Ok, I'll be up front: This is my personal favorite game. I'll try to be unbiased, but if I'm not, that is why.
For me, Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal is a fantastic 3D Platformer/Shooter. Ratchet controls like a dream, with his jumping having the right amount of weight to it, which can be accentuated into long jumps, high jumps, and other moves with the help of Clank. It's kind of like Mario in that sense, and you'll sorely miss Clank when he's not that there to help with his drifting and other abilities.
The weapon selection is fantastic. There are a ton of them, and you'll soon find a selection you're comfortable with, whether it's the simple N60 Hurricane blaster, the vacuuming power of the Suck Cannon, or even just turning your enemies into furry animals. Having 2 pages on your quick select is also great. I like putting my favorite weapons on page 1 and all my gadgets on page 2. And like the second game, the quick select pauses when you use it! 2 pages and pausing make quick select even better then before. I will admit, there are some weapons that are right near useless. I never used the weapon that throws up a shield directly in front of you, and I can never get the hang of the plasma whip (a melee weapon with ammo? Really?)
The story and levels are awesome. Basically, a robot named Dr. Nefarious wants to turn everyone into robots, with Captain Quark (for whatever reason) being the only character to stop him before. It's fun to watch everyone bounce off each other. Dr. Nefarious, for all his goofiness, remains my favorite game villian as he always gives you a fight, whether in 2D sections or as the final boss. I love fighting through his army on missions with the Galactic Rangers, and I love going through platforming challenges to, say infiltrate Nefarious' base to retrieve plans or to find Quark hiding out in a jungle or ice fortress.
I'll admit, not everyone will like the battle sections. It can get repetitive, especially if there's a mission you don't like, such as one of the vehicle or turret missions. Some of the levels can be forgettable, since you only visit most once and unless there's a memorable set piece I can see someone forgetting the levels as you complete them.
So, yeah. Solid platforming, great weapons, excellent story and villian, blend in scifi elements and you got my favorite game.
My Personal Favorite Game
Ok, I'll be up front: This is my personal favorite game. I'll try to be unbiased, but if I'm not, that is why.
For me, Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal is a fantastic 3D Platformer/Shooter. Ratchet controls like a dream, with his jumping having the right amount of weight to it, which can be accentuated into long jumps, high jumps, and other moves with the help of Clank. It's kind of like Mario in that sense, and you'll sorely miss Clank when he's not that there to help with his drifting and other abilities.
The weapon selection is fantastic. There are a ton of them, and you'll soon find a selection you're comfortable with, whether it's the simple N60 Hurricane blaster, the vacuuming power of the Suck Cannon, or even just turning your enemies into furry animals. Having 2 pages on your quick select is also great. I like putting my favorite weapons on page 1 and all my gadgets on page 2. And like the second game, the quick select pauses when you use it! 2 pages and pausing make quick select even better then before. I will admit, there are some weapons that are right near useless. I never used the weapon that throws up a shield directly in front of you, and I can never get the hang of the plasma whip (a melee weapon with ammo? Really?)
The story and levels are awesome. Basically, a robot named Dr. Nefarious wants to turn everyone into robots, with Captain Quark (for whatever reason) being the only character to stop him before. It's fun to watch everyone bounce off each other. Dr. Nefarious, for all his goofiness, remains my favorite game villian as he always gives you a fight, whether in 2D sections or as the final boss. I love fighting through his army on missions with the Galactic Rangers, and I love going through platforming challenges to, say infiltrate Nefarious' base to retrieve plans or to find Quark hiding out in a jungle or ice fortress.
I'll admit, not everyone will like the battle sections. It can get repetitive, especially if there's a mission you don't like, such as one of the vehicle or turret missions. Some of the levels can be forgettable, since you only visit most once and unless there's a memorable set piece I can see someone forgetting the levels as you complete them.
So, yeah. Solid platforming, great weapons, excellent story and villian, blend in scifi elements and you got my favorite game.