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Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One

Not-so-super Smash Bros.

While this may, in theory, result in a more accessible game - or at least a game less likely to cause arguments over who gets to be Ratchet - it also results in a game where it doesn't really matter what choices you make. You can pick a character and a favourite weapon and stick with them to the end of the game, with no ill effect.

This need to cater to the wisdom of the crowd impacts the game in other detrimental ways too. Level design is utterly linear, with few diversions from the path that might pull players too far apart. When you do find some hidden area, it generally offers only more crates to smash. There's certainly nothing like the replayability of the Lego games (an obvious inspiration) where returning to a level with different characters and abilities opens up entirely new areas of gameplay. And what the level design can't do to keep players in line, the restrictive camera does instead, funnelling the action relentlessly towards the end.

Not only are levels linear, but they're long and there are lots of them. Normally such generosity would be cause for celebration, but the monotone nature of the game makes each stage feel like a grind. With four players things quickly descend into manic incoherence, where any finesse is counteracted by a bullying automatic lock-on that removes all thought from the combat, while playing solo (with a solitary AI partner) reveals just how threadbare the actual gameplay is. Played in short twenty minute bursts, the effect is less damaging, but for any protracted gameplay session things quickly become stale.

There are some bright spots, though they're mostly restricted to surface details. Insomniac remains one of the best studios for wringing visual treats out of the PS3 and the game often looks more gorgeous and exciting than it actually is. The backdrops, in particular, are always fizzing with background detail and jaw-dropping vistas. The cutscenes, when they arrive, are genuinely funny and better produced than most. And, of course, creature design is another strong point, with some weird and distinctive monsters at the boss end of the scale. It's just a shame that few of them require anything more than constant attack spamming to defeat.

All 4 One is a particularly frustrating game as it bears all the hallmarks of a cheap kids movie tie-in, yet comes from a studio that can do so much better and uses characters with more charm and style than they've been allowed to show. At the most fundamental level there's nothing tragically wrong with the game, it just displays a lack of imagination that chafes against the legacy of a series that has never been short of ideas. For a game with that sort of pedigree, average simply isn't good enough.

5 / 10