Army of Two, Battlefield: Bad Company, Devil May Cry 4, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction all get the price drop and new packaging effective June 16.

"Games deemed ‘Greatest Hits' have reached a significant sales threshold. This latest selection features several critically acclaimed titles, including Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Metal Gear Solid 4, which represent the high caliber of quality software that is available on the PS3 system," said Scott A. Steinberg, vice president, product marketing, SCEA. "We're looking forward to making this group of best sellers even more accessible to consumers, while we continue to deliver more value to the overall PS3 platform."

John Fiorito, chief operating officer at Insomniac Games, wrote about the trials, tribulations and successes the developer experienced during the production of Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, its second PlayStation 3 game. For example, Fiorito pulls back the curtain on Insomniac's trailer for Ratchet & Clank Future, known as "Metropolis," writing that it was built "frame by frame" in the Resistance: Fall of Man engine, essentially a "target render."

On top of that, Fiorito provides exciting data for you to crunch on, including that Ratchet & Clank Future comprised 980,184 lines of code and used up a terabyte of hard drive space over at Insomniac HQ.

Believe it or not, there are challenges developing two games concurrently on non-finalized, new-gen hardware. Read all about it at Gamasutra.

Postmortem: Insomniac's Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction [Gamasutra]

AOL is giving away a 40GB Playstation 3 with a copy of Ratchet and Clank Future and a wireless Sixaxis controller to customers who sign a two-year contract for AOL Broadband Wireless Plus.

The 24-month contract also requires you to sign up for AOL Talk call plan (not sure what that is) and runs £19.99 a month. Once you stick around for 24 months you can keep your PS3 forever. The only catch, besides the ironclad two-year contract, is that you have to pay a deliver charge of £14.99 for the console, controller and game. Not a bad Christmas present, especially since it comes with Ratchet and Clank.

Judging by the price and location of the source, I suspect this is a UK only deal.

AOL Broadband now offering a free Sony PlayStation 3 [Think Broadband]

It's been great to have a network that can facilitate the map-pack downloads, demos and trailers for both Resistance: Fall of Man and Ratchet & Clank: Tools of Destruction. The number of users on PSN has been rising steadily and we absolutely plan to support them with more new content coming soon.

D+Pad Nov 2007 [via maxconsole]

"Ultimately we're trying to create more emotional intimacy," he said. "That's one of the things that movies do really well with the close-up, where you can really see the emotions on the character's face. But in games, so often you're just seeing the action from a wide shot behind the character you're controlling and you don't have that emotional connection. So that's what we're going for."

This is exactly what has always drawn me to the R&C universe. The rich characterization of the previous games have combined with the technology of the PS3 (Ratchet has over 90 joints in his face alone) and an excellent story about a lone Lombax exploring his roots to create a truly engrossing interactive experience. Hit up the link for the full article, which includes Ted Price discussing the joys of poking fun at pop culture in the series and the importance of the title to the PlayStation 3 lineup. A good read, even if they did get the release date wrong.

A New Video Game Hopes Expressive Characters Lead to Emotional Attachment [New York Times]

We'll be honest; the overblown, semi-pretentious nature of Lionhead's Fable 2 production diaries endear their clips a bit closer to our hearts than Insomniac's more straightforward Ratchet & Clank chronicles. But we do love this story about a typically ludicrous game bug that developers had to iron out in Future. Specifically, if you threw the wrench and then jumped, Ratchet's head would spin in 360 degrees, gaining momentum with subsequent wrench/jumps until it created a wagon-wheel effect. Hit the clip about a minute in to hear the story.

So hit the jump for our Frankenreview; this week we did something special and only included reviewers that had "game" or some amalgamation of such in the title. That's for you, Insomniac. Live it up.

GameZone
The new Ratchet & Clank title, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, is every bit as compelling visually as the high-end Hollywood animated features. Take anything from Dreamworks or Pixar, and compare them and you will find that ToD is a visual feast that rivals them. The major difference is, of course, that when you watch one of those films, that is all you are doing ...you are an integral part of the event.
GameDaily
The voice work is up to Insomniac's usual standards, filled with personality and hardly any dead spots...The dialogue is still hilarious, even with the random chatter that plays in the background. On top of this, the music works on a rhythm all its own. The tempo changes constantly depending on what's happening on-screen. What sounds easygoing at first soon bursts with romping energy. It's a terrific soundtrack, one with great unpredictability.
GamingAge
Whether it is a (optionally) motion control-enabled tornado launcher, a kick ass electric whip, or viscous little plasma beast capsules, nearly all the weapons are fun to use and required to be utilized throughout the game.... This is by far Insomniac's best selection of weapons and gadgets yet, although I have to say they are probably a little too good. By spending a few extra minutes exploring the stages and collecting raritanium and bolts, weapons can be upgraded to ridiculously powerful levels, even early on in the game.

GamerNode
Just about every minigame utilizes the Sixaxis controls (unless you count Clank's couple of solo runs). I know what you're thinking: "Sixaxis controls! Oh no!" but in all honesty, they're done well in this game. Nothing really takes you out of the flow; you do things such as control Ratchet as you halo jump from a ship or glide through the air, slide a ball around a circuit to hack electronics a la Bioshock, and cut holes in walls, and all in the midst of gameplay.

GameAlmighty
Whereas earlier installments of the Ratchet and Clank series offered a range of single player and online multiplayer modes, Tools of Destruction hones in on its solo experience with just a story-driven campaign. Dropping multiplayer negatively impacts the game's long-term value; however, focusing purely on the campaign has resulted in a level of quality that easily surpasses any previous iteration.
Yes everyone, it looks like Ratchet & Clank Future is every bit as good as we'd hoped.

The Eye of Judgment (PS3)
Battle to the death with cards and a camera.

Zack & Wiki Quest for Barbaros' Treasure (Wii)
The great game with a terrible name!

Painkiller: Overdose (PC)
Once a mod, now a for real game.

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (PS3)
Ratchet and Clank return with another outrageous weapons arsenal.

Clive Barker's Jericho (PC, X360, PS3)
Control a team of psychic soldiers against legions of the undead.

Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation (X360)
Fighting planes are fun!

Mega Man ZX Advent (DS)
Mega Man returns!

Conan (X360, PS3)
The legendary barbarian graces the 360 with his twitching muscles.

Battlestar Galactica (X360, PC)
Downloadable game based on the uber popular TV series.

Age of Empires III: The Asian Dynasties (PC)
Age of Empires III spreads it's reach to the Asian Dynasties.

Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (PSP)
All new revamped Castlevania action!

One of the strongest aspects of Ratchet and Clank, has to be the quality of the visuals, and we wanted to showcase this in the TV ad, meaning it'll be made up entirely of actual gameplay footage.

So will R&C Tools capture the hearts of the consumer public? I'm not sure. But it's most certainly one of the most beautiful games I've ever laid eyes on, with a graphical style and platforming experience that has no parallel in the "next gen" marketplace today. Here's hoping it moves a few units, because people should be playing it. Seriously, for their own good.

Sony pumps £1m into Ratchet TV campaign [mcv]

Officially, it's still October 30. But I'm expecting a very happy birthday to me next Tuesday. Woo!

Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction Coming Soon(er) [PlayStation.blog]

Here's the deal: while Sony won't officially support an imported Japanese DualShock 3, games like Ratchet & Clank Future will. The game was listed as DualShock 3 ready in the official "List Of PS3 Games That Support The DualShock 3" without requiring a software update, but I wanted to be sure.

The game—the first to support the new controller sans software update—ships on October 30, with the DualShock 3 hitting Japanese retailers on November 11, so there's still a potential delay in getting to enjoy Ratchet & Clank Future as it was intended. The worse news is that actually finding an importer with one in stock is going to prove more difficult.

We're going to be in touch with everyone who has a game shipping before the American and European release dates of the DS3, just to satisfy our curiosity.

According to our current favorite Gamestop employee tipster, the demo consists of the first level of the game, just like the one due to hit the PlayStation Store next month. However, according to Insomniac reps, the code represents an older build of the game and the online demo is expected to be more "polished." Thanks for the heads up, BJ!

See you in the future!

Ratchet & Clank PSN Demo on October 4 [IGN]

By: Michael McWhertor

The Ratchet & Clank series from Insomniac Games is largely expected, for better or worse, to be great with every entry. And it's not a system-selling, headline-grabbing, fanboy-insult war fodder kind of great; it's the polished, consistent, carefully constructed kind of great that seems to deliver without worry or pretention, a product of the hard working developers helming the property.

After four PlayStation 2 games—Ratchet & Clank, Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando, Rachet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal and Ratchet: Deadlocked—plus a solid portable release, Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters from High Impact Games, each delivering solid gameplay and avoiding sequel burnout, the first PLAYSTATION 3 entry has big shoes to fill.

Does Tools of Destruction deliver more of the same? And in the good more of the same way? Ye... well, it's still too early to pass final judgment, but based on what we've played at E3 and at SCEA's recent media day, it's looking like another proud member in the Insomniac Games action platforming family.

Ratchet & Clank Future improves upon the formula of guiding a fuzzy Lombax and his mechanical sidekick Clank wielding wacky gadgets and an extraordinary arsenal of weapons by focusing on, according to creative director Brian Allgeier, four key elements: mystery, adventure, spectacle and variety. The mystery portion of that evolutionary recipe involves a number of key plot drivers. Foremost, we'll explore the origins of Ratchet, learning more about his fictional species. Also, we'll unravel the secrets of the mystical Zonie, an alien race that only Clank can see and hear. Finally, we'll interact with a number of secondary characters, including a "sultry heroine" name Talwyn.

Appearances from flowery characters like Cronk and Zephyr, Captain Slag and Rusty Pete, and series super zero Captain Qwark will also play a part in the game's mystery, adding comic relief to the heavy narrative of a furry mammal whacking things with a wrench.

The adventure factor is fairly self-explanatory. We'll follow Ratchet and Clank through an journey through an all-new region of the universe, dispatching all manner of space pirates and mechanical terrors along the way. A new galaxy to explore provides all-new settings for our heroes world-saving feats.

Spectacle-wise, it's one of the best looking games on the PS3 to date, blending semi-realistic visual effects with a fantastical world populated by vest-wearing robo-pirates, deadly fish controlled exoskeletons, and massive prehistoric era beasts. Oh, and there are huge explosions. And things are shiny.

The game's variety comes in the form of its copious weapons and accessories cache, clever mini-games—for instance, there's at least one Space Channel 5-esque pirate jig dancing game—and innovative tools that make smart, optional use of the SIXAXIS controller. Ratchet & Clank Future also breaks up the platforming and shooting with a series of space shooter levels.

Chad Dezern, the game's art director explained, in loving detail, the visual philosophy behind Insomniac's development. Avoiding the trappings of too-brown next-gen graphics but careful not to tread into cliche, Skittles inspired platformer color schemes, Tools of Destruction's concept artwork showed the bright, saturated "color scripting" that lends the series a unique style. We were shown pages of artwork, from enemy silhouettes to ambient avian wildlife, from one level's shiny metal shaders to another's moss covered rocks. Most of this stuff you wouldn't notice how well crafted it was unless you spent the time to focus the game's camera in on a distant boulder in prehistoric Sargasso or a polished floor vent in Kerchu City. But when these elements are all on screen amid the rest of the action, it goes a long, long way to presenting a complete visual package.

What most gamers are going to be interested in, sans pixel-pushing beauty, is the variety of the game's weapons and its unusual gadgets. One of the most popular, and sure to get the most press, is the Groovitron. Similar to the King of Pop's screen clearing powers from Michael Jackson's Moonwalker, the Groovitron forces enemies within range to shake their booties, even as you take a giant wrench to their metal skulls. Perfect in a pinch.

Even the aforementioned fish who ride in oversized mechs will get down to the Groovitron's sounds, even if they're already defeated and flopping about on the floor. Poor little guys.

The rest of the notable weapons and tools include, but are clearly not limited to:
Death Springs - Toss these deadly Slinky-like toys into a crowded space and watch everything die.
Mr. Zurkon - This agenda-spewing hoverbot companion will take out anything in its path, up until it runs out of ammo. A cheat will allow you to replace Zurkon with James the Galactic Defender, the in-game recreation of real-life paralysis victim James Westerbrook.
Plasma Beasts - These living mines will look like piles of green slime until someone you want dead approaches. Their true form is a hideous mound of good that kills without prejudice.
Tornado Launcher - It launches tornadoes. Duh. These can be guided with SIXAXIS tilt control upon deployment.
Gelanator - If something is just out of reach when you double-jump, drop some gelatonium then use it as a springboard. Of limited supply.

Of course, there are less gimmicky guns and gadgets, like the Negotiator rocket launcher, the Buzz Blade shooter, the Incinerator flamethrower, the Pirate Holo-Disguise and Clank's new Robo-wings. These standbys will come in handy more often than some of the more flamboyant, harder to find showcase weapons.

Not only are there 23 items to enjoy, keeping the action fresh, your weapons can be upgraded by visiting non-player characters in various worlds. Using a hex-based upgrade system, you'll modify your attacks with collected bolts and "Raritanium" to give them faster firing speeds, greater damage, bigger attack radii and even a few secret unlockable mods. If Ratchet & Clank Future is lacking in anything, it's certainly not depth.

One bit of trivia I managed to eke out of Anthony "Moo" Yu, Gameplay Lead at Insomniac was one of the bizarre weapons that didn't make the final cut. Apparently, the team has been trying to find a way to work in the "Rainbow Afronator" for some time. Unfortunately, outside applying a rainbow-colored afro wig to every enemy in the area, the details have yet to be worked out. Insomniac puts a great deal of emphasis on balancing weapons, reason enough for their preliminary list of 100 weapons to be pared down to just under two dozen.

As revealed earlier yesterday, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction will hit store shelves on October 23rd. While the game looks relatively complete, minus some difficulty tweaks needed in the space shooter levels and some frame rate optimization, the game is currently looking like a no-brainer purchase. You literally will not need a brain to aid you in the decision.

With the series about to celebrate its fifth anniversary, just weeks after the release of the PLAYSTATION 3 sequel, it may feel like familiar territory to some. Those who have skipped out on any of the previous releases or are looking to add some welcome variety to the PS3 libraries will almost certainly want to pick it up.

We've secured ten new screens of the game in our gallery below. If anyone has any questions about Rachet & Clank Future simply pose them in the comments. I'll do my best to answer them.

Full Moon Show [Insomniac Games]

Insomniac CEO Ted "I'm So Nice" Price says of the initiative "The 'R&D' page on the Insomniac website is meant to share knowledge with fellow studios about PS3 development while giving our fans a detailed look into how we make our games. This page will also help explain our production philosophies."

Insomniac explains that its goal is to document "our current research and development in hopes of supporting the PS3 development community and enhancing overall development for its core technologies such as the CELL processor and RSX." It's also a kind of behind the scenes look at past, present and future development, built just for computer nerds.

What does it all mean? Better looking PLAYSTATION 3 games, we hope. Maybe, just maybe, some developers will even discover the secret to unlocking a consistent frame rate in their PS3 titles. I'm looking at you, everyone who's not Team Ninja or Insomniac.

Insomniac R&D [Insomniac Games]

Just to keep expectations low, we'll just say, that we consider a Ratchet & Clank Future demo is an inevitability and that it won't be released in the past.

Updated: Heavenly Sword And Ratchet & Clank Future Demos Coming Soon [Game Informer]