Five Things We'd Like To See In Ratchet & Clank: A Crack In Time

We found it difficult to describe our excitement over the announcement of a Ratchet & Clank sequel yesterday.

Playing through Tools Of Destruction last night, we thought of a number of things we'd like to see in the sequel, A Crack In Time.

  • More disco. You might scoff at our questionable music taste, but we're big fans of seventies disco-pop here in the PushSquare office. There are times when you might find us cranking out content bopping our heads to Chic's "Greatest Hits". One thing we love about Ratchet & Clank is its nod to other culture and its friendly sterotyping. Drunken pirates dancing under a great disco ball? Yes please. A disco soundtrack suits the Ratchet & Clank universe so well and it's something we'd like to see emphasised in A Crack In Time.
  • Even crazier weapons. Ratchet & Clank's weapons are crazy. It's the games biggest hook apart from its characters. If possible, we'd like to ask Insomniac if they could make the weapons even crazier. What do we have in mind? Well, we don't really know, we're not designers. We just know we want to say "oh wow, that's crazy" every time we use a weapon. If you have any ideas, answers on a postcard.
  • Skill points. Resistance Retribution aside, Insomniac seem to have moved on from the excellent "Skill Points" system of old. We'd love to see it make a return with trophy integration. We want the skill points to be ridiculous too, tied in perfectly to the level, story and enemy types.
  • A deathmatch mode. Please don't, for one second think we want multiplayer to take a priority over single-player. We love the Ratchet & Clank storyline and the last thing in the world we'd ask for is that to be replaced by a shoddy multiplayer/co-op mode (not that Insomniac aren't brilliant at that kind of thing). However, we can't help but think a simple, 8-player deathmatch type experience would be an absolutely excellent extension to the Ratchet & Clank experience. Collectable bolts from kills etc could add a "weapon upgrade" type reward system, with rank specific lobbies balancing the gameplay, and a "multiple path" type upgrade system ensuring your character plays to your strengths. Something simple with an emphasis on quick jump-in/jump-out fun.
  • A Captain Qwark sidestory. Captain Qwark normally takes part in some kind of side-plot during a typical Ratchet & Clank campaign. How about when you complete the normal campaign you unlock a 3-hour playable side-story that lets you take control of Qwark and see what mischief he got up to during his side-mission? It has potential to be both hilarious, and a nice reward for those invested in the story.

A Playstation Home space would also be neat, giving players a chance to explore the Ratchet universe while enjoying some R&C themed arcade games.

What would you like in the Ratchet & Clank sequel, valued reader?