Hands On: Jak II
We get a look at Sony’s upcoming holiday blockbuster title before it’s available
Tags: Jak II Categories: PS2 Previews, Previews
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Oct 2nd, 2003
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Note the title of the game – this isn’t Jak and Daxter 2. The focus is shifting significantly from cutesy character based action to a more adult style action game. Sure, the platforming elements are still there, but this isn’t the same Jak we left behind at the end of the first game.
It’s no secret that the game starts out with Jak having spent some time in prison and basically doing some growing up (going through puberty for instance). Jak’s looking for some revenge on the person who had a hand in placing Jak behind bars – where he was experimented upon, but more about that later.
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Revenge isn’t the only theme recurring in the game. Along with returning characters (that have also had a few years of growth (*ahem* Keira), there are new characters, some of which introduce jealousy into the range of emotions that Jak will have to grapple with.
The story and character base have received an overhaul, but that’s not all. Graphically, the game looks better than Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy – but that’s to be expected. What wasn’t expected was just how big the game is.
Not only is the game longer (about 150% bigger than the original), but the worlds are absolutely huge. How big? Maybe that’s best answered by exploring one of the game’s new dynamics.
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Jak can pretty much take any vehicle in the game. Morality aside (the police on this world frown upon that sort of activity), this will aid in transferring from one side of a level to another. There was one city level where I immediately took a vehicle, flew for over 5 minutes, never saw the same thing and knew there was more to go through – and that was just in AREA, not in actual content.
Riding around in vehicles – well, that’s just one of the new things that can be done. Jak now has a hoverboard that will not only be fun to use to get to previously unreachable areas, but actually be needed in certain areas. There was one section, sort of a quarry level, with a bunch of sludge pools.
I take Jak on his board over the deadly sludge to a ramp and up over a large gap that must be jumped in order to reach the intended goal. The hoverboard is with Jak virtually the whole time throughout the game and feels natural on the PS2 controller.
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While it won’t provide as many grinds and ollies as the latest Tony Hawk, there is the beginnings of a new game that Naughty Dog could be working on here.
(Yes, I’m completely aware of Airblade).
The audio is excellent – the voice acting in Jak II is one of those rare treats where the voice actors are not only professional, but seem to enjoy the material they are given to work with.
Certainly not complete, the sound effects in the game definitely add to the gameplay. This isn’t just a lot of tacked on noise. A lot of people will be listening when they pop this disc in their PS2, and they won’t be disappointed.
Another change in the gameplay mechanic is the addition of ranged combat. Jak has been given a gun – furthering the more adult themes this game is attempting to tackle. Does this take away a little from the playful spirit of the original? Yes, a certain innocence is lost, but a new world is opened up.
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Targeting and firing is easy enough – there was a lot of work was done to integrate all of the new play stiles seamlessly. One can’t help but wonder though if having weapons based combat was the right direction, but thankfully it’s not overly emphasized.
Jak II moves away from being an action platformer to more of a straight ahead adult themed action game, and the title seems better off for the new direction. While the new look may have put some fans at unrest, the facial hair is an option, players can shave Jak (so to speak) and retain the clean shaven shin.
On a final note, I’m not sure if this was just because of the build that was playable or not, but during the cutscenes (over 95 minutes in the game – get ready for some sore ass cheeks when this game is completed) one could pause – not skip. This was most welcome, and something that should become industry standard – the ability to both pause and skip a cutscene. One can hope that this will make it to the final product.
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Tags: Jak II
Posted by Daniel "monk" Pelfrey on Oct 2nd, 2003 and is filed under PS2 Previews, Previews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
