EPG Review: Ratchet Deadlocked/Gladiator (PS2) (feat. Nick on Planet Ripple)
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Over two years later, it's finally time to review another installment in the Ratchet and Clank series. This time it's Tools of Destruction for the PS3... Oh, wait. That's not the next one? Hold on, there's another R&C game on PS2? Well, shit. I guess we'd better look at that one first, shouldn't we?
Be sure to check out more of NickonAquaMagna's stuff. He specializes in defending underappreciated games, and will occasionally talk about other stuff, like Bionicles or even Thomas the Tank Engine creepypastas.
/ nickonaquamagna2
Nick is also an artist. Check out his DeviantArt for more. He just started working on a new Metroid fan comic as of writing.
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One thing I really appreciated about this game is that it really brings Ratchet's original character ark to a close. Throughout the first three games Ratchet was getting more and more famous as a hero in the universe, and in this game he finally is given the same choice that Captain Quark did in the first. He is given a chance to sell out and become a hero in name only in exchange for his morals. However he actually comes above it and shows how far he's come from (and surpassed) Quark in his heroism.
Holy crap. That's beautiful.
in the mean time, Quark is stockpiling custard in the Captain Quark fan club
01ChaosWarrior well said
ShadowDoyler Me either, honestly.
14:12 "My only complaint is that Ratchet's running animation seems to lack that hypnotic sway that it had in the first few games" "Yeah he does seem a bit robotic this time around" That's probably because his tail is shoved up his ass. You would run awkwardly too.
...oh.
Nicholas Kreutzer Excellent point. Lol
The beginning cracked me up so hard. The purposeful bad acting actually gave me a good laugh
Finally, someone who appreciates my corny intro.
hey look, two underrated youtubers combining together. at the end of it all... they're still underrated. :(
The next review will be the Kirby ROR, I promise. This video has been in the works for months now, so I wanted to make sure I finished it before I go back to college. Hope you guys enjoy!
Woo, Kirby!!!!
Can't wait for it, EPG. Make Kirby fans everywhere proud! Also, have you thought about a Conker's Bad Fur Day ROR for N64 and XBox360? I don't know if you take suggestions but I think that would be a pretty interesting comparison and an entertaining review too.
great review exo, ratchet deadlocked is probably my favorite spinoff in the entire series
who cares about Kirby? there's still 2 more R&C (PS2/PSP) as well as 2 Sly Cooper Games left
jokes aside, good job man
I especially like you ROR series, simply because you don't give a nostalgic, but subjective view of the versions, as well as reviewing the game as well
Johnny should take a look on your vids
A mention to Mega Man not long after a X4 Quickies Don't Cut It?
Hmm...
Also, Manny, he hasn't. Don't vworry.
(trying to dodge flashbacks of Sonic Advace vs Sonic 4)
I can't really fault Insomniac for making an entry in this style. After all, this was 2005, the year gaming started edging towards that gritty, "real is brown and guns are more important than story" mentality it had for a few years.
I love this game, it's a great send off to the PS2 R&C era
Deadlocked is so addicting, I played this game for hours. It's my third favorite Ratchet game.
The only real complains I have is that the Landstalker is used way too often and the lack of platforming. Oh, and as much as I hate the HD version of Deadlocked, it was worth getting the Platinum trophy.
Daxtery Toon lack of platforming is due to the fact you don't have Clank, they had to design the game around Ratchets limited mobility.
Going Commando is Deadlocked are my favorites
0:51
This reminds me of SomecallmeJohnny's Mega Man 3 review.
This was my favorite Ratchet game. My favorite thing about the games was the arena. Having a game based on that was just perfect for me.
Great review, my only complaint was the excessive use of the word "edgy". I feel this word has been very much bastardized in American English to mean anything that's darker or not-cheery, when really it's just a relative term to describe "the cutting-edge", or in other words, something atypical, rare, or not used very often. In other words, if something is edgy, it is characterized by great contrast(take for instance Shadow the Hedgehog and Jak II, both games are edgy not simply because they are darker, but rather because they are so great in contrast to the typical Sonic the Hedgehog game or Jak & Daxter respectively), and hearing that on repeat got a little annoying.
I can't say enough how much I enjoy your reviews. Thank Haedox i found you!
I have to say, it was very interesting to see not only a mixed reaction to one of my favorite RnC games of all time, but a more positive one as well. Personally, this is my second favorite RnC game after Up Your Arsenal. The gunplay was always my favorite part of the RnC series, so to see an entire game dedicated to it really made me happy. I totally understand that the lack of all the other elements is a valid criticism, but personally I never felt bothered by them. I was just having too much fun shooting stuff. It's definitely not the best game in the series, but considering the competition it has, it holds up pretty damn well in my eyes.
Well, actually... there's one more Ratchet and Clank game on the PS2... well, actually, it would be better if we forget -Size Matters-.
I really like how this is the only PS2 R&C Game to have a campaign that is fully co-op. It really enhances Nick's point of this being more like a 3D Metal Slug or Contra game rather than MegaMan.
Ratchet Deadlocked is one of my favorite R&C games. I mean it does have its flaws, but I still really enjoyed it. I honestly think it's fine if a game series goes a little more edgey every once in a while for a game, but it's gotta be done right, and this game did it right.
I LOVE THIS FUCKING GAME!
2:20 - True, I recently found out that my local collectables store literally has a whole box dedicated to Super Mario Bros 1985 cartridges for $5 each and they have all the different variants, the standalone, the Duck Hunt Double Cart and the 3 game Cart version.
"NICKONAQUAMAGNA, WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?"
I was not expecting another Ratchet & Clank game review from you anytime soon, so I was pleasantly surprised to find out that you released this video! I was also pleasantly surprised that you reviewed Deadlocked before going into the Future series, just for the recognition of the game, you know. I agree with you on the replayability of this game, in the sense that I would much rather go back to another game in the series than this one. It just doesn't feel like a proper R&C experience. Even so, it's still one of my favorite games.
ratchet and clank is definitely a series i need to get freshed up on. I played the original at a friends house for like an hour but I owned an xbox not ps2. The next time I played an R&C game was this year with the remaster lol. It was awesome and I really do feel like ive been missing out
Cool review! I've always enjoyed watching both your videos.
I was kind of expecting a Mega Man Power Fighters comparison , but the Metal Slug comparison makes enough sense
did any of you children even get a chance to play this game ONLINE?
the online for this game was bigger than Mortal Kombat Armageddon, and it was up & running until 2010/early-mid 2011.
you guys all missed the fuck out, and all it took was an Ethernet cable
Nick S oh, an ethernet cable. I didnt have that at the time
Ehhh I had the chance to play it and personally I found it very boring.
I'm actually playing it online nowadays, although it takes a long ass time to get a match going. Mostly because not very many people know about it.
It takes place in the shadow sector, basically the same as terminus space in mass effect, sasha even said it's a lawless region of space
do you guys not remember this game takes place in the shadow sector, "a lawless region of space on the edge of the galaxy", as I think Sasha described it?
This game is EXREMELY underrated and it's my 2nd favorite after going commando
Ratchet's run had a hypnotic sway? That came out wrong.
I was in bad mood earlier and this video helped me get out of that mood.
This game is just pure endless fun.
this was mine first ratchet and clank game
and i liked it but i havent played sins forever
I must say this was defenently a very interesting take on a ratchet deadlock review. As always great job. this was a very well made review.
Whatever happened to that Aqua Manga guy?
Gladiator, probably my second most played game when i had a PS2, first being sonic heroes, I dont know howm any playthroughs i did of this game, bt needless to say, it was A LOT, the short length is what allowed me to play it so much and the multiplayer was SO GOOD
You forgot the story co-op mode that multiplied my play time by 6 since my brother will re-play that game on challenge mode to this day
waited so long for this :)
Nitpick: Battle Royale was originally a book.
I assume you mean The Running Man, the 1982 Steven King novel that was adapted five years later into the film I mentioned. The Battle Royale Novel didn't come out until a decade or so later.
Oops.
Oh the nostalgia I felt watching this😪
Did you hit puberty between now and the last R&C review?
I wouldn't go that far xD
!BEASTY! He makes decent reviews, but he does sound like a hipster.
Well I'm a British twod, so I wouldn't know ;)
+Alfonzo You got it right.
I LOVE THIS GAME AND I WANT TO PLAY IT AGAIN.
This first spin off game for the series was good.
Better then the next 2 PS2 Games.
oh shit, you had a play n trade near you too? nice man, there was one near me that i passed on the way home all the time, which later became another store that was basically same thing, different name. unfortunately tho there was also a gamestop literally across the street so that location wound up not being able to compete and had to close, and the other ones are nowhere near me T_T
Hey, Exo. Would you and Nickon be interested in doing previews/reviews for the "Lloyd the Monkey" game? I'll be releasing a demo next month.
Hey man great video! Though, in the future you should do your reviews solo.......Not to be mean but you dont need others, your solo vids just flow better.
Yeah, it just worked out this time because we had different viewpoints on the game, and he was fairly new to it while I've been playing it for years, so it made for an interesting back and forth.
Also, the game has 2-player co-op. That's pretty fun.
Draygone Fuzzbottom Jr I played the co-op and actually me and my brother found it challenging for two reasons, you MUST stay close together, you can go some distance, but that's one and the second was the bots don't help, maybe if one did that'd be cool but I like it now that you don't in co-op.
I would love to someday see a Remake or Rebreak review of La-Mulana. Not sure if EPG would enjoy it, though: It isn't very linear, being a mixture of Metroid and Zelda.
+SabinStargem Please understand that I prefer linearity in action platformers, but enjoy open-endedness in adventure games. It all has to do with my expectations of the genre.
I'm more of a melee person. I mostly use the wrench as my main weapon in RA3, you think this is right for me?
"Hard core techno"= industrial. Same genre as Quake, Cubanate, and Frank Klepacki's work. David's soundtrack here is a driving force for the whole game, I've actually turned the game audio off just to listen to the soundtrack.
Best game I ever legally got for free (HD Version was bundled with one of the other games on PSN at the time)
Very nice review, but no spoiler section though? :/
Whoops.
Don't forget Size Matters before Tools of destruction.
very good just one minor detail that kept bothering me. there was another ratchet and clank game on the ps2 which came in between this one and tools of destruction. you forgot that size matters exists even though it’s not as good as the other 4 in my opinion
That game was a PSP game at first which got ported to PS2 if I'm not mistaken, that's why it feels so off. I personally own it and never played it more than 5-10 minutes. I'll probably never go through that game lol
So, the Kirby ROR, is it just one of the original games compared to it's remake, or a couple of games?
It's Kirby's Adventure and Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland.
Ahh... This game. Seeing as I don't have a PS2, I haven't gotten around to it. I could always download it through PlayStation Network, though I tend to wait for sales, and PSN doesn't seem to make them nearly as apparent as on, say... Steam.
Why did they change it from gladiator to deadlock and locked and loaded to commando?
I'll admit that Deadlocked is "okay", but the game's value does get one notable reward when playing Co-op with a friend, because at that point, you are telling them to stop hogging all the nicer weapons. Online play lasted FOREVER (seriously, two years ago, it still had active games) and wasn't too bad.
And yes, I got all skill points for the Ninja outfit. Worth it.
I personally really enjoyed the PS4 game and I think you should get it once you have a PS4 (I don't know when you plan on getting one but I still recommend the game)
Remake or Rebreak Conkers Bad Fur Day vs Live and Reloaded
actually no I say use acid on the snipes. makes better chances for ohkos. use ice on the vipers and magma cannon. shock on the flail and shield. morph on harbinger. magma on b6. time bomb on arbiter. for the turret... uh... shit I never had a set mod for that. I think I usually use shock.
The only Ratchet & Clank game I've played is a Crack In Time. Do you think the series would be worth getting into?
Yes
I know a place were I can buy old games from generations ago and new games too in person called game champ but I only seen this a few of this place in NYC were I'm from
Do you plan on seeing the Ratchet & Clank movie?
Still waiting on your next review.
He's swamped by college right now. No time for videos.
Where did you get your copy of Klonoa 2 and how much was it, Everywhere I look online, it is very expensive.
I think I said at the end of my Klonoa 2 review. I got it off of Amazon in 2013, before it got so expensive.
Will you ever return to the ratchet series
Does this game disc work well with a backward compatible ps3
Why were you so enthusiastic in the intro? kinda creeped me out.
It's called acting.
you missed out size matters, which was on ps2 as well
he got a PSP and will likely play the PSP version. same for secret agent clank...assuming he play's those
scythe watch doesn't diminish the fact it's on ps2
I won't. Just saying those games where made for the PSP.
how are the weapons boring they help you get a lot of bolts
why didnt you talk about the coop mode?
We didn't know we were supposed to.
Also when can we expect the Yoshi's Story review.
After the Kirby ROR, which is next.
always start this game on coop, even if you're alone. dat free b6 do.
when are you doing TOD anyway
If kirby superstar ultra gets release on the wii u will do another ROR
+Jah Production Actually, I might be able to record that one anyway. ;)
+ExoParadigmGamer cool because that was always one my favorite kirby games and I feel it doesn't get as much attention as other video game remakes
also you get to play as meta kight in that version and that's awesome.
please review the PS3 games
That's supposed to be darla gratch in the movie. This makes me sad.
Where's Tools of Destruction?
tbh i rather play this game or basically any of the other games then the first one
the first game dragged for me and nothing in that game felt good to do
To me, the first one feels like a Nintendo 64 game with PS2 graphics and scale, which for many, could be a good thing or a bad thing.
yeah i dont think they had gotten past spyro fully when they made the first game
it felt very ps1 platformer
What's the really overenthusiastic intro?
We were just goofing around.
Seemed like it was attempting to emulate games like Sonic Adventure with their early, goofy attempts at lip-syncing and over-exaggerated body language to avoid "talking heads"!
Lugbzurg
You may've noticed, he did that thing Ratchet and Clank characters tend to do sometimes where they hold out their hand and shake their head. That was pure coincidence. Also, it annoys me so much in the games. XD
NickonAquaMagna I feel like I've seen that motion absolutely EVERYWHERE, and yet I can't think of a single instance it's been used. Freaky...
+NickonAquaMagna this is random but I fucking love your voice.
You both missed the biggest point of the whole game. 2 player co-op where player 2 replaces your robot companions. honestly you missed likely 10 mins of review content by leaving out what was the selling point.
This is unrelated but you should try ror mega man X snes vs iOS
Sonic Chaos should be done.
Nice hat
do remake or rebreak
Family Kart vs Family Kart 3D
1.) I have seen the movie yet, it's great!
2.) I don't have a PS4 too!
3.) Ratchet Gladiator.... good game (just finished it ;P), but the Trilogy is far superior
Depends on the game. Would you say Mega Man is superior to Metal Slug in the same way?
Well, I hardly played any of it
regardless, Gladiator and the Trilogy are part of the same franchise, so comparison is much easier, than just 2 games of the same Genre
it's like comparing Mario to Sonic, you'll judge Mario 1 vs 2 / Sonic 1 vs 2 differently than Mario 1 vs Sonic 1
Sonic 2 is the best out of the 4 examples btw, at least to me
Well, near the end of the review, I delve into this exact thing. Most Ratchet and Clank games play like 3D Mega Man games, at least I think so. Similarly, Ratchet Deadlocked is pretty much a 3D Metal Slug game. So, you know. If just depends on which series you're drawn to.
Online still active?
No
Shut down on February 16 2018
Still better than the PSP games.
please do rayman 2 whenever you can, its a timeless classic.
I tried the 3DS version and it didn't do much for me. I don't know if the other versions are better.
+ExoParadigmGamer apparently they are. The 3ds has pretty bad frame rate drops. The best version is PS2.
Rayman Revolution is
I have played Deadlocked severak times and enjoyed it a lot. It's all about blowing $#!+ up and that's just fine with me.😀
To be honest... I kind of... hate the Ratchet & Clank franchise.
Don't judge me.
Hate is a strong word pal, you better have some good reasons backing that.
..........Why?
fuck you ratchet and clank is a great series you just said that because your jak and daxtertard also jak and daxter focus on mini games
Generic "what's up with that intro" comment XD
60FPS!!! WHAYTTTTTTT!
I hate the battle bots... stupid little experience stealers....
That IS one thing about them I found a little annoying later in the game, once I'd upgraded the hell outta them. Say I'm trying to get a skill point, take down a certain number of enemies. Whoops! Merc just took down the six one I needed to nab that skill point, and there aren't any more of that type of enemy around. Sometimes, I'd have to get the battle bots killed, THEN try to get the skill point while they can't help. I'm cool with them otherwise, though. Whatever amount of XP you lose to them must be tiny compared to the amount you get just by killing stuff normally.
+NickonAquaMagna doesn't matter how small it is, waste is waste. I never upgrade them (their help is not worth it ESPECIALLY in the harder playthroughs) and I never revive them when they go down. until I meet a place I need them. god that pisses me off, now I have to revive them.
Brian Stell
Dang, dude. I guess I just like them enough as characters to "forgive" how they effect the gameplay and want to keep them around. Oh well.
They are pretty simple characters. Not entertaining, compelling, and literally you could remove them and nothing would change. At all. All they do is steal xp suck and die.
Brian Stell
Oh. Well, if you say so. Is it okay if I still like them, or... does that just mean I have bad taste?
make a review on sly 2
Telling people to review something doesn't make them more likely to review it. In fact, it can turn them off from it completely.
hey i was just making a suggestion
Frederik Arendt Jørnsen
It's fine. Just keep in mind that comments are basically tone deaf, so if you're not careful, it can come across as being... demanding? I dunno.
Fun fact: Juanita is voiced by the voice of Rarity in the movie! ;)
i dont really like the voice of the other guy....sorry ^^;
the beginning of the vídeo had the best worst acting i ever seen
Jak 3 next ;););));))))?
Skype in 2016 LUL
is the intro supposed to be crin...gey
Yes.
Henry Fuentes *corny.