Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal

Building on the successful model of the first two, the third R&C in 2004 merely changed around a few weapons and added in a multiplayer mode, both on- and offline. The graphics were a little cleaner, the maps a little larger, but for the most part the winning formula remained the same.

When Ratchet hears that his home planet of Veldin is under attack he rushes back to help with the defense. After being mistaken for a new sergeant by the Galactic Rangers and helping to clear out the initial attack it's revealed that it's been organized by an old enemy of Captain Qwark: Dr. Nefarious. Clank, having been confused with his TV personality, is recruited by the Galactic President to find Qwark so they can figure out how to defeat Nefarious at long last. Since Nefarious is threatening to turn all biological life into robots, though, Clank's loyalty comes into question. Could this be the end of the Lombax/robot team?

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Ratchet & Clank
Secret Agent Clank!
Dr. Nefarious
Courtney Gears has a thing for Clank
Four-person, offline, multiplayer mode
Who doesn't love a Plasma Whip?
Opening movie

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando

Returning in 2003 with new weapons and gadgets, improved game mechanics, and a more likable hero, Going Commando was a solid and very popular entry in the ongoing Ratchet & Clank series. While the game was easily accessible to a new player, a fun feature was the free acquisition of classic weapons with the presence of a save file from the first game. Also nice was the fact that you didn't have to retread the same ground, as is so often the case in series games: items like Clank's upgrades and Ratchet's grind boots did not need to be reacquired. The best addition, though, is probably the upgradable weapons. The more they're used, the better they work, holding more ammunition and dealing more damage. Once again, the weapons range from the silly (the Sheepinator, which is exactly what it sounds like) to the deadly serious (the Zodiac, which will take out any- and everything visible on the screen in one hit) and everything in between.

Everything is pretty anti-climactic after saving a galaxy, but while Clank's content living a quiet life, Ratchet's hungry for more adventure. That's why when Abercrombie Fizzwidget, CEO of Megacorp in the neighboring galaxy, offers a job recovering a stolen experiment, Ratchet's only too eager to accept. Things heat up when Clank is unwillingly dragged into the mess, but it's just the beginning. Between a mystery thief, Thugs-4-Less rental goons, and a furry problem of gargantuan size, Ratchet and Clank have their hands full, but when an old enemy rears his head, it gets difficult for Ratchet to keep his.

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Ratchet shows off his shiny new Plasma Coil
Clank leads a small army of robot slaves
Fizzwidget shows off his new experiment
The shadowy thief
Sheepinator aftermath
Who couldn't use a mini-nuke?
Trailer

Ratchet & Clank

When Insomniac produced a game intended to rival Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter, they had no idea that 2002's Ratchet & Clank would eventually outstrip the competition in popularity. Built on the same engine, the two titles have a similar feeling in gameplay, and even possess much of the same tongue-in-cheek humor, but the astounding arsenal of weapons caught public interest, from the sheer silliness of the Morph-o-Ray to the overpowering destruction of the R.Y.N.O. (Rip Ya a New One), and planted the seeds of desire for further comic destruction in the future.

Fresh from the factory, a tiny robot stumbles over plans of galactic destruction and runs off to enlist the help of the biggest superhero around, Captain Qwark. Instead, he finds Ratchet: a self-centered Lombax handy with a wrench and eager to get away from his home planet. The newly-dubbed Clank is willing to take whatever help he can find, so the two of them join up in order to find Qwark and stop Chairman Drek of the Blarg from destroying planets while building a new one to replace his own polluted world.

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Ratchet and Clank
Qwarktastic!
Chairman Drek
The Morph-o-Ray in action, making chicken dinners fun
Sometimes, you just need a decoy
Gameplay that runs you right up the wall
Opening movies

Daxter

It took awhile, but in 2006 the perennial second thought branched out into his own game, appropriately enough on a handheld console. Reverting to something closer to the original feel of Jak and Daxter, the sidekick's solo adventure covers the time missing from Jak II, and the main storyline is interspersed with dream sequences parodying popular movies, such as The Matrix and Raiders of the Lost Ark.

It's been nearly two years since Daxter saw his best buddy Jak get dragged off by the Krimzon Guard, and he's had absolutely no luck in turning up so much as a single greeny-blond hair. That doesn't stop him from relating wild tales of his adventures to disbelieving audiences, however. When Osmo of the Kritter Ridder Extermination Company overhears, he offers Daxter a job in his business. Armed with an oversized, electric flyswatter and a backpack of bug spray, Daxter takes on the legions of Metal Head insects infiltrating Haven City and, along the way, stumbles over his missing friend.

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He's short, he's fuzzy, he's armed and dangerous
This could be a problem
Those are some big bugs...
...but that's a big bug swatter
Intro movie

Jak X: Combat Racing

Throwing the numbering system into Arbitraryland, 2005's Jak X also discards a number of other things from the previous games, i.e. everything but the racing aspect of 3. Still, the game makes no bones about what it is: a minigame gone big time. As such, it's perfectly serviceable, and a welcome continuation for those craving more Jak stories.

Jak and compatriates are invited to Kras City for the reading of a will. Krew (see Jak II) has invited a number of his former employees and contacts to join his daughter for a celebratory drink in Krew's honor. Unfortunately, the wine is poisoned and the only way to get the antidote is to win the Kras City Racing Championship. Their lives may be on the line, but the competition won't take anything lying down, as the control of the city's crime syndicate is also up for grabs. Facing off against the shadowy, never-seen crime lord Mizo, his top racer Razer, and constantly in the public eye courtesy of television personality G. T. Blitz, Jak and co. will need more than luck to pull through.

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The requisite new 'do
The slimeball's lovely daughter
Razer can be intimidating...
... but G. T. Blitz is always annoying
Just another day at the races
Opening movie