The identity of that mysterious teaser image we reported on the other day has been made official. As suspected, it’s a new entry in Sony’s highly successful and beloved Ratchet & Clank series; Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus! The game is headed exclusively to PlayStation 3 apparently. Yes, PlayStation 3. Not PlayStation 4.
The reason for the game being released on current-gen hardware is likely that Into the Nexus is a continuation of the story arc begun in Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty and Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time. It seems developer, Insomniac Games has dropped the ‘Future‘ part of the title for Into the Nexus however, despite its visuals, technical elements and gameplay carrying on from its PlayStation 3 predecessors.
This is something that Sony has saw fit to extensively advertise with the announcement of Into the Nexus; It’s bringing back traditional Ratchet & Clank gameplay. Yes, predictably, not every fan of the series was enthusiastic about the drastic gameplay alterations of Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One and Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, the latter of which turned out especially poorly on PlayStation Vita, even after a long delay of that version. Thankfully, Into the Nexus is going back to basics. It’s all about spacefaring platformer elements, outrageous humour, and wholly excessive firepower!
The premise of the game involves the two protagonists finally completing a tenuous manhunt for villain, Vendra Prog. Volunteering to take the felon to the dangerous Vartax Detention Center, which happens to be in one of the most dangerous parts of the galaxy, Ratchet & Clank soon find themselves on the receiving end of a daring orbital breakout. The result sees Prog escaping their clutches, and both heroes stranded in the most violent and dangerous part of the universe, with only their wits to guide them.
If you’re bummed about Into the Nexus not being a PlayStation 4 entry in the series (though the series eventually coming to PlayStation 4 is pretty well inevitable), perhaps the decreased price point will buck you up. Sony is selling Into the Nexus for just $29.99, perhaps in response to its more high-profile PlayStation 4 launch titles, Knack, DriveClub and Killzone: Shadow Fall, releasing around the same time for a full $59.99. This halved price point means that Ratchet & Clank fans have no excuse to pass this game up, especially since the game seems to have been made especially for them anyway.
Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus is coming to PlayStation 3 before the end of this year. We’ll be continuing to keep our news blasters on the franchise, so keep your browsing starships on Eggplante for all of your Ratchet & Clank news, as we can fire it to you!