Best of the Decade - Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Platform: Playstation 3

Release Date: October 27, 2009

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Insomniac Games

Ratchet and Clank clearly borrows from the Nintendo school of sequel design. It has a core foundation that lies largely unchanged while the peripheral elements are shifted around enough from game to game to remain interesting and fresh. 

I have fallen deeply in love with the Ratchet and Clank series since first playing it in 2002. It has risen to become one of my favorite series of all time, right there next to Zelda and Mario. In fact, I have beaten more games in this series than perhaps any other, eight in total. I’ve loved each and every one of them dearly. 

No other series has managed to match Ratchet and Clank’s mix of precise platforming, hectic gunplay with unusual weaponry, occasional puzzles, and consistent humor. It is a blend unlike any other and each new concoction raises the bar and renews my love.

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Best of 2009 - Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

As one year transitions into the next, I find it a healthy and refreshing endeavor to look back upon the past year and reflect upon those experiences which touched me the most; to discover which games stood tall above the rest and, for one reason or another, made a lasting impression.

Over the next few days, I will be sharing my own personal list of the ten best games of 2009, followed by those that didn't quite make the top ten and even a few of my greatest disappointments of the year. These are in no particular order, but they are the games I found most worthy of praise. Reflecting upon them makes one thing clear: it was a great year for gaming.

It’s nice to be reminded in this age of grit, dirt, grime, and seas of brown that colors are occasionally fun as well.

A Crack in Time not only stands proudly by its use of colorful visuals, but it does so in a way that creates what is undoubtedly one of the prettiest games of the year.

Not bad for a game that practically flies in the face of current mainstream artistic preferences. 

Honestly I don’t really know what to say about this series that I haven’t said before except that it’s simply astounding that it’s still this much fun after so many iterations. No one other than Nintendo has managed to produce gameplay formulas that are this consistently entertaining. I’ve played and beaten every game in the series so far, making for eight games total including this one, and I’m still completely in love with it. That’s damn near a better track record than Zelda.

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