Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (known as Ratchet & Clank 3 in Europe and Africa and Ratchet & Clank 3: Up Your Arsenal in Australia) is a 2004 third-person shooter platform video game developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. It is the third installment in the Ratchet & Clank series.
The gameplay is similar to previous games in the series and introduce features such as a new control system and more levels in the upgrade system for weapons. It follows Ratchet and Clank's adventure through a fictional universe to defeat a robotic villain, Doctor Nefarious, who intends to destroy all organic life. Characters such as Doctor Nefarious and Sasha Phyronix, a Cazar starship captain who helps Ratchet throughout the game, are introduced, and a number of characters return from the original Ratchet & Clank (2002).
Up Your Arsenal is the first in the series to offer online multiplayer as well as single-player. The service was terminated for the PlayStation 2 in June 2012 and for the PlayStation 3 in February 2018. Multiplayer features three different modes of play available on all of the maps and has a selection of the weapons from the single-player game. As well as the multiplayer mode, it has many other differences compared to its predecessors such as higher quality graphics, larger worlds, and drivable vehicles. The voice cast from the previous game return as their respective characters, and new actors were hired to voice the new characters.
The game was met with critical acclaim upon release, earning an average review score of 91% at Metacritic. It was followed by a stand-alone sequel, Ratchet: Deadlocked (2005).
A high-definition remaster developed by Idol Minds for the PlayStation 3 was included as part of the Ratchet & Clank Collection in 2012, which consists of remasters of the first three games of the series originally developed for the PlayStation 2. A port of the remaster developed by Mass Media for the PlayStation Vita was released in 2014.
Gameplay
Despite straying further from a classic platform game, Up Your Arsenal still offers some of the basic features of a platform game but with a strong mix of action and shooting; PGNx Media has dubbed it a "combat-platformer". As in previous games of the series, it offers melee and long range combat, and boasts a large, varied arsenal as one of its primary features.
As the player progresses through the game, new weapons and upgrades can be obtained. As well as the 20 weapons available to the player, each weapon (apart from the RY3NO) has 8 levels of strength, which differs from the previous game's 4 levels of strength. 5 upgrades are available after a weapon's purchase, and then 3 after that once the game has been completed, the player starts "Challenge Mode", and purchases the weapon's upgrade. Alongside the weapons, which are primarily used in combat, there are 10 gadgets that can be collected for use in other situations.
For most of the game the player will be in control of Ratchet, but in some areas the player takes control of Clank, Ratchet's ally. Clank can give commands to smaller robots called Gadgebots to perform tasks with the use of a command menu to solve puzzles and attack enemies. Clank also features in "Giant Clank" scenarios where Clank transforms into a larger and more advanced form and can battle similar size enemies; in this form he gains increased firepower with rockets and bombs and a large amount of health. During the single-player game, the player can also play as Captain Qwark in 2D side-scrolling levels (called "Vid Comics"), which builds upon the history of Captain Qwark and his previous conflicts with Dr. Nefarious.
The game offers a large range of enemies and different stages. It also features online multiplayer modes, such as Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Siege (in which the player storms the opponent's base and tries to destroy the power core inside). It supports up to eight players at a time and supports voice chat through a PlayStation 2-compatible headset. Internet connection is needed if playing online against other players.
Plot Characters
The player character and main protagonist is Ratchet, a Lombax from the planet Veldin (voiced by James Arnold Taylor). He wields a wrench as a melee weapon and can use a large arsenal of weapons. Clank, Ratchet's robotic sidekick and co-protagonist (voiced by David Kaye), is usually attached to Ratchet's back and uses special attachments to help Ratchet's movement on ground and air. Doctor Nefarious, the main antagonist of the game (voiced by Armin Shimerman), is a robotic tyrant with the intent of exterminating all organic life.Nefarious: Greetings, robots. Too long have we suffered under the squishiness and foul stench of organic life forms. Soon, you will have the pleasure of my benevolent, iron-fisted rule. And as for you filthy organic life forms, you can look forward to being ANNIHILATED! (Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004 At the end of the game, Nefarious is left stranded on an asteroid, eventually making cameos and reappearances in later titles of the series.
Plot While playing chess in their penthouse in the Bogon Galaxy, Ratchet (James Arnold Taylor) and Clank (David Kaye) receive word that Ratchet's home planet, Veldin, is under attack by an army of Tyhrranoids.Darla Gratch: Just hours ago, [Veldin] was invaded by a race known as the Tyhrranoids. [...] This reporter believes that Veldin will be destroyed in a matter of hours. (Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004 Posing as an officer in the Galactic Rangers, he leads an assault that drives off the invaders, who appear to use very sophisticated weapons and equipment. At a post-victory briefing, the Galactic President informs the duo that a robotic villain known as Doctor Nefarious (Armin Shimerman) is believed to be responsible for organizing the invasion. As very little is known about Nefarious, the President sends the duo to track down the only man to have ever beaten him: Captain Qwark (Jim Ward). Ratchet discovers a feral Qwark living with an indigenous tribe on planet Florana and takes him to the Starship Phoenix, where he meets Ranger Captain Sasha Phyronix (Leslie Carrara-Rudolph).Sasha: This is Captain Sasha of the Starship Phoenix speaking. I see you have located Captain Qwark. [...] Bring him to the Phoenix. (Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004 Upon regaining his sanity after watching his old adventures reenacted via vid-comics, Qwark forms the "Q-Force", an "elite" squad that answers only to him, and orders Ratchet, Clank, and Q-Force operative Skidd McMarx (Neil Flynn) to infiltrate Nefarious' base on planet Aquatos.Qwark: Ladies, gentlemen, oh, and Helga, you have been assembled here because of your skills [...] Each of you has proven worthy to wear the Q! Our first mission will be to infiltrate Nefarious' top secret base on planet Aquatos. Impossible, you say? Perhaps for a lesser strategist. Behold, my brilliant plan! (Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004 Hacking his database, Clank obtains a map of Tyhrranosis, the Tyhrranoid home world.Ratchet: Look, [Nefarious] has the entire Secret Agent Clank holo-vid collection! Clank: That's, disturbing. I have downloaded an encrypted star map. Ratchet: Maybe Al can decode it. Let's go. (Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004 After Ratchet succeeds in killing the Tyhrranoid queen, Doctor Nefarious sends a transmission, mocking the Q-Force; Big Al (Chris Hatfield), the technical expert of the team, traces it to a munitions factory on planet Daxx.Ratchet: Someone just transmitted a message onto the ship. I need you to find out where it came from. Al: Let's see [...] I've found something suspicious. Beaming it over now. (Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004
There, Ratchet and Clank learn that Nefarious has constructed a weapon called the Biobliterator, but they are unable to find any information on it.Ratchet: Biobliterator? I see what you mean. What exactly does it do? Clank: That information has been deleted. (Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004 They also discover a music video produced by pop star Courtney Gears (Melissa Disney) (a robotic parody of Britney Spears), in which she instructs robots to destroy organic lifeforms. Clank sets up a meeting with Gears, but she renders him unconscious and turns him over to Doctor Nefarious. Aware of Clank's fame as the star of "Secret Agent Clank", Nefarious asks him to serve as the face of his plan to wipe out all organic races,Nefarious: Then I will give you a reason. Join me, and together we will rule an army of robots! Or refuse, and follow your beloved squishies into the black hole of oblivion!(Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004 but he refuses. In response, Nefarious creates an evil double named Klunk (also voiced by Kaye) and has him take Clank's place. Unaware of the deception, Ratchet undertakes a mission with Skidd to investigate enemy activity on the Obani Moons. When Ratchet returns to the Phoenix, Gears abducts Skidd and turns him into a robot.Ratchet: What! They turned Skidd into a robot! That's impossible!(Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004 Ratchet confronts and disables her in combat, then gets Skidd to safety. Meanwhile, Sasha locates Nefarious' ship, the Leviathan, at a remote spaceport, and sends him and Qwark to apprehend the doctor.Sasha: We've located the Leviathan. It's refueling at the Zeldrin Starport now. Qwark and the monkey are already there.(Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004 Nefarious reveals that the whole encounter is a trap, and he activates the Leviathan's self-destruct system before escaping.Nefarious: I lured you here so I could witness your demise! Speaker: Auto-Destruct sequence initiated. Bye bye. Nefarious: Lawrence, teleport us out of here. (Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004 Qwark refuses to leave, citing the need to gather intel, and seemingly perishes when the ship explodes.Ratchet: What are you doing? This ship could explode any second! Qwark: I think I've spotted something important. I can't leave without it! I'll meet you back at the shuttle! (Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal) Insomniac Games, 2004