Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters

Yahoo! Games

For the last two titles, the developers of Ratchet & Clank have done a wonderful job building full-featured multiplayer support into their games. Size Matters is arguably the best attempt to date. Although it only supports four players at a time, the maps and modes are meticulously built to wring the most out of multiplayer matches.

Modojo

Visually, the game is excellent - and sometimes astounding. Ratchet's fluid animation must be seen to be believed, and there are moments (Clank's aerial levels come to mind) where the range of colors and particle effects will blow you away.

Game Over Online

It's refreshing to play a title that is both old school in its gameplay, but new school in its storytelling.

Cheat Code Central

Size Matters equals, if not surpasses, the graphic experience of its PS2 big brothers. The environments and characters are slick, clean, and very pleasing as the camera whips around the action. The camera system itself is refreshing.

Gamers' Temple

The multiplayer aspect is fairly average, but you’ll enjoy the single player game so much that you won’t care.

PGNx Media

It’s a shining example of how to properly make a PSP game.

Just RPG

While there are a few minor issues, such as some camera trouble and bugs with the sound, the high points far outweigh the problems, making Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters a must-have for PSP owners.

DarkStation

The beleaguered handheld gets a huge boost with this perfectly crafted action platformer. The comedic duo absolutely shines in this superb adventure.

GamingTrend

It looks great on the PSP screen, and it offers as much content as any of its console cousins.

PSX Extreme

After playing Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops, Daxter, Syphon Filter: Dark Mirror, the Socoms and now Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters...there was a question lingering over my head: is Ratchet the best PS2-to-PSP conversion thus far? And my answer would have to be a resounding 'yes'.

GameSpy

One excellent thing about the single-player campaign is that there is no penalty for death. You just get set back at the nearest checkpoint.

TotalPlayStation

So awesome, in fact, that like "Daxter" or "Liberty City Stories" or "WipEout Pure," it's worth buying the PSP for. It's absolutely a system seller, though obviously you'll want to be familiar with the series before you go dropping some $300 on the system and game.

Play Magazine

What Ready at Dawn did for the "Jak & Daxter" series, extracting Jak and fashioning a killer game around his uber rodent, High Impact Games has somehow done for Ratchet and Clank (sans extraction), reinvigorating the series after three turns on the PS2. [Mar 2007, p.67]

GameDaily

The combination of a loaded single player campaign with an entertaining multiplayer mode makes Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters an excellent addition to the PSP library.

Game Informer

The trademark humor, outrageous weapon designs, and unforgettable cast of characters appear to be stripped straight from Insomniac’s portfolio. Which is not to say, however, that High Impact is simply connecting the dots that Insomniac has laid out.

IGN

It's packed with fantastic single-player content, has a strong multiplayer element, boasts a great visual and thematic presentation, and excels with razor-sharp gameplay mechanics.

GameZone

In terms of scope, the game just as big and deep as the PS2 games. The crazy arsenal of weapons at your disposal is present, and the environments are pretty varied and large. The controls are spot-on, an impressive feat for a PSP game, and the action is engrossing and fun.

PSW Magazine UK

Aside from the teeth-grinding frustration of the races, this is a rewarding and varied pleasure. It's also wondrous to look at with crisp, vivid landscapes and lively enemies bursting with character. The final clincher is the excellent multiplayer options.

VideoGamer

Other than those minor complaints, and the aforementioned issues with some of the less inspired mini-games, Size Matters is a truly brilliant platform game, and while it does nothing new, it does most things very well.

Playstation Official Magazine UK

A brilliantly put together game, ambitious but not over-extended, lovingly crafted and devilishly designed. [June 2007, p.96]

Play.tm

As a PSP exclusive R&C: Size Matters is a welcome reminder of what the PSP should be about, a truly great game that uses the hardware perfectly.

Gaming Nexus

High Impact Games should be commended for their brilliant job of taking the console experience and turning it into something incredible for the PSP. With an original story, memorable characters and plenty of great action, Size Matters is a fantastic way to start off what promises to be an incredible year for video games.

Worth Playing

A blast from start to finish, offering up an excellent portable iteration of one of the best console franchises of the last five years. It may end a little shorter than expected, and the online play is unlikely to draw a significant following, but the single-player adventure is well worth the price of admission.

Games Master UK

A polished adventure indeed. Not all of its ideas work, but it's an excellent overall effort. [May 2007, p.76]

GamingExcellence

It may not be as revolutionary as "Donkey Kong Country" was for the SNES (which completely redefined what people thought supposedly outdated hardware was capable of), but this game is a great starting point to prove the nay-sayers of the PSP wrong.

PSM3 Magazine UK

Not small and not perfectly formed, but packs a wicked punch. Accomplished, but stops short of brilliance. [May 2007, p.60]

Armchair Empire

A few points keep it from achieving perfection, but you won’t be disappointed in the end.

PSM Magazine

Part of what makes Size Matters so good, though, is that it eschews much of the combat-heavy, Clank-less stuff from "Deadlocked" in favor of a "back to basics" approach that works pretty well on the PSP. [Apr 2007, p.83]

Extreme Gamer

All the new content makes up for any feelings of déjà vu as the series continues to evolve. Old standbys like the Lacerator and bolt collecting returns, but the new excitement is around new additions like the Bee Glove, new mini-games, and the inclusion of armor.

GamePro

The game also has a tightly implemented control scheme, including an awesome strafe system that all but eliminates lock-on issues.

Gaming Age

If you own a PSP and have any love for the Ratchet & Clank series or the genre, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is a no-brainer. For those not yet familiar with the duo, the PSP game is a nice, charming, starting point into the shooter/platforming action.

GameSpot

Ratchet & Clank's signature gameplay travels to the PSP almost completely intact in Size Matters, which packs in a good-size single-player adventure.

GameTrailers

Yet again, the lack of dual analog sticks is a huge problem for a PSP game, mainly because Size Matters attempts to emulate its big brother instead of forging out on its own. Even so, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better platformer, or any platformer, released this year.

Gamer 2.0

The entertaining story, great, varied, gameplay, and the impressive package that surrounds the single-player makes the negatives, like long load times, boring multiplayer, and the sometimes awkward camera controls, a necessary evil to have a great game like Size Matters.

WHAM! Gaming

Don't get me wrong; it's nice when the PSP gets a little star-power, but what could have been a full-fledged performance feels more like a cameo. Nevertheless, R&C:SM's mix of platforming action, entertaining cast and an abundance of mini-games makes it an honorable addition to the series.

G4 TV

Other than its lighthearted approach and whimsical characters, what sets Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters apart from similar titles on PSP is the amount of depth and variety.

Digital Entertainment News

Good fun, while it lasts. The short single player campaign will leave you wanting more; fortunately, the fully-featured multiplayer delivers it. Watch that battery, though, as Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters goes big with draining your power as much as it does with gameplay and graphics.

Pocket Gamer UK

Boasting charming touches, rammed full of content and even trailing a Wi-Fi infrastructure multiplayer mode, it's an easy recommendation for anyone with an itchy trigger finger.

Official Playstation 2 Magazine UK

It's still just Ratchet & Clank, but that's no bad thing. It feels as fresh and fun as ever, despite the change in format. [May 2007, p.88]

Games Radar (in-house)

There's a lot to do - and by "do", we mean, "explode" - and that's exactly what the Ratchet & Clank games are all about.

PALGN

Size Matters is an enjoyable addition to the Ratchet & Clank franchise, despite a few control issues.

AceGamez

The imagination present in the levels is striking and the game is crammed with charming details, from the likeable characters and the exceptionally pretty cut scenes that bookend the gameplay to the satisfying swing of Ratchet's ratchet and the atmospheric music.

Eurogamer

As an added bonus, even the multiplayer mode is fully supported online via the somewhat underused infrastructure mode. That said, we should perhaps stress that four player multiplayer is very much a 'bonus' rather than something to get massively excited about.

Play UK

Sadly hampered by a poor control system. [Issue#154, p.88]

Game Revolution

It won’t change the way you look at platformers, and it won’t inspire a generation of young gamers. But it’s a well-done, good-looking, and most of all fun game, and it really shows off what the PSP is capable of.

Electronic Gaming Monthly

The puzzles could be more elaborate to match up with the solid combat, sure, but compared to the handheld competition, Size Matters measures up quite nicely. [Apr 2007, p.92]

Hardcore Gamer Magazine

If you're willing to put up with an obnoxious camera and an awkward control scheme, you'll find a portable title that sometimes brushes against greatness and regularly proves that size sometimes doesn't matter after all. [Apr 2007, p.55]

Edge Magazine

Stages are smaller and battles are often less intense but Size Matters makes up for the shortfall in calibre with a visual imagination that, for the first time, makes a Ratchet & Clank games feel like an actual adventure instead of a sequence of shootout-corridors threaded along a necklace of planets. [Apr 2007, p.88]

1UP

If you're looking for a game that matches the quality of the previous games in the Ratchet franchise...well, keep looking.

games(TM)

Size Matters never reaches the highs of the home console versions, but as an example of what can be achieved on the PSP with some time, diligence and money, it’s hard to fault. [June 2007, p.115]