One of the bigger criticisms against Sony’s Cloud-based PlayStation Now service, which allows for PlayStation 3 titles to be streamed to the PS4, is the lack of a comprehensive selection of games. That may change with the launch of the service this Summer as Sony’s Todd Liss told IGN at a recent closed door event that PS Now would support “hundreds of titles”.

PS3 titles have also begun to appear on PlayStation Store according to Game Informer. If you head to “Day-1 Digital” and look for PS3 titles, you’ll find titles like Dead Island Riptide, Ben 10 Omniverse and more. As of now, they don’t really do anything if you try to click on them but they could indicate that Sony is readying the infrastructure for when PS Now launches. Heck, it could indicate that PS Now will be ready fairly early in the Summer.

We know that PS Now will feature titles like The Last of Us, Puppeteer and Beyond: Two Souls. Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception running on the PS4 and Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus running on Vita were also showcased at the recent closed door event. Stay tuned for more information as E3 2014 draws closer.

Ratchet & Clank: Nexus sees Ratchet escorting a perilous criminal Vendra Prog to a detention center but as expected things don’t always go as planned for the furry Lombax. Vendra’s brother Neftin Prog assaults the detention center and manages to get away with his sister. In the process, Ratcher loses two of his closest robot friends, Cronk & Zephyr. Feeling sad as well as frustrated, Ratchet and Clank set out to capture Vendra and her not-so-intimidating brother.

"The story is extremely generic and lacks the deep emotional involvement that we saw in A Crack in Time and Tools of Destruction. On numerous occasions I felt uninspired and could no longer care about the story but still managed to sit out the boredom."

Little do they know that Vendra’s goal is to unite with her distant family, the Nethers, a ghostly community who are natives to the Netherverse. When Vendra awakens The Eye, the leader of the Nethers, Ratchet and Clank once again find themselves saving the universe. The story is extremely generic and lacks the deep emotional involvement that we saw in A Crack in Time and Tools of Destruction. On numerous occasions I felt uninspired and could no longer care about the story but still managed to sit out the boredom.

Platforming, which is one of the core components of the series, is a failure. Most of this has to do with the abysmal level design. Although the developers tried to make the levels more interactive by giving players the ability to create a purple gravity stream between two sections and let Ratchet float through them using the Grav-Tether, it does not make traversing the levels any more enjoyable.

However, one improvement that I noticed was that levels were bigger in scale compared to the previous games in the series. that means there is more to explore but even this positive is negated by the fewer number of planets in the game. This makes the campaign extremely short and raises questions over its price tag.

"Excellent combat mechanics is something that every game in the series has excelled at. Fortunately Nexus does not put the wrong foot forward in this department."

Players can also take control of Clank in mini puzzles called as rifts. These sections are heavily inspired by Terry Cavanagh’s VVVVVV where Clank can control gravity to manipulate the objects around him. The goal is to lure a Nether out of the rift so that the wall obstructing the player can be destroyed. I found these sections to be a pleasant addition and gave a nice break from the disappointing level design.

Excellent combat mechanics is something that every game in the series has excelled at. Fortunately Nexus does not put the wrong foot forward in this department. Along with classic weapons lik thee Omniblaster, Fusion Grenade and RYNO VII, we also have new ones in the Netherblades and Netherbeast  which are a blast to play with. Overall the weapons along with the intriguing gadget system are intact here and I’m glad that Insomniac Games did not mess with it.

The new villainous cast of Vendra Prog and Neftin Prog are disappointing. They are not able to bring the sense of humor and cunning that Dr. Nefarious was known for. Even The Eye, the master of Nethers has no character development whatsoever, and despite being the main villain, gets the least amount of footage.

Ratchet and Clank: Nexus could have been a great game. It has some great vistas, bigger scale and an excellent choice of weapons and gadgets. The single player, though very short, can be extended by completing the arena challenges and exploring the different planets. After you complete the game, a harder Challenge Mode will be unlocked, though one boring run-through was enough for us. Ultimately, Nexus is let down by its underwhelming design choices, a weaker cast of characters and a generic story. Time to reinvent the wheel, Sony.

This game was reviewed on the PlayStation 3.

LEGO Marvel Superheroes managed a strong debut at second place, while FIFA 14 occupied third place. We’ll see if the impending release of the Xbox One and PS4 in Europe will give a boost to the series. It’ll also perhaps help Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag and Battlefield 4, at fourth and fifth place respectively, climb the charts when their next gen versions launch in the coming weeks/

The remaining top 10 is made up of Grand Theft Auto 5, Minecraft Xbox 360 Edition, Skylanders: Swap Force, Batman: Arkham Origins and Professor Layton and the Azran Legacies. Insomniac’s Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus premiered at 21st place for the PS3, so there’s a clue as to how hyped the game’s launch was. Stay tuned for more details.

Such weapons include the Winterizer which can turn enemies into snowmen and three spooky weapons, namely the Nether Beast, Nether Blades and Nightmare Box. You need to see ’em to believe ’em.

The new Before the Nexus mobile app has also been revealed, which essentially an infinite running game but with a Ratchet & Clank twist. You’ll grind on rails, hopping from one to the other and collecting bolt to improve your weapons and armour. You can also collect Raritanium which will sync with your PSN account so you can upgrade your weapons within Into the Nexus.

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus releases on November 12th on the PSN store and at retail.

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Into the Nexus features the usual array of new, comical weapons, along with new levels and challenges. It will be the final installment in the “Future” series. Will it indeed be making its way to mobiles and the PS Vita? We’ll have to wait for a final confirmation from Sony to truly know.

In a recent blog post, Fixman stated that, “I’m leaving Insomniac… sort of. My relationship with Insomniac and the Ratchet & Clank franchise will continue. As a producer and writer on the movie, I will still be helping to shepherd Ratchet & Clank into the feature world. I’ve also made sure the North Carolina studio has everything they need to finish Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus, a truly awesome game I hope you all love.

“My relationship with Insomniac will continue, as will my involvement with the video game industry. How it will all coalesce is something I’ll work out along the way, but I could never abandon the industry that has given me so much.”

The Ratchet & Clank animated film was recently announced by Insomniac for release in 2015 for theaters.

Ratchet and Clank: Into the Nexus, the recently announced, newest addition to the long running Sony-exclusive series, will be released on the PS Vita according to Amazon France. Though this newest title will be twelfth installment in the series, it might be only the second to be released on the PS Vita, the first being the last R&C release, Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault.

Into the Nexus however, is not a sequel to Full Frontal Assault. In fact, Into The Nexus will pick up and end the Ratchet and Clank “future series,” acting as a direct sequel to Ratchet and Clank Future: A Crack In Time. The future series has not seen a new installment since A Crack In Time’s release in 2009.

Reports indicate that Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus will remain true to the platformer style of game play seen in its predecessors, but will feature a new arsenal of moves, abilities, and weapons.

About Ratchet And Clank Into The Nexus:

Ratchet And Clank Into The Nexus is an upcoming action adventure game for the PlayStation 3. The game is developed by Insomniac Games and published by Sony.

Ratchet And Clank Into The Nexus will be a return to the roots of the series and will have gameplay mechanics similar to what we have seen in the older games.

Check out Ratchet And Clank Into The Nexus Wallpapers below:

Previously, Insomniac Games were teasing a new game for PlayStation along with Sony via their Twitter accounts with images. However, they’ve decided to announce the game today, as opposed to tomorrow according to their tweets.

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus features a new story, return of our favorite characters, more crazy weapons as usual and the good old gameplay of the original Ratchet & Clank titles. Get ready for a completely brand new adventure and bolt collecting this Holiday season for the PlayStation 3.

Ratchet & Clank: Into the Nexus will retail for $29.99 on the PlayStation Store and physical copy at your local retailers. This is great news for all the fans of the series; however, the only disappointing part is that it’s not on the PlayStation 4. Although, a proper Ratchet & Clank game is much better than nothing at all.

Let us know if you’re excited for the new entry in the franchise, in the comments section down below.

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more news and updates.