| Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Developer(s) | Insomniac Games |
| Publisher(s) | Sony Computer Entertainment |
| Composer(s) | Michael Bross |
| Series | Ratchet & Clank |
| Engine | Insomniac Engine v.4.0 |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita |
| Release date(s) | PlayStation 3
January 2013 |
| Genre(s) | Platform Third-person shooter Tower defense |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, Cooperative multiplayer |
| Media/distribution | Blu-ray Disc, download |
Overview
Full Frontal Assault involves an intergalactic conflict, and revolves around the co-op and competitive mechanics of dropping into the battlefield, choosing your weapons and experiencing it with friends.
Ratchet & Clank 10th Anniversary
- "We wanted to make our own game for this tenth anniversary."
- ―John Fiorito
Plot
- "And the galaxy, well the galaxy has never been so... Boring!"
- —Qwark[src]
The QForce then went to the Hidden City of Balkai and after activating the West and East Key Node, they retook the Planetary Defense Center and then rebooted the system. They repeated this feat at the GrummelNet Plasma Harvester before a distress call from the Plumber was received. They traveled to the Korgon Refinery and helped fix his ship - at this point they realized that the Plumber could have not have been on the Starship Phoenix II so they headed back to the ship and found it had been hacked. Zurgo revealed that he had been using a hologuise to disguise himself as the Plumber and had taken control of the ship. He also told them that he had taken over the Weather grid and had turned the Hidden City of Balkai to become covered in snow. After destroying the weather beacons and ending a snow twister, the QForce activated and protected a reformatting device, escorting it to the Planetary Defense Center where it restored the planet's weather.
After pinpointing Zurgo's location to Ebaro, the QForce then set out to Zurgo's Lair of Doom. After disabling an explosive they encountered Zurgo and defeated him. When leaving the Lair of Doom with a subdued Zurgo Qwark accidentally threw him off a bridge
Gameplay
Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault heads back to the
classic camera, weapons and third-person Ratchet gameplay that the
series is known for, while adding a new tower defense element that will
have the player building and defending a base against invasions using
the ultimate Ratchet & Clank arsenal. It will feature five levels set on three different planets.
The game will allow players to play as Ratchet, Clank (in either his
Giant Clank or normal forms), or Captain Qwark. This title will also
feature the ability for co-op play, both on and offline.
- "Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault is about exploring the battlefield, making a base and annihilating your enemies."
- ―Shaun McCabe, production director
Gameplay mechanics
- "Players tailor the destruction to suit their tastes."
- ―Ryan Clements, editor at IGN[src]
Levels in Full Frontal Assault are set up in an open fashion. Weapons are dotted around the level and are hidden in pods, with the stronger weapons being harder to find. During the level, the player has to kill enemies while he traverses the level to find weapons. Near the end of the level, the tower-defense aspect is brought in and a "major assault" is unleashed. The player has to set up defenses around the level to defend against the onslaught, and defenses are brought with bolts obtained from killing enemies before the major assault.
Each level is split into several stages. It begins with a Recon phase which is set aside for exploring the battlefield, obtaining weapons from QForce weapon pods and capturing nodes. The nodes produce a bolts-per-second income vital to later stages. This is followed by a Squad phase which is used to prepare for attacking and defending options such as purchasing defense barriers, turrets and weapon upgrades. Finally the Assault phase is the result of the ongoing preparations where bases are attacked and the player must defend their base.
Heads-up display
Various parts of the heads-up display can help the player such as the invasion detector. When the player's health is low the character glows red until health is restored.Multiplayer
The competitive multiplayer mode revolves around each player protecting their base and attacking the enemy base. The recon stage is used to compete against the opponent in a race to secure bolt-funding nodes and equipment. The squad phase then allows the player to chose what strategy to adopt - the balance between using resources to defend or attack. Finally the assault phase simultaneously begins the attacks forcing the player to stick with their strategy and attempt to defend their base while dealing as much damage to the enemy as possible. The competitive mode can be played with two players competing against each other or with two teams of two players against each other.
Video
Rating-6.5
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