Setting
The story takes place in the far future where inter-galactic travel is common place and aliens co-exist with humans and robots. Rachet is a Lombax, the last of his kind, and the story begins as he is attacked by Emperor Percival Tachyon who is looking to wipe them out. Over the course of the game both Ratchet and Clank learn more about their past and origins while taking on their enemies, and saving their friends. The story is presented predominantly through real-time cutscenes using fully voiced dialog.
Gameplay
Tools of Destruction contains many of the same gameplay elements found in earlier R&C games. The series is known for its wide and varied selection of bizarre weaponry, and keeping true to its namesake, Tools of Destruction introduces new weapons of its own. Each of the weapons can be upgraded by spending bolts, the game's collectible currency, and can be further improved the more you use them. Some weapons make use of the Playstation 3's SIXAXIS control, such as the tornado gun which lets you control a tornado by moving the controller around.
Alongside the main gameplay elements of platforming and shooting, Insomniac uses various mini-games spread throughout the levels. Examples of these mini-games include sliding on rails, shooting asteroids in a space ship, and riding a "grav cycle".