The first level of the preview version we played involved charging through a beach-meets-jungle environment, blowing away any and all comers with your arsenal. The environment also introduced some new allies: there are plants that, when watered, will uproot themselves and follow you around. Find them a nice patch of dirt, and they'll settle down and either grow bombs, which you can launch into obstacles like walls with a swing of your wrench, or literally grab you and heave you skyward toward a new destination.
Our robotic friend Clank will have his own solo sections and these bits were the showcase of the second level we played. It involved Clank exploring a sort of lab area, accompanied by 'microbots' - essentially little robot bulldogs that can be tossed onto switches or mercilessly set on enemies.
Above: Ratchet is pretty cool, but Clank's the star really
Multiplayer modes are planned (both ad hoc and over-the-internet infrastructure), but the details aren't worked out yet. We can confirm that Captain Quark will definitely return -at least in the single-player mode -and he's just as dense as ever.
We're eager to spend more time enjoying Ratchet & Clank's vacation, but we'll just have to wait until closer to the game's spring 2007 release to learn more of their travel itinerary.
