Not content to let the high definition Ratchet & Clank Collection and the remastered Ratchet: Deadlocked be the only titles starring everyone's favorite lombax and robot team to be released this year, Sony and Insomniac Games have announced the upcoming Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault for the PlayStation 3.  This PlayStation Network downloadable title takes the series back to its more traditional model that we all enjoyed in series games such as Tools of Destruction and A Crack in Time, although the actual format will follow the last downloadable Ratchet title, the pirate-themed Quest for Booty.  Here's Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price explaining the early details at the PlayStation Blog:

Ratchet & Clank: Full Frontal Assault is a fun-sized Ratchet adventure which will be available for download exclusively on the PlayStation Store. We’ve returned to the series’ classic feel, camera, controls and weapons, while innovating and giving you a whole new way to play. Even better, the addition of online features means you can experience Full Frontal Assault with your friends, so stay tuned!

Insomniac promised a big international surprise and a small North American bonus for Ratchet fans this year to mark the franchise's tenth anniversary.  Full Frontal Assault (known as Ratchet & Clank: Q-Force in Europe, incidentally, where it'll also be available on a traditional Blu-ray disc) is the big surprise, and while the small bonus has yet to be revealed, I'm still betting that it's a free voucher for the updated Deadlocked included in the North American version of the Ratchet & Clank Collection box.  We'll have to wait a while more to see Assault in action, however.  Sony isn't planning on showing it at E3 next week.