Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (2004)
Insomniac Games' Explosive PS2 Platform-Shooter Peak With Dr. Nefarious and Online Play
Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal (released as Ratchet & Clank 3 in Europe) is a 2004 platform-shooter developed by Insomniac Games for the PlayStation 2. Refining the series around responsive Lock-Strafe gunplay, five-tier weapon evolution, the Starship Phoenix hub, and fan-favorite villain Dr. Nefarious, it also pioneered eight-player online siege multiplayer on Sony's console.
Dr. Nefarious, Starship Phoenix, and Satirical Sci-Fi Polish
Summoned back to Ratchet's homeworld of Veldin when robotic warlord Dr. Nefarious unleashes a campaign to turn all organic life into machines using the Biobliterator, Lombax mechanic Ratchet and sentient robot Clank join the ragtag Q-Force aboard the Starship Phoenix. Voiced with manic theatricality by Armin Shimerman—whose rage shorted out his circuits into romantic soap-opera broadcasts until slapped back to reality by deadpan butler Lawrence—Nefarious gave Insomniac its sharpest comedic foil, complemented by playable 2D side-scrolling Captain Qwark vid-comics and Secret Agent Clank holovision episodes.
Lock-Strafe Firepower and PS2 Network Adaptor Multiplayer
Under design director Brian Allgeier, Up Your Arsenal embraced full third-person shooter ergonomics through an optional Lock-Strafe camera mode that allowed crisp circle-strafing amid dense laser crossfire while leveling twenty outlandish weapons—such as the Rift Inducer black-hole launcher, Plasma Whip, and Suck Cannon—across five evolving stages, plus V8 Omega tiers in Challenge Mode. Equally ambitious was the franchise's first competitive multiplayer suite, supporting four-player split-screen and eight-player online Siege, Capture the Flag, and Deathmatch battles with hoverboots and vehicles via the PS2 Network Adaptor, earning a 91/100 Metascore and over three million sales.