The levels are set on different planets in the game's galaxy.  Locating special "Infobots" rewards you with a video clip advancing the game's story and also with the location of a new world to visit.  When you first land on a world, you'll usually have your choice of paths to take, each leading to a separate goal.  You'll sometimes reach a stopping point because you're lacking the necessary gadget to get past an obstacle, and sometimes characters will ask you to fetch something for them from another world.  As a result you'll visit most of the planet's more than once as the game progresses.  Each planet also has a few "golden bolts" that are well-hidden or located in hard to reach places.  Some of these bolts won't even be obtainable until later in the game when you've gained a new gadget from another world.  Finding the golden bolts is not required to complete the game, but they add an additional degree of challenge and provide an excuse for you to re-explore the planets.

The planets themselves look fantastic.  The environments are very imaginative, and each planet has its own distinct character.  The textures and details are gorgeous, and each planet is teeming with life.  Traffic flies through the skies of metropolises and flying cranes shuffle logs around a forest world, to name just a couple of the things that give the planets so much atmosphere.  The planets are also inhabited by a myriad of very animated characters, literally.  The over the top personalities are complemented nicely by the range of facial expressions and body language, as well as good quality voice-acting and a clever script.

Control in the game is excellent, and you'll never walk off a ledge because the controller is slow to respond.  Camera control is usually pretty good, and the press of a button will cause the camera to instantly swing behind Ratchet.  You'll still find the occasional tight quarters that will give the camera fits, but for the most part the camera doesn't factor into play - which is the way it should be.

The game is longer than most platformers, so you'll get plenty of gameplay for your money.  There aren't really any impossible puzzles or frustratingly hard areas in the game, so most gamers will be able to complete it.  The game saves automatically, has numerous checkpoints, and gives you infinite lives, so you're never forced to replay large areas of the game because you forgot to save or lost your last life.  Another nice touch is that once you've made your way down a long path and have accomplished your objective there is usually some sort of transporter to give you an express ride back to the beginning.  It's good that you are not forced to slog your way back to the starting point each time.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 92%.  Strap a robot to your back and pick up a few weapons, and you'll be ready for an exciting ride.  Ratchet & Clank is highly recommended for platformer fans, and will probably be enjoyable to most other gamers as well.

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