If one conclusion can be drawn from reviewing the titles released so far in the series, it's that Insomniac Games certainly has a smooth production line in place when it comes to Ratchet & Clank. Bolting together the necessary platforming and shooting portions for an extremely decent game and then topping them off with a wicked sense of humour and a selection of super guns and other ingenious weapons that, in his day, Saddam Hussein would have remortaged his royal palace to get hold of.

While Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, the dynamic duo's first outing on Sony's handheld, successfully managed to keep the big action in place despite the shrink in size, the lack of alteration to the core gameplay for Tools of Destruction, their debut on PS3, led to some unfavourable comments, particularly in comparison to Super Mario Galaxy. A certain degree of interest has, therefore, surrounded the series' return to the portable platform, which is once again being handled by High Impact Games, and it seems that they have decided to make some major alterations to the blueprints this time around.

After years of virtual inseparability, the force that has finally managed to come between the Lombax and his piggybacking buddy is the long arm of the galactic law. Ratchet has been found guilty of stealing the Eye of Infinity and thrown into jail but, rather than spending his newfound free time at home baking cakes with files in them ready for prison visits, Clank has decided to find out who framed Ratchet in his own unique way. As hinted at in previous games, when it comes to taking action, Clank really is the cerebral yang to Ratchet's shoot first yin and rather than going head on at those in his way, he's instead decided to fulfil all his 007 dreams. In gameplay terms, what this means is that Secret Agent Clank is as much about puzzle solving and sneaking as it is about firefights. Not that this means that this new focus has been chosen at the cost of the series' old charms.

Resplendent in his made-to-measure tuxedo, Clank leaps and limbos around laser beams and dishes out hand to hand beatings thanks to his mastery of Clank Fu. When Clank does decide to unleash his arsenal of weapons, these are more than appropriate for his new persona, ranging from an electrified black umbrella and cufflink bombs to bowties that, when thrown, reveal their deadly blades.

In true secret agent style, Clank will also be getting up to a range of extra curricular activities during his mission, from piloting sports cars, speedboats and even a snowboard to a spot of very sophisticated dancing. Unfortunately, rather than a bevy of robotic Bond girls to accompany him, Clank will instead have to put up with a bit of a rest now and then, as the play switches to levels where Ratchet struggles to come to terms with just how hard his time in prison is turning out to be and, the universe's greatest superhero, Captain Qwark, once again does his own unique thing.

With a wide variety of different formulas being thrown into the pot, along with some mini-games and the promise of the standard high quality Ratchet & Clank humour, Secret Agent Clank could be the series' new secret weapon.

Previewed by James Hamblin for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).