So I'm standing there in the middle of a battlefield, and I'm minding my own business, trying to track down the opposing team and capture their flag. I decide to hop inside a neat little sub-tank to try and mow them down, and what do I get for my trouble? My tank gets ripped to shreds, and then I get shot at from a number of directions and try to take refuge in a space tunnel of some kind, only to have the walls ripped apart all around me by gunfire. As I come out, there's a member of the opposing team waiting for me, and he decides to turn me into...a sheep? Yes, a sheep! Damn that Sheepinator Gun!

This is just one of the bizarre yet cool moments you'll come across in Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal, the third (and hopefully not final) entry in Insomniac Games' long-running platform/shooting series for the PlayStation 2. Filled with cool features and absolutely gorgeous, Up Your Arsenal is the award-winning series' best entry yet.

The primary reason why this game is so much fun is its online play. Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal lets up to eight gamers to take part in some glorious deathmatch and capture the flag games, spread across 10 different world maps. Each level has different weapons, vehicles, power-ups, and destructible design, so there are many features that'll help your team gain victory. The network play moves without a hitch, as the game maintains its 60-frames-per-second action, even in the most frantic of moments.

If multiplayer isn't your thing, or you don't have a network connection as of yet, Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal's single player adventure is absolutely fantastic. In the single player game, the firepower-toting duo must keep the evil Dr. Nefarious and the Tyhrranoid Army from conquering the universe. Along the way, Ratchet and Clank will also run into their hero, Captain Quark, and get his assistance in some parts of the game.

The main addition to the single player game is the Captain Quark side-scrolling levels, which can be located at particular points in one of the game's staggering worlds. You're warped into an old-school battle, leading Quark down a particular level where he has to shoot bad guys aplenty. This is a fun new feature because it's a little tribute to old games like Contra, and they're a blast to play, but there's a lot more to the gameplay. There's also many more opportunities for Clank, Ratchet's little robot buddy, to kick some butt all his own, including the ability to grow a bit in size and cause some destruction.

Most of the time you'll have to rely on Ratchet's up-close attacks to get the job done, and it's here where Insomniac manages to deliver yet again. The selection of weapons in the game are inventive and powerful, from a simple laser cannon to a sweet little number that allows you to open up black holes on command, sucking up a number of enemies in the process, and then there's that Sheepinator. The gameplay remains rock solid, allowing you to strafe, check out a first-person view, and provide damage up-close and far away. The ability to find some power-ups to boost your performance and take part in some car/space vehicle riding also adds to the experience.

The graphic presentation for Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal hits the mark, big-time. Granted, I found myself at some points with a very slight camera issue, as I couldn't quite target as smoothly as I wanted in a 360-degree spin, but that's really nothing to worry about in the long run. The animation is superb, showing detail in the smallest of characters, and the environmental damage modeling is superb! The level design is outstanding, even if it still follows the linear path the series is known for (there are 18 worlds to explore in all, across 29 huge levels. The game moves at a constant breakneck speed without letting up, and even offers the same great loading screens from the first game. Instead of focusing on a static image, your ship is shown flying from one world to the next. Also, the in-game cut scenes are great! For the most part, this is one of the best looking PS2 games ever released, and it's made even better looking if it's displayed in progressive scan.

As for sound, Insomniac delivers here as well. The game features some decent voice acting, though the dialogue is a bit cheesy, bordering on cornball, but I digress. The sound effects continue to be the best around, as explosions and other assorted things will rock your speakers. Lastly, the soundtrack is great!

Ratchet and Clank: Up Your Arsenal has online and offline content to keep you engaged for long periods of time, and the quality gameplay and presentation to fully back it up. Plus, there's so many things to unlock and future downloadable content that for $40, the game's quite a bargain. This is the best game in the series, and, with the PSP and PS3 on the way to market, I certainly can't imagine it being the last.