Best of the Decade - Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time

Platform: Playstation 3

Release Date: October 27, 2009

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Insomniac Games

Ratchet and Clank clearly borrows from the Nintendo school of sequel design. It has a core foundation that lies largely unchanged while the peripheral elements are shifted around enough from game to game to remain interesting and fresh. 

I have fallen deeply in love with the Ratchet and Clank series since first playing it in 2002. It has risen to become one of my favorite series of all time, right there next to Zelda and Mario. In fact, I have beaten more games in this series than perhaps any other, eight in total. I’ve loved each and every one of them dearly. 

No other series has managed to match Ratchet and Clank’s mix of precise platforming, hectic gunplay with unusual weaponry, occasional puzzles, and consistent humor. It is a blend unlike any other and each new concoction raises the bar and renews my love.

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Best of the Decade: Shadow of the Colossus

Shadow of the Colossus

Platform: Playstation 2

Release Date: October 18, 2005

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment

Developer: Team Ico

Whenever the overplayed argument over whether or not games are art gets dragged out for another flogging, there’s one title in particular that never fails to come up in the discussion. It’s certainly not the only title that gets put forth as an example of a game that does something more than mindlessly entertain, but it does seem to be the most consistently mentioned.

Though I will celebrate another title or two before this list is complete that I feel stand alongside it as the industry’s most museum-worthy productions to date, Shadow of the Colossus undoubtedly deserves to be recognized as a standout effort that truly represents the best of what this medium has to offer in terms of interactive emotion.

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Katamari Forever - This Schtick's Getting Old

Something about Katamari Forever feels disingenuous. The title endeavors diligently to appear carefree, wacky, and strange. It confronts you at every turn with craziness. The whole affair is supposed to feel simple and lighthearted.

Instead, something about it just feels off.

The first Katamari was genuinely clever and original. Enough time has passed since then, with enough derivative sequels passing through Namco’s pipeline, that it has become impossible to ignore the fact that the foundations of Katamari have not changed in six years.  

This isn’t the good kind of stagnation that Nintendo has down to an art form. This isn’t a case of preserving the essence of what made the original fun and simply delivering more of that with a few tweaks to keep it fresh. 

Katamari Forever is a clear demonstration of how delicate Nintendo’s rehashing really is. Too few new features, too many sequels, too little time between games, and countless other factors threaten to spoil the experience. To get away with making the same game over and over again, developers must tread carefully. Namco has eschewed their responsibility as caretaker of the Katamari franchise’s good name. I am of course not entirely serious when I say Nintendo is “making the same game over and over again”, but Namco is coming frighteningly close. 

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