Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Booty is for all intents and purposes the next game in the Lombax saga, and picks up where Future: Tools of Destruction ended. We say "for all intents and purposes" because Quest for Booty is at this stage being designed solely as a PSN bite-size title to be sold for around US$15, and looks to be skipping retail shelves altogether. Sony reps pegged it somewhere around the three to four-hour mark in terms of gameplay length, but from our time with it, its length is the only obvious concession being made.

　　This is the official spoiler warning for anyone who hasn't completed Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and would like to keep the ending a surprise. If you don't want to know what happens, skip ahead slightly.

　　Quest for Booty is set directly after the ending of Future: Tools of Destruction. Clank has gone missing at the hands of the Zoni, and after a lengthy cutscene we see Ratchet and Talwyn fighting pirates across a couple of ships. Once kicked into the gameplay we took control of Ratchet, and using his trusty wrench and assortment of grenades and blaster fire we busted up some robot pirates and collected a few bolts--no new gameplay elements here yet. After battling our way across a couple of ships and putting some sizable holes in enemies with liberal use of a mounted gun or two, we found ourselves following a tip from Rusty Pete that a pirate named Darkwater might be able to help. Naturally, he's dead.

　　Determined to get answers and find Clank, we make tracks for Hoolefar, a verdant jungle pirate island. Here you'll find a scattered group of locals who offer you tidbits of information about Darkwater and request your help with odd jobs such as fixing the island's many damaged wind turbine towers. Naturally, you offer to lend a hand and this is your introduction to some of the new gadgets and abilities at your disposal. Ratchet's wrench has always been useful for rotating protruding bolts, tinkering with mechanical devices, and opening stubborn household jars, but by facing some ranged objects, holding R2 and then hitting square you'll shoot out a type of electronic lasso. This can be used to pull drawbridges toward you, forcibly depress jump pads to spring you to out-of-reach areas, and rotate platforms when used in conjunction with the right thumbstick. Objects you're able to interact with this way are marked with a faint blue glow and a mechanical-themed icon you'll come to recognise. They don't always glow as brightly as we would have liked, though, and in one particular area we spent a good amount of time attempting to jump a gap when we could have simply grabbed and turned a platform to hoist ourselves up. Fans of the rail-sliding portions of F:TOD will be happy to know these make another appearance in Quest for Booty, and they look and play just as well as they did last time around--especially when combined with Ratchet's trusty hookshot.

　　The title is running on a slightly modified Future: Tools of Destruction engine, so despite being offered via digital distribution, this isn't some slapdash scaled port with mediocre graphics and sloppy audio. Instead you'll find the high-quality visuals and sound you've come to expect from the series, complete with full-motion animation cutscenes.

　　We're excited about getting back into the Ratchet & Clank universe and collecting some more bolts. Fans will be able to get their mitts on the latest adventures of the duo in September this year when it hits the PlayStation Network. Check out GameSpot soon for our full review.