What a difference a year makes. When the PS3 launched on November 11, 2006, a frenzy ensued. The console was met with long lines fueled by a strong demand. To mark the one year anniversary of the PLAYSTATION 3, Sony launched a cheaper 40GB model that does not support backwards compatibility. The DUALSHOCK 3, Ratchet and Clank Future and Dynasty Warriors 6 put on sale as well. Less frenzy and crap weather, the new console did get a fair enough turnout - though, nothing like the craziness of last year. (That's to be expected!) At the Akihabara Yodobashi Camera Customers picked up the DS3 as well. We haven't heard of any sellouts here, so it'll be interesting to see what kind of boost the 40GB model gave the PS3 in Japan. It could beat the Xbox 360 this week!
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Yes, The Game Of The Year (GOTY) discussion is already beginning! Spike is hosting its 5th annual Video Game Awards this December in Las Vegas, and this morning the nominees were released on Spike.com. What's in contention for Game of the Year? Orange Box, Halo 3, BioShock, and Mass Effect.
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Nov 7, 2007 A comment from developer Insomniac has sparked speculation that it may shortly release download content for Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction. "It's been great to have a network that can facilitate the map-pack downloads, demos and trailers for both Resistance: Fall of Man and Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction. The number of users on PSN has been rising steadily and we absolutely plan to support them with more new content coming soon," Insomniac marketing director Ryan ... » Read More

GameSpot's Jeff Gerstmann writes

"To use the Review of the Moment as an example, when we give Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction a 7.5, we're not saying it's "average" or something. This isn't school, and a 7.5 doesn't translate to a C+. We're effectively saying that fans of these sorts of action platformers, and to an even greater extent, fans of the Ratchet series, will probably have a blast. But we're also saying that its appeal might not extend so far beyond that group due to issues mentioned in the review text."
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How did this all come about? How did Insomniac put motion-control in the game, and how did the developers decide when to leave it out?

"Ratchet & Clank Future" creative director Brian Allgeier talked with MTV Multiplayer's Stephen Totilo about this last week. Among the things he found interesting was his talk of the problems of mixing motion controls and stick controls for unified bits of gameplay.

A short interview follows. Here's one highlight, regarding focus groups:

"And we found in our focus tests that there were some people that were fans of Sixaxis and some people that were not. So we made sure to give the option to turn it off."
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Scores from the British gaming magazine GameTM:

PS3

Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction - 6
Pixeljunk Racers - 8

360

Orange Box - 9
Timeshift - 5
Thrillville - 7
Tony Hawks Proving Ground - 7
Smackdown vs RAW 2008 - 6
Ace Combat 6 - 7
FIFA 08 - 8
Pro Evo 2008 - 7
Jericho - 5
Conan - 6
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After months of anticipation, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction has finally hit the PS3, and it's... easy. Almost too easy. Even by the standards of the series. But as seasoned Ratchet fans know, playing a Ratchet game is about much more than just blasting your way straight through its storylin, and this shooty-jumpy powerhouse is no exception. Ratchet & Clank Future is packed to the gills with hidden nooks, crannies and incentives to explore them, not the leaset of which are the ... » Read More

Gamasutra's weekly column, "Saling The World", covers the top five sellers for every available platform in the United States, Japan, and Europe, providing an important update of sales patterns worldwide.
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Insomniac has said once again that it will consider putting multiplayer back in Ratchet & Clank one day, even though you won't be seeing it in the new PS3 version.
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This is what the reviewer said :-

"It's genuinely difficult to think of a more solid title on the Playstation 3. The entire package, from presentation to graphics to gameplay is near perfect. My only complaint would be the fact that it's somewhat short (I'd estimate it took me around 10 hours) and very easy. Dying doesn't have any real negative consequences at all, as you'll retain all the bolts and experience points you had when you died. It's a small annoyance, but Bioshock proved that a game can still be great even if dying isn't much to be feared. Don't let the somewhat "kiddy" look of the graphics deter you from experiencing one of the best games on the system ¿ Tools of Destruction is excellent. "
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This week's edition of the regular Critical Reception column examines online reaction to Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction a PS3 franchise debut that has been praised as "the best game in the Ratchet & Clank series thus far."

The Insomniac-developed Ratchet & Clank series has earned high marks from the gaming press since its inception in 2002, with the franchise reaching a high point with the 2004 sequel Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal, which earned an average review score of 91 out of 100 from all critics surveyed at Metacritic.com. The series' PlayStation 3 debut, Tools of Destruction, seems to be meeting with similar success thus far, and currently averages a Metacritic rating of 89 out of 100.

Though the last console entry in the series may have met with a mixed reception, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, by many accounts, appears to offer much of the same familiar action seen in the acclaimed Up Your Arsenal. Some critics even feel that the title alone warrants a purchase of a PlayStation 3 -- a recommendation that indicates that a purchase should be a safe bet for current PS3 owners.
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Sony Computer Entertainment Europe has confirmed a selection of release dates for a number of forthcoming PlayStation 3 titles, including the likes of the highly anticipated Lair and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.

First up for release, as confirmed last week, is The Eye of Judgment this Friday (October 26), followed by Factor 5's Lair and Insomniac's Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction on November 9.

Finally, December sees Naughty Dog's Uncharted: Drake's Fortune arriving on December 9, with the elusive SingStar PS3 pencilled for release for some time that month, though an exact date has yet to be revealed.
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In this months' issue games like Ratched and Clank, Orange Box, Eye of Judgement, Ace Combat 6 and Folklore all got reviewed and not all games did well. Orange Box received a perfect 10/10, wile Ratched and Clank and Ace Combat 6 both scored 8/10 scores.

The Playstation 3 exclusives Eye of Judgement and Folklore, however, didn't do very well which scored a 4/10 and a 5/10 respectively. Clive Barkers: Jericho didn't do very well either with a 5/10 score. Check out all this months' review scores below.

Orange Box (Xbox 360/PS3, EA): 10
Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction (PS3, Sony): 8
Folklore (PS3, Sony): 5
Eye Of Judgement (PS3, Sony): 4
Wipeout Pulse (PSP, Sony): 7
Jericho (PS3/Xbox 360, Codemasters): 5
Conan (PS3/Xbox 360, THQ): 7
Juiced 2 (PS3/Xbox 360, THQ): 6
Monster Hunters Freedom 2 (PSP, Capcom): 7
Pursuit Force Extreme Justice (PSP, Sony): 6
Ace Combat 6 (Xbox 360, Bandai Namco): 8
Dewy's Adventure (Wii, Konami): 6
MySims (Wii, EA): 6
Freshly Picked: Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland (NDS, Nintendo): 6
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Insomniac community manager James Stevenson has come out and provided a quick solution for the issue.

"We recently discovered a bug on the US version of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction that some of you may encounter the first time you boot the game," said Stevenson. "When this occurs, either delete or add about 500MB of data to your hard drive and the problem will go away."
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A minor bug in Insomniac's Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, which shipped to stores today, may prevent gamers from starting the game, depending on the contents of their PlayStation 3's hard drive.

Much like Insomniac's previous PS3 effort, Resistance: Fall of Man, Ratchet & Clank mandates a brief setup procedure that copies some files onto the console's HDD. However, an unexpected glitch within the game causes it to read the hard drive as full and refuse to install under certain conditions.
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Next week, Sony Computer Entertainment America will be bringing its new PS3 brand campaign to TV. Unlike the initial "White Room" ads, these will focus on key titles and PS3 features. GameDaily Biz chat with Kim Ngyuen, SCEA Marketing Manager, about the new focus.

Kim Ngyuen says:

"We briefed the [ad] agency in April that we wanted to emphasize the entertainment qualities and show off the primary titles [for the PS3] this Holiday season," described Ngyuen when asked about how the campaign was initially envisioned. "We wanted to show that, firstly, the games are here this holiday; come and get them! Secondly, we wanted to demonstrate that [the PS3] is an entertainment powerhouse.
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Oct 23, 2007 Could there be a problem with the biggest PS3 game of the year, Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction? GR Global Editorial Director Stephen Pierce has this to say: "Last night I was playing a box fresh Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction on a box fresh PS3. The console was purchased on Saturday from Virgin. The final boxed copy of the game was sent to the GR office early last ... » Read More

If you're lucky enough, you'll be able to play Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction on your PS3 this week. To celebrate Ratchet's jump into the next generation, ps3fanboy is giving away tons of swag, including a giant movie-styled poster, t-shirts and various pieces of concept art. We're giving away prizes to three readers ... so how do you sign up?
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The review scores from EGM #222 (December 2007) are revealed:

* Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock: 9, 8.5, 8
* Sega Rally Revo: 7.5, 7, 7
* Conan: 5.5, 5.5, 5.5
* WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2008: 8, 7, 5.5
* Clive Barker's Jericho: 3, 4.5, 4.5 (Shame of the Month)
* The Simpsons Game: 7, 6.5, 7
* Bladestorm: The Hundred Years War: 4, 6, 4
* Folklore: 5.5, 7.5, 8
* The Eye of Judgment: 8, 8, 8
* Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction: 8.5, 9.5, 9
* Halo 3: 10, 10, 9
* Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation: 6.5, 6.5, 8
* Half-Life 2 Orange Box: 10, 9.5, 10
* Beautiful Katamari: 7, 4.5, 4
* Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney Trials and Tribulations: 9, 7, 7.5
* Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness: 7.5, 7, 7
* Silent Hill: Origins: 7.5, 7, 7
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The following link is to the EGM Podcast where they leak what the review scores were for the game from the upcoming issues. They mention this game being one of the true platformers out right now. Also art and graphics are also very good. Call it almost a pixar looking game with fluidic animations. And say how this is built for PS3 and show some power along with it.

The leaked scores are in case don't want to listen to the reviews.

1st Reviewer: 8.5/10
2nd Reviewer: 9.0/10
3rd Reviewer: 9.5/10

Average: 9.0/10

To listen to the leaked scores forward the podcast to 37th minute into the podcast.
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