When the original Ratchet and Clank was released for the PS2, I simply devoured it. The intense action, the cool gadgets, and fantastic puzzling and platforming elements all meshed together to become one of my favorite titles for the system. It’s hard to believe its already been six years. There have been 5 additions to the series in those six years, and I’m here to review the sixth.

Plot
The galaxy’s most priceless gem, the “Eye of Infinity” has been stolen from a museum. Secret Agent Clank arrives on the scene, only to find that Ratchet is the prime suspect. Ratchet is imprisoned, and it’s up to Secret Agent Clank (you) to solve the mystery of why.

Okay, so it’s not a very compelling storyline. In fact, it’s downright simple. During the game, you play as one of four characters. (I thought it was called Secret Agent Clank!) There’s Clank, the Gadgebots, Ratchet, and even Captain Quark. Que? There’s the first issue: the story’s progression is just strange sometimes. There are parts where there are no transitions between different characters, so there was more than one occasion when I was staring at the screen and saying “Wha-?”

True Story:
Captain Quark said something that led me to believe there was another cutscene coming up. I look at the black screen, waiting for another cinematic, and the next thing I know I’m on a stage with the sentence “Protect Quark’s left butt cheek” in the middle of the screen. (I’m dead serious.)

In other news, the story mode – not counting the extra challenges which are pretty entertaining – will last you approximately 6 hours and 16 minutes (Gotta love in-game timers).

Graphics
A superb looking game, and yet another title that showcases the PSP’s graphical power. The fire of Quark’s laser alone is hypnotic enough to be a music visualization. There are many enemies on screen at once, without any noticeable lag, and I never once thought “Ewww!” during my run-through.

Controls + Advice
The face button controls are just peachy, though I’d recommend you change the analog nub to strafe rather than the directional arrows. The camera, which is controlled using the L and R shoulder buttons, chooses not to rotate at the damnedest times, often leading you to be massacred by enemy fire on one side. Also, there are occasionally sequences of rhythm-button-pressing, for example, Clank would make it through the laser grid unscathed if you press everything on time. Sometimes the buttons don’t respond even though you SWEAR you hit them on time (or maybe it was because i had just played GH3).

Audio
The voice work is spot-on, not to mention hilarious, and the sound effects also impress. The only issue I have here is that sometimes, inexplicably, the sound effects would completely drop out, leaving only the music playing. I don’t know if it was my PSP, or that particular UMD, but I can tell you the experience was less than pleasant.

The (Almost) Verdict
Secret Agent Clank is genuinely fun, though I have trouble deeming it a Ratchet and Clank game in my mind. I mean, there are sections where you have to sneak around stealthily (oh, Secret Agent Clank). Honestly? It doesn’t work too well. By itself, the stealth system is fully serviceable, albeit shallow. But when you put it in a Ratchet and Clank game, all it does is intensify your longing to blow things up. Most of the time, having a full on confrontation is much more satisfying than sneaking around, even though the combat has it’s own issues as well.

First off, the weapons aren’t so amazing. Sure, they’d be fine for any other secret agent, but this is Clank we are talking about here. For pete’s sake, he’s a robot himself! You’d think that they would work that fact into a few weapons, but what you end up is “a flamethrower disguised as a suitcase”, or “a pen that can disable lasers with its ink.” Again, all these fit perfectly into Secret Agent territory, but that leaves me feeling a bit cheated.

Another combat issue is the lock-on. It works well most of the time, but let’s say that cannon all the way over there is about to blow you to pieces. Q: What would you do? A: Nothing, because the cannon is too far away too lock-on to, and besides there is no decent way to aim. Normally, though, the lock-on will work great, as long as the camera is centered on the target. But even that might be tough considering the camera occasionally performs Hari-Kiri. Overall, if you love The Ratchet and Clank series, you will like this game. It’s fun, and contains a ton of unlockables. But I don’t see myself finishing it twice, so my “expert” opinion is…