Like its mascot-based counterpart, the Ratchet series has suddenly deviated from its usual formula of choosing titles. This time around, it has gone with the simple and catchy subtitle of Deadlocked, which is noticeably shorter than Ratchet 3’s own mischievous label. However, we’re in luck—while the Jak franchise has moved on to combat racing, the Ratchet series brings back the same enjoyable gameplay that we’ve become accustomed to.
True, Deadlocked feels very similar to its predecessors, and that might be something to cause some alarm. But even though the game could have been more effective on the innovation front, it makes up for that deficiency in droves with the engaging and nonstop gameplay it provides. The end result is another strong installment in one of the best franchises on the market today.
"...another strong installment in one of the best franchises on the market today."
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The key to the game’s unrelenting action is the clever setting and story that Insomniac has created for the popular duo of Ratchet and Clank. In contrast to previous games in the series, in Deadlocked, the two heroes find themselves captured by a cruel entertainment mogul named Gleeman Vox, who forces Ratchet to compete in an underground competition called Dreadzone against other captured heroes of the universe. In this competition, contestants have to complete numerous challenges on different planets, all under the threat of having their heads exploded by circular devices attached to their necks. Besides providing the reason as to why Clank isn’t included as a playable character, the concept of Dreadzone gave an excellent reason to loosen up on an adventuring aspect (which would have slowed down the game’s explosive pace) to focus instead on keeping the gameplay exciting and fluid, and that’s exactly what Insomniac did.
In fact, that’s one of the factors that makes the game unique—while previously the series blended adventuring and shooting together fairly equally, Deadlocked focuses more on the latter. It’s more objective-based and action-oriented, and less dependent on the elements that the series was previously built on.
The change has a slight downside, however. While the pace of Deadlocked is furious, it doesn’t have the amount of gameplay variety that its predecessor, Up Your Arsenal, brought to the table. The fresh Agent Clank missions are gone, as are the Tyhrranoid sequences and Captain Qwark levels. Thankfully, there’s no world included that’s similar to the amazingly tedious Obani Gemini, but you can see the point here: if you’re coming into Deadlocked expecting another Up Your Arsenal, you might want to reconsider before plunging in.
But if you remember loving Annihilation Nation from Up Your Arsenal, this is your moment. The backdrop of Deadlocked is perfect for an experience based entirely on a long series of challenges, some of which are presented in an arena packed with cheering fans, and others located on different worlds where you’re facing numerous enemies in different environments. Either way, you’ll almost always be in constant motion, and that translates into constant excitement.
That’s not to say Deadlocked is comprised entirely of run-and-gun antics, though. The game offers gameplay variety mainly in the form of vehicle challenges to toss it up a little. Hoverbike challenges will have you passing through a set number of checkpoints while trying to finish the courses before time runs out, and you can fire and run over enemies at the same time with the Puma, a buggy-like vehicle. However, the real power is contained in the Hovership, in which you can fire a continuous stream of missiles from the air, and the Landstalker, which is slow and lumbering, but devastating once you’re able to fire its lock-on laser missiles. While some of the vehicle missions can become slightly repetitive, they’re mostly an entertaining change from the usual gameplay Deadlocked presents.
"Deadlocked is more objective-based and action-oriented, and less dependent on the elements that the series was previously built on."
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Also, while Deadlocked focuses mainly on the combat side of things, it still pays homage to its roots and includes some platforming elements. There’s the occasional jump-across-the-platforms area, as well as some grind rail segments that require some concentration on your part. In addition, you’ll be able to swing across gaps with the Swingshot, which is the new version of one of gadgets that have returned from Up Your Arsenal.
Like the Swingshot, the ridiculously powerful weapons are back as well. The only large difference with many of them is simply what they’re called: there’s the Dual Vipers (N-60 Assault Rifle), Magma Cannon (Shockblaster), Fusion Rifle (Flux Rifle), and a host of other guns in your arsenal. It’s surprising, however, that Deadlocked has stripped away many of the weapons used in Up Your Arsenal, including the admittedly unnecessary but highly amusing Quack-O-Ray. While it can be argued that the weapons available in Deadlocked are the ones that actually have some practical use, it can’t be denied that it would be better if we could use the omitted guns, if only just to romp around.
Speaking of romping around, you’ll be doing a lot of exactly that, but this time there will be two floating robots by your side doing some of your dirty work for you. Just like your armor and weapons, they can be upgraded to make their armor stronger and shooting capabilities more effective. And besides just watching your back, they’re also able to open doors with their Hacker Rays, capture nodes, and create temporary grind lines for you, so they do come in handy. Plus, it’s nice to have some companions who fight alongside you for a change.
It’s not only mechanical contraptions that can traverse each world with you, though—for the first time with Deadlocked, a second human player can jump in at any time to replace both of the robots. Besides providing a solution when you’re fighting for control of the PS2 with someone who annoys you, co-op play adds an extra layer of strategy to the gameplay, since you can employ different strategies that you couldn’t use before with the two robots. Perhaps you might choose to engage a monster head-on while your partner moves behind it for the kill, or maybe you’ll have one person create numerous Holoshields to protect both players while the other fires away. You get an added bonus in the vehicle challenges as well—in the Puma, Hovership, and Landstalker, one person can drive and shoot projectiles while the other makes good use of the much more powerful weapon attached to the vehicle.
"...a highly enjoyable multiplayer mode that you could spend far longer on than on the main adventure."
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An interesting element of co-op play is that you and your partner have to stay fairly close to each other. If you stray too far from your teammate, a countdown will begin, and both of you will explode if you don’t get back in range within ten seconds. The same goes for the Hoverbike challenges as well, which have an added difficulty since you need to finish the courses under an allotted time, and it’s easy to veer off course too. That means both of you have to cooperate efficiently, and if that’s not the case, then you probably need to find someone else to play with.
Like someone online. Yes, I’m talking about the multiplayer component of Deadlocked, where you can pitch your skills against others who can teach you a lesson or two both online and offline. As with almost all multiplayer games, there’s the standard fare Deathmatch and Capture the Flag modes. Then there’s Conquest, a mode in which you have to capture numerous nodes to win, King of the Hill, where your team has to control a specified area, and Juggernaut, where players have to take down one lone, ultimately powerful player. You can play all these modes on eleven of the levels from the single-player mode, and you’ll even have access to the vehicles featured in the game as well. All in all, what everything boils down to is a highly enjoyable multiplayer mode that you could spend far longer on than on the main adventure.
I’m not lying about that, either. Surprisingly, the single-player mode of Deadlocked lasts only about seven to eight hours, so the game is easily beatable in a weekend if you choose to skip over the multiplayer modes. Besides the multiplayer, there’s not much else to do after finishing the game, save for some different difficulty levels and the chance to start a new game with all your previous weapons and gadgets. That said, it may be a good choice to give Deadlocked a rental if all you want to do is experience its excellent single-player adventure.
As expected, Deadlocked brings back its eye-pleasing visuals and smooth cutscenes, both of which are as good as ever. The game’s voice acting is also superb, as is the dialogue, which remains quirky and unique from the mouths of characters that always seem to be talking with overly sarcastic tones. The only aspect that could use some work is the soundtrack; this time around, it doesn’t come off as strikingly as that of Up Your Arsenal did. Nevertheless, it still greatly contributes to the Deadlocked package of fine production values.
If you’ve been fond of the Ratchet and Clank series so far, Deadlocked won’t defy your expectations too heavily. But even if you’ve never played one of the games in the series before, this iteration is a great game to pick up at any point. Deadlocked left me impressed with its nonstop action-packed gameplay, and, once again, I’m enthusiastically looking forward to the next installment in this very enjoyable series.
