The elders once said time is a living, breathing thing. Powerful, beautiful, oftentimes cruel. It can humble the strongest army, shape mountains to its will, and turn entire oceans to dust.

Playing the first sections of our preview disc of Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack in Time, it was easy to become somewhat jaded. The platforming is, of course, wonderful. The graphics are attractive. The writing is well above average. We've long known that Insomniac knows how to create a strong 3D platformer, and for an hour or so, this feels like more of the same. The same is very, very good, mind you. But we've seen it before.

Then Clank, the robot sidekick, enters his own head, and the above-average takes a turn for the incredible.

In this short section inside the robot's brain—don't worry, it makes sense in terms of the story—we're introduced to the new facets of the game. You're given a weapon called the Chronosceptor, which allows you to whack broken objects back into working order—you actually move them backwards in time to before they were destroyed. You're also given a kind of throwable bomb that slows time, allowing you to manipulate your surroundings and move forward. The graphical style of the robot's psyche is utterly mesmerizing, and the time-based mechanics add a much-needed layer of complexity to the title.

Even better are the time pads. You stand on one and "record" your actions in time. Then you stand on the other and interact with your past self going through its actions. In the simplest puzzles you stand on a pressure-sensitive switch for yourself so you can walk through a door. In the more intricate puzzles you have to record sections of your performances multiple times in a type of choreographed dance to get to where you're going, often using the time explosives in multiple ways.

It's a game mechanic that's hard to describe in words, and wrapping your head around it inside the game isn't much easier when it's first described with an example or two. You have to play with it and bend time to your will before you see just how ingenious the whole thing is. The puzzles begin simply and grow harder as the game moves on. The use of time is done very well and elevates what we've played of the game from another platforming experience to something truly special.

The core game likewise remains brilliant

The later Clank sections in the preview are amazing, but the sections where you play as Ratchet don't disappoint either. The game's story continues from Tools of Destruction, and uses the game's characters very well. It's hard to praise the game's story and writing without ruining it for you, but the game will often put a smile on your face.

Ratchet and Clank is known for its guns, and this game is no different. A creature that emits a powerful scream that destroys enemies? Check. A little man that flies around you, harassing anyone that gets in your way? Yup. Everything you love about past titles is here, and this game simply looks great, from the backgrounds to the animations to the enemies. A few dizzying sections climbing along a space ship's walls and ceilings reminded me of sections from both Prey and Dead Space, but it still felt fresh. This is a development house that knows how to respectfully borrow, while putting its own spin on things.

The other new addition is the use of a hub world—or should we say hub space. You fly around in your space ship on a 2D plane, fighting enemies and exploring your immediate surroundings. You can warp from sector to sector, and even land on the small planets and explore the small spheres, which feels almost like Super Mario Galaxy. These sections are thankfully brief, but provide a nice respite from the platforming action with some light shooting elements.

From what we've seen, the game knows where it has come from, while keeping a steady and calm eye on where it's going. Rock solid controls and platforming action, mixed with an innovative and interesting time mechanic, makes this more than just another sequel. The history of the characters and strength of the writing are simply icing on the cake.

This looks to be a must-have title for the PlayStation 3. Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time comes exclusively to the PS3 on October 27.