THE GOOD:-Improved graphics and sound
-Much more challenging
-Very entertaining for the most part
-Lots of extras
-Longer than the first
-Slightly larger levels
-More things to do than the original
THE BAD:
-Still has lots of glitches (50+!)
-Can get frustrating
-Still gets boring once you beat it
SUMMARY:
Is Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando a true sequel to the original winner? Well, it has the same great music with improved sound effects and dialog, familiar visuals with boosted explosions, and better gameplay and features, so I'd say it's the perfect sequel.
Graphics: 10 -- It was cool to see that the same gorgeous visuals from the original R&C were renewed in this title, but this time with a few improvements. The character structures haven't changed; Ratchet's just as detailed and graceful as ever. And all the new characters in the game look great, too. The details are very well balanced. They are all animated in a natural fashion. Also, it looks to me like the environments were improved, actually. They seem to have even more scenery put into them, completed with perfect details right down to the shine and shadows. And although the blending problem from the first game is still there, it's not nearly as obvious, and it kicks in at greater distances. The beautiful lighting and shading effects have been upgraded as well. If something is blocked from the light, it is shaded almost exactly as it would be in real life. Objects being exposed to light are much brighter than hidden scenery. The water looks enhanced as well. In the first game, it looked a little gelatinous, but now it feels like real water. And as with the first game, the effects are the best part. But this time, they give off an almost blinding glow. Every time even the smallest flare is exposed, it glows as brightly as a real flame. Even the glow from the stars in the background stand out more. And the physics of the new and improved effects are more realistic, too. These striking flames, blinding explosions, and radiant beams are an action-lover's dream. If you thought the original game was impressive, you won't believe you could see this on a PS2.
Sound: 9.9 -- Just like the awesome graphics, the audio system has been tuned for the better. Just like before, the music is perfect for this game. The instruments used and the beat and rhythm of each song is highly appropriate for all the level designs. Large, remote level types have slow music that gives you an isolated feeling, while dangerous criminal locations have quick music that makes it feel like you need to act fast. And, of course, Insomniac also manages to make the music sound awesome while suiting the levels. The sound effects are as gratifying as ever. The objects that you smash are far more frequent and realistic than before. Every little animation that interacts with something else can only be matched by real life physics. And it all matches up with the animations exactly. The explosions are much more satisfying than before. Rather than a cartoonish 'BOOM!', the blasts actually extend to a far more realistic detonation, more equivalent to that of a war zone. Also, each blast has a different sound, depending on the weapon being used or the object being destroyed, rather than everything sounding like firecrackers. It all comes together to create a beautifully realistic environment. The dialog has been improved as well. All the characters sound much more enthusiastic. And I don't have to turn up the volume to hear what they're saying. I don't like how some of the voices were changed, but that's something most people can quickly get over. The moods of the characters in each situation have improved as well. It's not perfect, but the characters sound much more like they're in danger than they did last time. Overall, the audio system doesn't get much better than this on a platformer.
Handling: 9.8 -- I was very pleased when I found that the gameplay of Going Commando improved from the original. The alert camera is as manageable as before, and this time it doesn't zoom in too close. It makes getting around the levels much more effortless because you don't have to worry about adjusting it so much (the camera almost always goes into the perfect position automatically). The controls are superior to the first game as well. It still has all the basics from before, with some additional moves to go with them. There are a few things I miss, like the butt-slam and hover moves, but they never served much use anyway. This time you can strafe, which makes combat much easier because you can walk in different directions and still fight, and the game pauses for you when you want to change a weapon or gadget so you're not a sitting duck. And I was very pleased to find this game to be more challenging than the first. The combat requires you to act quickly and use different weapons, rather than just standing around mindlessly firing missiles and bombs. Also, you can't just run through the levels anymore. The obstacles you encounter require more complex timing and skill. You will face two kinds of difficult hacking puzzles, complicated skating and swinging courses, intense races, ship flight battles, random arena matches, and a few other things you won't be familiar with. And completing each individual trial is no easy task. Sure, some of them lack difficulty like the first game did, but it's much less frequent. You'll need some patience to get through this game. Even though it gets rather frustrating, I am very happy with this. Trust me, you won't find yourself thinking, "That was waaaaaay too easy," nearly as often as you may have before. This is one satisfying game, so please take a look.
Entertainment: 9 -- As you can tell, this game is more fun to play that the previous title. Each of the huge levels feature at least two missions for you to complete, along with tons of extra challenges for your own benefit. Even after completing the general storyline, you can go back to finish an arsenal of optional challenges, and I'm sure this game offers something for everyone. You can fight tons of arena battles, race a number of circuits, collect some valuables for a random character, and much more. With all of this, you'll find yourself hopelessly hooked, for a while. Even though more went into the sequel, the game does have its limit. That is, if you either complete mostly everything or just don't do any of it. But even simply running through the levels again is pretty fun for a bit, especially when you find something you may have missed. But like the first game, it gets rather dull after the final boss. You'll often find yourself bored within an hour or so, or even less! Running through levels while blasting baddies just won't cut it anymore these days. Even if you get bored with the game, don't let it take the game off your favorites list. Given some time off, this game is very fun a second time around. It may not be the best game ever, especially since platformers don't tend to be that exciting, but it's certainly one of the greatest platformers out there.
Features: 9.7 -- Insomniac obviously took some time with this game to put all this into it. For starters, there are 20 unique levels, at least 20 weapons, and a small variety of gadgets. You will find that the levels that you visit are much larger than before, all with at least two paths you must follow. In fact, some of the levels are entirely open with few boundaries. And I like the idea of levels in which you fly around in your ship. Okay, they were kind of boring, but they're still a nice addition. As with weapons, it's not enough that the developers created lots of new weapons while renewing a few old ones, but they also gave you the ability to upgrade your weapons. If you use one of the new weapons enough, you can advance it to a new form with more power. You can increase your health limit the same way (your health will eventually go up to 80 units), which is incredibly convenient compared to the previous limit of eight. Although there are fewer gadgets, the usage for them seems to have increased. There is not one level in this game (minus the ship flight levels) that does not require at least a little gadget use. Of course, Insomniac likes to put in a variety of extras. There are still appearance altering cheats, extra activities called Skill Points (which unlock the cheats), and special loot, but they also had some cool features like paintings, arcade games, and a few others. Unfortunately, the exact same glitch problem from the first game has returned, this time with some bigger glitches. Just like before, anything you do out of the ordinary is likely to cause a glitch of some sort. Now, the glitches themselves are not bad (I actually enjoy doing them), but they do represent the laziness of the programmers. If they have enough time to add all those extras, how hard could it be just to go back and test the game for glitches? If it means less features, that's fine. Even though the game was a little rushed, you won't ever find yourself saying, "This game was too short," or, "I wish this game had more to offer." It's a very worthwhile game.
Replay Value: Moderately High
Overall: 9.6 -- There is not one thing about this game that will leave you dissatisfied with it. It may have some weaknesses, but that's not enough to ruin it. If you loved the first game, this is an absolute musthave.
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