I’ve long been a fan of the Ratchet and Clank series since its debut years back on the Playstation 2. All 4 One was my first interaction with this platforming franchise on the Playstation 3 and while many things have changed over the years, the sheer enjoyment stays relatively the same.

Unlike prior games, All 4 One was tailor made for the co-op--for you to play with friends either in person or online--so the emphasis on teamwork is strongly encouraged. The story is mostly forgettable. Basically, what you should know is longtime bad guy Nefarious must team up with Ratchet, Clank, and dolt hero Quark to stop a monster he helped unleash.

Thus, there are four playable characters. If you don’t have three other friends you can, of course, play online from stage to stage and earn bolts, weapon upgrades, and trophies until the fateful end, which will probably take you upwards of 10 hours to complete. I enjoyed playing with my friends far more than online as I felt we had more fun goofing off, but the latter portions of the game were me, myself, and I (or me as Rachet and Clank being played by an AI).

For the most part the AI is really attentive and will help you out, but there are some crazy glitches occasionally if you decide to use them, which will make things a bit more frustrating. If you are antisocial you can still have a good time with the game playing by yourself, but the main focus of the game is definitely team work. However, action is also the focal point and there are several amazing areas of the game that will please most fans of this genre of gaming.

Weapons still play a huge part, but the platforming elements are also very strong. There are many different levels to adventure through, which offer a nice challenge occasionally and a nice variety. A great feature this time around is that you can team with another person and blast away at bad guys to impact them greatly to a destructive and invigorating slow-motion end. While there are a ton of weapons, both new and old, I did find myself using a few weapons more than others. Other secondary devices also help you navigate through various levels and puzzles.

The graphics are refreshing to witness and burst with a lively air that most fans will appreciate. They are colorful, cartoony, and look movie-like during cut-scenes because of how polished they are. When playing online or during strenuous areas of action onscreen I did encounter major portions of slowdown, but they happened very rarely. Overall, the visual presentation was very pleasing and easily the best looking game in the entire series.

The voice acting is also fantastic with all of the main cast returning bulking up how comedically charged the script is. The humor is definitely for kids, but it’s full of moments all of us can enjoy. Just because a major aesthetic of the game is geared towards kids--like the story--the gameplay and humor are definitely universal and pleasing to any palate. Of course, the controls are intuitive and crafty, although I found the menus cumbersome to get through in order to change weapons or secondary devices in the heat of combat occasionally.

A lot of people complained about the main co-op elements of the game, but I think it’s a great consumer product that makes it awesome to share with friends or siblings or loved ones. Something strange is that your friends can’t keep items if you decide to quit and play again later, which encourages you to finish the game in one sitting (good luck if you have the knack for it). However enticing the concept is, I had an equal amount of fun playing with myself and this co-op element wasn’t a make it or break it for me. Fans of the series should definitely pick it up because it’s definitely one of the finest entries in the series in terms of entertainment value.

© Jason Haskins, 2012

Recommended: Yes