After 13 years of action-platforming on PlayStation platforms, Ratchet and Clank are finally coming to the big screen. But that doesn't mean the franchise is forgetting its video game roots. When Ratchet & Clank arrives in theaters next April, it will be accompanied by a PlayStation 4 reimagining of the duo's original adventure, and I recently got to check out Insomniac's upcoming remake.

A Whole New World?
I only played a small portion of the new Ratchet & Clank ($39.99), it was an early demo, but it was clear the scope and beauty of the world on the are leagues beyond what was possible on the PlayStation 2. The level I played had me hopping across a floating train in the middle of a futuristic metropolis, a scenario from the first game. The world I sped through was shiny and bright, bouncy and colorful, and filled to the brim with lively details all around me. Another demo I saw featured a giant boss in a fiery cave. The atmosphere, while moody and menacing, was still cartoony enough that I didn't bat an eye when a dance party soon broke out. The game apparently shares some of its visual assets with the upcoming animated film, and the quality was high enough that I could see why.

Ratchet Revamped
Games have changed a lot since 2002, the year the first Ratchet & Clank arrived. Both the movie and the game will flesh out the story of the original tale, but the game will flesh out the gameplay, as well. The representative giving the demo noted that I instinctively figured out the controls almost instantly. Maybe he was just being nice, but the controls have been modernized to the point that anyone familiar with shooter and action games should have no problem blasting targets and traversing environments. If the game uses any of the DualShock 4's unique features, I didn't notice it in this demo.

Between the shootouts were light platforming and puzzle solving sequences. I jumped, double jumped, and hovered across sections of the moving train. I used my wrench to detach cars and send bundles of pipes tumbling onto enemy heads. I even used zip lines to swing through swathes of the city.

However, as with most Insomniac games, from Resistance to , the wacky weapons are really where it's at. The game includes revamped versions of classic guns from the original Ratchet & Clank, as well as brand new blasters. I mostly used a new gun called the Pixelizer. True to its name, this weapon reduces enemies to piles of retro blocky bits.

Going Hollywood
Because of its tie-in status, the rep jokingly referred to Ratchet & Clank as "the game based on the movie based on the game," and lamented the team couldn't fit that on the box as a subtitle. And unlike previous games in the series, there's no cheeky double-entendre to be found either. But based on what I played, Ratchet & Clank stands on its own without its connection to the film. It's the next Ratchet & Clank game, from the original creators, for the first time on a next-generation console.

My limited experience with both this demo and the series as a whole makes it difficult to determine at this time just how substantial this remake is, but it's hard to imagine fans being disappointed. Ratchet & Clank for PlayStation 4 will launch sometime in the first half of 2016.