Philippe Landry

Acadie Nouvelle

It looks as though the lifespan of the PlayStation 2 (PS2) is coming to an end.  There are fewer games for this system.  Less than a half-dozen gems are released each month.  And most of them are launched on other platforms simultaneously.

Even if Secret Agent Clank is one of those rare games meant exclusively for the PS2, it’s disappointing to see that even Sony doesn’t seem interested making an effort by launching, in my opinion, a game that should never have seen the light of day.

In fact, Secret Agent Clank isn’t really exclusive to the PS2.  It’s actually a game that had appeared on the PSP  over a year ago, but which now sees its life extended by being launched on the PS2.  Given that I’ve already played the edition that appeared on the PSP, I quickly noted the differences between the two versions.

Firstly, the edition for the PS2 isn’t different from the PSP edition.  The story is the same, where Ratchet is unjustly accused of stealing a priceless artifact and is sent to prison.  His faithful companion, Clank, must scour the galaxy to discover the truth behind this mystery and try to secure Ratchet’s release.

I’ve noticed that the visual adjustments are lamentable.  The PS2 never had the most exceptional game graphics but Secret Agent Clank achieves new summits.  The PSP version wasn’t so bad, but the PS2 version made me think I was playing a PSP in large screen on my television.  The graphics were simply brutal, which was really disappointing. I think back on the numerous titles which had an excellent standard of quality that had come out for this series.

Secondly, the principal story line isn’t really anything exciting.  The game has a number of secondary stories which only seem to serve to add time to the counter.  Overall, these games are essentially and uniquely based on my abilities to press the colored buttons on my controller based on the colors I see on the screen.  This system is also used for the attack sequences, which must be done in silence so as not to alert the nearby guards, a task that becomes repetitive after a few moments of play.

In short, this game is disappointing on all fronts.  There’s no story, the visual elements are pathetic and the fact that you have to repeat the same movements again and again certainly don’t help its cause.

The other titles of this series had always made me laugh and surprised me with a charming and diverting story.  I must now convince myself that Secret Agent Clank is no more than a bad joke and the next title will win back my respect.