Jak X: Combat Racing Preview

Death Race

Take to the road and obliterate the competition in Jak X.

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Jak and Daxter's platforming career may be on hold, but their racing career is just getting started. And it's shaping up to be one heck of a start indeed, with all the speed, stunts, crashes, and explosions in Jak X: Combat Racing. Based on our time recently spent with the game, it looks like Jak X could easily be one of the top racers this holiday season.

The game begins with Daxter in a bar in Kras City, telling stories of his and Jak's exploits to a tough-looking group of patrons who keep trying to kill him. Turns out, Jak and Daxter haven't come to this rough-and-tumble town for a vacation. They came to Kras City for the reading of the will of Krew, the recently deceased gang lord. As Daxter is explaining this, we see a really slick intro scene that shows Jak in a violent, crash-filled race against a pack of gangsters, all to the tune of "You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar, But I Feel Like a Millionaire" by Queens of the Stone Age. After all that excitement, Jak and Daxter go to the reading of Krew's will, where they meet up with some familiar characters, including Ashelin, Keira, Samos, and Torn. They also meet Krew's daughter, Rayn.

Before she activates the hologram will, Rayn offers a toast to her father with a special reserve he saved specifically for the occasion. When the reading of the will begins, you learn that Krew's one unfulfilled goal was to win the Kras City Grand Championship race. Krew then explains that the wine the group just consumed was laced with a slow-acting poison. Yes, the evil Krew even poisons his own daughter. The group must win the race in order to receive the antidote, and so begins Jak and Daxter's combat-racing career.

The two main racing modes in Jak X are adventure mode and exhibition mode. In exhibition mode, you can choose an event type, location, number of opponents, and class, and participate in a single race. Adventure mode is a single-player story-progression mode in which you compete in a wide variety of races to unlock prizes like new cars, parts, tracks, and characters.

Jak and Daxter retire from platform adventures to pursue a career in...combat racing? Sure, sounds great!

Adventure mode starts off with a tutorial that will teach you how to drive, shoot, boost, jump, and powerslide like a champ. Upon completing the tutorial, you're given two cars, the quick but flimsy Road Blade and the slow but sturdy Basher. Most of the races are locked in the beginning, so you have to start small and work your way up to the more advanced courses and event types. There are tons of different race types in Jak X, which helps to keep things interesting since each race type requires radically different strategies.

Circuit Races are straightforward races in which you try to be the first person across the finish line. Deathraces have you racing around a track, killing as many drones as possible within a set time limit. In turbo dash races, you'll pick up power cells that you have to charge up by using turbo, and you get points for each power cell you fire. Freeze rally is a timed race in which you can run over colored icons scattered throughout the track to "freeze" the lap timer for 2 to 10 seconds. Rush hour races are similar, except there are colored cars rushing in your direction, and each one you hit adds time to your lap.

In addition to all these track races, there are arena races that take place in large, open stages. There's deathmatch, which simply requires you to get the most kills to win. There's a sport hunt, which has you destroying creatures like huge construction robots. Whoever kills the most wins, but you also have to watch out for other players, who will steal your kills if you don't keep them in line with a few well-timed missiles or grenades. Finally, there's an artifact race, which requires you to race around the level picking up artifacts. Whoever collects the most artifacts within the set amount of time wins the match. Whether you prefer arena races or track races, there's plenty of variety in the game modes to keep you satisfied.

The chaotic combat and breakneck speed of this game make for one exciting racing experience.

The stages we played also offered a good deal of variety. The courses are divided up into themed areas, but each course is arranged differently, depending on what kind of event you're participating in. We raced in Spargus, Kras City, Haven City, the Icelands, and in the Grand Prix event. Some of the courses are quite long, taking well over a couple of minutes to complete a lap. There are also shortcuts and branching paths in just about every level, as well as destructible objects like fences and explosive barrels. Some paths are more difficult than others, but are often more rewarding because they offer better pickups and bonuses.

There are also plenty of huge jumps and boost panels on the tracks as well, which definitely adds to the thrill of the race, but the jumps can be treacherous as well. In fact, there's a lot of stuff on each track that will kill you or send you flying off the track. In one level, there are huge cargo transporters moving around and getting in your way; in another level, you have to keep an eye out for giant snowballs that go careening down the mountainside. And this stuff is all piled on in addition to the other racers, who are doing everything they can to destroy you. Needless to say, the races can get pretty chaotic.