Ratchet and clank should have online multiplayer....Something similar to Team Fortress 2.

I really like the title of the game.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/...ontal-assault/

Though fundamentally a third-person shooter, the Ratchet & Clank series has rarely shied from bold genre experimentation: witness the progressive competitive and co-op modes of Ratchet: Deadlocked, the brain-busting temporal puzzles of A Crack in Time, even the four-player feuding of last year’s All 4 One. But with Full Frontal Assault, the storied series will undergo incorporate what is perhaps its most sweeping metamorphosis interesting twist yet, creating what developer Insomniac Games is calling “action tower defense.” Yep, Ratchet’s going all PixelJunk Monsters on us. This is a logical, some might say inevitable, evolution when you consider the series’ gameplay trajectory, which despite its myriad twists and turns has focused squarely on two core elements: ludicrously powerful weaponry and freakish alien foes. In other words, the raw ingredients for a mean tower defense game. “One of the things we wanted to explore with Full Frontal Assault was large, sprawling battlefields,” Production Director Shaun McCabe told me. “The large battlefields in Up Your Arsenal and A Crack in Time added a lot of player choice. The decision to add tower defense felt organic…exploring large open battlefields and then returning to your base to set up defenses.” McCabe cited tower defense games like Dungeon Defenders and Orcs Must Die as key inspirations for Full Frontal Assault. Though Insomniac Games isn’t allowing any hands-on play just yet, I learned much about Full Frontal Assault just by watching a few minutes of the game in action. The core gameplay looks to be plucked directly from fan favorite A Crack in Time; everything from the camera view and controls to those intoxicating hoverboots will make series traditionalists feel right at home. The story-driven campaign, which you can play solo or co-op, is strung together with traditional adventure sequences that combine shooting and platforming as Ratchet scours the surface of the planet Ebaro looking for secret weapon caches while fending off attacks from rampaging Grungarian marauders. So far, so good, until the monstrous mercenaries decide to attack your base — that’s when those tantalizing tower defense events kick into gear. Your home base serves as the tower defense battlefield, and the floor is scattered with pads that enable you to deploy three basic types of units: Turrets, mines, and barriers. You’ll fend off multiple waves of incoming Grungarians by strategically placing these defenses, which you can combo together to devastating effect: a slow-mo mine combined with Combuster turrets can ravage a tough enemy before he breaks through your barrier. Enemies will come in all shapes and sizes, from swarms of tiny Grungoids to tough melee-centric Brawlers to crafty Engineers who seek to sabotage your defenses. Turrets, mines, and barriers will also come in many flavors, though Insomniac Games is remaining frustratingly tight-lipped about specifics for now. Though you’ll need to monitor your base defenses carefully, you’ll hardly be dependent on them — Ratchet is a potent fighter and can swoop in to turn the tide in a besieged area. The combination of Ratchet’s exotic weapons and the effects of various turrets, mines, and barriers promises to create some unexpected and devastating combinations. Between tower defense events, Ratchet will need to venture back into the battlefield to seek out more powerful weapons. “Most of the weapons in the game are ‘Ratchet classics,’” McCabe teased. “Our goal here is to give players almost more weapons than they can handle.” Upon finding a weapon pod, you’ll be forced to choose between unlocking one of two possible weapons. Plasmabomb Launcher or Warmonger rocket launcher? Decisions, decisions. True to tower defense form, Full Frontal Assault awards you medals based on your performance in the tower defense segments, encouraging you to replay them again and again until you’ve completed them perfectly. The medals will unlock promotions, too, including new armor and perks for Ratchet, Clank, or Qwark. Oh, and they’ll be a competitive mode, too, though Insomniac is saving those details for another occasion. “It builds on what we’ve shown here today,” McCabe teased. “And…I’m pretty good at it.”

Actually sounds interesting. Not just a straight up tower defense game. Conceptually almost sounds a bit like Dillons Rolling Western on 3DS. As long as the platforming is still tight (and hopefully encourages exploration!) I might give it a shot despite the tower defense focus.

http://www.insomniacgames.com/invite/ffa/

Insomniac is taking sign-ups for a beta that will be starting soon.

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Seems to be starting today since I just got a code for it.

Bumping this up since it's out now for retail and PSN for PS3. The Vita version is out in January, though you'll still get it for free if you buy either version that's out now.

Any CAG impressions?

Wll probably pick this up eventually once it goes on sale or I can find a deal on a copy. My backlog is too big to be a day one purchase.

I've played a bit of the single-player. They've definitely adapted the classic Ratchet & Clank gameplay to to MOBA-style levels where you're trying to take over nodes and reach the enemy base to capture the final node. I've just played the first level, so it could change up a bit more as I get further into it.

On the field, you have six generators to protect in your base with a lot of turret and mine spots that you can pay to put defenses there. There are weapon spawn points that give you new weapons with a little minigame that is similar to the reload mechanic in Gears of War. It has a lot of weapons to play with as you'd expect with a lot of familiar weapons from past games. In the campaign, they level up persistently while leveling up on a per-game basis in multiplayer.

There seem to be more to do to fully beat each of the levels in the campaign than just win, like beating them within certain time limits, collecting all of the gold bolts, and earning the specific skill points for each level. There are 117 skill points to earn that are mostly doing a certain thing X, Y, and Z times or completing certain objectives on each level, which accrue points to unlock bonus materials, game options, and cheats.

When I heard they were gonna do "tower defense" for this game I was like oh god. But I played the demo with my nephew and I really like the game. That said, I am a CAG first and I'll probably wait for a sale to buy it since I am saddle with games from Black Friday shopping.

I will be livestreaming this game in just a little bit if anybody here wants to see it in action.

http://www.twitch.tv/smashpad

Originally Posted by FriskyTanuki I will be livestreaming this game in just a little bit if anybody here wants to see it in action. http://www.twitch.tv/smashpad

i heard it plays like tower defense? is is true?

No, I explain a couple posts up that it's more like MOBA-style games where you're taking over nodes to open up the enemy base for capture. The tower defense element is that you can build turrets around your base to help defend it from enemies.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2012/...p-coming-soon/

We’ve been having a blast playing against you online in the last few weeks, and we hope you’ve been enjoying the game as much as we’ve enjoyed making it and playing online ourselves. As you know, Full Frontal Assault is a cross-buy enabled title, so your purchase of the PS3 game entitles you to download the PS Vita version at no additional cost upon its release. Tin Giant and Sony have been hard at work to finish the Vita version, which will be available soon in early 2013. If you bought the PS3 game digitally, you’ll be able to download it via your Download List on the XMB when it releases. For those purchasers of the retail disc, you can download the Vita version via the “Disc Benefits” option under Game on the XMB. One thing every great multiplayer game has is new content and support. The team in North Carolina has been working hard and listening to your feedback the last few weeks. We have a new patch coming out this week for Full Frontal Assault that addresses many of your requests, and fixes some of the balance issues both online and in the campaign. In addition, we are adding two additional levels to the weapons in the game, so you’ll be able to further up(grade) your arsenal. But that’s not all — in early January we’ll be bringing another patch to the game that will add a new multiplayer map. This patch will be free and will add the map for all users. This map is set in one of the most famous locations in the Ratchet & Clank universe: Metropolis. Check out a first sneak peak at the new map above. For those of you who have already jumped into Full Frontal Assault, thanks for your support! And for those of you still waiting, check out the free trial on PSN. The game features a fun-sized campaign, but also two-player campaign co-op and our unique 1v1 and 2v2 competitive mode for just $19.99! We have more skins and free maps to come in 2013 as well, so stay tuned to the PlayStation.Blog for the latest updates. If you have any questions, ask below and we’ll do our best to answer them.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/...g-this-spring/

The Vita version has been delayed until Spring 2013, so they've announced an apology deal that they're going to offer:

For those of you who have purchased the PS3 version of the game and are waiting for your PS Vita entitlement, we want to make it up to you as best we can. On the release date for Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault for PS Vita, we will be offering Ratchet & Clank: Deadlocked for the PS3 system as a free download to all of our fans who purchased Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault for the PS3 system (digitally or on disc). The giveaway will become available when Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault for PS Vita releases.

sweet!

Could I buy FFA now and still get the free Deadlocked offer?

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/...sault-updates/

Hey everyone! We’re excited to share a lot of news with you about Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault. Whether you are looking for a new multiplayer map, waiting for your PS Vita download, or excited about Deadlocked HD, there’s something in this update for you, so read on! First, thank you for your patience as you’ve awaited the PS Vita version of Full Frontal Assault. Our friends at Sony and Tin Giant have been working hard to deliver a version of the game that lives up to your expectations. The good news is that the game is complete, and will be released on the PSN Store on May 21st. Furthermore, we know many of you are excited about Deadlocked HD, which we are including as a bonus thank you for your patience on the PS Vita release. The fine folks at Sony and Idol Minds are wrapping it up, we are expecting it to be available soon. For those of you with the retail copy of FFA, you’ll be able to download Deadlocked HD as well as the Vita version of FFA to your PS3 and transfer to your PS Vita. You can do this by accessing the “Disc Benefits” option on May 21st. If you downloaded FFA, the PS Vita version and Deadlocked will appear free for you on the PlayStation storefront. Lots of you are still enjoying Full Frontal Assault’s competitive multiplayer and have been enjoying the Metropolis map we added at the beginning of this year. We wanted to continue to support the game for the loyal PS3 players as well. As such, the team in North Carolina has a new software update for the game which brings a brand-new competitive map set in Molonoth Fields from A Crack In Time, and a new game mode exclusively to the PlayStation 3 version of the game. Here’s a first look at the new map: The new game mode, 2v2 Full Frontal Assault mode, is something for our hardcore players. It eliminates the phases – so you can always capture nodes, build units, and attack the other team’s base. This results in a more dynamic, more strategic experience that will test players’ skills more than ever before. This new software update is available now. Additionally, we’ve added new skins to Full Frontal Assault which you can find in the in-game store. The new Monsters pack, Intergalactic Foot Soldiers pack, and Plushy pack all are available now, for $1.99 each. We also have a new A Crack in Time pack and All 4 One pack coming soon! That’s all for now! As always, thanks for all your support, and if you have questions we’ll try to answer below.

Vita version with next week's update? Sweet!

Originally Posted by FriskyTanuki As such, the team in North Carolina has a new software update for the game which brings a brand-new competitive map set in Molonoth Fields from A Crack In Time, and a new game mode exclusively to the PlayStation 3 version of the game.

I actually drove right by this office last week on the way back home from a nearby Best Buy, had no idea they were here. I wonder if they give tours.