My only other Ratchet & Clank experience being A Crack in Time, I was kinda looking forward to this one as well. Got it cheap and although I know from reviews that the experience was different and wasn't as good as its predecessors, I was pretty pumped. Finished it the other day and I can see where the reviewers are coming from, it's not as fun, it's hard to pinpoint where it is, but it feels quite different, maybe it's the fixed angles or the excessive focus on cooperation. Playing by yourself isn't that great, but when you've got friends (or even going online) to play alongside, the fun really ramps up, I had a ton of fun just playing the game the whole way with a friend. It was funny to see them stuff up at the most awkward of ways, and the cooperative elements really shines through. Despite that, you're also competing to get the higher points at the end of the level. I can't help but be impressed at how Insomniac balanced those elements, it's something that's tough to do, yet they did it quite well (at least... at the expense of playing solo).
It's an easy game most of the way through, the last couple of levels was pretty intense in terms of the number of enemies that come out and get at you (...until you discover the Critter Strike, a weapon that turns enemies into animals, by far the most powerful and useful weapon in the game). I found that at those times, you have no choice but to cooperate with your team mates to survive and win (if each fought independently, you'd run out of ammo). It's at those moments, when after dying a few times, and finally you've worked together in unison to get past, that makes the game so great. You achieve a sense of satisfaction that you can work together, it's very hard to describe, but it makes the flaws worth it. Just like the other games, you usually only stick with the limited few weapons, I found that changing weapons was a hindrance, since the game doesn't pause when you do so (understandable). So in battles when you had to quickly change to another weapon, cycling through the menu gets very annoying and you'll probably sustain a few hits (and you only have a four hit points health bar). I found the puzzles interesting, but towards the end, you'd know what to expect, so a bit more variety would be nice.
The final boss battle was a bit disappointing in that it was not very challenging, although it had four stages, each stage only had one or two attacks, and they were very repetitive. The only challenging part is that he has a lot of HP... but that just translates to the battle being dragged out. The story wasn't all that captivating but I did like how Nefarious is forced to help, and in the end, maybe, just maybe, having second thoughts on being a villain. The trophies are relatively easy to get too, and you're likely to get a Platinum with a little effort (some Trophies are annoying and you will need help from a second player). I found the stage selection for the story mode to be odd at first, but understandable from a 'drop in/drop out' multiplayer perspective. Even though the game haven't been out for a year, it's getting hard to find a game online (especially one that has four players), which is annoying considering one of the most lucrative ways to collect a million bolts for a particular trophy is to play a four player game at one of the latter levels (so, unless you've got a boosting partner, you're going to spend a few hours grinding the same levels). Overall, it's great if you can have someone to play with you the whole game through (and I don't mean via online, literally a person next to you), since that's honestly the best and most fun way to enjoy this game. Playing alone = mediocre game, playing with a friend = awesome.
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