Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction crams in so many disparate gameplay elements, you can almost feel the designers at Insomniac "reaching" at times. Still, "reaching" is usually how you achieve greatness (even if you don't firmly grasp everything, or even knock a few things off the shelf in the process).

While the box-quote that equates Tools of Destruction with a playable Pixar film might smack of reviewer earnestness, it's still closer to the truth than not. This is an absolute eye-wowwer of a game, with vast, brilliantly-colored, vividly-detailed environs that certainly bring big-screen features to mind -- towering cities that challenge anything in Star Wars or Blade Runner, alien plains and canyons full of ambient flora and fauna, and even some literal and figurative "rail" sequences, from terra firma to deep space, whose visual dazzle almost makes up for their mechanical simplicity.

In fact, "simplicity" might be the only really resounding negative comment you'll find in the air regarding Tools of Destruction. It's still a game of platform-hopping-with-weapons at heart, but the designers have backed off on the overall difficulty in the name of fluid gameplay (there is a more difficult mode, but you'll need to finish the game first). In the meantime, "with weapons" is the suffix of the day, and players have an impressive arsenal of hurty-things with which to assail their onscreen foes.

As with most previous Ratchet games, Ratchet's handy mega-magnetized wrench is still the default melee weapon, useful for both wailing on enemies and smashing open crates to collect bolts (in fact, even a determined newbie can make it all the way to and through the first "boss" monster using nothing but). However, the Insomniac staple has always been exotic (read: "fun and weird") weapons and implements. Here, they include swarm-rockets worthy of the oldest-school anime; hovering "Groovatron" disco-balls that hold all enemies under their dappled, dubious light in helpless thrall to a dance-beat; laser torches (controlled by the SixAxis' motion); mindless weaponized Slinkies (not kidding); a device that blops out what any D&D'er would recognize as Gelatinous Cubes; and, finally, a sure-fire favorite, a biomorphing device that turns any enemies exposed to its effects into -- get this -- penguins. (And yes, if you use said morphing weapon followed by the Groovatron, you've got dancing penguins on your hands... at least until you blow them away with a grenade or something).

Despite the animated violence and immensely-satisfying particle explosion effects, it's a G-rated experience to its core, with enemies as ineptly charming/pathetic as they are potentially dangerous. One of the best bits illustrating this facet (as well as the jack-of-many-trades nature of the game) can be found in the robotic pirates who show up -- all peglegged, eye-patched and salty accented -- shooting at the player one minute and offhandedly kvetching about their lack of employment benefits the next. At certain points of the game, the player must don a cobbled-together, hideously pathetic "pirate costume" to sneak amongst their yarring numbers, or to dance a Simon-says pirate jig to open an automated door.

The multi-mechanic nature of the game continues with the likes of a rolling-ball hacking minigame, some simplistic flight-and-glide elements using the SixAxis controller, and even some segments where sidekick Clank sets out all by his tiny ownsey. It's only in the last hour or two of the 12-someodd-hour adventure that the difficulty, um, "ratchets" up, and the sheer variety of things to see and do (added to a number of side-secrets, should players feel in an explorative mood) manages to offset the comparative lack of difficulty and repetition of the space-based, Starfox-esque shooter segments. It's actually a pretty thin story, but the cinematic sequences and voice-work are always at the high-quality mark.

Alas, this gorgeously-presented and always-amusing adventure has no multiplayer element (it's back to the PSP for you long-haul Ratchet & Clankers) as Insomniac decided to focus all their energy into an entertaining single-player experience, and it shows in every dramatic camera movement or bit of environmental detail.

So, for the nerd-core, Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction is actually a half-step back in terms of difficulty, but strides forward in raw immersion and the dream of the interactive, big-budget animated feature.

And dude, dancing penguins.