Ratchet teams up with 3 others in this co-op outing…
Ratchet and Clank games have always been a solo experience when it came to the main game, which is why it was quite a surprise to see All 4 One which has 4 player co-op in which you play as either of the two main characters, Qwark who is now President and Dr Nefarious who has to work with the 3 after his own plan goes wrong and the 4 are kidnapped and forced to get along to stop a common enemy.
The game can be played solo and as a result, you get an AI companion who helps you with battles and buttons, but it’s a better experience with humans. Each character handles more or less the same and you get your typical melee moves and weapons to use against the enemies along the way, you can even overload enemies by all shooting a solo enemy at the same time. Upgrades come and go, but it’s never very even and you get handed loads at the end of the rather short 7-8 hour campaign.
As it would stand, All 4 One would be a brilliant game…but there are dozens of bugs that I came across, which made it all the worse. Basics like cheap deaths raise their ugly head too, which is bad news for a platformer, I just didn’t understand why using an elevator would make a few of us die when there was no damage done. You also lasso over gaps with characters, but it sometimes doesn’t work and you’ll fall all the way to your impending doom.
The levels themselves are nice and varied, having that classic Ratchet and Clank feel to it…it’s just a shame that the game itself doesn’t hold up as well as it should have, it’s not a terrible game…it just misses out on its potential. I do like the co-op/competitive side of the game for high scores, somewhat like in Zelda: Four Swords, but like I said the game does have a number of glitches that ruin what should have been a really enjoyable game.
One problem is that you can choose to leave the lobby open and then if someone joins the game, then it’ll stop till the player is actually in the match, which slows down the experience for those who just want to get on with it. Of course, there isn’t much replay value besides hunting down the trophies, if you are inclined to do so.
In terms of visuals, All 4 One is a mixed bag. It keeps the style and art direction intact, but textures look average close-up and it can be difficult to see what’s going on with all the mayhem happening on screen. Voice-acting is a treat though and there are some great moments of dialogue between the unlikely team.
The Verdict
Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One isn’t anywhere near as good as past titles in the series, which is a shame since the idea is good…it’s just executed poorly and it badly needs a patch to fix some of the bugs that plagues the experience.
