Stamp - Ratchet Deadlocked/Gladiator HD.

Edit: So, Ratchet Gladiator HD is out for all countries on PSN now... and what do ya know. Idol Minds/Sony fixed absolutely nothing after a 5 month delay (no surprises there!)
So yeah, it's just as poorly done as the US version, and with prices like $20 NZD, 11 GBP and 15 euros, it is a rippoff. So yeah, I wouldn't recommend it unless you don't mind all these problems. Or if you got the code to get it for free!

You can also check out my Let's Play through Deadlocked HD over here at Youtube www.youtube.com/playlist?list=…
And here's a video of a comparison between the PS2 version to the HD PS3 version www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1aY_W…

Also updated a few of the issues on this list, since I've been playing it in Single Player again recently. A total love-hate relationship with this HD version of the game for sure! ha.

WARNING: RANT FROM A BIG FAN AHEAD!

After getting the HD Port of Ratchet Deadlocked myself, despite living in New Zealand (I used a US PSN account to get it) I got to play it for myself, and see what all the fuss is about from some fans...

And you know what? I was somewhat disappointed with the quality of this so called 'HD remaster'
Although I still enjoy the game a bit, but I feel I need to reeeeally get these things out of my head that piss me off about this HD version....

I feel I have every freaking right to complain. I'm arguably one of the biggest fans of Deadlocked on DeviantART - just look at my gallery. I've been patiently looking forward to this HD remaster for a long time. Hyping like a crazy fangirl in journals and whatnot. I was glad that this game was getting HD treatment like the 'Ratchet & Clank Collection/Trilogy' did!

Now some of you guys may think I'm being too harsh on Idol Minds. Well the fact is, is that Idol Minds did really well with the HD Ports of the original trilogy. I was happy with those ones. Sure there were some issues, like missing cutscenes in R&C2 and rare game breaking glitches in R&C3.
And so, I was expecting Deadlocked to be at least the same quality, or better - given the extended development time and focus on just that one port.

But then it came. Ratchet Deadlocked HD was released onto the US PSN store without warning; hell, even the Insomniac's themselves didn't know it was to be there that day.

Here's a list of things they fucked up.

1. ALL of the in-game cutscenes are screwed up. Animations for the characters and even objects struggle to move smoothly most of the time, but worst of all, some of the character models are completely wrecked. See a small example here (with a comparison to the original PS2 version) www.youtube.com/watch?v=J1aY_W…
(Okay okay I admit they're kinda funny. I even laugh at them during my Let's Play. But that is NO excuse to do such a poor job with this game)
Luckily they couldn't fuck with the pre-rendered cutscenes, lol.

2. Audio files don't play correctly for some parts. For example, Dallas repeats the same all-level based quotes throughout the game (Dental Plan & Run Ratchet Run) he used to say much more variety, but not anymore. Sometimes more than half the sound effects (enemies and some gunfire) stop working. This happened through most of the game for me and my brother.

EDIT: Audio issues don't happen as often in Single Player though (from my experience)

3. Game can crash at any moment without warning. This happened a few times while me and my brother played through, it was even captured on our Let's Play...
And if the game crashes while it's auto-saving, then that save will be fucked and you'll have to start over (corrupt).

EDIT: And in single player, the game crashed my PS3 THREE TIMES in the same level, within minutes. But after a day or two, it didn't crash. So yeah, it's very unpredictable when it may crash or not.

4. The game has some severe glitches with vehicles, that can be triggered when playing in SD quality. Here's a video of it www.youtube.com/watch?feature=…
But luckily, the problem gets fixed when you play on an HD TV. So people with old TV's, bad luck...

5. The Co-op mode has constant slow-downs (usually when many enemies appear onscreen) I believe the PS2 version used to deal with this by lowering the framerate. But the HD version stays at 59.90 fsp, and so when it cant handle too much shit on the screen, it can slow down badly.
It even happens in Single player mode at times, but not as often.

EDIT: Not just the Co-op mode. It also slows down just as often in Single player mode.

6. The Local Multiplayer is very downgraded. It used to support up to 4 players splitscreen, but for reasons unknown, they disabled 3-4 player. I know not many people give a shit about it, but I do. Me and the family love playing the PS2 version in 4 player. We were looking forward to the HD version, so that the screens wont be so TINY when playing on an HD TV. But of course, Idol Minds had to get rid of it.
Either they couldn't get it working properly, or they couldn't be arsed - so they removed it. Which is odd, considering R&C3 HD's 4 player mode works fine...
Oh and Juggernaut mode is removed from the game. No idea why.

7. Online Multiplayer is downgraded too, used to support up to 10 players but now only handles 6... and not to mention, peoples usernames don't even show up ingame; which can be a pain in the ass for some. I dont play online though, but this is what Ive heard from other players.
And because there is no way to play the PS2 version online anymore, people have no choice but to use this version. (I hear it plays fine though, despite the downgrades)

EDIT: Judging from complaints, it's even worse to play online if you're from Europe. Haven't tried it myself though, yet. I wanna try it out with friends, but they seem to be put off by the quality of this port xD

I think there's more, but those issues bother me the most.

And if you're just another of those dimwitted fans who think "Duuuhhh what are you guys complaining bout? this HD remake is perfectly fine" "The cutscenes are funny lol, nothing wrong with them" "Dont be so mean, Idol Minds only has a small team" and "nevermind the lousy job, since it's free I dont mind the bad quality!"
I just cant STAND stupid fans like that. They clearly don't care about the original PS2 version if they truly think this shit is acceptable.
I dont bloody care if you think I'm taking it too personally neither. I clearly like this game and franchise a lot, so of course I'm going to to angry with things they mess up!

Just imagine first time fans playing this game. They'd probably think it's a lousy job.

And what's even more suspicious is that Idol Minds didn't put their logo or name ANYWHERE in this HD version of Deadlocked. They did for the R&C Collection though, but why not this one? Because they forgot? Because they didn't want to look responsible for this mess? Seems legit. I'd be embarrassed to have made a poor job with Insomniac's good work too if I were them.

It doesn't help that Idol Minds ignores fans who question them about Deadlocked HD too.

So quite frankly, I think they deserve the criticism. They got no sympathy from me. They were hired by Sony to do a job, and they clearly didn't do it right with this game.
Sony might be responsible for the low quality with this port too, but we don't know. They might have rushed Idol Minds, or they didn't give a shit about the game because it's 'free' to everyone who bought Full Frontal Assault/QForce. We just don't know :-/

And I guess that's all of my rant. Gonna disable comments, because I'm not going to bother arguing with any fucktards over this. This is my opinion, and that's it. End of story.
I don't completely hate this HD version of Deadlocked though... it's a bit of a 'love-hate' thing going on here you see.

Feel free to fav & use if you agree with me, and if you truly care about Insomniac's Ratchet Deadlocked game

PS2 version of Ratchet Deadlocked FTW