170°

How An Insomniac Games Failure Created Today's Ratchet & Clank

Ted Price: "It [Ratchet & Clank] started out as as a game about a girl with a stick running around this Mayan-influenced environment and was probably going to be rated M [mature] if it had ever been released," said Price, laughing. "Not because of the girl but because it was a fairly dark game."

-Alpha5175d ago (Edited 5175d ago )

"When we showed it to Sony, who was our publisher, they said 'look, we'll support you with this, if you wanna release it, it's cool, but we don't think it's gonna do well in the market.'" said Price. "And that was a real wakeup call for me and I had to admit that we needed to kill this one and start over."

Love how Sony is always supportive. Jaffe himself said that Sony really offers you creative freedom unlike no other: I cannot help but think that Activision, for example, played a large hand in dumbing down IW's Modern Warfare.

I would like to see this "girl with a stick" game though lol.

That was a real nice read.

I think Resistance strayed far away from Insomniac though. Resistance is dark, and quite frankly it's not Insomniac's style IMO. I cannot deny that these guys deliver THE most constant stream of AA-AAA titles for the PS3, but I did not like Resistance coming from Insomniac. I always loved Insomniac for their spunky attitude, humor, and platforming fun with their franchises. Resistance had no character, Nathan Hale was so generic, the story tried to be really serious, and it was just another FPS. Granted that they pioneered the huge MP games for the PS3, but Insomniac is way better than Resistance IMO. I am surprised to hear that they OK'd Resistance but not this "girl with a stick" game that clearly sounds much more original.

I know they are working on new IPs and I'd love for them to return to their platforming greatness. Spyro, Ratchet, I want the next evolution of their mascot. Jak and Daxter, R&C, Sly Cooper, Spyro, Crash-- these are some of Sony's best platforming legacies and I simply want another one of these light-hearted platforming games. R&C has run its course (disappointed they didn't include MP this gen-- they had "platform Multiplayer" even before UC2) and I am hoping for a new game in spiritual success to R&C and Spyro.

@Action

I definitely applaud Insomniac for that, but I'd rather have seen "girl on a stick" over "alternate WWII FPS" I know Resistance has its fans, and I understand why, but I could never get into the series.

ActionBastard5175d ago (Edited 5175d ago )

I'm one of those guys that falls into the "I really like Resistance and R2". Not only enjoying the lore of the alternate WWII, I like seeing the versatility Insomniac flexes. Sure things in both games' execution could be better, but no game is perfect. I'm very curious what R3 will unleash as PS3 games seem (at least to me) to be competing with each other in terms of gameplay/graphics.

EDIT: @ Alpha
I'd like to see "girl with a stick", but at the expense of Resistance. Bygones :)

alphakennybody5175d ago (Edited 5175d ago )

I thought resistance was great, if they can blend R1's darker atmosphere + campaign co-op and R2 great multiplayer R3 would be perfect. As much as I enjoyed the weapon wheel in R1 I prefered the 2 weapons slot in R2, it helps you experiment every weapons pros and con just like in K2 which I loved.

Canucks235175d ago

I remember the Resistance 2 private beta was called "Girl With a Stick" cool backstory.

AntoineDcoolette5175d ago

"I know they are working on new IPs and I'd love for them to return to their platforming greatness. Spyro, Ratchet, I want the next evolution of their mascot. Jak and Daxter, R&C, Sly Cooper, Spyro, Crash-- these are some of Sony's best platforming legacies and I simply want another one of these light-hearted platforming games."

Their mascot? Whose mascot? Insomniac did Spyro. Naughty Dog did Jak & Daxter & Crash. Sucker Punch did Sly Cooper... and from what I understand ND sold the rights to Crash to another studio and Insomniac sold the rights to Spyro to another studio... just not sure what you're saying here.

Bathyj5175d ago

Couldnt disagree with you more about Resistance. I think its one of the best launch titles of all time, up there with Mario64 and Halo.

Its frame rate is like butter, probably one of the best of console to this day. The alternate history is a great shot in the arm to the stagnate WWII genre and the weapons were inspired. One of my favourite shooters. And part 2 just turned everything up to 11. Great sequel, marred only by a few graphical hiccups, but forgivable given the scale of the action.

I do agree Hale could have had a bit more personality though, but its a small gripe when everything else is getting nailed. It never hurt Gordon Freeman none, he has no personality.

ReservoirDog3165175d ago (Edited 5175d ago )

I actually liked Resistance 1. R2 had its problems but it was still pretty good on all fronts, especially the co op.

But R&C, that's a whole different story. R&C is easily one of my favorite franchises in all video games. I just finished ACiT the other day and it was great. Arguably the best in the series. Whether they'll continue making R&C remains to be seen but I'll always buy Insomniac's games day 1.

edit: Also, I really liked that Insomniac admitted that R2 wasn't too great. Hopefully that means they'll bring back the weapons wheel from R1 (or more specifically, R&C). That was really the biggest negative in R2.

http://www.destructoid.com/...

edit edit: Is there anyone else that's kinda hesitant to read comments since the whole Heavy Rain spoilers thing?

-Alpha5175d ago

I meant that all those games were all similar in that they were made by the Holy Trinity of Sony Platforming: Naughty Dog The Father, Insomniac the Spirit, and Sucker Punch the Holy Spirit.

They all evolved this gen with new IPs with...*gasp* Humans! But I miss the old days of spunky creative characters. A thief raccoon? A Lombax Alien? An Elf looking Punk? A cute little dragon? Those were some of the best.

N4BmpS5175d ago (Edited 5175d ago )

Oh memories with Insomniac, their cool developers. Hopefully those rumors of Ratchet & Clank: A Crack in Time being the final one weren't true, obviously the series has a lot of life left. Oh I also want Resistance 3 please.

@ AM yeah they are the top dogs(no pun intended for ND) for Sony, in away they promote each other.

JustTheFactsMr5175d ago

It took a few levels to get going but once you hit Manchester level wow what a great ride. There were enough great levels that you could play with different approaches and you had to work for each approach.

R2 not so much. Even the bigger more "open" levels were very linear in comparison.

And dropping the weapon wheel in R2 was just stupid as it seriously cut down on the replay value and was one of the key signature features of RFOM that set it apart from generic shooters.

The fact is Insomniac spent too much time listening to the focus groups on R2 rather than following their original vision of Resistance. Hopefully they will return to it in R3.

Nineball21125175d ago

@ Canucks23 - "I remember the Resistance 2 private beta was called "Girl With a Stick" cool backstory."

Dude! That's right! I had forgot about that and until now, didn't understand what the significance was... great catch! Bubbles...

@ Bathyj - I couldn't agree with you more. Resistance 1 & 2 have been some of my better gaming experiences so far this gen. I loved both games, although I think I actually prefered the first one.

Insomniac are just great game developers all the way around, imo.

+ Show (7) more repliesLast reply 5175d ago
alphakennybody5175d ago

hehe a girl with a stick,I heard about it years ago and still sounds erotic to this day. I wonder if they ever released some artworks I'd like to see it...speaking of sticks teehee

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

BrokenAnarchy5175d ago

They actually named the Resistance 2 private beta "Girl with a Stick" =P I still have it on my HDD.

unrealgamer585175d ago

resistance 3 better have resistance 1 gameplay.

im mother f@cking serious insomniac

tiamat55175d ago

For real. I want my tank, jeep and mech back. Also a narrated story and all my weapons in my hand. Screw Halo and Gears with their 2-4 weapons at a time. ALL MY WEAPONS. I don't care how unrealistic it is.

Bathyj5175d ago

Yeah, I really hate the whole, "lets carry two guns, cos Halo did" thing.

I like to experiment and use different weapons at different times. How many times have you thought, man I wish I had that gun here, but I had to drop it to get the shotty.

The weapon wheel has to come back.

tiamat55175d ago

First Kratos was an elf and now Ratchet was a girl with a stick. What next? Was Jak a blue horse on roller skates?

Bathyj5175d ago

Hes not blue now, but he gets upset when he watches The Godfather.

http://skateluv.com/wp-cont...

prodg525175d ago

will be there first IP for motion controls!

Show all comments (24)
60°

8 Years Later, It's About Time Sony Revives The Rest Of Ratchet And Clank

Hanzala from eXputer: "On this joyous 8th anniversary of the Ratchet and Clank reboot, it's about time Sony considers reviving the originals to complete the saga."

shinoff21835d ago (Edited 5d ago )

It's not the ideal situation but Sony does offer them on ps plus. I to would just like a big ass compilation on doscto though

purple1015d ago

Insomniac roadmap leaked a while ago and they are making another, they’re doing the best they can and these games, especially the last two, are master pieces

320°

AMD users left in the dirt with "ludicrous" Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart hardware issues

Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart hardware issues are a huge problem for AMD users

Read Full Story >>
videogamer.com
ocelot07272d ago

Strange with the ps5 being amd based it would of been more optimized for amd gpu's.

mkis007272d ago (Edited 272d ago )

Lets see just how widespread these issues are... doesnt make a bit of sense because the game was made for amd hardware.

: oh its just complaining over amd's poor implementation of things on the pc side.

PunksOnN4G272d ago

Why would it be its obvi on AMD drivers

mkis007272d ago (Edited 272d ago )

Maybe you are not up to date on the current state of AMD's Raytracing support and FSR.

Please tell me were you got never sony from in my comment?

ModsDoBetter272d ago

"Please tell me were you got never sony from in my comment?"

This is a first party title.
Released and poorly optimised. You jump straight to AMD being completely at fault as if TLoU PC port didn't happen.

Christopher271d ago (Edited 271d ago )

AMD themself said it was a driver issue.

generic-user-name271d ago

You should probably make sure it is Sony before trying to fling mud.

ModsDoBetter271d ago

@Generic with the cope:

From DigitalFoundry,

"The comparison, which was shared by Digital Foundry, was accompanied by a written analysis that goes over some of the port's best features, such as good scalability, which allows players with the proper hardware to enjoy much better visuals than on PlayStation 5 and those with underpowered machines to have still a decent experience barring some stuttering, and issues, such as missing transparency effects at max settings, texture loading issues, shadows issues with ray tracing enabled, stability issues and more. With the additional disabling of ray tracing on AMD GPUs due to stability issues, it feels like this is yet another port that was launched in an unpolished state and that will require multiple patches to be in a truly acceptable one."

"it feels like this is yet another port that was launched in an unpolished state and that will require multiple patches to be in a truly acceptable one."

This is not solely an issue with AMD, the port is "yet another" with missing features.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 271d ago
Jin_Sakai272d ago (Edited 272d ago )

AMD has always been crap compared to Nvidia. The only advantage they have is price.

DarXyde271d ago

And power efficiency. And arguably better performance on 1080p/1440p cards. And availability.

Nvidia cards really aren't worth hunting high and low for when there are very comparable AMD cards that are cheaper. I really have to give credit to AMD for their very frequent and consistent grind with RDNA. This issue I reckon is a developer level problem.

Can't really miss with either, but considering Jensen and Lisa are relatives, they probably laugh about these debates over a very expensive holiday dinner.

iAmyRose271d ago

Naw AMD have had instances of being good, Nvidia do have better features, raytracing and AI performance if you play with software that uses it though.

KeeseToast271d ago

@DarXyde
Power efficiency is not true at all this gpu generation. Nvidia‘s 4000 series is more power efficient that AMD 7000

DivineHand125271d ago

I believe AMD offers higher vram at lower price points compared to NVidia. We have found out that this generation needs at least 8GB to load the highest detail textures at 1080p.

This issue with the drivers will eventually be fixed for Ratchet and Clank, however, the vram issue NVidia has on their midrange and entry level cards can only be fixed by spending more money on a higher end card.

+ Show (1) more replyLast reply 271d ago
CantThinkOfAUsername272d ago

AMD has already confirmed it's a driver-related issue on their cards. Besides, AMD 'users' can't stop telling us how not important Ray Tracing is, how they always play with it off, and how it's an 'Nvidia gimmick.' This shouldn't be a problem for them I believe.

On a side note, kudos to Nixxes and Sony for releasing one of the best PC ports in 2023. Amazing graphics with Ray Tracing, great performance, detailed system requirements, plenty of graphics options, all upscaling technologies (DLSS, FSR, and XeSS), DirectStorage 1.2, and native Mouse and Keyboard support.

INMATEofARKHAM271d ago

Not surprised by an AMD driver issue... I love they are in the market and help keep Intel honest but I've had some whacked driver issues with then so I always just go with Intel anymore.

I'm sure they'll have it fixed in the coming days, if it even takes that long, just one of the joys of PC gaming.

ChasterMies271d ago

Imma just sayin’, this is why I play on consoles.

Good-Smurf271d ago

No issues at all on PS5 and some already called me being trolling yesterday.
No telling how well it will run on my PC because there's too things that can go wrong there being High End Nvidia stuff and everything.

MadLad271d ago

Consoles are highly limiting; and when devs screw up optimizing their games on console, you're screwed. You don't have the option of powering through it.

Binarycode271d ago

That's why always wait and see what the game plays like on any device before you buy.

I think they've done a good job porting it to pc, but it needs to be able to run on lower end cards and should have a ram indicator to show how much video ram is being used.

ChasterMies271d ago

That’s why I play on PS5. The user base is so big, devs can’t afford to screw up optimizing their games for it.

MrVux000271d ago

Looking at the overall state of PC gaming and its ports of AAA games for the past 3-4 years vs consoles ports.

Not really helping your case.

1nsomniac271d ago

People never listened when I said that this game doesn’t use “real” ray tracing on PS5. I believe it uses a very clever advanced/modified screen space reflection system. Which is why the real ray tracing doesn’t work on pc.

Outside_ofthe_Box271d ago

Does it matter? I thought we were past this "real" nonsense. The end results matter more. If you can't distinguish, who cares. If it allows for better/more stable frame rate who cares. MS f'd everything when they started using terms like "true" and "real" in their marketing when they launched the One X last gen. People are finally starting to realize that "True 4K" doesn't matter if you have to sacrifice framerate to achieve it. In the end something always has to give if you are truly pushing the hardware.

Binarycode271d ago

Raytracing reflections are used on PS5 as they are in Spiderman, Same engine. tested by professionals with first hand knowledge.

PC Ray-tracings problems are bugs and on AMD side a driver issue.

Lastly if AMD want to compete in the RT space, they need to come up with a solution. As in a unique chip to do it, not just make the gpu with some driver things help it. It's miles behind Nvidia.

Show all comments (40)
100°

Why Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal Is the Best Game in the Series

With Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart available on PS Plus, here is another great option for anyone interested in the series' former titles.

badz149337d ago

agreed. for somebody who have played them all, I think a crack in time is still the best in the series

Levii_92337d ago

This is one of my favourite games of all time from one of my favourite video game franchises. Every R&C after UYA is decent to good but a big step down in comparison to the first three games, especially this one.

GhostScholar337d ago

I think the reboot on ps4 is the best in the series. I’m not a r&c super fan so maybe it’s just me, but I definitely think the last two games are the best.

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