Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando

When I mentioned, about an hour ago, that you would find out about the sequel to Ratchet & Clank another time, I bet you didn't think that time would be this very time, right here, right now. Shocked? Yeah, that's right; I beat not just one PS2 game last night, but two PS2 games. Shawty what'chu think 'bout that? Alright. The gameplay and dynamics of Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando are identical to those of its prequel, which I have just discussed. The chief difference between the two is that this time around there are more weapons, more levels, and more upgrades. And that's what makes it a better game. There's also a little more creativity shown in the level designs and puzzles, as well as the in-game mini-games you must complete. A great feature that this game includes is the ability to import weapons from the first Ratchet & Clank into your arsenal in this one, albeit for a price. That was huge, as I bought back my old R.Y.N.O. from my original Ratchet save file early in the game this time around. Plus, there's a RYNO II. I now had two beastly ultimate weapons, which meant that ammunition was only half as scarce and levels were only half as long. I mentioned earlier that all I had to do to "beat" Ratchet & Clank last night was conquer the final boss. The exact same situation applied to this game. In fact, I find that in my own experience, this is hardly a rarity. Too often, before making it my mission to beat every unbeaten game on my shelf, I would play either the majority or entirety of a game and then immediately lose interest one day. Typically, this is due to reaching an annoying or frustrating point. A perfect example would be Metroid Prime, where I currently need to collect a bunch of artifacts from previous worlds in order to open the path toward the final boss. Put yourself in my situation as I played the game many years ago, and you'll see where I'm coming from. I'm done with all the fun stuff and exploration of new worlds. Now, it's time to retrace my steps for a few hours until I find some stuff I'm looking for. How fun is that? Can you even blame me for abandoning the game? "Hurdles" like this are not uncommon in gaming, and all too often a particular level, race, or boss fight will lead one to say, "Fuck it, I got plenty of other games." There's a fine line between challenging and frustrating, and while it varies from person to person and game to game, once it's been crossed, a game stops being fun. And why play a game if you're not having fun? You don't. Unless you have foolishly made it your mission to beat every single game you own. If there's on thing this summer of backlog cleaning has taught me, it's how to never give up, no matter how much fun I'm not having. After all, I had the discipline to toil all the way through Luxor 2. Beating the final bosses from two old games I really enjoyed was a cakewalk by comparison. I have heard that the third Ratchet & Clank game is the greatest one, and will certainly consider playing it if I ever stumble upon it for a low enough price. But due to my project, that'll be years away, if ever. We only have so much time on this green earth, and thus, can only play so many video games.