Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty -- All In One.

I've completed Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty. Once again developed by Insomniac Games, the title is a series first in that it's being offered as a download only title in North America via Sony's PlayStation Network. Japan and Europe will be getting retail versions of the game.  The game goes for the asking price of $14.99 and offers up roughly a four hour experience. I've had a PlayStation 3 since a few months after launch and this is the first title that's compelled me to make a purchase on the American PlayStation Network. Quest for Booty is the bridging segment between Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and its upcoming sequel due in Fall of 2009. The big question here of course is it worth it for four hours of game at fifteen dollars? The game itself is all Ratchet without Clank as anyone who has completed Tools of Destruction will know the why of all that. Losing Clank takes away from the core gameplay mechanics. All of his abilities are naturally no longer there. They've compensated this by giving Ratchet's wrench some new abilities. They've also limited the number of weapons. And have shortened the time needed to level them up considerably. Of the handful of weapons you'll have access to, you'll only be able to level each one twice. They've removed the skill points and gold bolts and there are no further new items for use. So there is very little to do besides go straight through the game with next to no incentive for replaying the game. The overall size of the game is roughly one large planet from previous games in the series. The gameplay is still sharp and the controls are still silky smooth. The game is as gorgeous as Tools of Destruction. The humor is still exactly the same and everpresent. The voice work is still top notch. The overall challenge is rather easy on the middle of three difficulties. The story itself is good enough. The problem with the game is that it really feels like a shell of what a Ratchet & Clank game is supposed to be. It leaves you wanting more, which is its sole purpose really, but it's not exacltly in the best way. It's tough to fully recommend Quest for Booty based on the size versus price issue. If you're a big fan of the series, well you'll need it. Those looking to jump in here should probably look elsewhere within the series. I'm giving Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty a 7.