Sony Announces New Ratchet, Jak, Sly Cooper

Thanks to Yahoo for reprinting a press release revealing third versions of the Jak & Daxter and Ratchet & Clank series for PlayStation 2 are due out Fall 2004. The press release notes the "upcoming sequels will continue to push the boundaries as both teams incorporate revolutionary gameplay elements", although with only 12 months between iterations, either fast work or simultaneous development teams seem needed to really push the envelope. Elsewhere, a sneak peek at the next Official PlayStation Magazine reveals a follow-up to another Sony-published title, in the form of Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves, the sequel to the underselling, but critically acclaimed late 2002 PS2 platformer.

Comments

Another Sequel

[devilsadvoc8]

I am not singling Sony out for this but I am getting tired of sequels. Every game has several versions sequels now (don't even get me started on FF). Movies are the same and the remakes of older movies is similar to a sequel.

Where is the original thought? Is the only way gamecoders can make money is to reuse a theme and add some bells and whistles, repackage and call it Dungeon Seige 2 or Unreal 5 or Warcraft 3. I understand that these franchises are popular and some of them are really quite good but I beg these people to think a little more.

Re:Another Sequel

[StocDred]

Ok, ok, fair point. Now, have YOU done anything about it? Have you played Fatal Frame? Beyond Good & Evil? Adventures of Cookies & Cream? Wario Ware? Ico? Conker's Bad Fur Day? Blast Corps? Pokemon Snap? Jet Grind Radio? No One Can Stop Mr. Domino? Mr. Mosquito? Animal Crossing? Disaster Report? Karaoke Revolution? Dungeon Keeper? Deception? All of those are "original" to some degree, either in gameplay or character or theme.

The best way to prompt more original games is to buy more original games. Some points to remember:

1. Not all sequels are bad. Ratchet & Clank 2 was terrific, and most people agree that Tomb Raider 2 was the best of the series. Since the mainstream will tend to buy whatever is familiar, you have to discern for yourself what is good and what it bad... and not just turn your nose up at anything that's a sequel. Crash Bandicoot: Warped was a really good sequel. Sonic Heroes was not.

2. Just because the title is familiar doesn't mean the gameplay is. Look at how Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles diverges from the rest of the FF games. Or Mario Party... yes, there's now 5 games plus a card game, but when it premiered, nobody had ever seen a multiplayer-arcade-action-board-game, and it's certainly not adherant to the age-old Mario style of platformers.

3. If you don't find these games and talk them up at every opportunity, no one will. Cookies & Cream comes up on every single damn list of Good Multiplayer Games, yet no one ever buys it. Ever.

4. All franchises have to start somewhere, so there is an impetus for companies to create new games. Especially once tastes change, games slip, and the current cash cows die off. If the Crash Bandicoot series was still alive and kicking ass, would we even have gotten Jak or Ratchet or Sly? Maybe not! Those three PS2 games mentioned in this article all debuted in 2002. These are not old games by any stretch. All three were considered fresh and original merely two years ago. And Ratchet, at least, proved that the developers know how to make a great game even better. Will R&C3 measure up? We'll see.

5. Don't become unappeasable. Just because the lead stories on slashdot are all copy-and-pasted from IGN headlines, don't assume that's all the gaming world has to offer. Don't figure you've seen it all because you've spent 5 minutes browsing at EB. The original, the rare, the special, the weird... they are all out there. Without actively searching out new concepts, you risk driving yourself right out of the hobby due to boredom.

I'm not trying to beat up on you, buddy... I'm just trying to flesh out the No Original Games Anymore complaint and show what gamers need to do about it.

Overabundance?

[onebeaz]

I know this lists only 3 titles, but doesn't anyone think there is an overabundance of platformers like these? True, those above are popular titles, but think of all the junk they are competing with. Are they actually all that good?

Sly Rocks

[CosmicDreams]

My wife loves this game. It's the first game she's played on a modern console. It's gone a long way to have her see my PS2 as more than a DVD player and huge timewaster. She has told me that if the sequel is good she intends to buy it.

The cartoonish style of Sly Cooper really appeals to her. She thinks the game is funny and cute.

Re:What do you mean, don't get me started on FF?

[CashCarSTAR]

Even the Mario games have had multiple series. You have 2d mario and 3d mario. Can you really compare the two? Anyway, you're exactly right on Final Fantasy. It's more like a development team than anything. They go out of their way to give each game a different feel. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But I'm not going to complain about X-2 myself. I'm not the biggest fan of the game system, but X's background story (The fall of the Yevon church) was more than interesting enough to deserve a follow-up.

Jak II was a disappointment

[Xian97]

compared to the original. I for one didn't like the darker theme and the addition of GTA style carjackings. I hope they bring back the style of Jak and Daxter for the next sequel. I completed the original 2 times, but got bored about halfway through Jak II.

On the other hand, Ratchet and Clank Going Commando was improved in almost every way - different puzzle types, the ability to import weapons from R&C, and more Giant Clank missions to name a few of the many improvements. I just completed it two weekends ago and I am ready and waiting for R&C3.

Apparently, publishers listen to the critics

[WebGangsta]

I was really glad that Sly Cooper made it to the "Greatest Hits" collection. I'm thrilled that a sequel is coming, as Sly was not only a reasonably well-done game (with a beautifully rendered graphic look), but it was different from the typical platformer in that you weren't trying to kill everything in sight. Plus, there was the speed mode. It really is a game deserving of all the critics praise, and I'm glad to see that game sales weren't a deciding factor in making a sequel. (Besides, we're all waiting for Kingdom Hearts 2 as well...)

Jak1 was great. I thought Jak2 was the sell-out and unnecessary sequel. While J2 was a better game technology-wise and play-wise (read "longer"), it didn't really server any purpose in advancing the title.

On the other hand, I'm looking forward to seeing what R&C3 would do, after seeing the huge improvements made in the Commando title. I don't see a need for a 4th title in either series on the PS2 platform... although I would guess that if #3 is wildly successful that they'll try and sell #4 with the rollout of the PS3.

Re:2 part expect, 1 part X factor

[aliens]

I'll tell you where the idea came from. Someone realized that it was a great game and maybe with some marketting a sequel could do well.

That or maybe someone really pitched a great improvement and just needed a solid base to start with.

I gotta rent that game again, never beat it.

If Sony is handing out sequels...

[superultra]

...why not toss one ICO's way?