Ah yes, Insomniac Games has returned to deliver its good-vibe platform way of gaming, and this time, with an entirely different set of characters, worlds, and gameplay to explore. Spyro is gone, so welcome Ratchet and Clank

Insomniac's newest invention is a dual platform game starring two original characters, Ratchet, described merely as an alien creature that's furry, and Clank, his innocent, inquisitive robotic friend. Unlike Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter, both characters are playable. And unlike Rare's Banjo-Kazooie, players can get to grips with Ratchet in the earlier levels, while in later levels they'll get the chance to handle Clank.The clever folks who created Spyro the Dragon still appear to have one foot in the 3D platform world, but it's clear they're also taking a big step away from the slowly percolating genre. Ratchet and Clank is a platformer in the most basic terms, but it also features an array of other elements, such as adventure and RPG elements. And if you haven't already noticed, it's a shooter, too. Ratchet collects dozens of weapons and uses them to scorch, blast, and pummel enemies that stand in his way. The game appears to have a little of everything.Using gadgets and weapons to explore dozens of worlds, Ratchet and Clank embark on a huge journey enabling them to collect thousands of bolts (used for currency), weapons (as many as 35), and to fight against scores of freaky alien creatures. The trick is to use your weapons wisely, loading up the best one for the job when you need it.Ratchet's basic tool is the wrench, which can be seen in his hands at all times. It's his default tool/weapon. The tool can be used to smack enemies with standard swings, and can be used to connect combos, too. But it's also quite damaging in its boomerang form -- Ratchet throws it from afar and it returns instantly in to his ready hands. Other nifty weapons in the giant 35-piece arsenal are the Bolt Blaster, the Pyrocitor, and the explosive Bomb Glove, just to name a few. Remember, there are 35 weapons and gadgets in all.Why so many weapons? The fact is, not any single one of them does the trick all the time. If you remember a game like Doom for a brief second, you may recall loving the Shotgun or the Plasma Rifle or even the Chainsaw. All except the last could carry a player relatively far into the game without every having to switch. In Ratchet and Clank, Insomniac has created intricate and tough challenges designed to be beaten in any way shape or form, but they are definitely easier in some ways than others.An example is easy. You drop down a Cliffside into a sandy beach area that looks perfectly safe and calm. On the far side of the beach area is a suspicious-looking generator, and it becomes clear quite quickly it needs a whacking. Upon stepping into the sand, players get a surprise: There are sand creatures humming underneath the sand and they're hungry. And there are lots of them. Then you notice the generator on the far side is more like a protruding womb of sorts, shooting out an infinite amount of these nasty little creatures. It all becomes clear.You could just hop right in and blast these guys with a gun or smack them all around with your wrench, but it becomes clear quickly that neither really works too well, and you take a healthy bit of damage to boot. So, luckily you've picked up hand bombs or perhaps you have picked up a flamethrower. Ah¿ now you're thinking. Either one destroys more than your simple basic weapons, and they're so much easier to use. Ratchet and Clank is full of such examples.One of the most amazing examples of this game's technical abilities is its ability to generate an enormous amount of polygons. Think about how cool it was when you first laid eyes on Jak and Daxter. The landscape was huge, and you could see from one end of the continent to the other. Ratchet and Clank does this same wonderful thing, which to create a monstrous world in which you can see for what seems like miles, and then it adds in more. The cities I saw and played in at Insomniac's Studios in April were huge, and they were filled with moving, animated objects that are interactive.In the city level I played, there were huge lines of traffic, moving vehicles, and tons of moving creatures, too. The area was filled with little platform style challenges, and it incorporated several features that are very reminiscent of Super Mario World. The mixture of platform elements with RPG (upgrading and improving your character via buying shops), shooting, and adventure elements bodes well for the genre as a whole, and it feels truly good in Ratchet and Clank.The game feels excellent. It's smooth looking, and Ratchet handles extremely well. His movement is a little different than Jak from Jak and Daxter: he's a little slidey, and so he takes that extra little foot or so when stopped. It's by no means a bad thing, it's just different, that's all, and within a minute, he walks, runs, swims, jumps, and blasts just perfectly.What I especially like about this game is that it's filled with places to visit and revisit. Each planet that the duo reach boasts an entirely different set of textures, architecture, and creatures. And in each, the secrets are there, just waiting for you to discover. For instance, in the city level I played, players must use a zip-line to get from one space island to another. But it's clear from the heights you're standing at, that there are platforms to visit not directly in the obvious path. How to get there? Experiement.The story is a good, albeit simple, one. The game commences when Ratchet, who is searching for a way to leave his planet but doesn't have the right parts for his ship, bumps into Clank, who is running away from a deadly space race of aliens bent on consuming everything possible in their sights. The evil aliens' mission is to smash as many planets as possible into one big mass, leaving the inhabitants with nothing. This way, they can create their own, brand new planet. Both Ratchet and Clank have something the other needs, and so they team up for adventure, revenge, and on the most basic level, to stay alive.After the two decide to combine their forces, they travel from one environment to another collecting bolts, which translates into the world's currency, and which can be used to buy and sell items, such as additional items for Clank, such as a helicopter upgrade, and other, highly useful modifications. With these new additions, Clank can morph to produce all manner of different mechanical limbs bearing useful tools and other toys. There's more than just implements of destruction to wield, but we have only been shown a few, including the helicopter morph.Bolts can be collected from downed enemies or hidden caches, but they're not a primary game objective like stars or jiggies. Those objectives are more complicated, and they're organized in somewhat non-linear fashion. You don't have to complete every objective on one planet to unlock a new one -- you can unlock that next planet, head there to explore for a while, and then backtrack to finish an earlier objective if you feel like it.Ratchet and Clank will debut at E3 (tomorrow) to the world, so look forward to more soon.