In Depth: Daxter for PSP
We discuss with Ready At Dawn Studios the upcoming Daxter for the PSP.
Tags: Daxter (PSP) Categories: PSP Previews, Previews
Posted by David Hinkle on May 31st, 2005
Didier Malenfant and Ru Weerasuriya of Ready at Dawn Studios were pumped to show us the latest demo build of the much-anticipated Daxter on the PSP. After an initial meet-and-greet, we were ready to see just how far along this game was. Would it play just like the other Jak titles? What would the story be, since Jak 3 basically tied all the loose ends? Although we weren’t told TOO much, we did manage to get enough info to outline what this game would be about.
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If you’ve played Jak 2, then you know how the game starts. Basically, Jak is thrown in jail, while Daxter manages to escape, only to free Jak 2 years later. It’s at this point, the actual game begins. During these 2 years though, what happened to Daxter? These 2 years events are all unfolded in Daxter PSP, and (from what we’ve seen) mesh well into the story of Jak 2.
So after running from the guards that nab Jak, Daxter escapes into the city. At this point in time, the Metalheads weren’t prevalent in Haven City as they were after Jak’s jailbreak. So what Ready At Dawn is looking to do here, is both to tell an existing story and create something new. Back to Daxter escaping, he ends up running into an exterminator, the last in Haven City, and unwittingly accepts a job. See, there’re these new bugs cropping up all over the city, close to invincible, called Microbugs. These bugs are the first stage of the Metalhead invasion, and as such, the story unfolds.
The graphics were very nice, and almost equal to that of Jak 2 on the PS2 (with the exception of Daxter having fur now). All the character models looked spot on, with the same cartoonish flair in appearance and dialogue. The cinematics, and later on the Wine Cellar level, we were shown followed the darker tone of Jak 2. The lighting looked impressive, with some nice textures and shadows. This worked well for the fluid movement of Daxter and the environments in the game. For a very early alpha build, we were impressed.
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The controls for the game also compounded onto all of the other delightful elements. Daxter moves much like the Jak titles, with a lot of the solid platforming that made the Jak games so fun to play. Daxter has, of course, gotten some of his own abilities to take out these bugs, thanks to his new employer. Here he is armed with a fly swatter and an extermination backpack equipped with a spray gun. Using the fly swatter is just a matter of hitting enemies, but with the extermination pack things take a more Mario Sunshine-like turn. Using the spray gun, Daxter can float across large gaps he wouldn’t normally be able to jump across. Offensively, the spray gun can be used to neutralize the bugs for a quick smack of the swatter. Using different parts of the environment, you can also add a bit of variety to the spray gun. The only definite way we were shown and told of how this would actually work, was when Daxter used an open flame to turn his spray gun into a flame thrower.
The last new addition comes in the form of Daxter’s animal mode, which allows him to maneuver in a very sneaky, feline-like way. This will add a stealth dynamic to the game, allowing the player to bypass certain situations should he/she desire. All of these abilities are running on a brand new engine that Ready At Dawn has developed specifically for this game.
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Having Daxter as the main character will most likely ramp up the humor, and maybe conflict with the somber and serious feel of Jak 2. Those who loved the Jak titles will undoubtedly want to take the trip through Haven City again through Daxter’s eyes though. This is the title that those who aren’t too excited for Jak X will want, giving more of the same action and platforming that established this widely-revered franchise. With such a polished demo build, it’s a fairly safe bet that Daxter will be one of the more exciting titles on the PSP’s Fall lineup.
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Tags: Daxter (PSP)
Posted by David Hinkle on May 31st, 2005 and is filed under PSP 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.
