It’s been five years since the lastRatchet & Clankgame, but the classic 3D platforming franchise from Insomniac Games is poised to make a comeback soon.Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apartis set to launch on June 11, exclusively for the PlayStation 5, and so it stands to reason that there are those who may be looking to revisit the previous games in the series in anticipation of the new title. A good portion of theRatchet & Clankgames can be played on PS4 and PS5 through PlayStation Now, but some games in the series will require players to track down hardware like a PSP, PS Vita, or PS3. So is the case withRatchet: Deadlocked.
Anyone interested in playingRatchet: Deadlockedwhile they wait for theRatchet & Clank: Rift Apartrelease date to roll along have a couple of options. The first option is to track down a PlayStation 2 and play the game off a disc that way, but the easier route is to play the PS3 version of the game.Ratchet: Deadlockedon PS3 ups the resolution a bit and promotes itself as the “HD” version of the game, though it too is seriously showing its age.
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While many games in theRatchet & Clankseries have aged quite well,Ratchet: Deadlockedis one exception. But it doesn’t have to be this way. ARatchet: Deadlockedremaster could go a long way in bringing the game up to the standard of other entries in the series, while also allowing players to more easily experience theentireRatchet & Clankfranchise.
Premise
For those who may not be aware,Ratchet: Deadlockedis the fourth game in the series, taking place after the events ofRatchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal. However, it’s quite a bit different than the original trilogy of games. InRatchet: Deadlocked,Clank is no longer a playable character, taking on a supporting role as Ratchet battles it out in gladiator-style arenas against hordes of enemies.
Essentially,Ratchet: Deadlockedstrips away much of the platforming found in other games in the series to focus almost exclusively on the combat. There are basic objectives that players have to complete repeatedly throughout the story mode, like capturing X number of nodes or surviving against endless waves of enemies. Those that enjoy the combat in theRatchet & Clankgames will have a blast withRatchet: Deadlocked, though it is admittedly a more barebones approach to the franchise.
Co-Op
Something that helpsRatchet: Deadlockedstand apart from other games in the series is its support of co-op play.Ratchet & Clank: All 4 Onealso has co-op, but otherwiseRatchet: Deadlockedis pretty much all there is when it comes to co-op play in the series. Players are able to play through the entire campaign together in 2-player split-screen, giving fans the opportunity to experience the franchise’s over-the-top action with a friend.
For the most part,Ratchet: Deadlockedis a lot of fun in co-op, but it has a big flaw: lag. Nearly every stage in the game suffers from lagging and a variety of other issues directly related to thesplit-screen co-op. So while it’s appreciated that co-op is in the game as well, it’s clear that the hardware simply can’t support it all that well. With modern consoles, it seems as though aRatchet: Deadlockedremaster would be able to implement the split-screen co-op mode in a way where it works significantly better than it did in the PS2 and PS3 versions of the game.
Graphics
Ratchet: Deadlockedlooks fine enough on PS2 and PS3, with visuals thatmostlymatch the original trilogy of games. Unfortunately,Ratchet: Deadlockedis clearly less polished than the original threeRatchet & Clankgames in terms of its graphics. Clipping is a bigger issue, and there are multiple cutscenes where the camera is zoomed in on a character and players can literally see inside of their head.
Ratchet: Deadlockeddeserves a makeover that addresses these blemishes, allowing the game to be more on par with its predecessors from a graphics standpoint. With modern consoles supporting up to 4k resolution and higher, it may become a serious undertaking to bringRatchet: Deadlockedto modern standards, but it’s already been done with a variety of PS2-era games. While Sony stopped doing it for whatever reason, there was a time when Sony wasre-releasing classic PS2 games on PS4, with all of those titles available to play on the PlayStation 5 console as well.
None of the PS2-eraRatchet & Clankgames are currently available to play on PS4 or PS5, but hopefully that changes in future.
Multiplayer
TheRatchet & Clankgamesare primarily known for being single-player experiences, butRatchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenalintroduced competitive multiplayer to the mix.Ratchet: Deadlockedmay be best remembered for its cooperative campaign, but it too has competitive multiplayer as well. It supports up to four players in split-screen, but it also supported online multiplayer back in the day, letting fans play a variety of different online game modes.
Support forRatchet: Deadlocked’s multiplayer component has since been shut down, and so fans of the game can’t properly experience the multiplayer. This would be yet another reason to remasterRatchet: Deadlocked, as it would give its multiplayer mode some extra time in the spotlight.
Ratchet: Deadlockedis out now for PS2 and PS3.
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