Here's an indisputable fact: you cannot have a bad time while playing a Ratchet and Clank game. That doesn't change on Into the Nexus, the 12th instalment of the long-running PlayStation franchise.
Nexus is a short but sweet affair of about five hours that returns the platformer classic to its box-bashing, bolt-collecting roots while upping the action and adding a few bells and whistles.
It's definitely had a spit and polish: the graphics sparkle like never before, Ratchet's movements feel less clumsy and more organic, and the gravity defying leaps he performs in space during the game's introduction give Nexus a futuristic feel.
Clank even gets his own 2D old-school platform adventures during Nexus, which is based around the universe-destroying exploits of evil twins Vendra and Neftin Prog.
But the story hardly matters - it's all just a chance to give Ratchet a variety of enemies to test his new array of weaponry on. Check out the Nightmare Box, which summons up ghosts and ghouls from a parallel universe to terrify enemies, with hilarious results. Or the Winterizer, which turns them into snowmen while playing Jingle Bells. That could come in handy this time of year.
It's not going to win any game of the year awards, and you probably won't think about it once you've finished it, but any gamer worth their salt will still want Into the Nexus in their Christmas stocking.
Stars:
4/5
Platform:
PS3
Rated:
PG
Click here to buy Ratchet and Clank: Into The Nexus.
Follow @nzherald_ent on Twitter for all the latest entertainment news.
- TimeOut