpus
 * Cronk
 * Drek
 * Gumblebrick
 * Lab Assistant
 * Mr. Eye
 * Mutual Fund and Brokerage Firm CEO
 * Nefarious
 * The Plumber
 * Pollyx
 * Prog, Neftin
 * Prog, Vendra
 * Qwark, Copernicus Leslie
 * Ratchet
 * Rusty Pete
 * Satch
 * Shellshocktonberg, Ivan Von
 * Slag, Romulus
 * Smuggler
 * Stonefield, Stone
 * Tachyon, Percival
 * Zephyr
 * Zurgo, Lucille
 * Zurgo, Stuart
 * Mr. Zurkon
 * Mrs. Zurkon
 * Zurkon Jr.

Weapons

 * Biobliterator
 * Fusion Grenade → Fusion Bomb → Omega Fusion Bomb
 * Groovitron
 * Netherbeast   → Netherfiend → Omega Netherfiend
 * Netherblades → Prog Blades  → Omega Prog Blades
 * Nightmare Box → Terroriser  → Omega Terroriser
 * Omniblaster → Dual Omniblasters  → Omega Dual Omniblasters
 * Omnirockets
 * OmniWrench Millennium 12
 * Plasma Striker → Plasma Slayer → Omega Plasma Slayer
 * RYNO VII   → Ryno VII Xtreme → Omega Ryno VII Xtreme
 * Sonic Eruptor
 * Temporal Repulsor → Quantum Repulsor  → Omega Quantum Repulsor
 * Turret
 * Tutorialiser
 * Vortex Grenade → Singularity Grenade  → Omega Singularity Grenade
 * Warmonger → Peacemaker → Omega Peacemaker
 * Winterizer → Blizz-O-Matic  → Omega Blizz-O-Matic
 * Mr. Zurkon → Zurkon Jr. → Zurkon Family  → Omega Zurkon Family

Gadgets

 * Grav-Tether
 * Gravity Boots
 * Hoverboots
 * Jetpack
 * Rift Cracker
 * Swingshot

Armor

 * Nebulox Armor
 * Nether Armor
 * Terachnoid Armor
 * Thug Armor
 * Volcanox Armor

Vehicles

 * Aphelion
 * Gunship
 * Qwark's ship
 * Nebulox Seven Prison Ship
 * Thugs-4-Less Dropship

Other technology

 * Audio Journal
 * Bolt crank
 * Blade Ball
 * Clank Light
 * Cryosleep
 * Dimensionator
 * GrummelNet vendor
 * Heli-Pack
 * Infobot
 * Mag-surface
 * Mangler
 * Nanotech
 * Nav-unit
 * Relay Station
 * Teleporter

Species

 * Cragmite
 * Bursting Blekko
 * Kerchu
 * Leviathan
 * Lombax
 * Markazian
 * Nether
 * Robot
 * Warbot
 * Space Pirate
 * Tumfoid
 * Undead pirate
 * Warbot
 * Seaside Fish
 * Serathoid
 * Serathoid Spawner


 * T-Rex
 * Terachnoid
 * Teratrope
 * Tharpod
 * Thug
 * Valkyrie
 * Wigwump
 * Zoni

Planets

 * Igliak
 * Kragg
 * Silox
 * Thram
 * Yerek

Galaxies and sectors

 * Polaris
 * Cerullean Sector
 * Zarkov Sector
 * Praxus Sector


 * Solana

Dimensions

 * Ratchet's dimension
 * Netherverse

Other locations

 * Great Clock
 * Vartax Detention Facility
 * Credits

Igliak

 * Meridian City
 * Intergalactic Museum of History

Kragg

 * Destructapalooza

Nebulox Seven Prison Ship

 * Containment Wing
 * Maximum Security Containment Cell


 * Loading Bay
 * Monitoring Station
 * Nebulox Bridge

Silox

 * Weeblesnog City
 * Grav-Train station
 * Weeblesnog Water Works
 * Weeblesnog pipeline
 * Sky train station

Thram

 * Hagrow Swampland
 * Neftin's Hideout

Yerek

 * Azeril Caverns
 * Meero City Center
 * Meero Orphanage
 * Meero Ruins
 * Thugs-4-Less outpost

Organizations

 * DreadZone
 * Gadgetron Corporation
 * GrummelNet
 * Mutual Fund and Brokerage Firm
 * Pollyx Industries
 * Thugs-4-Less

Events

 * Destructapalooza

Currency

 * Bolts
 * Gold bolt
 * Raritanium ore
 * Raritanium

Crates

 * Ammo Crate
 * Crate
 * Explosive Crate
 * Nanotech crate

Languages

 * Lombax

Titles

 * Mayor
 * Polaris Defense Captain

Astronomical objects

 * Asteroid