PAX Prime 2011 Hands-On: Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One - Preview

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Ratchet and Clank has a stout following, particularly as a stalwart platforming game in an industry that has - by and large - gotten away from many anthropomorphic platforming icons. Gone from prominence are Spyro, Jak, Crash, and even Sonic has been disappointing fans for years. Ratchet, on the other hand (and despite technically being an alien creature called a Lombax), has remained strong, bringing consistent platforming quality to the PlayStation brand over and over again.

Now Ratchet, Clank, and their friends are going full-force co-op. Up to four players can join the fun at once as Ratchet, Clank, Captain Qwark, and Doctor Nefarious. On the show floor of PAX Prime 2011, they had brightly colored (orange, green, cyan and purple!) PS3 controllers set up for lively rounds of four player action. All characters play identically and use many of the classic Ratchet skills and weapons developed over the course of the franchise's history as well as a bevy of new weapons promised.

For anyone who's played a Ratchet and Clank game, you'll be familiar with the mix of combat, platforming, grind rails, and assorted other challenges given in those game. They're all present here. One big challenge they had to address was platforming with multiple people. As any LittleBigPlanet player can attest, this oftentimes makes platforming challenges even tougher. All 4 One has solved this with the use of a tether. If at any point you fall behind or are falling to your doom, pressing the triangle button will instantly connect a tether to the nearest player and pull you along to catch up. This means you can have your best jumper guide the group through a treacherous platforming section.

All 4 One also introduces some great platforming that requires teamwork. One we ran into was a section on a flying shuttle. In order to steer and avoid danger, we had to shift our weight, which meant agreeing on left or right as well as communicating for good timing. Suddenly four strangers were working together to lead our quartet of heroes through a section of the game. That's not to say there isn't a competitive nature to the game, however. As you go through each section of the game, you're all collecting bolts. At the end of the sections, awards are given out based on bolt collection, plus the more bolts you get, the more upgrades you can purchase.

I spoke with a developer about some specific questions. When playing single player, Clank accompanies you as a computer-controlled partner, though he said the game is still being balanced, so how and if the game will scale up to four players is still undetermined. You will be able to play up to four players at once in any combination of online and offline, so two of your friends can join you on the couch and you can still go online to find  your fourth. Sadly, the brightly colored PS3 controllers will not be available.

Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One is coming exclusively to the PlayStation 3 this October.

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