Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time Review - 10 Years Later.

Whenever someone asks me for my opinion on the Ratchet and Clank series and which games they should play. My go-to answer will always be the original trilogy on PS2 without a doubt. But if someone were to ask me which game out of the franchise was my favourite, I’ll always respond with the finale of the Ratchet and Clank Future series: A Crack in Time

Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time (known as Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time in most PAL countries) is a 2009 platformer video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It is the sequel to Tools of Destruction and Quest for Booty.[4] The game was released for the PlayStation 3 in North America on October 27, 2009,[2] in Australia on November 5, 2009[1] and in Europe on November 6, 2009.[3]

Upon release, the game received positive reviews from critics, with praise particularly aimed at the story, visuals, and gameplay. A fourth and final installment for the future series, titled Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, was released in November 2013 for the PlayStation 3.

A Crack in Time game features both returning and new gameplay mechanics to the Ratchet & Clank series. One such mechanic involves the Chronosceptor: A staff that repairs broken objects when you hit a broken object with it. This device may also be used like Ratchet's wrench, to fight off enemies.[5] By using special "time pads", Clank can also record up to a minute of his actions and then a holographic Clank replays them, while the real Clank does something else. Up to four copies of Clank can be recorded at a time. These holographic Clanks can help to solve puzzles.[6] In addition to gadgets like the Swingshot and Gravity Boots from previous games,[7] Ratchet has a pair of hoverboots, allowing him to move more quickly around planets and moons.[8]

In a noticeable departure from all previous games in the series, Ratchet can now fly his ship freely between planets on a two-dimensional ecliptic in various zones,[9] going to small moons and completing optional challenges, earning special items such as Zoni, gold bolts, and weapon mods in the process.[8] The ship's blasters, missiles, and armor can also be upgraded by obtaining additional Zoni. The game also has new weapons known as Constructo Weapons. These fall into three main categories; shotgun, bomb, and pistol. Each weapon can be modified with additional features and altered in appearance to make a weapon unique to the player.

[BugsyFoga]

A crack in time and up your arsenal were both my favorites in the series

[mrj]

The radio and the music, the environment of the game... travelling through the space ♥️♥️♥️, such a great game dude, that game was my first Platinum also

[matti.]

This was actually the first game in the series I ever got to play. I still felt invested through the story and they did a good job at explaining things from the last game so newcomers wouldn't feel lost.

It's so amazing. Never been too into puzzles, but I'd play a whole game that's just Clank's hologram puzzles.

[lightramo]

If there is one game I loved playing, it was this one. Hope they bring it in the current gen or next gen in whatever way. Gives me tears honestly.

[Breaker_Of_Sieges]

Crack in time was my first ever rachet and clank game, when my dad got a ps3 with it in a bundle for us kids for christmas. I am so glad that that happened, cause it sparked my love for the entire franchise. glad to see that other people like a crack in time too :)

[Fieldhouz]

Loved it, man! As a fan of Ratchet and Clank, I was instantly engaged in this video essay. You have a great voice to listen to. I also very much appreciate the finer details of your editing, such as cutting on que when starting a new sentence/topic, and matching clips with commentary.

[mozata]

10:37 How... dare you.

Jak II is my favorite game in the franchise. The random difficulty spikes, the mostly barren and uninteractive city hub, the jarring tone shift from the far more polished first game...
Okay, maybe you have a point. Still my personal fave, though

[FatPegLegPirate]

I grew up playing a crack in time and will always have so much nostalgia for me, I fucking love this game and it will always have such a huge spot in my heart and I will always love it. I love to see this game getting the love it deserves. The ratchet and clank series will always mean so much to me I love every ratchet game (except for the 2016 PS4 reboot) and I’m praying the ps5 game will restore the ratchet series to its peak if it doesn’t then the ratchet and clank series probably won’t get another game.

[isaacrogers]

My favorite part about this game was just the environment. It didn't just create aliens and put them in random places, it gave them culture and reasons to be where they were and in what state they were in.

[edgeofablade]

Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time was my first R & C game, as i decided to try it, awaiting for the new PS4 game (a dark time I know) and fell in love. I had never heard of the series and so knew nothing of the plot. I fell in love, and played it nonstop (stopping only when I got too frustrated with a boss battle or a platforming section (looking at you hover boot nefarious section) and eventually finished it. I didn’t even realise until later on that I was playing a seven year old (at the time) game.

I later went on to play the earlier games, and am currently trying to get through the first games.

R & C: aCiT will alway have a special place in my heart, as it was the first to get me into the series

[musahaque]

It definitely wasn't a good idea to give Ratchet a movie, they couldn't come up with this kind of thang the way Insomniac did, A Crack In Time is basically the Ratchet movie, it's got everythin' like the adult humour, the realistic graphics, best character designs, best cinematics, complicated story, and the storyline itself ties back to the original game with Ratchet and Clank's origins, probably the darkest mature game in the series, it's too flawless and would kick ass straight up, only thing that should of been was bringin' back Angela as it would make sense more than ever to have her in the story that involves the Lombax lineage, but otherwise a great conclusion to the series, I wouldn't say it's a kids series either as it took adult themes and humour since the start, this was a true finale.

[Mephistel]

7:42 Holy shit, so The Talos Principle got that mechanic from R&C almost exactly, this game really was ahead of the curve

[wyattbottorff]

Hard to imagine its been 11 years now... I started with the original when it was brand new.
Favorites aside, A Crack in Time is definitely the best when it comes to mechanics, graphics and the sophistication of it's design. Everything before and after cannot compare in these areas, all said and done. Granted the original trilogy made some of the greatest advances for their time.
Level design has never been better than ACIT, as much as nostalgia brings me back to the originals more than any other. You are quite right about the music that is really the big let down of ACIT for me.

[bluemoonhub]

CiT is actually my first R&C game. We didn't have a PS2 at the time (still don't have one) and my brother didn't buy any other R&C game for the PS3. I only found out a bit later that it was a part of a trilogy, because since it was the European version, the title screen didn't say "Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time", it said "Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time". Region specific title screens are weird

[rennanizarchi]

Man. To get an idea, I have over 1k hours on this game. It was my very first game on R&C and it was what got me into this beautiful series. Later on I got the R&C collection and figured the depth of this thing and I goddamn adore these freaking characters. I got to memorize ALL interactions, dialogs, animations and expressions these characters did! Man do I miss this game. But hey, I don't think this series is gonna end anytime soon! Hell, does it look like it is close to an end at all? Rift apart we go venture the realities and figure that one out.





Damn, V-sauce, riddle guy here.

[pstrongman]

Hold the front door you talked about sound design and didn’t even mention THE RYNO V AND ITS GLORIOUS SERENADE OF DESTRUCTION

[watagree]

1) I hope they make a follow up to the future series. Maybe a last trilogy to find orvus and the lombaxes. They could really make a tight Ratchet and clank game thanks to what they’ve learned from Spider-Man 2018. Now they can make a proper open world game ( like One big planet with smaller moons Attached too it.) so you can freely use your hoverboots. They ALSO need To make new weapons. Since tools of destruction, they have been recycling a lot of them. ALSO more constructo weapons. Maybe they can also expand on the space levels. A crack in time was probably the best. And please insomniac bring back the agorians. They were so cool. You brought Back the fongoids. So i dont see an issue with bringing back the agorians.

2)They could ALSO make a dark Ratchet game. About Ratchet trying to Get by.

3) they could make a game about azimuth for the longtime fans. The story about his mistakes and what He had been doing all those years alone.

[meloonie]

Very professionally done! I found this video very informative and interesting even though I previously knew nothing on the series. Keep up the good work! Also 9:08 is sex

[blutackart]

I always loved these games growing with 2 being my personal fav, had the best improvement from the previous game and was pretty good. liked the choice of musing from the previous games that you used for this video.Still to this day think that if they never focused on the multiplayer for 3 then it would be the best but for me 2 my fav(not that that the multiplayer was bad because it was fun but it would have gave insomniac more time to focus on the main game) crack in time would have been a solid way to leave the series, felt pretty satisfying and left you wondering what happens now

[shadeblackwolf]

Good writing in kid's entertainment is something we need a lot more of. it teaches morals, as well as taste.