In the Raikan level, the duo land on a lava-filled planet and fight through a plethora of baddies. While the gameplay seemed to focus more on the combat side of things than platforming, the most noticeable part of the game was the environment itself. Insomniac seems to have gone the extra mile in creating some very diverse planets for ToD, and Raikan seems to be the polar opposite of the Space Pirates' lair that we saw previously.
We also got our first glimpse at the Decryptors. These mini-games will utilize the Sixaxis (or, according to Philips, the analog sticks, if you hate motion sensing that much) in a labyrinth-style mini-game in which you'll steer a metal ball around a maze of circuits. You'll need to guide a series of electrical charges along the circuits, and position the orb as a conductor across broken circuits. It's pretty tough at first, and we've been told that things will get brain-twisting by the end of the game, but for now, it's a pretty fulfilling mini-game.
On the prison planet of Zordoom, which is two-thirds into the game, Ratchet's allies Kronk, Zephyr and Talwyn have all been captured by Tachyon and tossed into the clink. Of course, it'll be up to you to get them out. During a very amusing cut scene in which Captain Quark lays out the parameters of the jail bust, you'll learn how the level is laid out before jumping into it. According to Philips, Zordoom seems to blend both platforming and combat better than certain other levels in the game. We definitely noticed, as shortly after battles with police droids and fish in giant guard outfits the action switched over to lots of rail-grinding and carefully timed jumps. But don't take our word for it; check out some of the Zordoom footage we've captured!
Even though we were assured repeatedly both by Philips and Sony PR that the build we were playing isn't reviewable, we know that as of the time we're writing this, Insomniac is finalizing Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction for its October 23rd Stateside launch, which means that what we've played is largely representative of what you'll see in the final product. With that in mind, we feel pretty confident that fans of the series should be very happy, not only with the game's stellar visuals, but with the gameplay, which combines some of the upgradeability introduced in Deadlocked with a more organic flow of action reminiscent of past titles. Whether the game's combination of humor, action and platforming can win over new fans remains to be seen, but it's safe to say that it's already happened among members of our staff who haven't played much of the series.
