Ratchet & Clank : Going Commando

Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando is Insomniac Games' 2003 PlayStation 2 action-platformer and the second main adventure for the Lombax mechanic Ratchet and his robotic partner Clank. Published by Sony Computer Entertainment, this PS2 sequel continues after the pair have saved the Solana Galaxy and become reluctant celebrities. North American copies carry the Going Commando subtitle; the same game was released as Ratchet & Clank 2: Locked and Loaded in Australia and much of the PAL region. It returns the series to a colorful science-fiction universe, but moves its story to the Bogon Galaxy and gives the duo a larger assignment from the technology corporation MegaCorp.

Play is presented from behind Ratchet as he explores a sequence of planets, fights hostile creatures and machines, jumps between platforms, and searches for routes through each location. A wrench remains useful at close range, while the wider arsenal lets players choose tools for different encounters. Bolts collected from defeated enemies and smashed objects act as currency for equipment, ammunition, and other purchases. Gadgets are woven into exploration as well: familiar tools and new devices open paths, activate machinery, or help Ratchet cross hazards that cannot be cleared by ordinary jumping alone.

A central addition to Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando on PS2 is the progression built around weapons and health. Weapons gain experience through use against enemies, eventually becoming stronger versions with changed appearances and improved effects. Ratchet also earns nanotech experience, increasing his health capacity over time, and can buy armor for extra protection. This combination of platforming and incremental upgrades encourages players to revisit the use of their favorite equipment instead of treating every purchase as a one-off novelty. A save from the first Ratchet & Clank can also unlock that game's retro weapons, although those returning weapons do not use the new upgrade system.

The campaign begins when MegaCorp founder Abercrombie Fizzwidget offers Ratchet a job recovering a stolen biological experiment, while Clank is offered a corporate role. Their pursuit introduces Angela Cross, a Lombax scientist, and gradually reveals the danger behind MegaCorp's planned Protopet product. Ratchet and Clank travel from laboratories and city worlds to deserts, snowy areas, and criminal strongholds while contending with the mercenaries known as Thugs-4-Less. Captain Qwark, a familiar figure from the first game, also returns as the story's conspiracy becomes clearer.

Going Commando broadens the pace of the original game with optional activities alongside the main planetary missions. Players can take on arena combat challenges, pilot a starship in space races and battles, and compete in hoverbike events. The game also includes missions built around Giant Clank, giving Clank a more direct role in certain sections. These diversions sit alongside the core single-player adventure rather than replacing it, and they provide opportunities to earn bolts and test equipment under different conditions.

After finishing the story, Challenge Mode lets players begin again at a higher difficulty while retaining their previous weapons and health, with further upgrades to pursue. That structure, together with the weapon-growth system, gave the 2003 sequel a more persistent sense of character development than its predecessor. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando was followed on PlayStation 2 by Ratchet & Clank: Up Your Arsenal in 2004, placing it at the center of the series' original PS2 trilogy. Its mix of third-person shooting, gadget-based platforming, comic science-fiction storytelling, and repeatable upgrade goals defines the identity of this early Ratchet & Clank era.