Jak II
Jak, Guns, walk softly and carry a red chipmunk on your shoulder…
Tags: Jak II Categories: PS2 Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Andrew on Nov 13th, 2003
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Jak II (title page) | |||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Action | No | ||
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The basic platformer was redesigned when Jak and Daxter originally appeared on the PS2. Now considered one the best and most original all inclusive games on the system, the developers at Naughty Dog decided it was time to make a sequel. But how do you beat (or make new again) a platformer which had come out two years before? By completely redesigning the feel and game elements, while retooling the main characters and giving the game a whole lot more adolescent dark angst.
Gone is the happy Disney like basic platformer for our two friends. Now we have the same two characters, only Jak now talks and has a serious ‘tude. Daxter, the ever likeable sidekick/punching bag is still the one-liner low brow humor character as before, but now he oogles girls, makes bad sexual references, and gets drunk. Our main character, maybe because of his two years stuck in a prison and turned into a monster, has little patience with the various characters and enemies found throughout the game.
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The first big element added to the game is the Grand Theft Auto like large city with living crowds and an accelerated time clock for night and day. Now you can “jak” cars and use them to run from the crimson guard (keystone cops in red) or to get around the city faster. The city is divided into various zones and is immensely large and diverse. Now, instead of just collect these many orbs to move on, you deal with different characters in the storyline to complete different missions, from basic gathering, to defeating enemies, racing around the city, or just being a body guard.
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The storyline this time has Jak and Daxter as well as Samos and Kiera from the original game being shunted through a precursor portal and eventually landing in a dark urban city which turns out to be a blade runner-esq version of their future. From there, Jak is separated from Daxter and stuck in a prison where the main bad guy, Baron Praxis conducts experiments on Jak which leave him full of dark Eco and capable of becoming a simi-monster which can learn abilities throughout the game. As you escape, you take part in anything from the crime syndicate to the freedom fight against the Baron, to racer and anything else they could throw at you. The storyline itself is engrossing and keeps the game moving while presenting characters that are both interesting and diverse enough to add to the overall feel of the game.
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The game play, which now is a little platform, a little adventure, a little shooter (you have guns this time) and a little RPG, creates a new type of genre where the best from across the genres is brought together. There are elements from a Tomb Raider or a Indiana Jones, there are shooter parts with the various guns. You can steal cars and do missions like GTA, there is even parts with a hover pad where you get to pull of tricks for points like Tony Hawk.
Basically, Naught Dog managed to take a little bit from each of the major titles out on the market, and succesfully incorperate them into this game. If you are going to make a game, make it what the people want, and by taking various elements and making the game have a much darker feel, the game very much appeals to the late adolescent teen audience which make up so much of the PS2’s buying power.
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The sound and graphics of the game are both very impressive and add to the new Jak features. The graphics are higher end for the PS2 and give great views of the various areas and worlds that Jak explores. The great vistas and large environments draw the gamer in and create a more then disneyish cartoon feel to the game.
Throughout the game are also various side quests and collect secrets, which were one of the major highlights of the original game. You can still collect hidden precursor orbs in order to unlock various secrets throughout the game, such as big head mode or playing with Jak’s goatee. You can also collect metal head bars in order to unlock dark powers which you can use to decimate large groups of enemies while in Jak’s dark eco form. They also made the game much harder and longer then the previous installment.
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Naughty Dog did an amazing thing by bringing out this game. The have managed to completely change the direction of platformers again, while bringing new fans into the series. I am sure some people will be a little upset with the change in attitude, atmosphere and gameplay from the original game, and it definitely is moving away from being a family game. The big thing though is that this sequel is not only better but a creative movement away from the original hit, which is something you so often do not find.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
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+ New dark atmosphere + Cross genre gameplay + Graphics |
8.6 |
| What Doesn't | |
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+ Hover pad controls |
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| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| I still want to slap Daxter for all his stupid commentary. He manages to get people interested and act as the comedic shtick, while not falling into the JAR JAR Binks annoying and want to slaughter category. | |
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Tags: Jak II
Posted by Andrew on Nov 13th, 2003 and is filed under PS2 Reviews, Reviews. 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.
