The swampland of Planet Thram stretches as far as the eye can see. A spray of small islands pock the landscape, as do sheer rocky cliffs, rising from the murky waters at random intervals, like teeth in a rotten mouth.

Big game hunting, Ratchet & Clank-style.

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Not exactly the zero G I was talking about.

When I first arrived in this inhospitable world, I was schlepping around on foot. Jumping across the gaps between islands and taking on the local beasts at close quarters in my search for Gargathon horns. I’d done all this before – running, jumping, shooting and fetching, so even though it was entertaining, a nagging sense of déjà vu tugged at the back of my mind.But that was then and this is now. I’m still hunting Gargathon horns, only now I’m doing so in style. I kick my hover boots into action and rocket towards the nearest ramp, launching myself over a long stretch of water before making a small adjustment on the next island and hitting another ramp for a second soaring arc.I see a Gargathon trundling through the air off in the distance, so at the apex of the next jump I activate my jetpack and soar into the sky, selecting my Prog Blades as I jet towards it. I get its attention with a volley of razor-sharp spinning, whirring projectiles, before strafing around it in mid-air, firing continuously. It goes down in a matter of seconds. I turn and scan the archipelago, hovering in place as I look for my next conquest.Escalation. It’s what the Ratchet & Clank series is founded on, and Nexus’ Planet Thram is a great example of how escalating firepower and evolving gameplay can reinvent a player’s relationship with a game world. Thram really came into its own when I was exploring it from the sky and fighting up above its swampy water.Elsewhere, this progression is more measured. Nexus metes out new weapons and gadgets in much the same way as previous titles, and they all contribute to the steadily evolving gameplay.Importantly, weapons level up through use, and each new level unlocks a host of further upgrades that can be activated with Raritanium. It’s largely utilitarian stuff – faster rates of fire, more ammo, more bolts gained for using the weapon – but peppered amongst these are moments of transformation. What’s that? My Fusion Bombs now release a cluster of sticky Pyrocidic Nitroballs? Works for me! Oh, and look at that – Mr Zurkon, my killer robot sidekick (who returns from previous titles) now has a son… and later a wife! And they all have the same droll, homicidal sense of humour! Yes!Nexus is – by design – a much shorter experience than previous retail titles, with only a handful of destinations, but as a result it’s taut, and always moving forward. As an epilogue to the Ratchet & Clank: Future series on PS3, it serves its purpose admirably: this is classic Ratchet & Clank action-platforming, but seen through the lens of a studio that hasn’t taken the duo out for a proper spin since 2009.The story moves at a brisk pace – two new villains are introduced and their past explored, an otherworldly big bad and race of enemies known as the Nether come into play, and it’s all tied up with a bow a scant few hours later.As that story plays out you travel to a haunted cityscape, arid, rocky ruins, a sprawling swampland, and a futuristic metropolis. There’s a real sense of place in each location – the majority of which are a little darker and spookier than what's come before, as well as fresh twists on the core gameplay. New traversal mechanics are definitely a theme here: in addition to the jetpack, you’ll leap from platform to platform in zero G, you’ll create Grav Streams to cross chasms and you’ll manipulate gravity in Clank’s mini-missions.Nexus only really dips in quality in the final setting, which sees the pair return to Tools of Destruction’s Meridian City. It’s a nice touch thematically, but in comparison to the moody, interesting worlds that came before, the gameplay and visual design here is a little too sterile and lifeless. Shame, but at least beating the final boss in Meridian City unlocks Challenge Mode, Nexus’s New Game +.