Earlier today at Sony's PlayStation Press Conference at Gamescom the next entry in the popular Ratchet and Clank series was announced. Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, developed by Insomniac Games, is a bit of a change for the series. The same great platforming and shooting elements you expect from the franchise all seem to be there now with the addition of four player cooperative play.

From the screenshots and trailer shown it appears that players will be taking control of Ratchet, Clank, Captain Quark, and Nefarious. With Nefarious being the villain in last years Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, it will be interesting to see what situation has developed that requires him to team up with the heroes of the series.

Chad Dezern, Studio Director at Insomniac Games North Carolina, had this to say on the Playstation Blog regarding this unlikely team:

"We knew from our earliest meetings that we wanted to give players a chance to play in the Ratchet Universe with Ratchet and Clank at the same time. And after we started, we felt an almost moral obligation to include Captain Qwark and Dr. Nefarious; there was just too much comedy potential in bringing this group together for us to pass up the opportunity. Their bumbling idiocy, prickly antagonism, and unfettered evil was a perfect reflection of how we play All 4 One here in the office. I’m looking forward to telling the story of how the four of them find themselves together . . ."

With online and offline co-op play with drop-in and drop-out functionality, this could make for a fun game that mixes up the arguably tired Ratchet and Clank formula. However, I have a few concerns as a fan of the series. Mainly will this game be playable and enjoyable as a single player experience? It will hopefully be a blast playing as a team with my buddies, but if no one is online will I still be able to enjoy the game? I also wonder if this will be a fully developed story and considered a main entry in the series, or if this is just a side-story party game. Hopefully, we will know more as Derzen mentioned that there will be a panel at Penny Arcade Expo in Seattle on September 4th discussing this game.

Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One is set for release in Fall 2011 on the PS3. Ranters, what are your thoughts on this? Are you ready from another Ratchet and Clankgame? Feel free to browse the screenshots provided below:

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Source: PlayStation Blog