Next-gen consoles are supposed to be incredibly powerful, but it is hard to measure that power without a test. Ratchet and Clank: Tools of Destruction seems to test the power of the PS3, cramming in as many explosions, sounds, AI, and activities on the screen as possible. It is a slight departure from previous Ratchet and Clank games, but this fast-paced platformer certainly performs well.

I was only able to play through the demo of this game, but I was impressed. From start to finish, the demo was a rush. It takes place in a city with incredibly tall buildings and vertical space is utilized in a unique way. Ratchet seemed to fall far enough be considered fatal, but then he would hit be some sort of trampoline device and he would fly through the air to a new destination.

The game was truly action-packed. There was a plethora of scripted events happening around Ratchet, but many did not directly affect him. It reminded me of the original Half-Life, where I could often look around and see events that could be missed if I was not vigilant. The processor on the PS3 handled all the scripted events and explosions beautifully; the console never slowed me down. The PS3 also allowed for greatly improved visuals - the animation was incredible and felt as sharp as that in a Pixar animated feature film.

Despite its intense pace, Tools of Destruction still preserved many of the best features of the series, including the humor and fun weapons. The characters were rich, as always. The weapons were creative, from a weapon that could morph enemies to a groovitron, which made all enemies in the vicinity dance.

Gameplay was similar to the rest of the series. There were some difficult parts that seemed unbalanced with the rest of the game. Fortunately, there were many checkpoints, so the game was fairly forgiving if you died. Also, most of the gameplay was very solid. There was a wonderfully creative part where I got to use the sixaxis tilting to steer Ratchet through multi-tiered air traffic. It was a fantastic moment of gameplay and an experience that felt strangely realistic.

I really enjoyed the demo for Tools of Destruction. It seems like a great use of the PS3’s power and I hope that the whole game lives up to the high standard set by the demo.