At first glance, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction isn't a huge departure from the five games that preceded it. Hands-on impressions from this year's E3 were overwhelmingly positive, but many gamers echoed the same sentiments: It's simply a new and solid Ratchet and Clank title from Insomniac Games. Nothing wrong with that, really -- Insomniac has consistently delivered amazing shooter/platformer titles, marked by clever humor, solid production values, and gameplay variety that makes most developers cry themselves to sleep at night.

Insomniac and Sony invited a handful of journalists out to their Burbank, CA studios to get some hands-on time with new levels, new weapons, fresh tacos, and more Red Bull than any human stomach could handle. I wasn't surprised by the quality of the game -- that I expected. I wasn't surprised that I immediately fell in love with the game's visuals and trademark Insomniac variety; I expected that, too.

What I didn't expect was that I'd fall head-over-heels for the series once again, coming home and immediately heading for my nearest retailer to spend all of my lunch money to re-purchase every single game in the series. I've missed Ratchet, I've missed Clank, and it's great to see them back in true form, truly looking better than ever on the PlayStation 3.

Hit the jump for impressions, new gameplay info, new weapon details, and more.

I've been a fan of the series for quite some time, but I have to be honest -- I'm still not sure what a Lombax is, exactly. Yes, I know that Ratchet is a Lombax, which appears to be some furry, wrench-wielding, cat-like creature who has an impressively snarky command of the English language. And for a while, I thought that maybe a Lombax was a dead boss who my friend and I were desperately trying to convince everyone is alive, just so we can have a relaxing weekend on the beach. I soon realized I was simply thinking about Bernie Lomax, a character from the 1989 comedy, Weekend at Bernie's.

What a Lombax is and where they come from is a huge part of the Tools of Destruction narrative, and it's this that drives what Insomniac are calling Ratchet's and Clank's most epic, and emotionally engaging adventure to date.

"We wanted to tell a story that was emotionally more engaging that previous Ratchets," says Chris Nicholls, Animation Director on Tools of Destruction. "We wanted to really push the performance that our characters could in engage in, really expose relationships. Have some detail, have some subtlety in their responses, and hopefully bring the player closer and deeper into the universe than we have ever done before."

Coming off of working on their previous PS3 title, Resistance: Fall of Man, Insomniac were able to spend more time exploring what the hardware could do. With the knowledge gained from this previous project, the team was able to bring to life these classically animated characters like never before.

"One of the things we've done in Ratchet and Clank Future is [we've] really sort of brought the two parts of the experience together," explains Nicholls, "the story, the gameplay -- we never break that wall between the two. Throughout the story, in all of the cut scenes, the assets you see acting are actual game assets."
Using the power of the next-generation hardware has allowed Insomniac to create characters and animations impossible on previous hardware. In the PlayStation 2 Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando, for instance, the character model for our intrepid Lombax adventurer contained 112 bones total. In Tools of Destruction, the PS3 hardware allowed for Insomniac to put 90 bones in Ratchet's face alone. In previous Ratchet games, the simplest characters had two or three individual animations; in Tools of Destruction, simple characters can contain ten times that amount. To put that in perspective: One single level in the original Spyro the Dragon had fewer polygons than some of the characters in Tool of Destruction. 

The end result is nothing short of breathtaking; the attention to detail, and to the quality of the character design is some of the most impressive yet to be seen on the PlayStation 3. The game sports a wide variety of major characters and minor enemies, all of which contain a wide range of details and animations that give the world character and life.

One of the enemies in the game, the Drophyd trooper, is an excellent demonstration of Insomniac's dedication to creativity and their approach to clever animation. A tiny fish encapsulated in a fully equipped combat suit, the Drophyd is fearless when behind this line of defense. When attacked by Ratchet, the fish bowl that held and protected the fish cracks to pieces, spilling water and a now-cowardly flopping fish to the ground. Both the fish and the "headless" combat suit becomes an enemy, each with its own varied and impressive animations.
Variety has always been a huge part of the Ratchet and Clank series, particularly when it comes to its gadgets. Famous for its wildly imaginative and deadly weapon selections in their games, Insomniac was happy to show off a handful of new "tools of destruction" that players will be wielding when the game ships this Fall. With over 23 weapons and combat devices to make things go boom or splat, and nine additional gadgets, it seems like there will be enough to satisfy a wide range of gamers.

"It's a pretty full arsenal," boasts Gameplay Lead, Anthony Yu: "With this many weapons, we feel that hopefully we can specialize some towards more hardcore gamers, and some towards more casual players."

Hardcore or casual, there are plenty of weapons at your disposal. From the Negotiator rocket launcher (which can lock on to multiple targets, or on multiple points on single, larger enemies) to the Death Springs (killer springs inspired by the classic Slinky toy), or the Gelatonium firing Gelanator (which fires a Jell-O like substance that Ratchet can bounce on to land on previously unreachable heights), Insomniac has the arms race covered. A number of the weapons will even take advantage of the SIXAXIS; one weapon allowed me to fire a mini-hurricane that I controlled by simply moving the controller, letting me to pick up and toss enemies, boxes, and anything else that was stupid enough to get in my way.

One particularly vicious combat device shown was the  s**t talking Mr. Zurkon, a robot with a bad attitude who is all about kicking a** and breaking things. When unleashing Mr. Zurkon to fight by your side, be prepared for a fair amount of trash talking, as he'll holler things like "Mr. Zurkon is only to kill!" as he clears a room of robotic pirates. Mr. Zurkon will also have an unlockable replacement -- James the Galactic Defender, modeled after 9-year-old James Westbrook of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition fame.
Weapon upgrades and mods are also being handled a bit differently this time around. For some, the deeper, more complicated weapon upgrading and mod system found in Ratchet: Deadlocked was a bit much. With Tools of Destruction, Insomniac has attempted to find a middle ground. Weapons can be upgraded in one of two ways -- they can advance on their own through use (as with Going Commando), or players can use the more complicated weapons upgrade system. Visualized on a honeycomb-like graph, players work through an upgrade tree, unlocking certain spots to reveal adjacent mods and upgrades. Yu feels this will be a good balance for players of varied experience levels.

"Little kids can play it and not have much trouble," he says of the upgrade systems available, "but sophisticated players can find their way around and enjoy it as well."

Not to be left out, Clank also has his own set of new tools at his disposal. Granted to him by the mysterious creatures called Zoni that only he can see (and yes, Ratchet thinks his little metal buddy is going absolutely bonkers), Clank's abilities complement Ratchet's nicely, opening up a world of gameplay variety and opportunity. The Robo-Wings allow Ratchet and Clank to launch off of pads found throughout the environment, letting the duo take flight, reaching previously unexplored areas. Another tool, the Geo-Laser, allows Clank to sense weak points in geological formations to create new paths. Once located, players can activate the laser, which changes the game's perspective and enters a "connect the dots" like mini-game where players control the laser with the SIXAXIS.
With the new levels shown to us, it appears the more straightforward action that was characteristic of the E3 demo is not the norm, which is a good thing for gamers looking for a bit more. Sargasso, a primitive planet inhabited by the likes of the deadly Grunthor (a Tyrannosaurus Rex-like beast) and other dinosaur creatures is a dynamic and open world, with multiple tasks and paths to reach the same goal. On Sargasso, tools like the Robo-Wings come into play, allowing you to explore the vast planet while flying with pterodactyls. While flying high in the air, landing on the head of a friendly Sargasso herbivore, the Troglasaur, may reveal hidden items or unlock planet-specific skill points.

A second area, ISIS (an icy, snowy planet that serves as the Oracle for the entire galaxy) revealed a number of different gameplay opportunities, including more platformer elements, as well as light stealth mechanics ... that lead to a dancing mini-game. In order to blend in on IRIS, a planet that's been pillaged and inhabitated by nasty space pirates, the ability to turn into a peg-legged version of Clank (complete with hat and eye patch) using a Holo-Pirate device is key. Blending in with the crowd, you can sneak past unsuspecting villains, and even access areas unattainable to the average land-lubber.
Certain areas throughout the game are closed off to those of the non-pirate persuasion. When disguised, specially marked doors can be approached, and a mini-game will be triggered. It appears that looking like a pirate just isn't enough these days -- you have to be able to dance like one, too. Thus begins the "Shake Shake Shake Your Booty" dancing mini-game, where you must mimic the movements of your "fellow pirates." The mini-game is more Simon Says than Space Channel 5, has a band of pirates dancing like the cast of Boogie Nights, and is set to disco music that will stick in your brain for hours.

In addition to the new planets and dancing, Insomniac also showed off the game's between-level space combat shooter they're calling "Space Shooter." These little intermissions (complete with boss fights) seem to be designed to break up the gameplay, and certainly add more variety to the experience. While the levels looked gorgeous (with plenty of attacking space craft, black holes, and other space oddities), the controls were a bit off-putting. While the ship was controlled with the left stick, the reticle was controlled independently with the right stick. The idea was to give the player more control over where they can fire, but I found myself losing my aim while I moved my ship, wishing that the reticle would stay with me a bit more.

The bottom line: The game really isn't a wild departure from what makes the series great. After spending time with the game, I'm more than OK with that. When Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction hits shelves on October 23, I think that homemade Lombax costume I've had tucked away is coming out of the closet.