Official Website

Platform: PSP

Genre: Action

Number of Players: 1
 

Being a sidekick just isn’t an easy job. You might provide your hero with some necessary support, but they are usually the ones who get all the glory, they get the girl, and they get the product endorsements. However, these sidekicks occasionally get their moment in the spotlight as well. It’s not always great though, and I seem to remember a certain brother of a plumber who was running around with a vacuum of all things not too long ago. Sony has two pair of heroes in their arsenal that have seen more than their fair share of games. Daxter of Jax and Daxter fame was recently given his own solo adventure, a delight for some though I’ve never been won over by the two. Ratchet and Clank however, that’s a different story, and while they may not be hitting the PlayStation 3 soon, Clank now has chance to shine in the spotlight.

Secret Agent Clank is set after the events seen in Size Matter, but it’s before their latest next generation adventure, Tools of Destruction, so any answers you might have been hoping to gain if you’ve already completed that game are still forthcoming. Clank has become an agent, a secret agent, and he’s on a mission of the utmost importance. He’s witnessed Ratchet of all Lombaxes, his best friend and companion in saving the universe countless times, involved in a jewel heist at the Boltaire Museum. Ratchet is now in prison while the gem, the Eye of Infinity, is missing. Clank’s mission, should he choose to accept it, is to locate the Eye and clear Ratchet’s name, making Clank a sort of licensed troubleshooter. That’s only a portion of the adventure however.

Ratchet has no idea what happened and he definitely doesn’t remember getting thrown into prison, but it’s a grim reality. Clank might be trying to find the clues that will prove he’s innocent, but Ratchet is going to be lucky if he can survive that long. The prison that he’s been incarcerated in just happens to be the home of a number of individuals that he’s put behind bars and they are looking for revenge. Legendary hero, at least in his own mind, Captain Qwark meanwhile is doing everything he can to make sure the story gets told; his story. Qwark is on a mission with a biographer to tell of his heroic deeds, though they might be a little overblown, and as always is proving to be of little assistance.

Secret Agent Clank plays just like the other games in the Ratchet & Clank series more or less, though with a few differences. The combat mechanics are virtually identical, though Clank has never been one to pack a wrench around and instead uses his fists to beat his enemies into submission, but that’s really more of a tactic if things get hectic, and they will. Clank being a part of the Agency needs to rely on stealth when he can and while the game doesn’t try and add in its own twist on Metal Gear Solid or Sly Cooper, Clank does have a rather nice stealth technique. Sneaking up behind an enemy and press square will enter into a quicktime mode where you must mirror the button combination before times runs out. Success will eliminate the enemy, quick and probably painfully, though if you miss a button or two, you at least will get in a few successful hit before entering into a brief skirmish with them. The problem is that often, they will alert others in the area making some rather difficult times for Clank.

Clank will also have access to plenty of weapons and gadgets. The Agency will often drop in a briefcase with a new and essential item for you that will help on your mission, but you will also see phone booths with are disguised Agency Vendors much like you’ve seen in all of the other games. Things still work on the premise of ammunition as well, at least most weapons, and there are Gadgetron Boxes found in stages to gain more ammunition as well as those handy bolts to help with the purchase of new equipment and modifications. Clank will begin the game with a bowtie that can be used as a handy means to cut things or to take down enemies. As you move on, you’ll gain access to the jet boots, the destructive cufflink bombs, a blackout pen that can disarm those annoying laser tripwires, the Holo-Monocle which will provide you with the means to disguise yourself, the blowtorch briefcase, and the list goes on from there. A secret agent though needs every gadget that he can, and Clank has plenty of them. Clank will also gain experience just as Ratchet has in other games.

Clank also has access to the Gadgebots in some missions and they play close to how they have before, though there are a few new skills like getting powered up with electricity to active some areas, spinning wheels like you’d find in a hamster cage to move elevators, and even stacking up on each other to reach higher areas. However, Clank has another new ability at his disposal, and secret agents do need to have all the right moves. Secret Agent Clank brings with it a twist on the rhythm game craze, something that isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, but Clank doesn’t need drums or a guitar, but just his slick and stylish footwork. Just like all rhythm games, the objective is to press the right button when those cross over the phrase meter, but it’s not songs that you’ll be trying to get high scores on. Clank will use his fancy footwork to navigate through lasers and even some smooth moves on the dance floor. Additionally, after each mission if you show that you’re exceptional at the art of stealth, the Agency will award you with additional bolts.

You won’t always have to play as Clank however, and after you complete a stage you can select to play as Ratchet. His missions are quite like the Arena combat that has been present in the other Ratchet & Clank games, though you are extremely limited on what weapons you have. You are in prison after all, but Clank will send you any weapons he thinks that you might be able to use. Qwark meanwhile has his own mission where we get to relive his heroic adventures, at least the way that he remembers them, and they certainly aren’t quite what happened, if they happened at all. Even the Gadgebots have their own infiltration mission and from time to time, you’ll get secret missions that you can participate in. There are also skill points to collect like the other titles in the series, so aside from a few additions to some of the gameplay mechanics, Secret Agent Clank treads on some very familiar territory as it should.

The controls however night be close to what the other games have brought with them, but there are some things that I do definitely miss. The main one is having access to two analog sticks. Getting a bearing on your location isn’t quite as user friendly as in the other titles, but it can still be done, it just takes a bit of time to At least the quick select menu is still present otherwise Secret Agent Clank would be a mission that completely fails.

Obviously the PSP can’t provide the same type of visuals that the PlayStation 3 can, so if you’re among the many who have already played Tools of Destruction, you already know that you won’t be given the same level of visual flair. Secret Agent Clank however is very comparable to the PlayStation 2 entries into the series, and it’s more than just giving you some well designed and memorable levels. The rhythm phases of the game are very entertaining to watch and instead of seeing Clank go through the motions as you engage in button pressing, it’s all done afterwards so you can enjoy it. The game also has cutscenes, voice acting with the usual suspects when it comes to the cast, and of course that sense of humor that is very much a part of the series. Secret Agent Clank however is also poking fun at the secret agent genre itself.

Secret Agent Clank isn’t the best of the Ratchet and Clank series, but it’s a decent game to say the least. High Impact Games has done better on this portable than they did with their previous offering, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters. Clank may not be in line to be the next Bond, but it’s still a mission that you should choose to accept and there’s more than enough here to keep you from thinking that this is just another effort to bring in some cash for the series.
 

-mike-