There are lots of things Spyborgs isn't, or at least isn't anymore. Back in January, Bionic Games announced that they had scrapped the original premise of the Wii brawler and started over. Good thing too, this new iteration seems to have more in common with Ratchet and Clank than a Saturday morning cartoon.

"This is a much different game than last year," said Daryl Allison, Spyborgs producer. " We went with the focus of what worked and to try and keep the flow of the original title."

Kraig Kujama, director of design for Capcom U.S. product development, said that the Wii market needs a great action game and that Spyborgs, which they described as Ratchet and Clank meets Devil May Cry, will be it.

The coop third-person action game has players take control of a cybernatically-enhanced group of super heroes. The game will include 35 stages and three Spyborg characters to choose from. During our demonstration we were only shown two of the, an oversized, gorilla-like robot and a katana-wielding woman.

Much of the play is conducted by moving around the screen with the nunchuk's thumbstick and pressing buttons to attack, though certain special attacks do require timed waggles or movement of both the remote and nunchuk. There are cooperative attacks as well which require both players to land motion controls at the same time.

The game also features a feature called spy vision which allows you to search the screen by pointing the remote at it, when you pass over a hidden object the control shakes and you can see it silhouetted in the beam of the remote's spy vision. By holding a button and yanking you can pull the item into the visible world to interact with.

The developers, made up former Insomniac Games and High Impact Games developers, are also looking at the possibility of adding Wii Motion Plus support to the game, they said.

Spyborgs will also include an achievement system, which rewards achievement titles for certain accomplishments. These achievements also unlock bonus videos, concept art and new challenges in the game.

Any Big-Ass guns that we can look forward to seeing?
In this one we are actually focusing more on the wrench. The wrench upgrades, Ratchet has this cool power where the end of [the wrench] shots off and connects to things and he can control them from a distance. He can also use the wrench to pick up creatures like Helio Grubs. He also gets to solve Pirate Puzzles.

Pirate Puzzles?
Yes

Are Pirates well known for their puzzle making abilities?
Have you ever seen Goonies?

Hell yeah!
Of course, so there’s that part where they need to play the right tune. Well we’ve got some of that stuff which is inspired by that movie. You’ll have to catch the little references in there.

Sounds like it'll be a more accurate representation of the film than The Goonies II was for the NES.

Ratchet and Clank: Quest for Booty inspired by The Goonies [ButtonMasher, thanks reader Claire H.]

It’s a wonder how Insomniac finds the time to make Resistance 2 and sprinkle on a little Ratchet and Clank in the same year. But they did, and boy you really have to hand it to them. Sure Quest for Booty is a short game, around 4 to 5 hours, but it still looks as good as any other game out there. It uses the same engine as Tools of Destruction, which Insomniac knows like the back of their hand, and that allowed the team to add some new lighting and environmental effects for new areas of the game.

Something I didn’t really love about the later Ratchet titles was the focus on weapons. I like more platform-y games. So I was excited to find out there is less emphasis on weapons this time and more placed on platforming and puzzle solving. Ratchet doesn’t even start with a weapon; you have to wack stuff with your wrench early on until you find one.

The level I saw didn’t showcase it, but the theme of the game is about pirates and swashbuckling, so that’s pretty exciting. I mean, pirates are awesome, right?

The gameplay itself is straight-up Ratchet, though. If you know the series, you’ll feel right at home. I was told Insomniac wanted to release this to get people to try Ratchet who didn’t before and who are new to the series. How that translates into the overall difficulty of the game remains to be seen.

Also, there are no trophies in this game, at the time of launch anyway. There’s nothing stopping them from adding them in down the road, however. No saved data info from Tools of Destruction will carry over into Quest for Booty, either. They wanted to make this a completely separate experience.

One little hint was dropped to me about the ending. I had asked if the storyline for Quest for Booty would carry over into the next Ratchet game. I was told you’re going to have to beat the game and find out and that there may be something interesting. Don’t take that as any kind of confirmation, though.

This time around, Clank gets the titular role as he sets out to rescue his good friend Ratchet from his fate in prison. What did Ratchet do to land in such hot water? Watch and find out! Make the jump for a little bit of gameplay as well.

Thanks, Mike!

Do I like nerds? I am a nerd. I have shelves full of books at home about vampires and werewolves. And I always have my PSP with me. Right now I'm playing Jeanne D'Arc, which is just awesome. Also, I've got a PS3 and I'm dying for the new Final Fantasy to come out. See? I told you I was a total nerd.

GameTrailers has exclusive new footage of some new levels of the upcoming Ratchet and Clank for the PS3. Being a self professed fan of the series and a PS3 owner hungry for some decent games on the system, I'm quite looking forward to this game's release. All the clips I've seen of it have looked great and they just keep getting better. As an added Saturday bonus, I've included a second clip after the jump of another new area, the Arena Challenge .

I think this might win the world record for multiple videos included in one single post. The clip makers over at Insomniac must be working overtime as they have uploaded no less than fourteen video clips from Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction to Gametrailers in the last five or six hours. How there will be anything left to actually surprise anyone by the time they play the game is beyond me, but hey, a little preview is always fun. i have posted the remaining thirteen videos after the jump and they are all labeled so you can decide which ones you want to see. The one title that really caught my eye was "Ice Pirate Dance Off." It reminds me of that incident at E3 with Crecente and the ice machine at the hotel. But that's another story for another day.

I sure do love the Ratchet & Clank franchise and was quite disappointed when the last title came out on the PSP since, as you've probably guessed, I don't own one. I longed to romp again through sci fi worlds with my Lombax and robot buddies and their endless supply of ridiculous weaponry, but alas, it was not to be.

Now the new R&C is coming to the PS3 and again I have to be disappointed. I'm not a Sony hater or anything, I love my PS2 and actually use it more than my 360 and my Wii these days, but I just can't bring myself to plunk down that much cash at the moment. There is some hope though, in that the trailer shows the game as coming out in the fall of this year. Perhaps by that time I can save enough pennies to play what looks like a really fun title. Flynn De Marco

Look to the podcast every other Thursday to bring listeners updates on upcoming games, such as Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, as well as keep current Resistance players informed about the state of the game. They'll also feature Insomniac games fan mail, as well as talk to gaming professionals and industry insiders from outside of Insomniac and within. Good times!

The first episode is ready for download at the official site. The lovely press release? Post jump! Michael McWhertor

INSOMNIAC GAMEST LAUNCHES NEW STUDIO PODCAST

Independent Console Videogames Developer to Give Fans "Full Moon" via Bi-Weekly Self-Produced Show

BURBANK, Calif. (February 28, 2007) - Insomniac Games plans to give its fans and fellow gamers a "full moon" on Thursday, March 1. That's when the wholly independent console videogames developer will upload its first podcast, "The Full Moon Show," as part of an ongoing, twice monthly (every other Thursday) in-house production.

The goal of "The Full Moon Show" is to provide gamers with an insider's look at the world of videogames development in an irreverent (and hopefully entertaining!) manner. The podcast, available via the home page at www.insomniacgames.com beginning March 1, will offer a more in-depth experience than a laundry-list of company announcements. In addition to providing periodic production updates about Insomniac's upcoming games such as Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction, here are summaries of some other segments:

. "Mystery Guest": Insomniac will interview well-known personalities about videogames development from within the videogames world but who do not work at Insomniac Games. The only clue about the podcast's first "Mystery Guest" is that this person received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Game Developers Association. Insomniac will make a donation in the name of each Mystery Guest appearing on "The Full Moon Show" to Child's Play, a games industry charity dedicated to improving the lives of children with toys and games in a network of over 40 hospitals worldwide.

. "I Want Your Job!": This segment will focus on interviewing an Insomniac employee about their job, including an overview of what they do, how they got the job, and tips for getting similar jobs within the games industry.

. "Online Update": As the Resistance: Fall of Man online community continues to grow at a rapid rate (nearly 300-400 people register daily at Insomniac's official R:FOM site, www.myresistance.net), "Online Update" will serve as a virtual "ESPN SportsCenter" for profiles on top players, top clans, patch and expansion updates, and more.

. "Mailbag": Insomniac will share some of its amusing fan mail, including some of the more outrageous (and pathetic) excuses for being banned from our forums communities.

"We want to share what it's like to be at Insomniac and in general bring fans and gamers closer into the world of videogames development," said Brian Allgeier, "The Full Moon Show" podcast co-host and Insomniac Games' design director. "We hope that by listening to 'The Full Moon Show,' gamers will gain a better understanding of what it's like and what it takes to make videogames for a living, along with hearing about some of the more amusing stories that happen inside our studio that are rarely discussed publicly."

Allgeier will share hosting duties with James Stevenson, Insomniac's online community manager and former games industry journalist, as well as Ryan Schneider, Insomniac's marketing director and also a former journalist. Podcast listeners will be able to correspond with the hosts at podcast@insomniacgames.com to suggest story topics, Mystery Guest ideas, and to provide general feedback. The studio's podcast webpage will eventually list past Mystery Guests, provide clues for upcoming Mystery Guests, offer polls for most popular story ideas and provide links to archived "Full Moon Show" podcasts.

ABOUT INSOMNIAC GAMES
Insomniac Games is a wholly independent console videogames developer that has released award-winning hits for the PlayStation game console, the PlayStation 2 computer entertainment system and PLAYSTATION 3 for 13 years. The company created the first three Spyro the DragonT games, the Ratchet & ClankT franchise and Resistance: Fall of ManT, which have combined to sell more than 21 million units worldwide. In addition to making blockbuster videogames, Insomniac is known for ranking among the Top 5 "Best Small Companies to Work for in America" in both 2005 and 2006, according to the Great Places to Work Institute and Society for Human Resources Management. More information can be found on the Insomniac's website at http://www.insomniacgames.com/.

It's been a long time since I played a Ratchet & Clank game, but I have fond memories of pretty much every title in the series. R & C are a great team; they're funny, witty and everything Jak & Daxter wish they could be. The franchise got me interested in platform style games again and the mix of level styles always gave it that perfect amount of difficulty. It also incorporated lots of great secrets and, of course, it's always awesome arsenal of great weapons.

Sadly, not owning a PSP, I will never get to play this particular game, but watching this trailer makes me want to get one for the first time since Me and My Katamari came out. So many systems, so little money... Flynn De Marco

Today Insomniac Games was named among the top companies to work for in America. The developer, best known for Spyro the Dragon and Ratchet & Clank, placed fourth on the 50 Best Small and Medium Sized Companies to work for in America list. Last year, the company of 155 employees placed third. Insomniac Games is the only game developer to ever make the list.

The list was compiled by the same company that puts together Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For list.

"It's a real honor to be included once again among the five best small companies to work for in America because the ranking is based on our own employees' attitudes about Insomniac Games," said Ted Price, company founder and president. "Our back-to-back, top-five ranking demonstrates that concepts like 'collaboration,' 'quality-over-quantity' and 'innovation' have real meaning here and are in practice every day."

"We are able to get this during a hardware launch cycle," he said. "We have been on a game a year for awhile now and we win awards for those games and we keep people happy, so it is possible."

Schneider says the company offers a number of things to employees to try and cut down on stress and unhappiness.

"We have flexible hours, people can come and go as they please as long as they are in by ten," he said. "In addition to that we have yoga a couple times a week, massage therapy, we cater lunches on Fridays where everyone gets together, we have happy hours, movie nights, Fragfest Fridays."

But the key to keeping employees happy, he says, is making sure they feel they are valued and that their opinion counts.

"It's a great feeling to know that regardless of your position or stature a good idea is a good idea," he said. "It's not a place where the CEO stands on a pedestal."
"I don't feel like I'm a badge number, I feel part of a great time. It's great to wake up in the morning and be excited to go to work."

Price, reached in Washington, D.C. Monday, says he still knows all of his employees.

"Part of my job is to walk around and see everyone and get involved," he said. "Everyone at all levels participate in making the games. Our number one goal is making sure that everyone at Insomniac is listened to."

Price acknowledged that developing for a new console can be more stressful, but says Insomniac tried to cut down on that by changing they way they develop for a new console, like the Playstation 3.

Price added that developing for the PS3 is no harder than developing for the PS2, just with a "different set of challenges."

Price, who founded the company in 1994, says while the company has grown quite a bit, the culture it was built on hasn't changed.

"You wont find a department head that's not participating in making a game," he said. "What that reflects is the same culture from what we had in the beginning." Brian Crecente

Ratchet: Deadlocked isn t the only Ratchet & Clank new title hitting the market this month. The duo will also be appearing in their first mobile game, shudder. The new Ratchet & Clank mobile game (I think that s the official name) will have its own plot and feature upgradeable weapons. Plot? Did someone say plot, in a cell phone game? The story goes something like this: The two get shrunk and stuck in a phone and then must fight their way out it s like Hamlet, but without all of that rambling nonsense about the self and the meaning of existence.

God help us, they also have there own wallpapers and screensavers. I just hope there isn t a ring tone.

Ratchet [R&C Mobile Fun]