July 18, 2012September 6, 2012

Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault Adds a Tower-Defense Twist

Hey everyone, James from Insomniac Games here. Our team of veteran Insomniacs in North Carolina has been hard at work developing Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, and today I’m happy to share new details surrounding Ratchet & Clank’s latest PSN adventure.

Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault heads back to the classic camera, weapons and third-person Ratchet gameplay that the series is known for, while adding a new tower defense element that will have you building and defending a base against invasions using your ultimate Ratchet & Clank arsenal. This new twist, added to the classic Ratchet gameplay, brings a whole new level of strategy and decision-making to Full Frontal Assault. You’ll want to make sure your Hoverboots are laced up and ready as you race to defeat your enemy while keeping your base secure. Wait, Hoverboots don’t have laces…

In Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault, our heroes face a new nemesis – one who has a nasty surprise planned for Captain Qwark. You’ll be able to choose between playing as Ratchet, Clank, or Captain Qwark, and confront an alien army across five levels set on three different planets. The game allows you and a friend to play together with either split-screen or online cooperative gameplay.

Full Frontal Assault will give you a ton of reasons to keep playing, including an online mode we’ll reveal later, as well as loads of upgrades, extra character skins and unlockable content, but we’d like to show you first screenshots of the game here!

Everyone here is very excited to bring Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault to you this fall. In the meantime, for those of you hungering for a Ratchet & Clank fix, be sure to check out the Ratchet & Clank Collection when it launches in the U.S. on August 28th. You may have seen some of the great reviews from the European release.

There will be much more to come from Ratchet & Clank this summer and fall, as we celebrate their 10th Anniversary! To keep up with the latest news, be sure to like Insomniac Games on Facebook, or follow us on Twitter.

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174 Comments

37 Author Replies

SHINSPIKES
July 18, 2012 at 2:00 pm PDT

You guys are having a online mode again????? Holy, must buy. If you guys had a moba mode, it would make me buy it RIGHT NOW!!!! You have lots of characters, great world, turrets, bots…………..mang, yah got everything for a great moba game.
SHINSPIKES
July 18, 2012 at 2:01 pm PDT

Can the US get it in bluray too. I need it to go with my ratchet ps2 collection. Plus I love the covers of the ratchet games.
metalhead1987
July 18, 2012 at 2:02 pm PDT

I thought all 4 one was a great game. It had the same great humor that i have come to love from R&C series. I had my girlfriend play it with me (She does not play games) and she adored it. We had a blast playing together, even though she fell of ledges a lot lol. That game made her a fan and im glad we could enjoy it together so thanks guys and im def getting this along with hd collection.
GMFCO311
July 18, 2012 at 2:13 pm PDT

So MANY complainers on here, sheesh! Like they say, can’t please everybody. And even if they do, someone will still be complaining about something else!
smyque
July 18, 2012 at 2:13 pm PDT

I just hope the Tower Defense is MINIMAL and a game no so short like Quest for B.
SoYoung
July 18, 2012 at 2:15 pm PDT

Why its so complicated to just release a classic Ratchet and clank game?

I was interrested until I read tower defense elements because I hate this kind of games. Too bad because Ratchet was one of my best franchise but with All 4 one and now this, its kind of disapointed to see the direction of the series and I’ll not buy this.
- James Stevenson
  July 18, 2012 at 2:54 pm PDT
  
  You should still give a chance, it’s very much a Ratchet & Clank game
PuppetShoJustice
July 18, 2012 at 2:18 pm PDT

Stop saying “tower defense twist”. That doesn’t mean anything. How much of the gameplay is made up of tower defense?

You keep posting trying to downplay the tower defense aspect by saying we’ll still get to enjoy the action we love. That’s great; but then why is the tower part even a factor in the equation?

I don’t know if you know this but people don’t play R&C games to defend a point. I always found situations like these to be the least appealing parts of the series. Like when you had to hold a location in Deadlocked while an ally screwed a bolt in.

R&C is at its strongest when you’re exploring an area for collectibles and blasting baddies. I actually didn’t mind Deadlocked too much. But between this and All 4 One you may well have lost a once very proud fan.

If I want tower defense in my games; I’ll play a tower defense game. You had a good formula with Ratchet & Clank. I don’t know why you keep trying to ruin it.
SHINSPIKES
July 18, 2012 at 2:21 pm PDT

After reading the article again, maybe this is a moba. Everyone here just seems to think its a tower defense, but you left enough keywords in there to say its a moba. Please be a moba, this would be so awesome and so fun. Is the single player a moba too? I’m confused.
triedallthem
July 18, 2012 at 2:22 pm PDT

@ James Stevenson: Any news on Pricing? Sales?

Also, @ Pikmologist, you should love ratchet and clank. I do. I owned the first ratchet and clank, but I never played 2 or 3, but I’m getting the collection also, so We’ll both still be trying something new(and might run into each other on Up Your Arsenal’s online play)! Have Fun!
- James Stevenson
  July 18, 2012 at 2:41 pm PDT
  
  No word on any of that yet. Stay tuned
Jeigh
July 18, 2012 at 2:23 pm PDT

@ James Stevenson

Never mind the haters.

I want you and all the folks at Insomniac to know that my entire family loves your games. Before Resistance: FoM, my father had never played any “serious” games- just solitaire and mahjong. Playing co-op with the rest of us was a ton of fun for him. From there, he played and loved R&C (including, A4O, which we played precisely as intended– cooperatively… Sort of. We KILLED each other with those Vac-U’s. XD)

And just last week, we enjoyed the HELL out of R3. Without a doubt, the best entry. I really hope you guys’ll reconsider making R4, or at least supervising it. It’s one of the few FPSs out there with personality and a real story to tell. The series deserves an epic climax– for both the creators and the fans.

As for this, I’m obviously on board. Love the name by the way– very tongue-in-cheek, just like the PS2 games. And I am very fond of strategy/tower defense (my favorite is Comet Crash), so I’m definitely looking forward to seeing about this “twist.”
KOTTENMOUTH04
July 18, 2012 at 2:26 pm PDT

Can somone tell me where is GTA SAN ANDREAS at. The ESRB said that it come to the PSN. But where is it at.
Steelfigther
July 18, 2012 at 2:35 pm PDT

i must say looks very good but the new ratchet have new weapon new planets or is this only a TD? i want a new story with new gadgetry new weapon new character and more i played now the triology and the feeling comes back and i hope the new ratchet will continue to do so. i have some ideas one of my ideas is more galexis not 1. 2 3 or more than all ratchet and clank fans have a long and very nice time to end the game im a really big fan i have all games of ratchet so i would that the ratchet story goes next 10 years or more because ratchet is one of the best game when not the best :D its the best sorry xD so i hope Insomniac read this and all other comments to see how we love ratchet !!! I CANT WAIT!!!!
depward
July 18, 2012 at 2:40 pm PDT

Never have liked a specific tower defense game or a game that has a tower defense element to it. Sorry :/
- James Stevenson
  July 18, 2012 at 2:41 pm PDT
  
  Always a first-time!
OmegaSpartan
July 18, 2012 at 2:44 pm PDT

I hope you guys didn’t just make Ratchet & Clank: Orcs Must Die!
rarfi
July 18, 2012 at 2:53 pm PDT

James, in the Single-Player Mode will your partner be on your back or will it be an AI like in All 4 One? Oh and will it be available on the Playstation Store outside North America?
freshprincepbg
July 18, 2012 at 2:56 pm PDT

I love Ratchet but this isn’t really getting me hot, I’ll wait to judge though.

I hope you guys really do a full sequel to ACiT one day.
The-fLASH-947
July 18, 2012 at 3:03 pm PDT

how many players splitscreen is it ?
- James Stevenson
  July 18, 2012 at 3:48 pm PDT
  
  2
Motherboop
July 18, 2012 at 3:07 pm PDT

Will it have a platinum?
eddieanton
July 18, 2012 at 3:11 pm PDT

I agree with post #107, and you mentioned that it’s similar to the arena battles in UYA.. that i don’t like… i just want to explore planets and blow stuff up.. i don’t care about defending allies or turret or some such.. just give me weapons, enemies to destroy and a world to explore (with clank strapped to my back where he belongs).
Imputed7-14
July 18, 2012 at 3:11 pm PDT

This game sounds awesome. I will be there day one. My family has played and enjoyed ALL of the PS3 Ratchet and Clank games. All 4 One actually being our favorite because of the multiplayer. Looking forward to this, particularly because of the co-op.

Don’t get all the bad vibes.
Gooddaysfall
July 18, 2012 at 3:13 pm PDT

Is this going to be 60fps like ACIT? Plz answer!!!
supvic
July 18, 2012 at 3:23 pm PDT

YES! This is awesome news! I hope it’s like Dungeon Defenders, that game had endless replayability. All this needs now is a 4-player mode, please!
shadysaiyanz
July 18, 2012 at 3:24 pm PDT

The All 4 One engine wasn’t very appealing, especially when it came to Ratchet, his fur a lot less detailed and his ears and tail are pretty sharp, unlike the awesome detail in the Future games. Also co-op is Ratchet is a no-no, All 4 One was awful, as a game and the story wasn’t very good. I’m pretty much over Ratchet games now, but i might give this a try anyway… information on OverStrike would be some fortunate news, despite it being a co-op game.. atleast it looks kind of cool. Reminds me of The Agency game that never came out.
bg93-
July 18, 2012 at 3:37 pm PDT

Seriously awesome. I didn’t care for All 4 One and even the more traditional A Crack in Time started to feel stale. The classic gameplay which I LOVE combined with another layer of strategy coming as a PSN release sounds right up my alley! Besides, there hasn’t been a decent arena in Ratchet since Up Your Arsenal. Seriously, why didn’t the PS3 games have an impossible challenge!? Why not!? Those were awesome!
Please tell me it will be challenging! Are there difficulty settings and other modes? Oh, and let’s get a mode where you buy and upgrade your weapons for that stage.
FearMonkey
July 18, 2012 at 3:44 pm PDT

@100 – Personally, I never wanted nor asked for change. I liked the series just the way it was. :p

But I’m also not really complaining about this. Still gonna get it and still gonna love it. But my preference on Ratchet is the way it was before. *shrug*
CLARK-MONSTER
July 18, 2012 at 3:55 pm PDT

I can understand the haters, but frankly I just do not care. “Ratchet and Clank” was the second video game I ever played, and since the release in 2002, I’ve been impressed again and again with Insomniac. Looking forward so much to this new game :) P.S. Played every Ratchet and Clank game (even Size Matters by High Impact) and read the comics.
nikeybellic
July 18, 2012 at 4:11 pm PDT

You guys better not be doing it like Assassin’s Creed Revelations……
BlaqMagiq24
July 18, 2012 at 4:14 pm PDT

@James Stevenson

I’m really looking forward to Full Frontal Assault. It’s a R&C game and Insomniac always delivers with them. Pay no mind to these whiners on here as they are judging before the game even comes out which is a shame. Just keep doing what youre doing. But I gotta ask though:

Will there be a Ratchet Deadlocked HD? I just gotta get some kind of response. Any kind would be appreciated.
Wozman23
July 18, 2012 at 4:16 pm PDT

Just wanted to say All4One was amazing. It saddens me to see that so many people didn’t care for it, as it had all the classic R&C charm, some really beautiful environments, and top-notch humor. A tower defense twist sounds great. I hate to see you have to pitch this one harder because of people’s narrow-mindedness.

Full Frontal Assault, like all Insomniac games, will be a Day 1 purchase.
andremal
July 18, 2012 at 4:21 pm PDT

My first exposure to R&C was ACIT when I first got my PS3. It was one of the purest ‘fun’ times I’ve had. I’ve since played Tools and Quest for Booty. I’m very excited for the HD Collection. However, just the screenshot at the top of this article tickles me pink. I’m thirsty for any and all R&C I can get my grubby little hands on! I took All 4 One for what it was and had a blast both alone and with friends. I’m really looking forward to Full Frontal Assault and would encourage everyone to thank Insomniac for not abandoning this beloved Franchise as they move from PS exclusive to Multi-platform. It would have been easy for them to just drop the series since it only targets half of the consoles available to them now.

Thanks Insomniac! Here’s hoping FFA reaches both Critic and Fan success and that you keep the R&C content coming!
PS_man1984
July 18, 2012 at 4:24 pm PDT

I thought Insomniac was going to go multiplatform? Why are you guys still making exclusive games for Sony? It’s been 15 years, and we still haven’t seen an Insomniac game on other platforms. You guys aren’t even owned by Sony, so you can walk away at any time.
Mattotastic
July 18, 2012 at 4:27 pm PDT

I’ve never played a Ratchet & Clank game before so I’m glad to be getting the HD Collection next month.
Hopefully I’ll be done with it by the time this comes out.
PS_man1984
July 18, 2012 at 4:28 pm PDT

Insomniac has been stuck with Sony for the past 15 years. They aren’t even owned by Sony, can’t they just walk away and develop for other platforms?
lionheart543
July 18, 2012 at 4:45 pm PDT

Will the tower defense gameplay affect how long the campaign is cuz I would prefer a longer campaign
leslein97
July 18, 2012 at 4:46 pm PDT

Day 1 purchase, Insomniac has kept my PS3 running, and will continue to do so. Thanks for the terrific games, and I’ll mention Resistance 3 b/c that game did not get enough love from the community.
ChocoboJoseph
July 18, 2012 at 4:49 pm PDT

From what you said I’m picturing Dungeon Defenders but with Ratchet and that sounds FLIPPING AWESOME…..
sekaniy
July 18, 2012 at 4:49 pm PDT

I think it will be okay. I didn’t mind the time freezing elements to ACIT and really enjoyed the Clank puzzles! Anyone who really knows R&C know every game has great platforming, GUNZ, and some type of puzzles. This may be a part of the puzzles that go with this game. A4O was good for what it was co-op focused and 4player local/online multiplayer. Pictures look a lot better than A4O and I hope Ratchet looks more grown up like the way he does on UYA cover!
Warp1280
July 18, 2012 at 5:06 pm PDT

Will we be seeing any other characters like Talwyn, Sasha, Big Al, or Cronk and Zephyr ?
sekaniy
July 18, 2012 at 6:08 pm PDT

How will the screen be spli? Horizontal or Vertical? I liked the Vertical split, like on Portal2
camiwaits_us
July 18, 2012 at 6:40 pm PDT

I suck at defending towers, but i love those Ratchet & Clank. Day one buy!
BINK1234
July 18, 2012 at 6:56 pm PDT

I always look forward to any new Ratchet and Clank game. Thanks for the update Insomniac!!!
PsychoSploosh69
July 18, 2012 at 7:02 pm PDT

James, is this coming out for ps3 or vita? or both? Game looks awesome judging by the screenshots. I love how you guys are keeping cartoony games alive. Variety is definitely a good thing. That’s why I love Sony. They’re not all about shooter games.
Silent_Phase
July 18, 2012 at 7:07 pm PDT

I wonder if it’ll be just like Up Your Arsenal when we fought alongside the Galactic Rangers. *sniff* good times :’)
“Waste em’ Tyranoids!”
need4speeder
July 18, 2012 at 8:34 pm PDT

i’ll keep posting til james answer

will this GREEN RYNO be ryno 7????? since a4o had ryno armor suit.
SmithyJones
July 18, 2012 at 9:22 pm PDT

I have beena fan of the series since it first came out so I am really looking for ward to the HD collection as taking up the Grav bomb again and grav sniping my fellow vets and any and all new comers to UYA online.
I would like to know if the dan and nefarious skins will be in it and what about the santa ratchet skin and ape escape monkey or will the special skins be done by region again or not at all?
It wouldnt be the same playing UYA Online without the dan skin?

I am interested to see how this game will turn out
I havea feeling the tower defense will turn out to be V2 Siege mode for those that have played UYA online
Charge booting all over Bikisi, Korgan or Hoven attackting their base while soembody sits back and defends and having your middle fielder gun down the Rusher before he can get to your base.

Damn thinking about how this new twist makes me want to HD collection more
Sevyne
July 18, 2012 at 9:24 pm PDT

I’ll probably still be getting this because it’s R&C and bound to be at least decent. That said, I find Tower Defense to be the most mind-numbingly boring genre of gaming ever made so I can only pray this is a very minor piece of the game.
Spike-123_
July 18, 2012 at 9:30 pm PDT

This game has Day 1 purchase written all over, cannot wait to get my hands on it this fall! I have a few questions I’d like you to clear up for me, James.

1) When you play the game in Single Player, will you have Clank on Ratchet’s back to do stuff from the Original games like use the Heli-Pack?

2) As I can see in the screenshots, It looks like the Buzz Blades are coming back and so to the Warmonger. Can we expect any other weapons to return? Possibly from the PS2 games.

3) In one of your replies to a person’s comment you said the Online will have heaps of Replay Value, does this suggest you are creating Competitive Multiplayer much like Up Your Arsenal’s and adding a ranking system much like CoD’s “Prestige” mode?

4) Will Characters from other Ratchet & Clank titles see itself in this because the EU name “Q-Force” gives me the impression of the characters from R&C3.

5) Will you guys continue to make Ratchet & Clank games after this? (Im curious to know more about the Lombaxes and if Ratchet will ever find them.)

6) Any consideration of either porting Full Frontal Assault or the HD Collection to the Vita?

Thanks for taking the time to read this.
PS: Insomniac Games is #1!
DarkOne_PR
July 18, 2012 at 9:36 pm PDT

How About a Single blu-ray disc with Full Frontal Assault and Quest for Booty…. $19.99-24.99?

AWWW YEA PLS make it happen. I like my games physicals.

BTW insomniac…. PLS go back to Resistance…. go make it what made the first one the game that made me buy a ps3. Nathan Hale and its storyline was so awesome and so much to be done with him… and the ending in R3 was so weak and they left us no where with it…. PLS Give us R4 with the ending that franchise deserve.

Even in one of the intels u find in R2 i guess, they talk about regeneration and stuff…. how about Hale’s cells mixed together with the chimerian virus brought him back to life (given that Malikov had Hale’s body in one of those thanks with water and stuff) to give humanity their world back in a campaign back to back with Joseph Cappelli (Co-op Campaign with a second partner that matters in the story! Not like John….) Also to finish the story u can put the creatures or life specimens that forced the chimeras get out of this planet long ago that left a big hole unexplained… u can put cappelli and Hale in a quest to find the origins of this creatures and get them to help humanity one last time along with their efforts?
misael99
July 18, 2012 at 10:58 pm PDT

I am really hoping that they’ll bring Courtney Gears back to show off her singing skills in another catchy but twisted music video,
TechBlast
July 18, 2012 at 11:26 pm PDT

Is it going to be a continuation to the main ratchet and clank story line or it will have it own story line?