Ratchet and Clank Q-Force proves that after ten years, there is still life in the old Lombax yet that is worthy of consideration – if only there were more mission objectives and levels to enjoy.
Those 15 deaths, the difficulty imbalance, the weapon irrelevance and manual camera notwithstanding, the game was fine. But you know, those are all really big issues that drag down a game's score. Ratchet and Clank: Full Frontal Assault also is dreadfully boring, so I can't rate it anything higher than "average."
Especially in the case that you're an old school fan, this game will tickle you like nothing else on the market right now. The online play is surprisingly very good - maybe not MMORPG or FPS style, but for the style of the game, it's great. Unprecedented for the series, for sure.
Full Frontal Assault is the 12th installment in the Ratchet&Clank franchise, and is a definitely a fun, engaging change of pace from previous games to keep the series feeling fresh. Rather than traveling from planet to planet exploring and killing enemies, FFA pits you up against the alien Grungoids in a MOBA/Tower Defense/Third-Person Shooter. It truly is the first of its kind, and packs a ton of content into a $20 game. The campaign, playable solo, splitscreen, or with online co-op, throws you into huge battlefields rich with Hero Bolts and secret nodes to find. You must defend your base from attacking enemies, purchasing shields, turrets, and mines to slow them down. At the same time, you capture nodes spread across the map and eventually make your way into the enemy base. But it's the multiplayer where this game really shines; you join 1v1 or 2v2 matches pitted against other people, capturing nodes, purchasing squads of reinforcements to storm your opponent's base, and stocking up on defenses for your own. It's clearly inspired by the multiplayer from Up Your Arsenal, but adds many new twists and dimensions. Like I said earlier, this game has a lot of content and will keep you engaged for a long time; if you're interested, you should definitely grab it for $20; you won't be disappointed.
It's damn fun to collect bolts, shoot some enemies and improve the base-defense, but only in the multiplayer mode. Lacking gameplay-depth makes the single-player not really entertaining. In my point of view the game is ok, but it's not a true Ratchet & Clank game. It seems that Sony took the name of a well-known franchise and made a traditional base-defense-game instead of a new game in the world of Ratchet & Clank.
The exploration is a blast, but the shooting is a bust. Gradually upgrading defenses feels rewarding, but grinding for bolts proves tedious and stressful. In the end, the positives and negative battle to an uneasy stalemate that results in an experience that's simply middling.
An odd mix of genres that doesn't capture the magic you usually get from a Ratchet & Clank title. A game that can be fun for a while but never really manages to create its own identity.
Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault has some interesting ideas, but repetition and poor level design let the single-player campaign down. The innovative multiplayer mode represents the mini-adventure's strongest asset, but it's unlikely to hold your attention for very long. PlayStation's most enduring duo have seen better days, but this is still a likeable celebration of a fantastic franchise.
Aside from some moments of classic Ratchet & Clank humor, Full Frontal Assault fails both as a tower defense game and as a means to hold fans of the franchise over until Insomniac delivers a new mainline title.
Without knowing it, Insomniac have created a game that's ahead of its time. I have never heard of Ratchet & Clank before this game, but I can say that it deserves more credit even if it is a spin-off. The reason being is that this is perhaps the most ingeniously accessible MOBA which was released at a time when the genre wasn't as mainstream. There are no tutorials, and there needn't be either. It is extremely intuitive to pick up and play, with third-person controls, solid movement/shooting/combat/platforming. It is fast-paced and there's decent variety in the weapons and enemies. Unlike other MOBAs, this game is more scripted in the campaign and levelling up your weapons and character are persistent. When played co-operatively, this game shines. The tower-defense mechanics are very simple and with a shared currency, there's more emphasis on co-operation and doing what's best for the team rather than the individual. The weapons and levelling are shared when played co-operatively too, so there's never any conflict of who should do/use what. This is a MOBA without menus and with no learning curve which can be played in split-screen. Given the size of the genre nowadays, that's a revolutionary concept. How many MOBAs literally copy DoTA? Almost all. Ratchet & Clank QForce shows that it's possible to do better - by having a fast-paced, pick-up-and-play, singleplayer/co-operative MOBA where there's no mouse-clicking or last-hitting or caring about stats of items, but rather purely gameplay. Of course, it's not particularly deep or require an enormous amount of strategy and planning, but for its target audience the difficulty and depth is perfect. The game's announcer does an excellent job of keeping you up to date on the game state, and playing the objective feels natural rather than a chore. The map design is not bad and having the minimap as well as large map helps to navigate the level. Multiplayer is a strong point of this game too, which continues the "scripted" style by having offensive and defensive phases. In terms of story and campaign length, the game only has five levels and they're quite short but there's replay value in doing the challenges. Quality-wise, the game isn't AAA by any means, and suffers from major frame-rate drops when there are a crazy number of enemies and turrets and weapons and explosions on screen, but otherwise functional. Overall, QForce is a game which future MOBA developers should take inspiration from, because of its accessibility, fun factor, design and exciting combat with cool weapons. Just because it's a casual game doesn't mean it's necessarily bad or boring. Of course it won't provide you with more than 10-15 hours of gameplay, but not every game should aspire to be endless - and not every MOBA should be exactly like the established ones.
I really wish Ratchet and Clank would stick to what they do best, single player. With what full frontal assault offers as a single player campaign is pathetic compared to previous games, and it really just feels like R&C are moving to far away from their formula that full frontal assault doesn't even feel like a Ratchet and Clank game. Certainly a disappointing game for older fans of the series.
so boooooring
positive
+ it has potential
+ colorful graphics
+was in the beginning fun (first three missions)
negative
-boooooooring
- chaotic defence
-booooooring
a waste of money
SummaryRatchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault (known as Ratchet & Clank: QForce in the UK/EU) blends the series’ classic comedy, camera, and controls with a new way to play. Drop into the middle of an intergalactic conflict, choose your weapons, and experience Full Frontal Assault solo, or together with friends online or splitscreen.