Ratchet & Clank (PS2)

I started playing Ratchet & Clank (2002).

And it’s totally awesome.

Maybe I should explain what I did.

First, I researched the controls. A great guide to controls, walkthroughs, and secrets can be found here: http://www.ign.com/wikis/ratchet-clank/Basics

I started out on Veldin. I raced forward at those tiny little frog dudes and beat them up. Then I looked down and did something really noob.

I jumped.

Of course, Ratchet disappeared into the gaping crevice and died. I reappeared beside my ship. I killed the frogs again and smashed some crates. I killed some more frogs. And then I discovered you can hang onto ledges. That saved my life a few days later on Kerwan- but that’s another story. After I bashed up the crates, I pulled out my Bomb Glove and blew up the robots. I collected the bolts, beat up some more guys, and bam– got to the crash site. I picked up Clank, blah blah blah he fixes my ship, blah blah blah Chairman Drek is gonna destroy a bunch of planets, blah blah blah we take off for Novalis.

We landed. Our ship got destroyed, so we found this cool warp pad that took me to the ground. Basically, I killed all the robots, ran through buildings smashing a bunch of crates, and wow, the mayor of Novalis is stuck in his own ship. I blow up the robots and get him out. After the guy hands me an Infobot for Kerwan, I take off.  We took the warp pad to our new transport, and took off. I didn’t explore the waterworks cause I had NO IDEA where they were. (Later I found out they were right beside my ship.)

We landed on Kerwan. I rushed forward and swerved to my right. Some robot sends his mutated frog at me. Of course, I kick its metal butt. Then the guy starts launching rockets at me. I get hit and lose some Nanotech, but I slam my OmniWrench into him a couple times, and collect the spoils of victory. I encountered some TNT blocks after, but nothing really happened. I spun around and raced toward the Captain Qwark robot. I accept his challenge, get to the third island, and this fat lady says that I need a thousand bolts to get the Swingshot. I take this taxi to the start of the course. I tried going through the course again, but then I realize it: I cleared out all the crates my first time through. I hopped down from the island and walked around the city smashing all the crates. Finally, I get 1,000 bolts and climb back into the taxi. I shell out the bolts to the lady and she hands me the Swingshot. After testing it out, I run back to where I fought the rocket dude. I saw another rocket guy to my left. After I beat up his pet frog and kill him, four more frogs leap at me. I destroy them and blow up the rocket launcher with the Bomb Glove. The other robot runs across this bridge, and a kind of helicopter flies toward me. I step onto the bridge, and it fires its guns. I run forward and jump over the bullets. Obviously, the guys at Kerwan love frogs, because three attack me right after I get across the bridge. I destroy them and collect some Nanotech. I take this escalator down and beat up some more frogs. This mine layer robot rushes toward me and I take him out of commission.  A rocket guy shoots at me, but I take care of him. I equip my Blaster (I got it earlier at the Gadgetron vendor) and shoot down a couple more. I get into Al’s Roboshack and buy the Helipack. After mastering the Boost Jump and Stretch Jump, I explore the rest of the city, lashing out at the occasional bot. I get onto this train with an Infobot at the end. I destroy the robots (The ledge grab saved my life when I almost fell off) and chase the Infobot around the city. I finally collect it and get to my ship. I go to Eudora, but I decide it’s probably better to head back to Novalis and explore the waterworks.

After landing on Novalis, I run inside the waterworks. I get to the plumber and buy the Infobot for Aridia from him. Then, we take off again.

On Aridia, I buy the Pyrocitor, and circle around the ship and find Skidd. I kill the sand sharks and destroy the generators. Oh yeah, and I found a Gold Bolt. In return, Skidd gives me a Z3000 hoverboard. I turn to Outpost XII and jump over a few mud pits, striking out at the sand sharks and flame bots. Wait- I have 7,500 bolts now. I head back to the Gadgetron Vendor and buy the Glove of Doom. Luckily, I maxed out the ammo on all my weapons except the Glove, so whenever I smash an ammo box, I get free Doom Eggs.  I smash some ammo crates and collect the Eggs. I take the elevator up and kill a robot with my Blaster. I pull out the Swingshot and take the left path. I swing through it and grab the Trespasser. I take the right path and use my Helipack to find the agent. Okay, win the hoverboard race on Rilgar, become the next Skidd McMarx- seems pretty simple, but I can’t do that right now.

After taking the warp pad to my ship, it’s back to Eudora.

Oh, hello, Invinco-Lock. I crack it with my Trespasser and Stretch Jump onto the ledge. I jump again and spin the bolt with my OmniWrench. I pull out my Swingshot and find an Invinco-Lock. After the door opens, the lieutenant runs away, dropping an Infobot for Nebula G34. I zip through the mills bashing up robots, grab the Suck Cannon, and take off for Nebula G34.

On Nebula G34, I run into the shuttle and link up with the warship. I get out and destroy the robot shooting lasers at me. Okay, two more are in the next room. I shoot them and continue on. I take the left path and suck up the frogs. I am now in a room with three turtle dudes. I destroy them with my Blaster and press the big shiny red button. Apparently, I have less then a minute to scram. I kill a turtle, dodge some vents, shoot some robots, and hightail it out of there. I collect the Infobot for Rilgar and buy the Taunter. I take a quick trip to Rilgar and buy the Mine Glove. I head back to Nebula G34 and go down the hallway to my left and jump over a few vents. I equip my Suck Cannon and continue on. I suck up some frogs and kill the rest of them with my OmniWrench. I use the Suck Cannon to destroy the robots and beat up the frogs. I collect the Nanotech and open the Invinco-Lock. I kill the frogs in the fake crates and collect the bolts. I step out and race across the catwalk. I run left and time my jumps in order to make it to the top safely. I whip out my Swingshot and land on the ledge. I shoot the robot with the Suck Cannon and destroy the frogs and crates. I break a forcefield and run from the turtle. I shoot it with my Blaster and repeat with the next one. Okay, very hard room here. I summon the frogs with the Taunter and vacuum them up with the Suck Cannon. Finally, I fire them at the turtles and collect the crates. I use up the last of my ammo to kill the turtle on the catwalk. I suck up the frogs on the first platform and destroy the enemies and forcefields.

BOSS BATTLE: BLARG STATION ALIEN QUEEN

I head through the door and an alien falls from the roof. I pull out my Glove of Doom and start attacking. After trying to bite my head off, it sends out two turtle guys. Luckily, my Agents of Doom blow ’em up. I toss out more DoomEggs and kill the frogs. I throw all my ammo at the Alien Queen and wait for it to die.

Finally, the door opens and I break all the crates. I beat up the frogs with my wrench and buy the Grindboots. I jump onto the rail and head back to my ship. I pull out the Trespasser and crack the Invinco-Lock. Clank gets into the elevator. There’s not really anything important here- except that I don’t know how to get the Gold Bolt. Anyway, I grab the Hydrodisplacer and head back to Ratchet. I jump into my ship and take off for Rilgar.

On Rilgar, I take a left and Stretch Jump onto the platform. I hop down and jump up. I step on the switch, kill the robot, and blow up the tank with my Blaster. After clearing out the crates, I head to the next room and beat up the amoebas and shoot the robots. I Stretch Jump and take out the crates. There’s a lot of action in the next few minutes, but it’s just killing robots, so I’m gonna skip ahead.

      ***

I hop off the taxi and kill the robots. This shady guy tells me about the R.Y.N.O, but I don’t have 150,000 bolts right now. I hop on the manhole covers and Stretch Jump onto the ledges.

After smashing the crates, I destroy the tank, place some mines, step on the switch, and KABOOM. I hop into the elevator. Again, little skip here…

I head through the laser maze, smashing crates and enemies. I jump onto the manhole cover and Stretch jump onto the nearest blue post. I traverse them and jump down onto the Gold Bolt. I head out and kill the tank on the ledge. I jump down and shoot the other one. I take care of the robots and crates and enter the race. I catch a boost right away, run over one on the inside curve, and head up the ramp. I jump through the ring, follow the guy up the ramp, and catch all the boosts. After shooting across the platforms, I jump through a couple more rings, head across a few more boosts and snag the lead. Two more laps, and I grab the Zoomerator. I take the taxi to my ship and take off for Aridia.

After landing, I take the warp pad back to the agent and he presents me with the Sonic Summoner. Very cool… WUT THE LOMBAX happened to becoming the next Skidd McMarx?! I sigh and head back to Rilgar.

I rush forward and Stretch Jump onto the platform. I whip out my Swingshot and zip over to the next one. I launch into the alcove and activate the elevator. I pull out my Hydrodisplacer and stick it into the Hydro-Faucet. After the water gets drained, I hop down and collect the bolts. I Boost Jump up to the next faucet and fill it. After swimming across, I blow up the gates with my Bomb Glove. I jump into the empty pool and blow the gate. I climb back up and fill the pit. I swim through and surface. After clearing out the crates, I zip down the chute and step on the switch.

I’m RUNNING!!!

It’s a deadly race against time (and water). I roast the slimes with my Pyrocitor as I go through. I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die! I’m gonna die! I’m… alive?! WHOO HOO!!! I hand over 4,000 bolts to the thug and step into the trailer. Captain Qwark tosses me an Infobot for Umbris and I hightail it out of there.

On Umbris, I stock up at the Gadgetron Vendor and pull out my Swingshot. I glide down after traversing a couple Versa-Targets. I smash the crates and shoot the machine with my Blaster. I run across the bridge and blow up the other one. I detonate the mines and leap over the bullets. Honestly, it’s a pretty straightforward path, so…

***

I run across a bridge as it falls apart. I run through the little maze of barbed wire and smash the crates. I jump over the machine gun and swing over to the bridge. I run towards the building and Stretch Jump over the gaps, hitting the pads as I go. I head back and run into the building. After collecting the Gold Bolt, I beat up the crates and run out.

I sprint through the hail of bullets, whacking the turrets and stepping on pads. I head out and run through the door. I clear out the crates and run up the stairs. After equipping the Pyrocitor, I torch the mines and step on the pads. I climb the ladder and equip my Hydrodisplacer. We’re going to skip ahead slightly… (You can kill the fish with two strikes of your wrench.)

***

I drain the pool and pull out the Swingshot. I swing through it and stick the Hydrodisplacer into the faucet.

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