PS3 Fanboy

According to British Gaming, the upcoming Blu-ray release of Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty has been canned in the UK, making the 3 hour Ratchet episode a download-exclusive game, just like in the US. That means fans in the UK will have to make the 2+GB download to play the game. It's currently available for £9.99 on the PS Store.

This cancellation doesn't affect other European territories, however. The Blu-ray version of Quest for Booty will head to other countries, unscathed.

See also: Review: Quest for Booty

[Thanks, Dougall J.!]

We have to applaud the fine folks at Insomniac for trying something new on the PSN. Somehow, they've managed to bring out a brand new Ratchet game, just one year after the release of the first PS3 incarnation, Tools of Destruction. Quest for Booty is a direct continuation of the previous game, but can be played without any experience with the franchise at all. The developers have promised 3-4 hours of gameplay, at a budget price of $15. However, is Quest for Booty worth your hard earned cash? Depends on how much you like the Ratchet franchise.

Although it may have a budget price, the presentation easily matches any full-priced console game. The visuals of Quest for Booty are actually superior to the ones found in last year's game. The water, for example, looks far more captivating in this installment. The lighting seems to be enhanced, and the lush color palette found for most of the game really looks quite stunning in HD. The voice actors all make their return, and Ratchet and friends are animated just as sharply as they always have been.

So, what happens after you beat the 3-4 hours of adventuring to be found in the upcoming Quest for Booty? Well, you'll get a tease for yet another Ratchet & Clank adventure in Fall 2009! The series looks to be turning into an annual affair -- but will it be yet another small taste of R&C, or will it be a full-length feature, a la Tools of Destruction?

Stay tuned for our full review of Quest for Booty next week.

[Via Joystiq]

The upcoming PSN-exclusive follow-up to the successful Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will be available for the masses soon: August 21st, to be exact. Many have been wondering how large the download would be, considering Tools of Destruction took advantage of the incredible space offered by Blu-ray. Those interested in downloading the upcoming game should know that Quest for Booty clocks in at slightly over 2GB, or 2.3GB to be precise.

While that's a large download, that's only slightly larger than most episodes of Qore and a few demos. Hopefully, it'll take longer to play the game (about 3-4 hours) than it does to download it.

Many European gamers have been frustrated by the inexplicable delays of games in Europe. Yes, there are localization issues, but when a title like echochrome, which features very little text, releases weeks after its American counterpart, people seemingly have the right to complain.

Grilled at a recent E3 cocktail, SCEE boss David Reeves told Eurogamer that "every relevant title that SCEA announced for America will also be introduced to the PAL territories - most of them day and date." Even newly revealed titles like Ratchet & Clank: The Quest for Booty (pictured, above) will arrive in Europe ... although a Blu-ray version of that game will be available in PAL regions as well.

MotorStorm Pacific Rift, LittleBigPlanet, Siren: Blood Curse, Resistance 2 are all promised to show up on European PS3 systems before the end of March 2009.

One of our sharp-eyed readers spotted an interesting listing on the ESRB website: a listing for Rachet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty, which has been an open secret since we have found previous evidence suggesting its existence. All signs point to it being a PSN download, but it is still unclear whether this will just an add-on for Ratchet & Clank Future or it can be played as a stand-alone game. With this ESRB listing, it shouldn't be long before we hear official word from Insomniac.

[Thanks, Tom G.!]

Months ago, a rumored PSN release list showed a game called Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty. Since then, we haven't heard much about this potential game, but a recently uncovered Spanish logo suggests that this is the real deal. En Busca Del Tesoro also refers to treasure, and may expand upon the fun pirate themes of Tools of Destruction. According to the Spanish release, this PSN downloadable will provide new adventures for our favorite robot-lombax duo.

From the looks of things, this content may be playable without a copy of Ratchet & Clank Future. Now, all we have to do is wait for Insomniac to officially spill the beans. Check out a Spanish-language clip of Ratchet & Clank, after the cut.

[Via NeoGAF]

Despite Ratchet & Clank: Future being one of the very best games currently available on the PS3, it's certainly not without a few quirks. Courtesy of Project Mod Gaming, we're shown a few in particular. Pretty silly video with some decent tunes to back it up.

And before anyone says so, yes, it's been a pretty slow news day.

What? The mainstream media has a glowing review of a PS3 game? Yes, it's true. Insomniac's Ratchet & Clank Future is garnering the attention of many traditionally non-gaming news sources, such as the prestigious NY Times. Once again, the illustrious Pixar comparison is made for Ratchet's latest outing -- the game is visually compared to the likes of pre-rendered Hollywood blockbusters, like Monsters Inc. and Toy Story.

This is important for Sony. The New York Times notes that this can be exactly what Sony needs to convince consumers about the true power of the PS3. "Ratchet, however, will surely become a showcase game for Sony because, given current technology, it seems unlikely that any game for either the 360 or the Wii will be able to match Ratchet's overall visual quality." Such praise from a mainstream news source will go a long way to alleviate Sony's ailing public image.

"The biggest problem with Ratchet is that at times it is so lushly compelling that you find yourself just staring at the screen, as if it were a movie, rather than actually playing the game. And that, of course, is not a bad problem at all."

[Thanks, Will!]

Did you catch today's Penny Arcade strip? Well, hope you did -- it's a fun one, just for Ratchet & Clank fans. Check it out.

Of course, as is usual for the Penny Arcade duo, they have a blog entry detailing their experiences with the game. "The new Ratchet & Clank is a marvel, further proof that Insomniac is the surest thing that platform has going for it. You'll travel to lush, hitch-free worlds where the brutal load times found in other Playstation titles are nowhere to be found. It's something everyone with the system will be playing, and it's executed at a level that should generate jealousy in the non-owner."

We'd have to agree. Check out PS3 Fanboy's review of the game next Tuesday (right before it "officially" ships to stores!).

Ratchet & Clank Future (available in retail stores soon) is the first retail PS3 game to support rumble out of the box. The game includes firmware update 1.94 on the disc and will allow players with DualShock 3 controllers to experience the incredible innovation of rumble.

The firmware is, as of writing, not yet available for download. DualShock 3 controllers will be available in Japan in November and in America next year.

[Via Joystiq]

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction has finally gone gold. For those that are unfamiliar with the industry lingo, that means the game is done and is being manufactured for the masses to enjoy.

But, hidden in the good news comes the bad -- Tools of Destruction is getting a delay. Yes, a tiny one, but a delay nonetheless. You can now expect the game a week later: October 30th. The demo will arrive "by October 11th," although the demo was originally planned for a October 4th release. The demo will be based on the E3 demo, the one which features Metropolis.

Stay tuned to PS3 Fanboy as we have tons of Ratchet swag to give away.

Ryan, ahem, Schneider, just got back to us, adding a few new details to our previous interview with him. Firstly, it appears that the Japanese Ratchet model (the one with the big bushy eyebrows) will not be included in the US version of the game. What will make the cut, strangely, is the Japanese language track, allowing you to have all sorts of kawaii adventures with Ratchet and his robot pal.

If you missed it, read the complete interview here.

The search for the Lombax Secret, and Ratchet's past, is certainly driving a much stronger story in this iteration. What sparked the change for a more story-oriented game this time around?
I would say the quality of writing has been outstanding. TJ Fixman is our writer. He's a guy with his own agent, and he has movies optioned. We just have a terrific writer. It's not so much that we were taking a different tact to the story compared to the past. But the topic is more epic in general. We're exploring Ratchet's roots. Why is he the last of his kind? What is the Lombax Secret? Who are the Zoni and why is Clank the only one to see them? What kind of dynamic tension does that create? Will Ratchet trust his buddy Clank, or will he think he's got a bolt loose in his head, and he's gone haywire? These are the elements that make a good story. We've turned the lens inward. If you look at the past Ratchet games, it was about Ratchet against an enemy. Now, he's on a quest to discover something about himself. I think that alone makes the story more epic and more mysterious.

Is the writer new to the franchise?
Yes, this is TJ's first Ratchet game. TJ and Brian Hastings make for a great team. Bryan's our chief creative officer, and TJ's one of the funnier people I know. We love butt jokes -- and what's cool to us is that it does appeal to eight year olds and adults. The animators did a great job too. For example, in one scene Quark gives Ratchet and Clank a clue. It's the pirate guys and he says "check out this pirate design. It's perfect for parties and late night misadventures." Then, he leans into the screen and winks. It's not written into the script but it makes it come to life and makes it that much funnier.

Stop by a EB Games or Gamespot lately? You can pick up a Blu-ray demo of the upcoming PS3 platformer, Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction. A must-watch for the inquisitive, thanks to the commentary. Sure, it isn't the best quality, thanks to its "hey, I'm a dude capturing video off a screen" feel, but for many -- it's the best you can do. Hopefully, it won't be too long before you're able to download this to your hard drive and give it a whirl.

[Thanks, Justin!]