Ratchet: Deadlocked (known as Ratchet: Gladiator in Europe and Australia) is the fourth installment in the Ratchet & Clank series developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was initially released in October 2005 for the PlayStation 2, and was re-released for PlayStation 3 in May 2013 as a standalone separate from the Ratchet & Clank Collection (free to download for those who purchased Full Frontal Assault).
The story takes a notably darker tone than previous entries in the franchise. It follows Ratchet, a lombax mechanic and intergalactic hero of the Bogon and Solana Galaxy, as he is kidnapped and forced to compete in DreadZone, an illegal gladiatorial combat sport broadcast to billions on holovision. He is joined by Clank and Al, along with newly introduced combat bots Merc and Green, as they compete not only for their survival, but also to take down Gleeman Vox and his vast media empire.
Deadlocked is a third person action adventure game with elements of shooting, platforming, and some vehicle mechanics in a single player, co-operative play, and online mode. In contrast to previous games, Clank does not feature as Ratchet's backpack, making the (fewer in number) platforming segments more basic, while puzzles are almost absent. Ratchet also has a smaller arsenal of weapons, though each weapon features far more customization options in the form of alpha and omega mods. There is less emphasis placed on exploration, though more vehicles feature than previous entries. The multiplayer battlefields and modes are heavily inspired by those that featured in the previous entry, Up Your Arsenal.
Gameplay[]
Overview[]
Gameplay in Deadlocked.
Deadlocked is a third person shooter with mechanics involving shooting, platforming, arena combat, and controlling various vehicles. In the single player campaign, the player controls Ratchet and is assisted by two combat bots on the battlefield who they can issue commands to. The DreadZone Station serves as the main hub in which players can purchase weapons, mods, as well as combat bot upgrades and customizations.
The Station offers access to the interplanetary transport, which takes contestants to available battlecourses on various planets. Battlecourses require a specific rank and number of Dread Points, and offer both normal challenges and optional Dread Challenges (which grant Dread Points). Completing a battlecourse also grants a medal, and collecting enough medals grants access to the next tournament, which features one of the Exterminators and ultimately grants access to the next rank upon completion.
New to Deadlocked is the ability to select a difficulty, in which they can set the difficulty to Couch Potato (easiest), Contestant (easy), Gladiator (medium), Hero (hard) or Exterminator (hardest, and only available upon completing the game). After completing the main storyline, players can choose to warp back to before defeating the final boss to complete remaining side objectives, or to proceed to challenge mode. Challenge mode allows weapons to be further upgraded to level 99, and Nanotech to level 999, and more weapon, wrench, and bot upgrades to be purchased, as well as allowing access to alpha mods in the vendor.
Unlike previous games swimming is not available as a mechanic, nor is Clank playable.
Equipment[]
Ratchet using the Dual Raptors equipped with the Freeze Mod.
Deadlocked features ten weapons total, none of which featured in previous entries. Each weapon provides distinct offensive or defensive utility, and can be purchased from Deadlocked vendors. The Dual Vipers and Magma Cannon are unlocked from the start. While the arsenal is much smaller than previous titles, each weapon can be upgraded to a much higher level, and the alpha and omega mods, which can be added and swapped out to the player's leisure, provide them with much more versatility.
While alpha mods simply augment the powers of the weapon (such as increasing its ammo, rate of fire, area of effect, knockback, or increasing bolts earned through using the weapon), the omega mods can fundamentally change the effects of the weapon. The more unique effects range from the Napalm Mod, which spawns pools of lava damaging enemies in an area, or the Brainwash Mod causing enemies to attack one another instead of Ratchet.
The combat bots' Alpha Ravager in action.
In single player the player is assisted by two combat bots, who have their own distinct set of equipment, along with customization and upgrade options that can be purchased from Al's vendor. Up to five weapons are available for them to defeat enemies, and four gadgets can be used to help Ratchet through various challenges. Upgrades that augment the bot's base armor and strength can also be purchased, as well as various paint jobs and head designs to change their appearance.
Player character's gadgets are limited to the Swingshot, Charge Boots, and Grind Boots. There are no puzzles in the game, and without Clank as a backpack no access to the standard Heli-Pack gadget.
Vehicles[]
Ratchet piloting the Landstalker.
There are four different vehicles that Ratchet can pilot: the Hoverbike, the Landstalker, the Puma, and the Hovership.
The Hoverbike is the fastest vehicle with a laser cannon on the front, which is fast and agile, but not heavily armored. The Landstalker is a four-legged mech with two machine guns and large plasma mortars that lock onto enemies, making it a slow but powerful vehicle dealing heavy damage. The Puma is a fast armored car with both two small machine guns for the driver and a heavy duty cannon. Finally, the Hovership is a flying vehicle with a single cannon and chargeable lock-on swarm missiles.
Co-operative[]
Co-operative gameplay.
Deadlocked is the first Ratchet & Clank game to offer a co-operative way to complete the singleplayer campaign, although the main player can at any time continue on alone, or vice versa. In co-op the first player controls Ratchet, while the second player by default controls Alpha Clank, though both can use a variety of skins (including Jak) to change their character's appearance. If a player dies a respawn timer starts, at the end of which they revive provided the other player has not passed either.
Both player characters have the same arsenal of moddable and upgradeable weapons, a melee OmniWrench, and a basic moveset. Players share ammo and cannot equip the same weapon at the same time. They will also co-operatively control all vehicles, with one acting as the driver and the other as the gunner, except for hoverbike challenges where they each control their own. Players also cannot move too far apart, although controlling separate vehicles extends this distance.
Due to the lack of the combat bots' superweapon the players can select to use either an offensive or defense power-up of their own by pressing either 
or 
once the meter within their gadget select menu has fully charged. This will either grant bonus damage or block damage for a fixed time, or until too much is taken.
Multiplayer[]
Both online (up to 10 players) and local offline (up to four players, limited to two in the HD port) multiplayer can also be played, which features five different modes playable in maps based on planets in the campaign. The modes featured are Conquest (a revamped Siege from Up Your Arsenal) in which the team must capture nodes and kill enemies to score points, Capture the Flag, Deathmatch, King of the Hill and Juggernaut. Players can equip all weapons from the singleplayer mode, and pilot all vehicles depending on their chosen map.
The Insomniac Games website featured a ranked online leaderboard for registered community members, until the servers were shut down on June 28, 2012. The new servers were back up for the PlayStation 3 HD remaster, and were shut down on February 15, 2018 alongside Up Your Arsenal multiplayer.
Synopsis[]
Setting[]
Deadlocked takes place in the lawless Shadow Sector of the Solana Galaxy, a region of space in which the illegal DreadZone combat sport is filmed. Planets visited in the Shadow Sector are much less populated than those across the rest of the galaxy, and typically take on a much darker color palette. The only planet returning from a previous game is Orxon, from the original Ratchet & Clank. Events also often take place on the DreadZone Station, which features an expansive arena.
The Shadow Sector is largely disconnected from the rest of Solana politically, and is dominated by Gleeman Vox' vast media empire; Vox Industries. All weapons and armor used by Ratchet are manufactured by DreadZone, rather than Gadgetron, as are most of the enemies he encounters. The DreadZone reality show is a completely underground reality show that relies on kidnapping its contestants to make them fight to the death, but generates huge revenue and has acquired six trillion fans[1] across four galaxies.[2]
The DreadZone tournaments are also often reported by Vox News' anchormen Dallas Wanamaker and Juanita Alvaro, where they berate contestants that are performing well, while advocating for the Exterminators, a team largely endorsed by DreadZone that is responsible for murdering many of the captured heroes.
Plot[]
Following the events of Up Your Arsenal, Ratchet, Clank, and Big Al were tasked with running the Starship Phoenix. However, their operation was interrupted when robot troops invaded the Phoenix and captured the crew, transporting them to the Shadow Sector, a lawless area on the edge of the Solana Galaxy. There, they met Gleeman Vox, the creator of DreadZone, a brutal game show where contestants fight to the death for the entertainment of trillions.
Ratchet was forced to compete in DreadZone and fitted with a deadlock collar that would explode if he became uncooperative or failed to entertain. Alongside his combat bots, Merc and Green, collectively known as "Team Darkstar," Ratchet fought for survival while Clank served as his "mission engineer." Despite Vox's slander campaigns, Ratchet quickly rose to become the most popular contestant, overshadowing the previous star, Ace Hardlight.
As Ratchet progressed through the increasingly difficult tournaments, he faced and defeated Ace Hardlight. In his defeat, Ace warned Ratchet not to be corrupted by Vox. Subsequently, Vox offered to make Ratchet a new Exterminator and a DreadZone superstar, but Ratchet refused, infuriating Vox. In retaliation, Vox subjected Ratchet to a nearly impossible arena challenge, which Ratchet narrowly survived.
Meanwhile, Clank devised an escape plan by reprogramming an arena transport pod to take Ratchet to the control level of the DreadZone station. There, Ratchet aimed to destroy the central computer and deactivate the containment field imprisoning the other heroes. Upon reaching the control level, Ratchet discovered that Vox had rigged the station with explosives. Ratchet fought through a gauntlet of enemies, destroyed the power generators, deactivated the containment fields, and unlocked the escape shuttles.
In the final confrontation, Ratchet defeated Vox, who then manually activated the station's self-destruct sequence, intending to kill both Ratchet and himself. However, Al piloted the last shuttle to rescue Ratchet just in time. Clank removed Ratchet's deadlock collar as the DreadZone station exploded, killing Vox.
After the credits, Dr. Nefarious and his butler, Lawrence, were shown still trapped on an asteroid. Nefarious remarked they should be nearing a space station, only for Lawrence to reveal he was unaware it was going to explode. Frustrated, Nefarious short-circuited, and the game ended with a clip from the soap opera Lance and Janice.
Development[]
Ratchet & Clank: NEXUS concept art, the original project idea before Deadlocked.
After completing Up Your Arsenal, Insomniac tried to deviate from their roots with a grimmer story.[3] The darker tone and much of the gameplay was particularly inspired by the Halo series which was popular at the time.[4]
At first, the team began work on a title known as Ratchet & Clank: NEXUS, which would take place on a single planet, with a global conflict between two alien races in which both Ratchet and Clank had differing ideas about the war, though the project heavily changed direction and became Deadlocked.[5]
Instead, the team began work around a new concept, the idea of Ratchet being kidnapped and forced to participate in a combat sport, and the team aimed for consistent and coherent design and world-building around this idea.[6] In this idea, the battlefields from Up Your Arsenal became a large focus in Deadlocked, and much of the multiplayer from the previous title was expanded upon.[7]
The tonal departure from previous games led to a shift in the art style, and Ratchet's menacing look became polarizing both inside and outside the studio.[8] The planets were designed to be moody and atmospheric, and would use glaring footlights, deep shadows, and angular architecture to resemble galactic gladiator arenas, with structures that were imposing and severe. The "Tonka truck" shape logic as well as signature panels and rivets to hold things together allowed designs to retain the Ratchet & Clank feel to them.[9] Meanwhile, vehicles were given a more aggressive look in terms of color and planar form.[10]
There are changes seen in earlier footage compared to the final release, such as Merc and Green being shown to have legs (they also have legs on the Japanese cover).[6]
Prior to releasing the game, Insomniac released promotional material in the form of The Adventures of Captain Starshield prequel webcomic, and the News Update reports on their website.
A savefile of the PS2 version of Deadlocked can be used to unlock Ratchet on the PS2 version of Jak X: Combat Racing, whereas the inverse can be used to unlock Jak as a skin on Deadlocked. The PS4 version of Jak X instead requires a savefile of Ratchet & Clank (2016 game).
The soundtrack was composed by David Bergeaud.
HD port[]
Deadlocked HD was developed by Idol Minds, and features the original game rescaled to 720p, though there are no new textures, nor model refinements, and graphics match the native texture resolution on PlayStation 2. Players have noted a few issues with the cinematics, with some full motion video cinematics being improperly rescaled, in-game cinematics sometimes suffering camera and graphical glitches, and inability to turn on subtitles. There are also some framerate and technical glitches reported in the gameplay. The port features PlayStation Network multiplayer functionality, though four player local play is no longer supported and limited to two player local play, and 10 players limited to 6 (Although it is actually possible to play with 10 players).
While the Ratchet & Clank Collection included skins previously exclusive to the Japanese version of Up Your Arsenal, the HD edition of Deadlocked does the same but are accessible only with mods.
The Japanese version was planned but was cancelled, even though it can be accessed with mods, the game crashes if you try to go to Catacrom, Shaar, Torval and Maraxus.
Reception[]
| Aggregator | Score |
|---|---|
| GameRankings | 82.64% (based on 61 reviews)[11] |
| Metacritic | 81 (based on 51 reviews)[12] |
| Publication | Score |
| Eurogamer | 7/10[13] |
| GamePro | 4.5/5[14] |
| GameSpot | 8.6/10[15] |
| GameSpy | 4/5[16] |
| IGN | 8.8/10[17] |
Ratchet: Deadlocked received mostly positive reviews, though it was not as well received as the previous three titles and scored lower. The departure from platform gameplay was generally accepted as the action packed gunplay and vehicles as well as the expanded multiplayer were well received, although reviewers noted the game was short and the series formula with its gun gameplay was becoming repetitive due to so many releases in a short space of time.[13][15][17][16]
The gunplay and the weaponry, as well as the two combat bots, were broadly well received. IGN praised the fact that "mindless shooting isn't always the way to win" because "using the right combination of weapons against the right set of enemies in conjunction with the smart utilization of your two robot bodyguards makes a big difference", although they expressed disappointment at weapons from Up Your Arsenal such as the Rift Inducer not returning.[17] GameSpy claimed that the series "has always been about whacked-out and over-the-top gunplay, and Deadlocked is just the next logical step in its evolution".[16] GameSpot also praised how the alpha and omega mods make weapons "more effective and more stylish".[15]
The multiplayer was a particular area that received praise, with many reviewers noting that it made up for the title's shortcomings. GameSpot claimed the multiplayer "does a great job of fluidly combining typical shooter fare with the quirky Ratchet and Clank universe" despite not being "exactly innovative".[15] GameSpy felt the multiplayer was "far more important" in Deadlocked, while IGN called the expanded multiplayer capabilities the "real focus" and both praised the offline co-op as well as the expansion on Up Your Arsenal.[17][16]
Reviewers felt that Deadlocked fell short of previous titles as it had less variety. Eurogamer claimed that "stood next to the previous games in the series it's not quite as varied and interesting, and forcing the gameplay down the cul-de-sac of almost pure combat makes for a pretty repetitive experience that may feel like an unnecessary release in the eyes of the fan base".[13] GameSpot also claimed the game "is a little on the short side, and it's quite a bit like previous games (to the point of feeling all too familiar)".[15] IGN criticised the lack of open world exploration, and claimed that "this is a shooter and melee experience through and through, and almost every last hint of platforming has been left for dead along with Chairman Drek somewhere near the orbit of Veldin".[17]
Gallery[]
.png "Deadlocked front cover (US).png (3.06 MB)")
.png "Deadlocked front cover (EU).png (2.01 MB)")
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.png "Deadlocked front cover (KO).png (1.91 MB)")
Citations[]
- ↑ Deadlocked script § "News Break"
- ↑ Off 2005, p. 7
- ↑ McLaughlin 2007
- ↑ Dawkins 2018
- ↑ Insomniac Games 2012
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 GameSpot 2005
- ↑ Stout, Garcia 2012
- ↑ The Art of Ratchet & Clank, p. 33
- ↑ The Art of Ratchet & Clank, p. 56
- ↑ The Art of Ratchet & Clank, p. 136
- ↑ GameRankings
- ↑ Metacritic
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Reed 2005
- ↑ Ouroboros 2005
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 Gouskos 2015
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 16.2 16.3 Steinberg 2005
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 17.3 17.4 Dunham 2005
References[]
- Books
- Greg Off (2005). Ratchet Deadlocked Prima Official Game Guide [Book]. p. 7. Prima Games. ISBN 0761552049.
- Sony Interactive Entertainment (2018). The Art of Ratchet & Clank [Book]. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 978-1506705729.
- Videos
- GameSpot [@Austin532] (2005). Retro GAMESPOT - Ratchet: Deadlocked Developer Interview 1 (2005) [Video]. YouTube.
- Stout, Mike; Garcia, Tony [@uselesspodcasts] (2012, May 24). Ratchet & Clank 3 Dev Commentary: 12 - Hate Missiles (Snowbeast Award Winner) [Video]. YouTube.
- Websites
- Ouroboros (2005, October 25). "Ratchet: Deadlocked Review". From GamePro. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
- Dunham, Jeremy (2005, October 27). "Ratchet: Deadlocked Review". From IGN. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
- Steinberg, Steve (2005, October 27). "Ratchet: Deadlocked Review". From GameSpy. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
- Reed, Kristan (2005, November 17). "Ratchet: Gladiator Review". From Eurogamer. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
- McLaughlin, Rus (2007, October 30). IGN Presents The History of Ratchet & Clank p3. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017.
- Insomniac Games (2012, August 21). Ratchet & Clank: 10 Years of Concept Art. Insomniac Games. Archived from the original on October 21, 2017.
- Gouskos, Carrie (2015, August 5). "Ratchet: Deadlocked Review". From GameSpot. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.
- Dawkins, Dan (2018, March 26). "“We made a four-page manual on crate stacking”: Ratchet and Clank’s creators on the lessons of their 15-year success story". From GamesRadar. Archived from the original on March 27, 2018.
- (n.d.) . "Ratchet: Deadlocked GameRankings". From GameRankings. Accessed August 16, 2017. Archived from the original on August 25, 2009.
- (n.d.) . "Ratchet: Deadlocked Metacritic". From Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017.