Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters is a portable version of the best of the three well-known PS2 platformers. The translation of the gameplay could have potentially caused problems thanks to the PSP's lack of two buttons, an analogue stick and clickable sticks. However, the developers have found some clever ways to overcome these limitations making the transition nearly flawless. Granted, if you have been used to the PS2 and PS3 Ratchet games, the slight change in controls will throw you off during the first planet but as you quickly grasp what works for you, it's a blast and every bit as fun to play. The main control changes is that the shoulder buttons moves the camera left and right (or if you're using a Vita, you can map those buttons to the right stick which makes moving the camera much more natural). The camera will still occasionally swing around wildly during combat when you're jumping around and frantically shooting, as well as getting stuck. Anyway, this means that everything else is mapped to the face buttons... which doesn't sound like it'll bode well. Through pressing various combinations of buttons at the same time you get to do those classic Ratchet moves such as throwing his wrench and high jumping.
One of the things I was most impressed with was how strafing was implemented. As the shoulder buttons are taken up from moving the camera, this posed a problem. Well, you can move Ratchet using either the directional buttons or the analogue stick and one will move Ratchet normally while the other strafes! It's not perfect but works well enough and if you don't like the default configurations, you have the option to remap some of the buttons to your liking. Size Matters is very much a PSP game and the graphics aren't the best. Environments have a blocky look like a PS1 game but with just enough detailing to make it visually interesting. Character models during game play looks jagged but weirdly enough, these models during cutscenes looks amazing (and no, they are not pre-rendered). The game play is your typical Ratchet & Clank formula in which you break crates to collect bolts and spend them on some creative weapons. The weapon designs aren't *that* original and creative though, compared to other Ratchet games, Size Matters features a downright normal and ordinary arsenal.
Anyway, you use those weapons to blast enemies while there are some platforming challenges (nothing too hard). Aiming can be a slight annoyance as you need to get used to strafing and moving the camera using shoulder buttons, relying on the auto-aim which tends to occasionally miss. This results in more than a few accidental deaths. It's a bit aggravating when deaths by falling over the edge is so easy due to the camera angle issues. The "dream" levels are notorious in this aspect as it blurs the sides of the screen, effectively covering 40% of the view. This is the same with boss battles that takes place on small platforms. Overall, the box smashing and bolt collecting are still as addictive as ever and the chimes you get when getting those bolts are ever so satisfying. There are mini-games galore and as per usual, some work and some doesn't. Most of the mini-games involve Clank (while he is controllable in some platforming sections, those sections are short and rare). The mini-games that are the funner ones are a space shooter (move Clank around the screen shooting at enemies) and a derby destruction. There's also a strategic puzzler (similar to Lemmings) in which you send out directions/instructions to move small drones to the end goal. The worse of the bunch has to be Ratchet's air boarding, camera angle issues and a HORRIBLE control scheme makes it frustrating.
Size Matters is a tad bit on the easier side; you can breeze through the levels quickly (eight planets in total). There is a tiny difficulty spike with one of the later bosses (relatively big damage and annoying attacks that makes Ratchet easy to get hit) which soon disappears afterwards when you buy a weapon that's available after you defeat the boss. The easiness makes the game very short. You can finish in around five to six hours (including backtracking to obtain more bolts to buy/upgrade your weapons) although the game is so fun that it makes that time feel even shorter. There is a Challenge mode afterwards in which you play through the game again but on a harder difficulty with extra weapon upgrades. There are also collectibles to find and 100% mini-game completion; there are enough extras to capture your attention. The story is passable but very simple. Of course you would expect it to be an excuse for all the platforming goodness so it doesn't matter. Don't expect to be wowed but there are some funny sections during the cutscenes which doesn't make it a total write-off. The ending is okay; the final boss being a bit repetitive since for the time it takes to defeat him, you would expect more variations to his move set. Overall, this is a fun (albeit small) Ratchet & Clank adventure that's worth the price of admission.
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