Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier - I Didn't Say When

After the release of Jak 3, and the later focus on the Uncharted franchise, it appears that Naughty Dog is done with the Jak and Daxter franchise, at least for the moment. During development of The Last of Us, they said that they had begun working on a fourth game, but couldn’t really come up with something that they felt the fans would be happy with, which gradually led to them developing their latest IP. While Jak and Daxter might not see something new from them anytime soon, Ready At Dawn, who developed God of War: Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta, released an entry known as Daxter, which took place during the beginning of Jak II. I felt it was a technical feat for the PSP, but overall unimpressive when compared to its console brethren. The franchise seemed dead at that point, but then in 2009, the studio High Impact Games released the first sequel to Jak 3, titled Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier. The prospect of a new game intrigued me, but it wasn’t really until recently that I finally got to play it. Before I review it, let’s take a look at High Impact’s track record. Previously on the blog, we covered two games of theirs: Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, which Tetris_King considered abysmal in quality across the board, and Secret Agent Clank, which the same reviewer thought was better, but retained too many of the previous game’s problems. I’m sure you can see the pattern here and where I am headed with The Lost Frontier.

After their previous adventures, Jak and Daxter felt they deserved a break. Unfortunately, the world always needs a hero and the world’s supply of Eco is running low, so the duo, accompanied by Keira, set off to find a new source. However, sky piracy is rampant and fear is once again in the hearts of the people. Despite the danger, the three set off and end up facing a new set of trials and tribulations on their journey.

Keira (left) with an Eco prism.

This would be an interesting story, but I couldn’t find any real reason to get invested. The back of the box claims that this entry picks up where the previous trilogy left off, except those three games managed to cap themselves off and tie the loose ends, which only leaves a time skip as a way to continue forth. Inside the manual, they also make it seem that Jak X is canon, though the game was ambiguously so and actually left a thread open that they could potentially have used for this game, but that makes the claim on the box even harder to believe. Also, the game starts out by dropping us into a situation with no real explanation as to why they are suddenly up in the sky, where they are going or why we should be worried about a pirate attack. Granted, Jak 3 did something similar by dropping the heroes off in a desert, but at least we were given a hint of why on the spot and were gradually filled in on the details. The Lost Frontier attempts to do something similar, but failed to capture my interest and the story is so boring that it should be a sin (I even fell asleep while playing at least once).

Not helped by enemy variety like this.

What doesn’t really help is that the characters are, simply put, uninteresting. The returning cast seems to retain their personalities from previous games, but the dialogue is a little lacking and Daxter’s one-liners aren’t as good as they were before (by way of having a small pool of things to say and then looping those things to the point where I yell “Say more things!”). New characters, on the other hand, have almost nothing going for them and any twists and turns that they may be involved in received only confusion from me on account of either uninteresting character development or lack thereof. The villain has no real motivation outside of the cardboard variety and the biggest twists at the end, or what are supposed to be the biggest twists, were met only with sarcasm from me. Bottom line: I had no reason to care about what happened to anyone. Heck, there is at least one perfectly good (perhaps nonsensical) plot thread (the introduction of Dark Daxter) that doesn’t go anywhere because even the characters in the game don’t care about it and seem to just brush it off like it’s no big deal.

Gameplay variety is equally thin. Within less than six hours you can accomplish basically everything the game has to offer, which isn’t much as there are only a handful of missions to complete. The controls are fine for the most part, but the camera can be a little hard to handle, which is made more frustrating by how the game sort of controls the camera for you at times, making it seem more linear than it should have. Sometimes during combat a foreground object would get in the way, needlessly complicating things further. Speaking of combat, Jak has access to a Gun Staff, which uses four different ammo types, and an assortment of Eco powers. The former is helpful in combat, and while the latter can have some combat applications, it mostly functions as a way to traverse the rather bland and uninspired levels. Remembering where each power is mapped to takes some getting used to, but even when I had the upper hand I was unable to feel any sense of thrill from combining Eco powers and gunplay to take down my enemies; I was just glad when each encounter ended, as it got me closer to the credits.

One of Jak's Eco powers in action.

New to the series with this entry is air combat, which involves aerial dogfights and a couple of new mechanics. You get to customize the plane Jak flies as you see fit, which is actually the only thing I found any fun in doing until I found a combination of plane mods that I felt most complacent with using. Repair patches are the key to surviving dogfights, as they fix the plane in a pinch, but you can only have so many without upgrades and I was never quite able to figure out how they got used. It is also possible to steal repair patches and mods from other planes, which is helpful if you don’t accidentally break the rope while trying to get them. If you successfully latch on however, you are to pass a few Quick-Time Events wherein Daxter essentially pulls the plane apart to get precious scrap metal before getting to the part you want. These are an interesting way of representing the danger involved, but I felt sometimes like these went on for too long and just wanted them to be over with.

Aerial combat.

As I played the PS2 version of this game, I must say that the graphics seem a little low-res for the system, but that’s due to the fact that the PS2 version is, in reality, a home console port of the PSP version, which came out at exactly the same time. However, this does not excuse other things, such as the long loading between certain sections of the game and the final boss fight which goes on far, far too long. I encountered a variety of glitches, the biggest being that in the very final section, my plane was suddenly completely invisible. The different parts of the game world have a decent variety in terms of appearance, but they weren’t as memorable as previous games. Also, the character models seemed a little off to me in places, but I couldn’t figure out exactly why.

As for the sounds, I like how a majority were from the previous games, which lends some familiarity, and the voice cast is partly the same from earlier games. However, no amount of delivery could help me care about what they had to say and I think the music tried way too hard to create atmosphere in places where it didn’t really exist. For instance, there is a piece that is clearly inspired by the theme for Pirates of the Caribbean, since I recognized one particular riff, but it didn’t help any situation feel as epic as High Impact wanted. It’s a shame too, considering that all that’s really left is the sounds of the planes, and that’s not fun.

Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier is a game that in no way represents the best that the Jak and Daxter franchise has to offer. The game lasts less than six hours, the story and characters are completely uninteresting and whatever fun you may be able to find will be shot down by excessive repetition and an overall boring and uninspired presentation. Even the most die-hard Jak and Daxter fans may want to stay away from this game, as the only thing it seems to want to do is go “LOL, Pirates” at any opportunity it can. Ultimately, it can just never quite get off the ground.

The most significant thing about playing this, however, is that now this blog’s build-up to Sly 4 is finally over! Now I really can’t wait to see how Sly Cooper will return this February and-

Oh...

Jak X: Combat Racing

As part of this blog's coverage of the Sly Cooper, Jak and Daxter and Ratchet & Clank franchises to build up to Sly Cooper: Thieves in Time, it has been my duty to cover all of Jak and Daxter. After having already covered the three main entries, I remembered that I still needed to go through another trio of games, two of which are spin offs and another which is developed by a completely different company. The first of these, Jak X: Combat Racing, was released in 2005, merely a year after Jak 3, presumably due to the popularity of the franchise. Of course, this game is also from a time where if a successful franchise went on long enough a kart racer would inevitably be developed for it. I didn't care about that when I first got this game at the age of 12 however, and I don't really care about that years later now that I've played it again after so long. This second playthrough has reminded of that initial point in my youth when I was very obsessed over it, even though I couldn't take it online. I found it to be fun back then, but as an adult I've started to notice more of the rough patches contained within. While the game was still fun to play, I don't feel that it's design completely holds up after seven years.

Before I officially begin my review, allow me to share a personal horror story I have regarding this game. My first exposure was through a PS2 demo disk. I played it for a while and was instantly hooked, which led to me playing. After what felt like an eternity, my parents finally bought me a copy from a Best Buy. Excitedly, I popped the disk into my system and it turned out that there was a demo disk of the game within a retail copy that was valued at full price. Needless to say, I wasn't very happy about this, especially since it meant that an entire shipment at the store came that way (oops). Thankfully, we were able to exchange it for the full version and I was able to get plenty of mileage out of it.

Now onto the actual review. Jak X begins with the news that Krew, from Jak II, is dead and the duo, along with some other familiar faces, are gathered for the reading of his will. The group is introduced to his daughter, Rayne, who pours them all a drink to toast with as a video will is played. As Krew speaks out through the video about his will, he reveals that everyone's drink has been poisoned and the only way to obtain the antidote is to compete, and win, in a race known as the Kras City Grand Championship. While this does spark a frenzy amongst the group initially, they all agree to work together to stay alive. Stories for racing games are usually more of an excuse plot, hence why a player shouldn't expect such a well-written story in that genre. Jak X, however, manages to get this aspect right.

Seeing as how this is still, after all, a Jak and Daxter game, it comes as no shock to me that they would try to make this game more story driven. From beginning to end, I couldn't help but find myself intrigued by the personalities of each character, both old and new, as they interact in the various cutscenes, helped by the ongoing mystery connecting them together that ends in a surprising twist that ties everything together rather neatly. At times however, I still couldn't help but feel as though the story was there only to introduce nearly every character form the entire franchise, while introducing more, just to remind the audience that some of them, like Kleiver, exist. Thankfully, some of the newer characters, at least the ones that mattered, are pretty memorable. Two of them are revealed right off the bat to be racers gunning for Jak, the robot mercenary UR-86 and the villainous Razer, who comes out of retirement specifically to kill our hero on the track. Admittedly however, they feel a little more like cardboard most of the time, having almost no personality except that they are criminals that want the duo to lose.

One character in particular that I found very entertaining was the racing announcer G.T. Blitz, named as a nod to Sony's Gran Turismo series of games, especially when he shares the screen with Pecker, who makes a reappearance from Jak II and 3. The cutscenes involving them bring a lot of humor to an otherwise serious story and I appreciated the balance, since it also shows that the game isn't taking itself completely seriously. The two of them also occasionally add fuel to the mystery surrounding a mysterious crime boss named Mizo, who wants nothing more than to win the competition. Towards the end when the player finally gets to see who Mizo is, the final confrontation feels a little dissatisfying, though it does show just how deep his goals were and puts certain statements made in the game in a darker context.

Of course, I can't talk about a racing game without mentioning the gameplay. It should be noted that racing was a concept introduced in Jak 3 and is greatly expanded upon here. Players take control of a variety of characters piloting one of several vehicles as they fight with an array of power-ups while driving, standard fare for a game like this. What's unique about the idea however is the way that Eco, a powerful magic within the Jak and Daxter universe, is integrated into the gameplay. Yellow Eco is what contains the forward weapons, ranging from missiles to grenades, while Red Eco houses the rear weapons, like landmines and gun turrets. Green Eco, obviously, is health and Blue Eco can be used to make the car go at turbo speed. Dark Eco is the real game changer here, represented by a meter that builds when you inflict or receive damage. When the meter is full, the car returns to full health and every weapon you pick up becomes more powerful, potentially killing opposing drivers in a single shot.

While the various weapons on a fully crowded track is chaotic enough, there is actually a deeper strategy at times, involving such ideas as using the jump button at the right times, whether or not to use a rear weapon to dodge a missile, what power-ups to grab and when (or why), and plenty more. The frantic gameplay is both fun and sometimes frustrating, a delicate balance on the player's feelings that is tested heavily during the campaign. As the game goes on, there is a sudden difficulty spike in both level design and enemy AI, which makes trying to get into the last cup race more infuriating than necessary.

Allow me to briefly talk about the different events in the game. Quite a few of them involve going down the actual track, including the regular Circuit Races and Freeze Rallies, which are akin to a time trial mode where you have to get under a specific time to get a higher level medal. Modes that feel more unique to this game are Death Race and Rush Hour modes, which both involve destroying unmanned cars going in a specific direction to rack up a large combo to score more and more points. Then of course are modes that involve killing enemy drivers in Twisted Metal style events, like Death Match, which operates as the name implies, or a Sport Hunt mode where opponents try to kill as many of a specific thing as possible across the arena. The large amount of events creates a lot of different variety for the game, which helps to keep the single player campaign fresh enough to warrant more playtime without feeling completely overwhelming, a factor that thankfully helped me enjoy things a bit more.

Then there's the actual level design. For the most part, the design team seemed very capable at creating interesting environments that bring forth different personalities representing the different worlds that the franchise inhabits. However, the more complicated race tracks have some elements that make it a bit more frustrating at times, admittedly due in part to me somehow not being as good at the game as I was many years ago, but also due to many cosmetic elements that throw you for a loop. However, my only real complaints stem from the stages that are more designed for close encounters, especially when there isn't much open space. In bigger areas, I found myself able to plan out my strategies much easier and tactically place items and specific weapons. Smaller arenas however were a bit too hard to navigate and the design prevented me from having solid footing for more than a few seconds, but I'm ready to admit again that my way of handling the events wasn't exactly perfect. In any case, these levels were a bit too crowded to do anything straight and I just ended up getting very lucky a few times to advance with enough medal points to unlock the next challenge. I won't name any specific levels, since there are at least two to three times as many levels than game modes, a staggering number to say the least.

Jak X is also notably the first game in the Jak and Daxter franchise to have an online multiplayer component. This seems rather appropriate for the genre, and I would gladly have tried if I had a connection at the ready for the PS2 earlier on. However I am in the year 2012, so I'm pretty sure that the servers would have been cut off by now. Therefore I can only talk about the split-screen multiplayer available in the exhibition mode. When you know what modes can't be played this way, this mode can actually be pretty fun, though it is helpful to have some bots in the action so that matches don't become too stale. An optional LAN mode is also good for being able to play with friends, provided they still own PS2's or even copies of this game.

If there's one thing I will praise, it would be the car customization. Playing through the campaign and getting gold medals in certain events, some of which are easier said than done, will earn you one of plenty of different car parts. When you've unlocked enough parts though, there's a deep sense of customization, as you can swap out parts and set a wide array of colors down to give the car a custom paint job. In the end, you can make the car look practically any way you wish within the provided parts and the cars each have unique designs for each part between them, so it's also fun just to see how certain things look on other vehicles. The unlockables are also fun to obtain, making spending your winnings on them seem worthwhile, more so when it's a video or other way to play.

On a final note, I'd like to say that the graphics are very good for the game at that point in time. They retain the same feel as a Jak and Daxter game, with the darker color palette of Jak II and 3 used suitably. The music is also very well done, with Dean Menta from Faith No More and Billy Howerdel from A Perfect Circle collaborating to form a very memorable score that suits the tone of every race perfectly.

As a whole, Jak X: Combat Racing is a very well done racing game, especially for coming out only a year after the last major installment in the franchise. With some well-designed courses and game modes, the experience is fun, though a bit rough around the edges, and it manages to stand out as a worthy PS2 era title to play. While it may not hold up as well now as it did when I was a kid, it still proves to be a decent game to me as an adult and I would recommend playing this game for a pretty enjoyable time. Next time I get to this franchise, it will be with its first handheld title, Daxter.

Jak 3 - Concluding The Epic Legacy

Having already released Jak II in 2003, it seems like a rather quick turn-around for Naughty Dog to have released the third Jak and Daxter installment, Jak 3, only a year later in 2004. Regardless of what usually comes of a sequel pumped out so quickly, the game would also go on to join its fellow games in Sony's Greatest Hits Program. Although the campaign for the game was a bit shorter, 11 hours as opposed to 16, I still enjoyed what I had played and believe that Naughty Dog had managed to create three great games in a row.

According to the manual: One year after the events of Jak II, Haven City still finds itself in unrest as three warring factions still wrestle for control over its streets. The people of the city grow distrustful of Jak and his Dark Eco powers, pinning him as the cause of the unrest once rumor spreads of his ties with Krew and Kor. When a surprise Metal Head attack destroys the palace, Count Veger banishes him to the desert, flying by airship to make the hero fend for himself in the harsh conditions. When Jak finds out that Daxter and Pecker, Onin's trnaslator from Jak II, have joined him, the three of them begin their journey, setting off a series of events that propel them toward their ultimate destiny.

The story that follows is actually very enjoyable to watch unfold as shocking twists and revelations come to light. All of the characters, old and new, have very good characterization and have a good amount of depth to them to keep them interesting, as well as preventing them from becoming cardboard cutouts. While there are multiple plot threads that cross each other throughout the campaign, they all get resolved as they head toward a grand finale that no one could have seen coming. If there's one thing I have to say about the story overall, it would be complete and utter praise for its ability to tie up a lot of the loose ends from over the span of an entire trilogy.

In addition to normal melee attacks, the Morph Gun returns to aid Jak as his primary weapon. While it does retain the original four guns, each type can now receive two additional upgrades, ranging from ricocheting bullets and homing needles to a cluster bomb and even a nuke, leading to a total of 12 to choose from depending on how many times the player presses the appropriate button on the D-Pad. Each gun works well and is fun to use, but I found myself almost never touching the original versions, opting instead to wield the upgrades as they provided more of an advantage in a fight, thanks to the increased amount of enemies to fight off at once.

Another change in abilities occurs regarding Jak's Dark Eco powers. In this game , he gains the ability to become Light Jak, powered by Light Eco. Light Jak's powers contrast Dark Jak by being more defensive in nature and enabling more options in a mission. Both sides of Jak no longer come at a cost to upgrade, which helps with the overall pacing of the game as the powers come naturally at specific points. It is also easier to regenerate the Eco required to fuel the powers, though that doesn't save them from being almost useless outside of when they are truly required.

In terms of overall design, Jak 3 feels somewhat similar to Jak II in that it is an open world game comprised almost entirely of missions, a lot of which are very linear in nature. Thankfully there is a lot of variety within them, whether it has Daxter riding a missile or Jak performing a hacking mini-game. There are even a few rail shooter segments to help spice things up. I did notice an abundance of vehicle segments though, which introduces more advanced vehicle controls into the series. While these do work more often than not, some of the missions involving them become rather annoying due to the physics used for them. These segments can quickly get annoying after repeatedly dying thanks to this, but that's the only problem isolated here. In other missions, such as ones where you go through rings, the timer is very strict and gives you next to no room for error. Just like in Jak II, checkpoints are also placed rather infrequently a lot of the time, leading to annoying restarts upon death. However, this is balanced out by using the right weapons and powers at the right times, so this didn't happen as often as it could have.

I would also like to note the role that Precursor Orbs and Metal Head Skull Gems now play here. The orb count has been increased to 600, though they are still scattered about the world as a scavenger hunt of sorts. Collecting enough will enable you to purchase upgrades and secrets, though I never really saw a dire need to take advantage of this. Skull Gems, thanks to abilities coming naturally, are now used to unlock side missions, which I also didn't take much advantage of.

Speaking on the technical side, the game still looks rather impressive today thanks to the amount of detail it is able to achieve on the PS2. This is especially impressive, considering there's not only the city of Spargus, but also Haven City and the Desert that the game has to generate along with plenty of other creative environments. Equally impressive is the lack of load times, which are disguised rather well with no visible draw distance in the game world, considering how large the areas can get. I also praise the weather effects, with rather impressive rain interacting nicely with other surfaces. Music and voice acting are impressive as well, with character voices matching their appearance and music fitting the proper tone while also serving as an incredible score on its own.

Jak 3, despite whatever flaws it has, serves to impress on not only a technical level, but also in regards to storytelling. While it is difficult and shorter than its predecessor, it's still a thrill ride that I will never forget. Without a doubt, it deserves its place as one of the PS2's greatest platformers, as well as a game worth playing anyway.

Jak II - Continuing The Legacy

After the success of 2001's Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Naughty Dog began developing its first sequel, Jak II. Released in 2003, the game would go on to receive critical acclaim like its predecessor, as well as get added to Sony's "Greatest Hits" lineup of PS2 games. Having finished a 16+ hour campaign, Jak II definitely lives up to its fame, but is also a little off from perfect.

The tone of the game takes a complete 180 from the first game based on the opening cutscenes alone. Jak, Daxter, Samos, and Keira go through a portal generated by a Precursor Ring on a Rift Rider (both of which they found in Jak and Daxter) and end up in a technology-filled dystopia known as Haven City. They are nearly immediately separated for about two years, during which Jak has been experimented on Dark Eco in an attempt by Baron Praxis to create essentially a super soldier. Daxter comes to his friend's rescue, aiding in his dramatic escape from prison as they run into a man named Kor that tells them briefly about the citywide takeover by Praxis as well as the attempts by the Underground to restore control to its rightful owner, who happens to be a child he is protecting. Once the duo start aiding the Underground, things quickly escalate as they continue to realize just what they have gotten themselves into.

Storywise, the game unfolds like a rollercoaster as alliances are made and broken, love is tested, and numerous revelations come to light, especially a very notable one near the end that will literally leave you guessing. While the story is considerably darker than the previous entry, its execution is astoundingly brlliant thanks to its expert pacing, as well as including well-written dialogue that explains just about everything you need to know about the characters and events without going into long expository speeches. With the screen time the characters are given, it's easy to map out their relationships and motivations while still being genuinely surprised by at least one or two unexpected plot twists. At first I didn't feel too much emotional attachment, but it's hard not to be shocked when something happens to them late in the game to affect plot or character dynamics.

Speaking of characters, the very first thing anyone should note about them is that Jak can now speak. While he is fueled by revenge on Praxis, this is justified by having been tortured in experiments for two years against his will. The growly tone of his voice serves as a nice touch and adds some depth to him, allowing him for once to interact with other characters on a more equal level. In addition, new characters like Sig, Torn, Tess, Ashelin and Krew are well-written for their roles, though talking about their relationships with each other would only make this more confusing than it needs to be. The voices selected for these characters are also done well, with specific praise going to Krew's sinister British voice and Clancy Brown's voice for Baron Praxis. I also found Daxter's dialogue to be humorous at times in a way that didn't feel annoying.

In terms of overall gameplay, this is perhaps where Jak II differs the greatest from its predecessor. The Eco abilities from the previous entry are now instead integrated as ammo types for a single weapon known as the Morph Gun. Using the D-Pad to switch between ammo types is very simple to adjust to and aiming the morph gun was never a problem, with advantages for each ammo type serving to inject a nice level of tactical skill on the part of the player. Thanks to Jak's prison time, players can also collect Dark Eco to transform him into Dark Jak with the press of a button, though they must forgo using the Morph Gun for the duration. While Dark Jak does have his own advantages and is very strong in melee combat, the time it takes to recharge a single use plus a near lack of a need to use him greatly lowered my incentive to even consider using him, especially when taking into account that the Morph Gun alone is enough to get you through the game. The rest of the controls are lifted directly from Jak and Daxter, so there was also a great sense of familiarity in the game that I could immediately latch onto.

In addition to gaining a new weapon and a new power, the enemies Jak and Daxter must face are now a race known as the Metal Heads, replacing the Lurkers from The Precursor Legacy (though they still play a role in the story). This race has plenty of enemy types to keep one on their toes, adjusting strategy accordingly to deal with specific groups. Killing Metal Heads can reward you with a Metal Head Skull Gem, the new currency of sorts for the single Precursor Oracle in the game. Bringing a certain number of Skull Gems to the Oracle will reward Jak with a new ability for Dark Jak to wield, ranging from invincibility in this mode to clearing a group of enemies much faster. No matter how many abilities Dark Jak gets however, I still did not feel the need to wield his powers that often. In addition, Precursor Orbs, the currency of the previous game, plays a bit less of a role now, with a total of only 286 scattered throughout all of the game's levels. Collecting a number of them will unlock secret modes or other extras, which may or not be worth it depending on how much of a priority you place on collecting them.

While different powers and enemies already provide a good amount of variety to the game, a great deal more is applied throughout the entirety of the story. One moment you'll be platforming as usual, the next you'll be racing on a NYFE vehicle, and in another you'll be piloting a mech suit that can punch through walls. There's even an on-rails shooting section and times when you'll be shooting airborne enemies with a turret. This level of gameplay variety is something I liked since it helped the game constantly feel fresh, helped by the fact that the controls in any stage are mapped very well and respond near-flawlessly.

Overall level design is good in this game, though some annoyances do crop up. Checkpoints are placed in each mission with the frequency of Ratchet & Clank, making some of the longer ones painful to redo multiple times in succession, each death becoming more frustrating to deal with. However, the constant replaying of missions did manage to improve my efficiency in approaching them once I figured out the correct way to do it. Haven City is also designed as a sort of giant maze, which while making the environment a lot better to look at also made it sometimes difficult to travel to my destination since it was easy to take a wrong turn and waste too much time in a critical moment. Transit also takes some time whether running on foot or using a hoverboard or flying vehicle of some sort. The AI for the Krimzon Guard, controlled by Baron Praxis as the other enemy faction of the game, is also interesting. It seems that you can absolutely anything to the general populace and they won't do anything, but if you so much as tap them while not running or dodge rolling across the city streets they'll send the entire city after you, ending their search only after you're dead, you hide under a bridge long enough, or you get into an open spot and keep running away long enough, sort of like how you outrun any police force in other open world games.

The NYFE races are also a good example of a mixed bag. Since you need to get into first to advance the story, there is absolutely no margin for error thanks to the course design and enemy AI. The only way to achieve this is by exploiting every shortcut possible at every turn or abusing boost power like there's no tomorrow. Controlling a NYFE vehicle is harder in courses with lots of turns, since letting go at any point during the turns makes it harder to regain steady control again. Regardless, I felt a feeling of triumph once I managed to get through these missions.

In terms of graphics, Jak II improves greatly from its predecessor of two years prior. The atmosphere is helped greatly by the use of a darker color palette to show just how different it is in tone from the more upbeat Precursor Legacy. With the presence of the day-to-night cycle still around, I also praise the lighting on the environment as the shadows projected also change more realistically. Water and lava also operate more distinctively this time around, with physics that stick much closer to their real world counterparts. I also loved the lack of a visible load time despite how huge and intricate Haven City is, which made the experience a lot more immersive. In addition, I also praise the great score and sound design, which is done in a way to not only make the world believable, but also keep the appropriate mood throughout.

With its hairpin u-turn in both tone and style from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II is still an impressively fun and enjoyable game. While there is more focus on variety, open world play and third-person shooter elements, the core platforming aspect is still visible in a way that keeps the experience fun and fresh, and its ramped up difficulty by comparison is still a good challenge despite its annoyance from time to time. On its own, Jak II is a game that fans of the series or PS2 owners should not pass up, as it holds a rightful place in history in more ways than one.

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy - The Beginning Of A Great One

Within the sea of modern games out there that are sequels or reboots/re-imaginings, perhaps this is the best time to look into the past for some quality entertainment. As Sly 4 is slated for release this year, this blog now has an ongoing project to review every game possible from within three of Sony's landmark franchises: Ratchet & Clank, Jak and Daxter, and Sly Cooper. Since the first one is already being taken care of, it has become my job to tackle the second. With this being my second playthrough of the game after a couple of years, my only question now is where to begin talking about Jak and Daxter.

I suppose the first thing to say would be a brief history of this title and its developer. After creating only three titles with mixed reception, Naughty Dog hit their stride when they developed the highly acclaimed Crash Bandicoot series for the PS1, which would later become some of the best selling games of all time for that system. After their acquisition by Sony, Naughty Dog made Jak and Daxter as the developer's first title for the PS2. Released in late 2001, it would go on to receive massive critical acclaim and spawn three sequels and two spin-offs. With that introduction out of the way, I now present my review of Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy for the PS2.

Before the story can begin, the player is given an explanation by Samos, the sage of Green Eco, about the concept of the Precursors as creators of all things, as well as the substance known as Eco. Following this, the story starts officially with Jak and his friend Daxter travelling to Misty Island against Samos' wishes. While there, they witness an evil plan being hatched by two people and are attacked by a Lurker while trying to leave. While Jak is able to defeat it with a bomb, Daxter accidentally falls into a vat of Dark Eco and ends up transformed into a creature called an Ottsel, a combination of an otter and a weasel. When they return to Sandover village, Samos yells at them for their disobedience, but informs Daxter that Gol Acheron, master of Dark Eco, may have the ability to change him back to his former self.

As the plot advances it seems to be rather thin, even with an rather interesting twist regarding the true identity of the villains, who seem to be made mostly of cardboard. There's even a developing romance between Jak and Keira, Samos' daughter, that seems to play out under the radar. Due to the lighthearted nature of the game though and how wonderfully it is pulled off, these things are very easily excusable. While the story may not have much meat, there are other aspects that make it interesting anyway. For example, we get to learn more about the world these characters inhabit, as well as the kind of technology that exists.

Controls are very simple and responsive, with moves that are easy to figure out with the lack of a tutorial. Since Jak's only moves are in the realm of hand-to-hand combat, experimentation in this sense is so intuitive that looking at a manual isn't even required. However, there is one small problem where the second press of the X button doesn't always seem to register, leading occasionally to some unintended loss of health. Despite this, it doesn't detract from the amount of platforming required to get through a level.

Speaking of which, the various levels of the game are crafted very well, especially since they are all interconnected in some form or another, with some events sometimes affecting what is accessible in other areas. The advantage to this level of interconnected design results in the absence of load times no matter how big the area, as everything is right there waiting to be accessed. While this may result in some formulaic structure for some games, there is fortunately a great variety in world structure and enemy types, though some of the challenges do carry over between stages. Most of the challenge familiarity however is focused within the three hub stages, mostly consisting of paying off NPCs or Oracles for Power Cells needed for advancing the game. Also, the levels seem to borrow from every type you'd expect from a platforming game, like cave, forest, ice, and lava levels. It seems to work in this game's favor though, since it creates a lot of level variety while still being fun and accessible to play.

Jak and Daxter is one of those games where collection is key to getting to the next area available. These collectibles are the aforementioned Power Cells, Precursor Orbs that are used as a sort of currency, and Scout Flies that gain you Power Cells once you've collected all seven in one area. As you can probably tell, Power Cells are the biggest key of all to going to the next hub stage, but thankfully they are fairly easy to obtain and it is not required that you have all of them at all times. This design trait helps to keep the game fun and interesting, with motivation to continue playing to collect them all.

One other key aspect of gameplay is Eco. Different types of Eco interact with the player in different ways, with Green Eco offering health, Blue Eco providing speed and ability to operate certain machinery, Red Eco giving Jak a leg up in combat, and Yellow Eco allowing him to shoot forth small energy blasts. With a system as simple as this, it's interesting how they are placed in the environment in a way that you can figure out what you're supposed to do without the game treating you like an idiot. It also helps the game retain a certain level of challenge as well, with the occasional need to try and conserve certain types that won't regenerate.

For a game released in the year 2001, making it an early PS2 title, the graphics hold up surprisingly well.  At this point in the franchise there's still an upbeat tone as evidenced by the cartoony visuals, which are very inviting, and the colors used which work very well with the lighting, especially considering the game has a full day-to-night cycle. The in-game models are very smooth, with precursor technology always dominating with a particular shade of brown. One thing I especially liked was the interactions that Daxter has with Jak's character model during movement. During jumps and runs, he fluidly moves through the air as he tries to hang onto his buddy's shoulder. I suppose the only complaint I could have about the physics is that the lava in the game seems to move and sometimes sound like water, but then again they may not have had the kind of physics engines we had later on to facilitate the proper effects.

One other thing I can praise is the overall sound design. The sound effects are all very fitting and unique, with the right choices that they aren't annoying every time they are heard. Voice acting is also superb, though one thing to note is that between the title characters, only Daxter does the talking. Thankfully, his lines are actually pretty humorous and help keep the overall tone of the game intact, although during control he sounds much like a guide fairy. In any case, he seemed to be handled pretty well in this game as the voice of the duo. Of course, that would change in later installments.

Lastly, it's important to mention that this game does provide a healthy degree of challenge. On some of the challenges it is possible to die multiple times, even the final boos, but each death is always the player's fault and only serves to provide motivation to try again. Given the nature of this game though, it's overall a fairly easy but enjoyable game.

If I could give an opinion on Jak and Daxter now, it would be that Naughty Dog was able to craft a very excellent platforming game that no one with a PS2 should miss. Taking the longevity of the game into account though, I'd say that it was a very good start for the franchise, and the ending unlocked by collecting all of the Power Cells does create an air of mystery that seems to only be solved by playing the sequel. If you want to relive the game but don't own a PS2 anymore, maybe the upcoming Jak and Daxter HD collection will suffice, as it promises to do just that.

Now I can't wait to play Jak II and continue my reviewing adventure with this series of games. Hopefully I'll enjoy is as much as, if not more than, this masterful work.