Play 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. 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! 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. Importantly, weapons level up through use, and each new level unlocks a host of further upgrades that can be activated with Raritanium. Nexus metes out new weapons and gadgets in much the same way as previous titles, and they all contribute to the steadily evolving gameplay. Elsewhere, this progression is more measured. Thram really came into its own when I was exploring it from the sky and fighting up above its swampy water. 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. I turn and scan the archipelago, hovering in place as I look for my next conquest.īig game hunting, Ratchet & Clank-style.Escalation. I get its attention with a volley of razor-sharp spinning, whirring projectiles, before strafing around it in mid-air, firing continuously. 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 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’m still hunting Gargathon horns, only now I’m doing so in style. 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. Jumping across the gaps between islands and taking on the local beasts at close quarters in my search for Gargathon horns. When I first arrived in this inhospitable world, I was schlepping around on foot.
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