Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)

The Ratchet and Clank series consists of a number of platforming action games which involve a space cat and his robot pal fighting their way through hordes of robots and such to… do something. I don’t know what, exactly, because I was too bored to care.

People love this series, but I don’t know why. I mean, the combat is awkward, the platforming is uninspired, and the gameplay is ultra-linear. There’s a great variety of weapons and a lot of silly humor, but that just doesn’t do enough to interest me. I liked a few of the segments, such as using the Sixaxis controls to navigate one’s freefall descent, but for the most part I was just uninspired by this game. I’ll admit I didn’t play very far, but the problem here is the fact that I don’t want to play any more. That, to me, is the biggest indication that you’ve got a problem.

Some people might think I rate everything badly just so I maintain my cynical façade, but I really don’t care for the games that I pan. That’s why I don’t review, say, sports games, because I hate sports. Or racing games, because I’m absolutely terrible at them. But action games I can do, just as long as they’re not messed up gameplay-wise, or as uninteresting as this game was.

2 out of 5