Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault

Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault was created as a smaller, quicker-turnaround entry in the popular series about the inventor Ratchet and his robotic partner Clank. Instead of a sprawling adventure across the whole galaxy, it offers a compact story about defending several besieged planets and plays out across several shorter, self-contained missions rather than one long connected journey. Ratchet once again sets out to defend his allies' homes alongside Clank and other characters from the series, who join the defense as playable or support characters.

The main new feature is combining traditional action-platforming with base building – between waves of enemies, the player invests collected bolts into turrets, mines, and other defensive structures placed around key points on the map, before diving into combat with the sizeable collection of oversized, deliberately over-the-top weapons the series is famous for. Battles thus alternate between fast third-person action and calmer moments of tactically placing defenses between attacks, which sets the game apart from the classic entries built purely on exploration and platforming jumps. The campaign is deliberately shorter than the series' main entries and can be played from start to finish in two-player co-op, whether on a shared split screen or over the internet, with both players jointly defending the same positions and sharing progress on the defensive structures.

Why play: Full Frontal Assault suits series fans who want a quick dose of familiar action without having to sink dozens of hours into it like the main entries, as well as players drawn to the combination of shootouts with a light base-defense element and planning turret placement. Thanks to full co-op from start to finish, it's also worth it for anyone looking for a shorter but complete co-op experience for one or two evenings with a friend.