What Made Ratchet: Deadlocked So Polarizing 

My favorite and most played Ratchet/R&C game to this day, I wish they would do something similar but I have a feeling they won't 😢The guns, areas, music, characters and challenges were just amazing and fun!

This was my favourite game as a kid. Me and my brother would play through the whole campaign in co-op 👌

What deadlocked did perfectly (similar to what Jack 2 did from Jack 1) was remove the “burnout” feeling of a series and completely defy expectations. It’s so different with its fast pace and hyper focus on combat and more of a bleak anxious tone, that playing it immediately after beating up your arsenal didn’t induce any fatigue someone would normally get from binging through their face ps2 catalog again.

What I most enjoyed from this games was the dark humor

i played more deadlocked than the other ps2 games combined. the gunplay and weapon system is just unmatched. i remember getting the harbinger to max level and laughing as i rain down destructive rainbows on bosses

I absolutely loved Ratchet Deadlocked it was such a different, unique and dark game and it was perfect for me and it was my first online multiplayer game i have ever played and it was a blast to play i'd give it a 10/10

dude this is still my fave ratchet game.

I love this game, it is the first R&C game I played of the franchise and the first one I finished 100% too, I remember having a lot of fun in Versus matches and using a glitch in a specific map to shoot others lol

Ratchet Deadlocked seemed like a major step back in terms of quality. The graphics, the way Ratchet moves and even the controls just seem second rate. Like a team of interns developed this game.

DEADLOCKED WAS AMAZING my most fav in the series , I loved it as a child.

I loved all 4 original games but deadlock while I owe my gratitude to the first title for introducing me into the game, DEADLOCK is an all time favorite that I’ve play over and over again to 100% I was never bored and was such a comfort.

This game is awesome, definitely top 5 in the series just for the unique weapon modifications alone, btw the aiming reticle was actually introduced in UYA via lock strafe mode. Also did you just say the music in DL sucks? The grinding chase, escape, landstalker stalkin', refinery bush, challenge complete, dreadzone station, alien soil, advanced qualifier, energy collector etc. all beg to differ.

The co-op mode in this game helped to increase the fun when my siblings and I would play. Recently got this game again via the PS Plus thing. May try it out w/ the wife. Good times

R&C changed platformers for me. I noticed that Deadlocked felt restrictive at times because of the lack of platforming, but it was always the innovative/wacky gunplay that really brought me into this series in the first place, and its full focus only made this game a favorite of mine. Plus, it wasn't even THAT dark to the point where Insomniac themselves are ashamed of it seemingly

Best Ratchet game imo. Everything about it, the characters, weapons, levels, challenges ect. were all fantastic and memorable. Hope it gets a proper remaster someday.

The style, the music, the combat, the atmosphere and the feel of this game💯

My little sister and I played this game to death back in the day, our first game we finished together, will always have a special place in my heart.

Didn't realise some people didn't like this. I loved this game. Probably played it through about 15 times.

You kept saying "Despite its reception" when it received positive reception. It could be "Polarizing" for having a darker tone and the lack of clank as a direct participant + It doesn't have any exploration like in the first 3 as it's designed to be a series of gauntlet stages. But, it was positively received. Up your Arsenal is just a strong sequel to follow since the growth, especially the characters from 1-3 was amazing. Deadlocked felt like a "side quest" until it introducwd themes like narcissm, slavery, and ptsd.

the "spaceship" is so fun to control!! fav vehicle so far. i finished this game a lot of times

wait i thought i was watchinmg some big creators video but ur only at 97 subs so far, ur content is amazing compared to how much visibility you have, keep it up man!

I was waiting this video to release

You're very correct, playing this game co-op is a different experience. I have fond memories because of it.

I like how it even features Jak as a playable character

Hey Al..😂 never gets old..

What the Hell? You have only 100 subs? HOW? Great job Man! Keep it up!

This was my favorite game for my PS2

Great game and honestly it is incredible it came out at all let alone as good as it was. Insomniac was on an insane deadline for this game as a lot of their team was also working on prototyping a PS3 Ratchet as well as working on the launch title Resistance, which was going through its own development woes since it was their first HD game AND their first time dealing with the stubborn PS3 architecture. Considering Up Your Arsenal was already stretching the team thin with their ambitions for multiplayer, it was clear they couldn't try and push the envelope like they did for Ratchet 2 and 3, so having these big levels they reuse multiple times for minigame-esque stages was a great fit. The story and writing sell the fiction brilliantly so it feels like like a contrived way to save money and more like a genuinely fun experience you are going through alongside Ratchet. Much like Majora's Mask it is a game that is brilliant because of how ingenious their time and effort saving techniques were in the face of such a daunting development timeline. I'll forever respect the hell out of it even if returning to the campaign can be a little boring compared to most other Ratchet games.

My guess is that they own Dreadzone place as an prison for heroes

I grew up with the original three PS2 titles, but never got Deadlocked for whatever reason. Many years later as an adult when I was picking up childhood games for emulators I decided to get Deadlocked too and give it a spin, see what I missed. Despite my nostalgia for the first three, Deadlocked still became my favourite R&C experience. The thing is, I've always loved the games for the combat. The puzzles and platforming can be fun, but in the end feel like filler to me between the real reason I'm playing the games. Not only did Deadlocked cut that out and focus on the combat, but it delivered the best combat gameplay I've seen across the four PS2 titles, Tools of Destruction, and Crack in Time. It only had 10 weapons, but they were all good. One thing I dislike about the other games is that as you progress you can generally ignore the earlier weapons in favour of the later ones. In Going Commando for example, of the 24 weapons, weapons like the Bouncer and Plasma Coil are just way too good. Some weapons also completely invalidate others, the worst case being the Holoshield Glove in Up Your Arsenal. Why stand still behind a 2D shield when the Shield Charger exists as a "take no damage" cheat button that lets you retain all your mobility? Challenge mode doesn't really fix the issue, the good weapons are still way too good. That's also ignoring that the RYNO in every game is basically a cheat code. Nothing in Deadlocked felt too OP, not even the super weapon of the game, the Harbinger, because of its very limited ammo (felt more like Going Commando's Zodiac than a RYNO, which I liked). Deadlocked is the only game where I found myself actively switching between most of my arsenal to suit the flow of battle. The Holoshield makes a return and is very worth using because the Shield Charger doesn't exist. I might start combat by throwing down a shield and sniping some of the tougher enemies, then advance with rockets, then switch to weapons like the Scorpion Flail, Magma Cannon, Dual Vipers, or B6-Obliterator depending on the types and amount of enemies being fought. If big enemies drop in suddenly, maybe you bust out the Harbinger, or maybe you place some defensive mines or turrets, place another shield or two, and take a moment to snipe again. It all just flowed so well. That's not even mentioning all the alpha and omega mods so that you could customize to fit your needs. Weapon customization is something I've wanted in another R&C title so bad. Going Commando and Tools of Destruction aren't it because there's no choice, you just buy all the upgrades, and it's fairly easy to do so. Crack in Time's three Constructo weapons were one of my favourite parts of that title because it had that mixing and matching. R&C needs more of that IMO. On the other hand, maybe the difficulty selection is doing a lot of work. I've only played Deadlocked and Crack in Time on the hardest difficulties, and those are also the only titles where I've felt really challenged by the combat during certain sections. It could very well be a totally different experience on the easier difficulties, letting you get away with just using one or two weapons most of the time like the other titles. As a PC gamer now I haven't been able to play the newer titles, though I'm pumped that Rift Apart has come to Steam out of nowhere. I'll be picking it up on the sale here, and am going to save it for a bit from now when I have a break from work. I see it has a difficulty selection too, which I'm excited for.

i just loved this game had a coop mode! it was awesome

I played the hell out of this with my cousin in co-op. Seriously enjoyed this game!

After playing the first 4 recently the 2nd, 3rd and 4th are all tied but when I first played the games deadlocked was my favorite.

Ratchet deadlocked was my game fr. I never had a memory card, so my brother and I would just tackle through as many levels as we could. Even then playing the game never got old, and playing it today on my pc, its still one of the best games ive ever played.

replayed this game last week on harder diffuculty to see if it holds after many yrs of not playing and man this game was a blast they should port this game to newer gen consoles if they haven't already

Where this game really shines is, the co-op, getting to play the whore main game with friends and family, helping and messing whit eachother is it's greatest strength.

This is my best game of all times

this is the best PS2 ratchet game as far as gunplay goes. not only is the lock strafe controls the best it ever was including the future series and later entries. but you also had the amazing mods system. something that I wish would be brought back at some point.

i wanted to played this game so bad ever since i had a ps3. toady now on my ps5 with the ps + premium i had the opportunity to finish this game. its a great game that give good conclusion to the ps2 trilogy. Deadlocked is a amazing game!

This was the BEST Ratchet game to ever exist, and one of the best videogames to ever play when you wanna sit back and chill. Online Mode on the PS2 and PS3 days were absolutely amazing! (So long as you weren't joining lobbies with those tryhard cheaters who only used 3 weapons) Get all your friends together and you're going to have the best time. Please remaster this game for PS5 with 4K graphics and bring back online mode.

I don’t understand why people hate deadlock but love up your arsenal, I mean up your arsenal heavily focused on combat more so than the previous two games.

This game is called Ratchet gladiator in Finland

This game is genuinely my most favorite game on my ps2

unique nostalgia of my life

i remember up your arsenal and deadlock my favorite ps2 game

Hey Natquerx, I hope all is well. Ratchet & Clank is my favorite video game franchise of all time, and throughout this past year the very first 2002 game was replaced as my favorite game of all time with Ratchet: Deadlocked taking over as 1st in my mind. I love challenge mode.

Unique nostalgie on my life

I found the game to be pretty fun. Even though I only played Deadlock on a PS2 demo disk. I played it with my bro. I think I remember Virtua Fighter, soul calibur, and a Sly vs game also being on it as well. But I also remember the disc being all scratched up so I'd get the toothpaste and cologne to wipe it. It's nostalgic thinking those times and about developers putting demos of other games in their own games and demo disc.

I feel like you didn't give the weapon customization enough credit. There was some serious fucking dope combos you could pull with these things back in the day

Really good work!! Are you gonna do to all games of the series?

Best gameplay!

Yeah i like this too still playing it today with that they would make remake or dreadlock 2 or something

Deadlocked was one of my fav R&C games! absolutely loved every part of it. If only i finished the last mission. Too bad my disc was broken ;-;

My face when I heard for the first time that this game recieve backlash for me it was the best alongside 3 and still it is I haven't played many of the new ratchet and clank games only the trilogy and gladiator at first and nexus and other I don't remember years later

i don't have a ps2 anymore, nor ps4 let alone ps5, i wish they'd add this game to steam. it was my favourite r n c game to play, i had well over 500 hours as a kid in elementary.

The title and "darkening" the story really reminded me of Jak and Daxter VS Jak 2. . When it comes to gaming developers not taking risks today - it's one of the saddest truths ever. Slowly, we are deprived not only of some challange and interesting but wild ideas but even stuff as simple as character development or natural plot progression (the "and then" convenience is ruling the world instead of "and because of that..." writing technique). Soon all the games are gonna be just tutorials, holding our hands, like they hold the characters on a closed path.

I never realized Deadlock was polarizing. It sticks to the same weapons, themes, etc. Ratchet and Clank was always a game series that was a jab at Mega corps.

Everyone I know loved deadlocked

I'd say my biggest gripe with this game is that none of announcers' mid-battle quips are funny at all.

Ratchet Deadlocked was good I saw nothing polarizing about it.

This game is worth playing indeed, but only on the PS2, since the so called PS3 HD version has some really awful visual glitches & frame rate drops when there is too much enemies and explosions during gameplay, which was something that the PS2 version of Ratchet Deadlocked/Gladiator didn't have.

I felt bad for them that they had to be forced to wear those electric collars which I hate by the way and that Ace guy was a jerk and hurting Al on purpose to make Ratchet mad and also the part where Ace electrocuted Ratchet and uh I think Ratchet was uncomfortable in that suit and that Vox guy was a bastard for making Ace kill heroes just to make him rich

This was my first game I brought with my own money. After that deadlock became my top 3 R&C game it was better than UYA. Deadlock was great way to end the ps2 era for R&C.

1:38 Uh Up Your Arsenal DID have aiming reticles when you played with a certain control scheme, Deadlocked isn't really the introduction of them. IIRC Going Commando had an auto-lock while the original didn't.

Still my favourite game

I’d much rather have 10 weapons I constantly use until the endgame than 20 something weapons that I only use like 5 in the other games, plus the mods/weapons in deadlocked are all useful and each weapons can be used until the end, unlike past games expect the first one, that alot of weapons even at max become literally useless and do no damage

I can never take Ratchet's face serious in Deadlocked. It's so out of proportion and looks ridiculous XD

Is this footage from the actual ps2 or pc? Looks way better than I remember

Ratchet Deadlocked is one my favorites

I played it but i played the first 3 before it. The maps feel dead and empty, it feels like almost "eerie". No complaints on the story and cutscenes but insomniac has always nailed it on this aspect.

Ratchet 3 more combat focused. Yeah a risk for sure. I mean Deadlocked's plot is pretty similar to a movie (forget the name) just with more Ratchet charm in there. Ratchet games are whatever the Devs were into in their 20s and whatever western animated movies were doing at the time Deadlocked isn't as much as the movie is a live action movie the inspiration but still. But sure it's not planet hopping, we don't see the crew or inhabitant this point in the series, we don't have Hollywood stuff like 3 just business stuff like 1&2 was, but 3 changed things to be: go to the Starship Phoenix all the time between planets for cutscenes and new information (you barely go from planet to planet by yourself because you feel the need to do it because your part of the crew now and go to the planets besides the Qwark hideout of course or Obani Draco for Courtney Gears of your own goals of course) more combat and 2D Qwark which if people weren't up for 2D platforming in their 3D action adventure third person shooter game but that's ok apparently. Lock strafe made it clear the direction the series was going from a control scheme point of view even. Sure you get the hacker and tyrraguise Space Channel 5 inspired button timing without music and Secret Agent Clank while those sections are great of rhythm in that game it's more accurate. The bots are like Ratchet 1 almost the Clank prototyping phase where Clank did many things for sure than being just what he was later. Well kind of. Still for bots as the second player in a way they are useful enough for combat, shields, the hacker orbs and more. They are your Clank besides Alpha Clank. I mean grind rails are back and can use the dual vipers on them can't do that in Ratchet 3. The level design isn't that interesting it is battlefields/gauntlets after all I won't deny that but they make the most of it. It's less platforming, battlefields with annoying to tasks that are sometimes optional, sometimes required and so on. Deadlocked is just that multiplayer battlefields with a story mode attached about a hero death game show. It makes it clear it isn't a side mode but the full game. How is that so much a risk. XD might want to think about that. Sure it's different to put a die mode as the whole game but I mean they take up so much in Ratchet 3 how is it that different. Deadlocked I can take seriously 3 tries to be a transitional title and I find it awkward. 3 is like Spyro 3 too much garbage crammed into it. Deadlocked cuts the fat and while yes trying to compete like Halo it does a fair job for a co-op campaign, multiplayer maps strung with tasks to make it the Annihilation Nation the game it is intended to be. Neither is bad I just find 3 to be too much and a messy title I mean it was rushed after all and the hype to be too ridiculous 2 & Deadlocked I can take more seriously. I find the Hollywood logic/references are too DreamWorks and I hate it it's what I hate about western animated movie today so to me it's not worth it. The genocide stuff of Robots must win not organic lifeforms is fine. Nefarious while sick of him and Lawrence bounce off while other games Lawrence not being there shows the weakness of Nefarious as a character over time. The game is funny for sure the dialogue and jokes are on point, but the gameplay bores me to death I can't stand it I want to get it over with. People aren't wrong for liking Ratchet 3 more power to them and for many it's probably their first as it was late in the console lifecycle so that's also likely but eh it's not my thing. Besides people want that combat not so much platforming and puzzles and so on I prefer do if Ratchet was still Ratchet 1 I wouldn't have hated it I don't need guns and violence and action to enjoy a game like some people do. Ratchet 2 & Deadlocked I played the most. 100% Deadlocked all skill points, jackpot crates hidden and weapons level 99. It's fun to 100% it throughout besides the jackpot crates that get hard on Ghost Station to clear out.

The best shooter of the series by far

One of the best parts is Al dancing to Courtney Gears 🤣 the game was a good variation, a bit annoying to begin with, but I’m glad it ties in with the rest of the main games.

Might have been sort of the lack of content in ways. Basically just a fairly linear path, on rails, and all the gladiator fighting. Still love the game, and it was cool how fairly dark it was but I can see the issues. Plus, if the choice was this game or it not existing giving Up Your Arsenal an extra year of development, sorry, Deadlocked.

Oddly enough this is my favorite PS2-era Ratchet, i think. The only problems i have is the game being a bit too easy even on hardest difficulty, and the boss fights aren't as good compared to Ratchet 1, 2 & 3's

I honestly think the biggest improvement Deadlocked did was removing the Clank-only gameplay sections, because after 100%ing the first three games I don't find any of them fun.

tbh I loved this game. Its not as fun playing by yourself but the co-op is beautiful. Its like the Resident Evil 5 of Ratchet and Clank where the game is kinda blah by yourself but with a friend its fun as hell.

And uh I also didn’t like the part where the robots would have to shoot you to distract you while making Ratchet grinding I didn’t like that at all

I do like this game, but I also hate it. Not because of the game itself, but it's because of the first copy I got of this game. I was so close to end game, but then it would just go to a black screen and freeze. Had to get another copy from ebay and argue with the first seller that he gave me a botch copy. He really didn't believe me until I gave him footage

Well this is my favorite PS2 game actually

Funny how they had completely different names im from uk and it was called gladiator this one

I really didn’t like that it didn’t include free roam, but I actually liked the story, gameplay and characters. I still hope Hardlight makes a return.

i liked it

I played a little of this, and my deal wasn't the story, mechanics or anything. It was the CONTROLS OH MY GOD. Got frustrated for an hour, and never played again, which is a shame, cause I do want to experience the full experience? Ugh!

I prefer the Australian title 'Ratchet Gladiator'

Did you just say that David’s 4th entry spundtrack for Ratchet, “sucks”?

I actually like deadlocked . I’m playing it now for the first time the first 3 hours . Very fun just repetitive

Best rc game

Deadlocked is easily my least favorite of that era of R&C. Clank’s absence is felt and the title has the least amount of weapons out of the series. And the darker tone is something i’m not looking for when I play a R&C game.

I enjoyed and loved everything this game had to offer to be honest. I'm sure this game may have it's flaws and it's not Perfect, but to me it's a fantastic game in itself. Although I am going to call you out on one thing here. 4:20 the music did not suck in the slightest and had *some* of the most grooviest and hyped tracks in the franchise.

Based ratchet game

Yeah one of the things that disappoints me is letting go most of old characters from RAC 3.

Everytime I see a video stating that Deadlocked/Gladiator is disappointing... I boot it up and playthrough it again!

Wait so you're telling me people didn't like deadlocked?

Eh I didn't really like this one so much, In South Africa it was actually called Ratchet Gladiator

I liked this one :/

I loved this game as a child. I'd pretty much instabuy a PC version if it would exist

Title is way more negative than the review, that got me intrigued.

Algorithm.

It's crazy to think that there are people who think that size matters was better than deadlocked lmao