Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction - E10+

Frenetic shoot-'em-up space adventure. No blood.

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment Category/Genre: Video Games - Action/Adventure Platform: PlayStation 3 Price: $47.99 Online Enabled: No Graphics: High. It's like playing a computer animated movie. Playability: Medium. Easy to figure out, challenging to master. Reading Level: Light Release Date: 10/23/2007 ESRB Rating: E10+ for Alcohol Reference, Animated Blood, Crude Humor, Fantasy Violence, Language

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this game has heavy doses of cartoon-like violence. Players destroy bad robots and kill evil aliens using an arsenal of science-fiction weaponry that includes, but isn't limited to, a thermonuclear rocket launcher, rapid fire razor blades, and an electric whip. Defeated robots disappear in small explosions and bested aliens wink out of existence in a flash of light, sometimes leaving behind beaded puddles of green or orange blood. The game's humor revolves around the violence: many of the weapons are designed to be funny, and villains often joke about our heroes' impending deaths.

Families can talk about fantasy and science-fiction settings and how they differ from the real world. Which did you enjoy more: Ratchet's action-based missions or Clank's puzzle-oriented levels? Is space travel and exploration interesting? Being a robot, Clank has a side quest in which he discovers he has a soul. This might lead to a spiritual discussion about what a soul is and what sort of creature may or may not have one.

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Common Sense Review

Reviewed By: Chad Sapieha

Meet Ratchet: A cute and furry little mammal who just happens to have the biggest arsenal of gadgets and guns this side of the Milky Way.

He's also the last of his kind, and that's apparently reason enough for nasty galactic tyrant Emperor Tachyon to want to hunt him down in RATCHET & CLANK FUTURE: TOOLS OF DESTRUCTION, a game that sees our hero exploring the universe to learn about his past as he fights off an invading army of robots and aliens.

After a couple of wayward entries in Sony's popular Ratchet & Clank series that saw Ratchet and his robotic pal Clank engaged in arena style battles and multiplayer mayhem, the latest entry in the series goes back to its roots, delivering simple but inventive running, jumping, and shooting shenanigans. Detours from this formula are brief and involve enjoyable arcade style minigames, such as spaceship combat missions, and controlling Ratchet in freefall using the PlayStation 3's motion-sensitive Sixaxis controller.

The heart of the game is Ratchet's stockpile of odd and innovative gear, like the Groovitron, which makes nearby enemies stop attacking and bust a move, and the powerful Tornado Launcher, which creates twisters that suck up bad guys like a nuclear-powered Hoover.

But equally appealing is the game's humor. Tools of Destruction is possessed of a genuine -- if somewhat crude -- wit that's more common in film than in games. Virtually every line of dialogue is a joke (or a set-up for one), and many of Ratchet's gadgets -- like Mr. Zurikon, a robot helper that hurls insults at bad guys -- are as funny as they are useful.

Also film-like are the production values. The transition between the Hollywood quality animation of the narrative sequences and the actual game is seamless, making it seem like you are playing in a computer-animated movie.

Sony is still looking for a system-selling game for the PlayStation 3, a title with almost universal appeal and peerless presentation. Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction isn't quite it, but it's the closest thing the big black console has this holiday to a Halo 3 or Super Mario Galaxy.

To see Ratchet in action on a handheld, check out Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, released for the PlayStation Portable earlier this year.

Reviewed: 11/09/2007

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Content		CS	adults	kids
Content
Sexual Content
Violence The player fights evil robots and aliens using a wide variety of weapons, including guns, explosives, whips, and blunt objects. Blood appears, but it is either green or orange and always cartoon-like in appearance.
Language Infrequent use of mildly coarse language.
Message
	Social Behavior
	Commercialism No real-world product placement, but there are plenty of in-game advertisements for a fake company called Gadgetron, making the commercial concept of branding an underlying theme.
	Drug/Alcohol/Tobacco Intoxicating beverages are vaguely referenced (a neon sign depicts what appears to be a beer stein in one enemy stronghold, and a pirate mentions that he'd be willing to take his pay in the form of "grog"), but it is never seen or consumed
	Educational Value