Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction -- Full Tilt Boogie.

I'm roughly eighty percent through my initial playthrough of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction. The saying goes, the more things change the more they stay the same, and that couldn't be more true with Ratchet & Clank Future. As we find ourselves fully entrenched in the current generation with the Xbox 360 and its Xbox Live, and the Wii and its waggle, to the PlayStation 3 with its Home and all-encompassing media everything box, it's nice to just play something traditional. Ratchet & Clank Future offers the same traditional gameplay as the series offered on the PlayStation 2. Everything is there. The same fun action platforming. The same amazing variety of wacky weaponry to level up. The same skill point system, a precursor to achievements. The same great graphics, sound design, and voice work. The same absolutely solid control. The same charmingly funny storytelling and well realized characters. They did add some PlayStation 3 functionality to the mix however with gadgets like the Robowings and Geo-Laser and the hacking minigame, as well as a few moments in the game proper. They've made use of the Sixaxis controller's tilt capabilities. And to my great surprise, the controller handles it very well. The Sixaxis has proven itself very responsive. And Insomniac Games have come up with some genuinely fun and creative situations to make use of the Sixaxis. The hacking minigame has you tilting the controller to move the circuit board you're trying to bypass so you can move a charged ball around that allows you to bridge the gaps in the circuits so you can allow the current through the board to the goal. The Robowings allow you to fly around the levels by titling the controller to dive and gain altitude and turn left and right. And the Geo-Laser has you tilting the controller again to guide a laser as to cut through rock. I'm quite impressed by how fun these segments are and how well they control. The final opinion should be following shortly.