PS3 Informer

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One - but pre-orders split 4 ways!

We like the title of the up coming PS3 exclusive, Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One, with its echoes of the three Musketeers, the Swiss national motto, and 90's R&B group All-4-One. We love Swiss chocolate and classic literature. As for All-4-One; we were just joking! Honest, we've never heard of that boy band out of LA that sold 22 million records. I swear! No. What we love most about the title of the latest Ratchet & Clank 3D platformer is its suggestion of solidarity. This time around the franchise features on and offline four player co-operative gameplay, allowing players to team up as Ratchet, Clank, Qwark and Dr. Nefarious.

Which is what makes the pre-order incentives just announced so galling. Forget 'All 4 One'. Try 'One Each for four separate retail giants'. Admittedly it's not so catchy.

Here at PS3 Informer we are big fans of the pre-order exclusive. It's only right that we're awarded with a little extra for our pre orders and our day-one purchases. It makes us feel much less guilty when we spend next week's grocery money. But the Ratchet & Clank preorders just announced leave us with mixed feelings.

SCEA have just announced partnerships with GameStop, Amazon, Best Buy and Wal-Mart, with each retailer offering a different, free and unlockable exclusive item.

* Mr. Zurkon (GameStop)
* T-Rex Morph Mod (Amazon)
* Pyro Blaster Unlock (Best Buy)
* Sheepinator Mod (Wal-Mart)

You can see why we're in a bit of a pickle. Turn our enemies into sheep or deep fry them with a flame thrower? It's not an easy choice. Rather than a reward and an incentive, we can't help feel we're being punished for our loyalty. If these pre-order exclusives are indeed exclusive for the life of the game, then the truly devoted Ratchet & Clank fan would be forced to pre-order the title from each retailer to fulfill his collecting compulsion.

There is of course every likelihood that developer Insomniac will release the additional items down the track, pleasing some but robbing the items of their exclusivity. It's a lose-lose propositon. Alexander Dumas wouldn't be happy and neither would a certain up-beat Grammy-award winning boy band that will remain nameless.

Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One hits the streets stateside on October 18, 2011. Hit up the US Playstation Blog for more information.