Title: Ratchet & Clank Future: Quest for Booty
Platform: PlayStation 3
Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Insomniac Games
ESRB Rating: E10+

It's probably safe to assume that Insomniac Games' Ratchet and Clank could serve as icons for Sony's PlayStation 3 console. If there is one thing Nintendo and Microsoft have correctly done over the years, it's to establish a legacy based on single characters: Nintendo's Mario and Link and Microsoft/Bungie's Master Chief. You could even go so far as to throw in Sega's Sonic although the company hasn't manufactured a console since the end of the 1990s. Since the initial PlayStation, Sony has stumbled in that department until Insomniac struck gold with its infamous duo, which debuted on the PlayStation 2 six years ago and has spawned several sequels.

With Insomniac's latest chapter in the Ratchet and Clank franchise, the famous icons don't return as a full-blown product, but as a downloadable game via the PlayStation Network. At a retail price that is a fraction of a full title -- $14.95 to be exact for the 2388 MB download -- Ratchet and Clank Future: Quest for Booty, will take around five hours to play (although some claim that it only takes three or four hours to complete). Either way, the game is not meant to serve as a full installment of the series, but rather as an episode to tide fans over until the next full game hits the streets in fall 2009.

Quest for Booty takes place where the best-selling PS3 title Tools of Destruction leaves off, with Ratchet and Talwyn on a quest to recover their lost mechanical friend, Clank (who actually has his own game on the PSP, Secret Agent Clank). Clank was suddenly kidnapped by the enigmatic race of machines known as the Zoni, which may hold the key to the duo's origin. Although the duo has no idea where to locate the Zoni, Captain Darkwater is the only expert on the Zoni culture...who just happens to be dead. Luckily for Ratchet and Talwyn, they end up on Hoolefar Island after a brief encounter with Rusty Pete and the remnants of Captain Slag's crew. The duo discovers that Darkwater created the Obsidian Eye before his untimely demise, which is a huge device used to contact the Zoni. Its power source, the Fulcrum Star, remains hidden; its location marked on a map Darkwater kept with him and now resides with his body in the creepy Morrow Caverns.

Quest for Booty picks up where Tools of Destruction left off and features more hilarity, colorful characters and enticing environments.

Despite Quest for Booty's short length, the game is extremely fun to play and seems to last longer then a mere five hours. Granted, many gamers who slaved over previous full-blown installments might find this little helping lacking in the quantity department, but there's enough love here to make the purchase and download worthwhile. Outside the usual superb quality and humor found in previous titles, Quest for Booty also features more platforming and puzzle solving than its predecessors. Additionally, Ratchet can also pick things up with his Omniwrench such as lava balls, fiery skulls and even glowing little blob creatures (Heliogrubs). The latter proved more useful than you might think, as it illuminated dark caverns and scared away vicious bats, while throwing lava balls actually opened sealed doors.

Although the new features more than justify the download, what really stands out is the game's incredible imagery, especially once Ratchet and Talwyn reach Hoolefar Island. This place serves as the central point in Quest for Booty and really sports the PS3's abilities in the graphics department. Detailed textures and vivid colors bring this world to life without making objects look too realistic and over-cooked. You'll spend a good deal of time just exploring the island, taking in its unique personality, talking to its inhabitants and just gasping at the glorious, lush eye candy. Metallic surfaces glisten in the sun. Grass wavers in a gentle breeze. Even incredible lighting effects illuminate dark areas with vibrant colors, revealing meticulously designed rock surfaces. Character models are crisp and in the forefront, appearing as if you could actually reach though the screen and pull them straight out of the game.

But surprisingly enough, Ratchet doesn't affect his environment to the degree which we are accustomed in today's games. His feet don't leave tracks in the dirt. He doesn't leave a gentle wake when he marches through low-level bodies of water. His boots don't disperse blades of grass, nor do they leave puffs of smoke when treading across dry dusty soil. On the other hand, he moves the leaves of large dandelions, fern plants and other larger plant-life. The only true effect he has on the environment is in the way he can smash objects to retrieve mechanical parts.

Is that a bad thing? Certainly not. One could say that Quest for Booty is not supposed to be incredibly detailed, as its focus is primarily on gameplay, storytelling and creative style. Still, the visuals will dazzle, although high-action areas will noticeably slow down frame rates, making camera rotations difficult or action commands sluggish. If anything, the eye candy stands out when exploring the island or during the highly engrossing platform scenarios and puzzle sequences.

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