"Ratchet" Match-It [3] Trivia Quiz

Answer: Spitting Hydra

The Spitting Hydra works by holding down the fire button to lock on to nearby enemies. When you're happy, release the button and watch as shocking tendrils zap your targets (as well as any enemies unfortunate enough to be in between them and you). Successive upgrades to this weapon allow it to lock on to more targets and deal more damage, and at V5, it becomes the Tempest. One of the arena challenges at Annihilation Nation forces you to use only the Spitting Hydra/Tempest - with limited ammunition available, you'll need to pick your targets carefully to win.

Answer: Agents of Doom

Similar to the Glove of Doom from the original "Ratchet & Clank", releasing a few Agents of Doom will set them on a path straight to the nearest enemy, ending with a literal bang. Successive upgrades increase their power (and arm them with cannons so their one-way trip to their doom isn't entirely wasted), and even have a touch of the Synthenoid from "Ratchet & Clank 2" when they gain jetpacks and hover close to you.

At V5, they become the Agents of Dread.

Answer: Infector

With its effect only lasting a few seconds in the early stages of its use, the Infector has the potential to help get you out of a pickle in the heat of battle. Enemis under the effects of the globby gloop released from the Infector (and, indeed, the upgraded Infecto-Bomb) will be compelled to attack their allies. Successive upgrades provide minimal increases to infection time and range.

A regular barrage of blobs will keep a larger enemy infected for longer while they pick off their friends, though this is situational at best.

Answer: Disc Blade Gun

For those desperate to chuck pointy things at the bad guys and revel in the ricocheting madness, there's nothing better than the Disc Blade Gun, Gadgetron's answer to the Chopper. It takes everything that was good about the Chopper and removes the need to expend unnecessary energy throwing the blades in favour of simply pulling a trigger.

The Multi-Disc Launcher, the V5 upgrade, goes even further and has each blade split in two upon hitting enemies.

Answer: RY3NO

Despite the apparent danger and illegality of the RYNO weapons, the RY3NO can be bought straight from the Gadgetron weapons vendor. No more dealings with shady backstreet dealers or travelling to far flung parts of the galaxy to a deserted factory. Simply hand over 3,000,000 bolts (after beating the game and entering challenge mode) and it's yours. V1 of the RY3NO launches eight missiles at your targeted enemies. V2 to V4 sees the weapon send out energy missiles instead, in amounts of twelve, fourteen and sixteen, respectively. By V5, however, you'll be wielding the RYNOCIRATOR, a weapon capable of creating an immense blast of energy which can disintegrate any nearby foes, and find that you'll probably never need to touch another weapon again.

Answer: N60 Storm

The N60 Storm proves useful in the early stages of the game, before the more powerful weapons are available, and fills the 'blaster weapon' niche nicely. Ricocheting bullets and zaps of lightning feature in subsequent versions of the N60, before it reaches V5 and becomes the N90 Hurricane. Even in this form, you don't quite get as much bang for your buck as you head into the tail end of the game with the rest of your arsenal.

Answer: Plasma Whip

Working in just the same way as the Omniwrench, but with the downside of having ammo, the Plasma Whip is available upon arrival at Florana for a modest 7,500 bolts. It's most effective when chucking it into a group of enemies, comet-strike style, or performing a hyper-strike against individuals. The whip itself glows orange from V1 to V4, and becomes blue at V5 as the Quantum Whip.

Answer: Rift Inducer

100,000 bolts will get you the Rift Inducer from Holostar Studios onwards. Particularly effective against small enemies, the Inducer creates a small rift that pulls in nearby enemies and, at later versions, zaps those that are too big to be pulled. Rifts near one another will merge together to make a larger one with stronger pulling power. The weapon upgrades to the Rift Ripper at V5.

Answer: Nitro Launcher

Along with the Shock Blaster, the Nitro Launcher is one of your default weapons at the beginning of the game. The Launcher is fairly slow in its release of grenades, so it's less effective against faster moving enemies. That said, it's one of the more useful weapons to have, particularly during the opening planets when your arsenal is still fairly modest.

The Nitro Eruptor has an increased blast radius so you'll be best off aiming in the middle of a group of enemies to maximise its damage.

Answer: Holoshield Glove

In its early state, the Holoshield Glove creates fairly weak shields that don't last particularly long under fire. However, subsequent upgrades (and the eventual Ultrashield Launcher) will improve the shields' duration and efficacy, and even leech health from nearby foes. That said, once the Shield Charger is obtained, the Holoshield Glove will pretty much fall by the wayside - after all, a shield that moves with you is far superior to one that stays fixed in one place.