Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was the first must-have platformer on the PS2. It had rock-solid gameplay that combined regular platforming with a good helping of minigames, had funny and memorable lead characters, and an excellent presentation to top it all off. Now, a few years later, we have Jak II, which continues the storyline of the first game – but really, that’s about all the similarities you’ll find between the two games. The whole look of the game is a lot darker, and the gameplay is a mix of Grand Theft Auto’s non-linear mission paradigm, Ratchet and Clank’s weapon-based combat, and some stock platforming elements, and these combine to make Jak II not just an array of different gameplay styles, but a cohesive experience that is one of the best Playstation 2 games out there. As mentioned, Jak II is a continuation of the original’s plot. While rebuilding some sort of ancient technology, Jak, Daxter, and the others find themselves quickly taking a detour to a new land and, more specifically, Haven City, a gritty, concrete jungle ruled by Baron Praxis, who is looking for bodies to conduct dark eco experiments, and it seems Jak was next up on the list. After two years of constant torture, Daxter (who managed to avoid capture) finally finds Jak and frees him. He swears that he’ll bring the Baron and his Crimson Guards down at any cost, and in his anger turns into some kind of twisted creature until Daxter calms him down. With that, the duo hit the streets of Haven City. You’ll quickly find an underground movement that shares your vision, and although their receptions to you aren’t all that heartwarming, they still have some jobs for you to undertake and, in turn, will lead you to brand new clients with more missions. You’ll get a cinematic introduction to your task, and then the mission will begin. Most missions require you to trek across Haven City to a specific area, so you can either walk or hijack a civilian’s hovercraft and drive to your destination. Once there, the gameplay from Jak and Daxter starts to shine through. You’ll be able to lunge and punch your enemy or do a spin attack, just like its predecessor. Of course, you’ll also have to navigate through a series of winding platforms that make up much of the game’s areas. In general, these levels are much more challenging than both The Precursor Legacy and most any other platformer, as you’ll find a lot of crumbling footings that force you not only to be precise with your jumping but also to do it in a hurry, lest you enjoy meeting your demise over and over again. Thankfully, if you do die, you usually start fairly close to wherever you last perished and have unlimited lives to get the job done, but there are also quite a few instances where you’ll have to repeat several difficult or frustrating stretches of an area over again. However, Jak II’s platforming sequences are so much fun and polished that you will most likely keep on trying, since each mission has differentiating gameplay that will keep you sufficiently interested. For example, one of your first missions is to drive over to the Haven City Pumping Station and turn the water back on in the slums district. Several missions later, you’ll have to go back there under order of a different employer, this time watching the back of one of his other men as you take out several members of the mechanical invading forces known as the Metal Heads. Some areas are revisited many times in Jak II, but each time you arrive, a consequence for something you did previously will likely have changed the layout, so its practically a new level every time. Though some areas require revisiting, that’s not to say there is a dearth of them – far from it. Aside from the enormous Haven City (which serves as the hub for all the game’s different mission areas), there are dozens of different locations you’ll explore throughout Jak II, and all of them are not only large but also full of little niches, secret areas and items, and lots of enemies to keep you busy. You’ll get a shotgun weapon almost as soon as you start the game, and your arsenal will steadily grow from there. If you’ve ever played Ratchet and Clank or its sequel Going Commando, you’re going to feel a large sensation of nostalgia when you use them, since the gameplay is more or less identical in Jak II. You use the D-pad to pull out or conceal your weapons and the R1 button to fire. Once you start consistently building your ammo caches (which will be early on), you’ll find little need for your physical attacks other than to whack enemies that are so weak they’re a waste of ammo. This actually works for Jak II rather than against it – using the weapons is great fun and beyond that are quite powerful to wield. Ratchet and Clank came up with the notion of using weapons in a platformer, but it works to greater effect in Jak II. You’ll also need to be much more skilled with your weapons in order to not only take out the game’s brutal bosses but also just for the dime a dozen enemies that dot every area. Like it’s predecessor, Jak II also has a light sprinkling of minigames to break up the gameplay. A few hours into the game, you’ll earn the ability to use a Hoverboard that you can use to enter a skatepark and bust out some tricks a la the Tony Hawk series and, perhaps to more useful effect, break the board out at any time at the touch of the R2 button. You can also enter in a bunch of optional races if you feel your driving skills are up to the task, and enter a gun range where you can test your prowess at any one of your weapons. All of the above challenges are required to progress Jak II at some point in the interest of letting you know they are in fact in the game, but after their introductions are optional and give Jak II some nice value. Visually, Jak II is by far one of the absolute best looking games not only on the Playstation 2 but on any system, incorporating both impressive technical accomplishments like zero loading times and huge draw distances and an amazing visual style that is truly awesome to behold. The graphics are crystal clear and have surprisingly little aliasing, which is typically present in most any Playstation 2 game, and the visual effects are excellent; the shotgun, for example, emanates a cool wavy air effect whenever you fire a blast, but the animation is what is truly impressive about Jak II’s visuals. Each entity in the gameworld has a silky smooth animation and moves with fluidity that is unseen in most videogames. In the game’s hilarious cinematics, the animations add believability to each character interaction, complete with first-rate lip-syncing that really helps sell the character’s dialogue. The audio is also great. Although the weapon sound effects sound a touch too weak in relation to their visual menace and the music, while admirably composed, is a little light on content, the overall aural picture in Jak II is indeed a positive one. As you’ve probably expected if you’ve played the first game, the voice actors and actresses all turn in top-notch performances that perfectly suit the characters (especially the weezy, heavy breathed voice of the morbidly obese Krew), and vast majority of the sound effects and musical scores sound great. If you can appreciate a game with a big challenge and can tolerate an experience that kicks you in the ass a few times along the way, you will really, really like Jak II. Developer Naughty Dog has proved once again that they have an extremely talented group of programmers and designers in office, as its evident in just about every moment of the game. Platformer junkies, this is what you’ve been waiting for.
If you liked the first jak and daxter game, you'll absolutely love the smash hit sequel and positively the best in the series! The gameplay is bit similar with the different styles of attacks and movement to the first... Read Full Review
The success of The Precursor Legacy was huge back then, and one of the reasons why I got into platformer games in the first place. Its light-hearted story and quirky characters were very amusing to interact with, making ... Read Full Review
