Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters

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Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters
Size Matters.jpg
North American PlayStation Portable box art
Developer(s)High Impact Games
Publisher(s)Sony Computer Entertainment
Designer(s)
  • David Goodrich
  • Lesley Mathieson
Programmer(s)
  • Jared Hardy
  • Jason Fourier
  • Justin Wilder
Artist(s)
  • Atsuko Kubota
  • Colin Raesler
  • Lloyd Murphy
Writer(s)Oliver Wade
Composer(s)David Bergeaud
SeriesRatchet & Clank
Platform(s)PlayStation Portable, PlayStation 2
Release
February 13, 2007
Genre(s)Platform
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (known as Ratchet & Clank 5 in Japan) is a 2007 platform game developed by High Impact Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2. The game is the first Ratchet & Clank title on the PlayStation Portable and the fifth Ratchet & Clank game for the PlayStation 2. Development company High Impact Games was spawned from the original Ratchet & Clank developer, Insomniac Games. The story is about Ratchet and Clank as they are interrupted from their vacation to search for a kidnapped girl and encounter a forgotten race known as the Technomites.

Gameplay[]

See also: Common gameplay elements in the Ratchet and Clank series

As with Going Commando and the first game, space combat is present. However, this time, the player controls Giant Clank, rather than a ship. Also, there are arena battles, but this time, the player plays as Clank in a variety of vehicles. Clank returns as a playable character, and is again able to control a set of Gadgebots, smaller robots which can perform certain tasks for him, although this only occurs in one section of the game. But the player may still play with Gadgebots in Clank Challenges.

Similar to previous games in the series, this game contains a variety of weapons which can be upgraded. For example, the Lacerator is upgraded to the Dual Lacerators. Mods can be purchased for most weapons from Slim Cognito vendors. Some weapons and gadgets from previous games appear, such as the Hypershot, Bolt Grabber and R.Y.N.O. Nanotech (health) can also be upgraded. The main way to beat enemies is firepower, so bolts (which are used as currency) are an important criteria of the game. Although there is no way to access weapons, etc. from previous games, additional skins can be unlocked on Secret Agent Clank if the player has a Size Matters save.

There is also a new system for acquiring armor. Instead of buying armor from special vendors, as with games such as Going Commando, parts of armor are found in levels, and can be combined to make different suits, each with their own unique advantage, as well as additional protection.

When the player completes the game they can choose to enter "Challenge Mode". Challenge mode is a harder version of the game, with tougher enemies. To counter this, all weapons, armor and bolts acquired so far are carried through. New sets of armor are available in Challenge Mode and there is a bolt multiplier feature included. Weapons can also be upgraded further by purchasing "Titan" versions.

There are a total of 25 Skill Points in the game, which are gained by performing certain tasks, the only clue to which is the name of the particular Skill Point. These will unlock cheats in the game. There are 20 Titanium Bolts to be found which can be used to buy skins for Ratchet.

Plot[]

While on a vacation on Pokitaru, Ratchet and Clank meet a little girl named Luna who is writing a school report on heroes. Shortly after they meet her, Luna is kidnapped by mysterious robots. Clank then stumbles upon a mysterious artifact from an ancient race, the Technomites. Although Ratchet is initially skeptical about their existence, Clank believes they do exist. Ratchet and Clank set out to save Luna and in the process, encounter Captain Qwark, who is attempting to find his biological parents. Ratchet allows him to use his ship's computer to aid in his search, in order to make him stop following them.

On Kalidon, Ratchet is kidnapped by Luna, and Clank is left in a junkyard on Metalis, however Clank transforms into his Ultra-Mech form and sets off to destroy enemy troops and to save Ratchet. Meanwhile, Ratchet's DNA was taken in order to produce an army of clones. Emperor Otto Destruct, leader of the Technomites, has recognized Ratchet's potential and hopes to use his DNA to produce the ultimate soldier. Finding out that Luna is actually a robotic puppet and ship, the duo track it down to Dayni Moon, where Luna reveals the clone plot to Ratchet and Clank and explains the Technomites are bitter for never receiving credit from the general population for their technological advances.

After destroying the Luna puppet, Clank tries to get the clone factory co-ordinates from it, but is infected with a computer virus and malfunctions, allowing the Technomite soldiers inside the puppet to enter Clank. Ratchet uses his shrink ray to go inside Clank, meeting his internal security system, and they collaborate to eliminate the intruders and restart Clank's processor. Clank reveals that he did obtain the factory co-ordinates before being deactivated, and they head to a planet known as Quodrona. After Ratchet kills dozens of clones, Otto reveals that what Luna told them was a "(cheesy story)", and his real plan is to steal the intelligence of every being in the galaxy, using a special machine that transfers the intelligences from one being to another.

Qwark, persuaded by Otto, thinks Otto is his father and temporarily fights on his side. Ratchet and Clank eventually defeat him after a long and hard battle. After beating Otto, they learn from Skrunch that Qwark's real parents were killed by defective equipment made by the Technomites. Qwark tries to use Otto's machine to give Otto the intelligence of himself, Skrunch interferes and Otto then gains the intelligence of Skrunch. Back in Ratchet and Clank's apartment, shrunken Ratchet clones are sold like toys and keep the shrunken Qwark company, while the two watch a commercial for the new toy line.

Development[]

High Impact Games, which comprised former Insomniac Games employees, developed Size Matters as their first title.[1] The game was revealed at the E3 2006 pre-show.[2][3] Size Matters took about 18 months to develop from scratch.[4]

Release[]

Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters was released for the PSP on February 13, 2007. In fall 2008, Sony began packing it in with PSP hardware bundles.[5][6]

In March 2008, the game was ported to PlayStation 2 due to high fan demand.[7] This port removes the online multiplayer, but enhances the graphics and controls.[8]

Reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic85/100 (PSP)[9]
62/100 (PS2)[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
Yahoo! Games5/5 stars[11]
Modojo5/5 stars[12]
Cheat Code Central4.8/5[13]
IGN9/10 stars[14]
GamesRadar4/5 stars[15]

The original PlayStation Portable version of the game received positive reviews. Game Informer rated 9/10 and awarded it the "Handheld of the Month" for April 2007.[16] IGN gave it 9.0/10.[17] On the other hand, the PlayStation 2 port of the game received lukewarm scores, with IGN giving it a score of 6/10, citing its poor graphics, dull gameplay, and technical issues.[18]

Sales[]

Size Matters was one of the best-selling PSP games of 2007.[4] Its PSP hardware bundle has sold over one million units.[19]

References[]

  1. ^ "Games". High Impact Games.
  2. ^ Dunham, Jeremy (April 24, 2006). "Pre-E3 2006: Ratchet and Clank PSP". IGN.
  3. ^ Torres, Ricardo (April 21, 2006). "E3 06: Ratchet & Clank PSP Preshow First Look". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 11, 2007.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Mathieson, Lesley (February 2008). Building a Successful Production Process (Speech). Game Developers Conference. Moscone Center.
  5. ^ Caron, Frank (July 15, 2008). "New Ratchet and Clank PSP bundle due this fall". Ars Technica.
  6. ^ GameSpy Staff (August 20, 2008). "Updated PSP Coming October". GameSpy.
  7. ^ McGarvey, Sterling (January 25, 2008). "High Impact Games on Upsizing Size Matters". GameSpy. p. 2.
  8. ^ McGarvey, Sterling (January 25, 2008). "High Impact Games on Upsizing Size Matters". GameSpy. p. 1.
  9. ^ "Aggregate Reviews of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters for the PSP". Metacritic. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  10. ^ "Aggregate Reviews of Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters for the PlayStation 2". Metacritic. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  11. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on August 7, 2011. Retrieved September 12, 2008.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ^ "Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters".
  13. ^ "Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters Review for the PlayStation Portable (PSP)".
  14. ^ "Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters Review - IGN".
  15. ^ "Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters review". March 21, 2008.
  16. ^ Game Informer, Issue 168, April 2007. Page 108.
  17. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved March 5, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  18. ^ "IGN review". Archived from the original on January 5, 2008. Retrieved January 20, 2008.
  19. ^ "December NPD: Sony's PlayStation brand showing continued sales momentum, software up 116% Y-o-Y". VG247. Sony. January 16, 2009. Retrieved June 25, 2021.

External links[]

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