Play the Worst Ratchet & Clank on PS5, PS4 with PS Plus Premium

"play the worst" is not really selling it to me, I'll be honest lol

But how good will this game look on PS5 Pro?

I remember having fun with it on PSP. Going by this article I'm guessing it doesn't hold up.

I actually really like Secret Agent Clank for what it is. It's not meant to be a full fledged Ratchet and Clank game.

I cannot believe this is worse than Size Matters. That would be impressive. Funnily enough I skipped this after how bad Size Matters was 😂

I'll buy/play it for duality with the Jak franchise (still working on my Daxter playthrough, actually. It's very okay).

I'll still take this one above Size Matters. Not that I'm convinced this one's better, but it's at least more novel conceptually.

@get2sammyb Shoddy work, tagline should have been ‘Secret Agent Klunk’.

Calling this the worst Ratchet and Clank is an affront. Don't forget "Before the Nexus" the trash mobile game. In terms of console/handheld releases, Full Frontal Assault (which you mention) is worse than this, but don't forget about the co-op PS3 game Ratchet: All 4 One. Sammy says Ratchet and Clank is never outright bad, but that one was pretty close...

You forgot that All 4 One and Full Frontal Assault exist

Never played secret agent clank but I still think Dexter is better than the naughty dog Jak games except 1 that was a better rare game than rare.

@NeuralDeclan I quite liked All 4 One, actually. And think it's heavily underappreciated in doing the whole '4-player, isometric 3D platformer' thing before Super Mario 3D World.

Still waiting for the Future trilogy, All 4 One, and Into the Nexus to show up on PS5 somehow... And the PS2 trilogy alongside Deadlocked.

I wish one day we could get Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty with trophy support.

Completely off topic, but will you guys be reviewing Lollipop Chainsaw Repop? @get2sammyb

The "Clank bits" are by some distance my least favourite bits of R&C games, so a whole game of him is about as appealing as a dental extraction.

@NEStalgia "Dexter is better than the naughty dog Jak games except 1."

I'm pretty conflicted on this statement. Well, I outright disagree with it apropos Jak 3. As for Jak II — which I kinda hate — it's pretty close between it and Daxter. Do I think Daxter is an overall more pleasant experience? Yes. Do I think it ever reaches the highs of Jak II? Nah.

I'm glad to see somewhat agrees with my stance on Jak & Daxter almost being the Banjo Threeie we never got.

@nessisonett Secret Agent Klunk is surprisingly relevant to this game...

But yeah, this game is BAD. Like actually awful.

Same weapon problems as in Size Matters, the bolt economy is even worse to the point the PS2 version release later not only completely fixed that but also remodelled and retextured loads of the game, its a gameplay roulette of ideas doesnt mix with levelling up your weapons that do jack all damage, it wants to reward stealth but then your weapons dont level up for bosses, and then there's the bonus content.

Oh. My. God. Every stage has hidden invisible glyphs in challenge mode that you need to stop and scan with special glasses. How do you know where they are? Get looking. Could be on a random wall in the background, on the floor, behind you, or under a ledge in an autoscroller. Good luck! And thats just to unlock the High Impact Treehouse.

To unlock everything in THERE you need to find three coloured key cards hidden often over bottomless pits you need to leap of faith towards or activate a secret launch point for one of them IIRC that you cant even see. If you get those, you get the Dallas Challas that once per stage fully heals you....if you know the code to activate it.

Enjoy getting the Platinum folks. It absolutely sucks.

@RoomWithaMoose Yeah, I adore Jak 1... Such an amazing 3d platformer and (sorry tlou and uncharted super fans) my favorite ND game period.

I ALSO kinda hate Jak 2. Jak3....I dunno. I don't hate it. But I still like Daxter more.

We can all agree Jak 4 racing is best game 😆. At least the racing is better than uncharted vehicles....

@NEStalgia Jak X is one of the best 'mascot' racers ever. I'm surprised it's not apart of the conversation more often.

@RoomWithaMoose Yeah the thing that makes it great is it's more than a kart racer it's almost a platformer with karts.... Or something.

I have this game on PSP.
I just need the PS2 version to complete the PS2 version collection.

disrespecting the real astro bot huh

I'll see your Secret Agent Clank and raise you 'Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One' as the worst entry. Gotta remember a big selling point of this game back in the day is it was portable.

Is it worse than size matters? I played that when that came to plus and honestly, it was a miserable experience

Well, that's a rather click bait-y headline. I remember having fun with this game when it came out on the PSP. Do better Sammy.

My biggest issue with that generation of handheld spin off releases from the main consoles is the same issue I had with Uncharted on the Vita. They're not made by naughty dog or insomniac etc... so therefore never really had that level of talent behind them. Just felt like watered down copies to me. I didn't hate it when I played it all the way back then but I think it was more the novelty of having a R&C title on something handheld back then.

Worst? Push Square get your facts right it's Before The Nexus that is worse and not just because it's a mobile/Jungle Run game either.

SAC in RAC 3 is ok but a whole game around it? I get ghost pirate robots as a joke but yeah they acted on it in Q4Booty too.

It's not that bad SAC, it's different that's all. Crack in Time is different but that ones fine because it's a PS3 game but it's ambitious? Logic there. XD

They were Insomniac/Naughty Dog staff that formed a new studio. Think of the games like Judas/Yooka Laylee/Bloodstained but instead of leaving the publisher they are just different staff. That's all High Impact are, other staff, with different ideas. Yet people see High Impact and go, but they aren't the same, yeah but they are different staff, just because people had better ideas or whatever you played first as a child means nothing.

These games are weird but how different is 2016 in tone/kids film accurate nowadays then Dreamworks kid/adult humour of the 2000s. Exactly.

I never take these games as oh full fledged on the go. I don't care about the marketing, I don't care if used to console experiences, handhelds are different platforms. The devs can try different things, they aren't always watered down just 'different'. I prefer that. I like Killzone Liberation being different, sure the hardware but an isometric shooter why not. Some camera changes help. Some genres help. It's like Gears Tactics or Halo Wars. It's cool to have something different not be only 1 genre or only 1 way forever.

Sure Nintendo handhelds the devs approach things different. Sony tried, the devs did what they could, wanted to do different with an IP or worked with the hardware. Why is that a bad thing? Because players want to see 1 thing happen and it the same way forever, that's boring, devs are part of a art medium, not one piece of art needs to be the same, it's boring for them it gets boring for us. It's why we get IP milking, stagnation, across medium products and moving way to other platforms.

This game is fine, it has issues but it improves on Size Matters, it adds more content it goes weird directions, sure no all of it is good or not all of it lands but I prefer it over a more generic entry in the series or the current state of the series being 'wow visually good but substance wise garbage. Pass on garbage animated family movie nonsense and sub par or boring safe gameplay the series has ever had 2016/Rift Apart.

It doesn't take itself seriously, it could be a dream/episode of Secret Agent Clank, it mixes things up.

The OG series and Future saga are fine but I mean SAC isn't that bad a game. Oh the stealth and rhythm segments aren't perfect but it was trying to be different.

Part 2:
Crack in Time is the most different in the series and is praised heavily for it's story/gameplay elements. So which fans or reviewers are hypocrites? Why can't Secret Agent Clank be different? I hate the handheld entry point too. Many handheld games are sometimes better than console games to me. My favourite PSP games are puzzle games and some from other genres are from series or one offs. Resistance Retribution has it's issues and it's a handheld game too but it gets a pass?

I am fine with he Dreamcast/PSP/N64 feeling different yet all have 1 stick, 2 sticks complaints are for modern day idiots that don't have the patience or willing to try something or remember how we used to have it. Played plenty and gotten used to the controls, just because others are too lazy to.

If Ratchet played like Knack/God of War of old entries on PSP with the L/R or with a second analogue stick aka to dodge would people complain about that too yep. Yet Knack/old God of War/DMC work fine with the camera this way, same with Pitfall Lost Expedition works with motion controls and it does the right stick to use items with the camera being the L1/R1 method like PS1. It's still playable, I 100%ed it fine. Attacks I think the Bouncer for PS2 does. Other games used sticks differently, other genres face buttons for menus then jump, attack, inventory, map, whatever else then a select/start, d-pad.

It was never done again and was the most and still is most ambitious of the series and Rift Apart is a new ideas, Tools of Destruction elements with limited Crack in Time elements and is pure garbage story, safe gameplay and Crack in Time has still better evne if sadly Rift Apart doesn't expand on them technical ideas. Travelling through rifts to new regions wow not like Spyro 3 didn't do that on a more basic scale.

Not like Blizar has 2 states and Crack in Time had 2-3 of those with 3 2-3 states of them, different sky boxes and different enemies, similar objects but better story telling around them. That's more technically impressive on a PS3 then PS5 with garbage story, cameo recycling and safe gameplay.

Even Tools of Destruction is Ratchet 2 & 3 trying to evolve and does so better then Rift Apart does. So tell me how that's a bad thing?

@LP64000 They had different ideas. High Impact were different Insomniac/Naughty Dog staff, that's all.

These studios with the same staff but split aren't worse then a new studio entirely whether Sly 4, Mario Party, or others. Yet you get different staff and others filtered out/jumped to other studios but the new people in the same studios years later and players go oh that's not the same Mario Sports game or the same return to an IP or other factors. It happens.

Lost Frontier may have been what ND had planned (can't remember), don't know but oh another studio did it.

Similar to staff for Yooka Laylee/Bloodstained, etc. but instead of Indies & prior vet staff with talent we like & no publisher to step in which is why different design besides IP license they don't have access & successors of sorts (or besides No Man's Sky & ex Burnout staff/Nightingale with ex Bioware staff doing different things)

they were separate teams under Sony High Impact/Ready At Dawn with their Ratchet/GOW games on PSP (or were then weren't maybe as they went and made other IPs afterwards then either cancelled the studio or went back to Insomniac or wherever else maybe? I don't know after that Disney Princess game High Impact made what they did afterwards).

So not being Insom/ND those at High Impact or Ready At Dawn with their staff, is a bit ridiculous other than different staff forming a new studio and just not the staff we know and prefer 'their' ideas or those we are used to on console from is more the case. Besides Bend with Golden Abyss that's different of course.

With some Sanzaru or Mass Media in there for the PS2 SAC/Sly 4 or PS3/Vita ports of Ratchet and Jak.

Bend are a capable studio, Resistance Retribution is as good if not better than Fall of Man or 2, 3 I think is different enough in it's personality/Ratchet like level up system.

Days Gone is what it is, don't know enough about it. It took them 2011 to 2017 or 18 to do it to get their engines up to PS4 then Vita or whatever Vita projects they had in the works then cancelled. Syphon Filter has it's place of PS1/2/PSP.

Uncharted Golden Abyss isn't the best Uncharted in some areas but the new additions make sense for the Vita gimmicks (can do without the locker dial that wasn't great to work at times or touch screen punch swipes but the charcoal and gyro aim and other things were great I find) or adding things to the series then the typical formula after 3 games. Or doesn't have the same story just reworked each time besides the new details in each story. It may have been more dramatic then 2 stealth or 3's or the polish/personality offering then gameplay. To me the personality was fine enough for what they could do.

It's why I think Spiderman is ok but Sunset Overdrive their prior/first open world was more a 'them game' but the tower defence then outposts, weapon level ups and other factors of side missions being challenges or fair typical side missions in other open worlds games had a better balance and made it better to me then Spiderman being more typical open world or like prior Spiderman games but just more modern personality and only the puzzles/other stuff I preferred then the rest of the game so I liked what puzzles/challenges so about 10% or less of the game probably. Like the crimes and tokens and all that make sense like Spiderman 2 or 3 I'm playing but I just don't care for them as much either.