text: The first game Ratchet & Clank, released in 2002, was successful. In planning the second, they revamped Ratchet's character, as they felt the first game portrayed him as a jerk, according to writer TJ Fixman, and softened the character to make him more relatable, at that point hiring James Arnold Taylor to voice the character (Ratchet's behavior toward Clank in Tools of Destruction when speaking about the existence of the Zoni and the risks posed by the Dimesionator could be a hint or reference to the character in the first game). They spent more time on developing interesting weapons to make the combat as enjoyable as the platforming sections of the game. Both the sequel Going Commando and the following game Up Your Arsenal were well-received and considered commercial successes. Allgeier considered that these games had success because they were continually evolving the series to match the current climate in video games, where mascot-driven games had fallen out of favor, and the company had adopted an "adapt or die" mentality for each title. The "adapt or die" approach was used for the fourth title, Ratchet: Deadlocked (2005), as they made the title darker and more combat-oriented given the popularity of the Halo and Grand Theft Auto series. While the game was well received, this approach was not met well by players, as it veered too much from the buddy cop concept, lacked the exploration of previous games and comedy in the writing. The balance between keeping to the "DNA" of a Ratchet & Clank game against the "adapt or die" mantra would continue to be a struggle throughout Insomniac's development of the series.