As you proceed from planet to planet, a story unfolds that introduces several new rivals, from a large rust bucket who's hellbent on doing you in to introducing a flyboy that has all the intentions in the world on staying number one, no matter what it takes. This keeps personality flowing throughout the game, thanks to a number of cinemas and in-game sequences. There's also cute little in-jokes here and there ("no one watches Vox news!"), as well as guest appearances by popular faces from the past.

The graphics continue to deliver as they did in chapters past, with mostly 60-frames per second frame rate, lots of detail and lighting effects, and very little loading time. One might think that the limiting to gladiatorial action might limit the level design, but not one bit. The areas are still massive, spanning miles wide with lots to explore. One area will have you in a tropical setting, taking down laser-shooting scorpions with a walking tank while laying some serious napalm on the ground and having your bots unlock a door. Another will involve heavy use of your Grind Boots, as you work your way through a futuristic city, moving from rail to rail. Your Swingshot also comes into play, as you can reach new platforms. The indoor levels are nice, too, especially the arenas where random paths open up to reveal new dangers.

The gameplay remains just as smooth as it's always been, although one slight miscalculation relies on you thinking a bit more. See, Clank isn't around to help you with hover jumps and distance jumps anymore, so they must be better timed in order to avoid instant death. Past this, the controls are just as rich as ever, with your ability to switch weapons almost instantaneously, as well as strafe and target larger enemies in the distance before they can fry you. There's also the ability to use vehicles, like a gigantic walking talk with mortar abilities and a hoverbike that handles rather delicately, but packs a mean-ass cannon. It's good to see that Insomniac hasn't fiddled with this like they did with the storyline...not that the storyline's bad, mind you.

With audio, Insomniac continues their quality run. The voice acting is true to form, just like previous games, and sometimes downright hilarious, depending on the piece of dialogue. The sound effects are rip-roaring and the music is quite suitable, although nothing you'd break out cash for soundtrack-wise.

I am slightly disappointed with the single player game's length. Sure, there's various challenges to complete, and you can upgrade your weapons into nuclear strength with the help of Alpha and Omega goodies, but, past that, you're done with the single player mode in a matter of 14 hours or so. However, Deadlocked once again rides on the strength of its multiplayer. Not only can you match up against others via deathmatch in massive ten player bouts, but you can also team up with a friend in co-op and wipe away the competition rather handily. The offline stuff is pretty good, but it's online through the PS2 servers that things really take off, just like with Up Your Arsenal. Just be careful in co-op- you get separated from your partner too far and BOOM.

Ratchet: Deadlocked is that rare example of a success in a formula, even when so many changes are applied to the formula. Would I have liked to have seen a new free-roaming action game with the duo instead of a gladiator-themed event? Sure, it would've been nice. But my guess is, Insomniac wanted to shake things up and test the waters for what might work in future releases for the PS3 and PSP. I'm glad they did, as Deadlocked packs just as much heat as the previous chapters. I just hope they bring back Clank in playable form for the next game. He needs love, too, you know.