"A great platformer with minor flaws". True Score: 8.2
Graphics - 9
Sound - 8
Value - 8
Story - 8
Daxter is the furry and fuzzy secondary character from the Jak and Daxter video game series. He is also Jak's sidekick and is now is in the limelight and finally is the main character in his own game.
The Daxter game is essentially a platformer, but also plays as a mini-racer, button mashing and puzzle game. The story takes place leading up to the events of Jak 2 and tells of what Daxter was doing while his counterpart, Jak, was in prison.
Gameplay
The game combines many fun elements to create a great single player experience. These include: Side to side platforming, defeating enemies with a number of weapons, riding several vehicles, taking part in mini games such as the dream sequences and also collecting the precursor orbs and bug cages.
You only start of with an electric swatter but soon increase your arsenal of weapons to a flamethrower, bug sprayer and an ultra sonic device as well as some unlockable combo moves. Different gameplay mechanics also include hovering to get from one side of a room to another as well as crawling to get into miniature holes and also climbing on walls to reach unreachable heights.
Overall the gameplay experience is quite satisfying but you don't always have to play by yourself, there is a multiplayer aspect which is put in the game, which consists of bug combat. Bug combat isn't the core of the game because really all it is, is a mini-game but the gameplay in whole isn't affected by this and is really quite good. Granted it's not the longest game in the world it will still keep you playing for a good 15 hours.
Graphics
The PSP isn't really known for its on-screen good looks, but rather its portability, Daxter makes it seem like its got the power capabilities of a ps2 or even an Xbox. The graphics are, well not flawless, but close to it. The details of Daxters fur during cutscenes and the artistics style of the city and different settings gives you the feel of what the Jak and Daxter world is about.
It really does feel like a ps2 port, and Daxter shows that the PSP can be a great handheld console, graphics-wise. Daxter really is the best looking game on the PSP.
Sound
Sound effects and voice acting are really great but what really epitomises Daxter is the musical score, the music just makes you feel like this is a true platformer. It gives you that kind of happy-go-lucky feeling when you're in open plains and a drenched, cold score when you are darker places like caves and underground tunnels. The voices of the cast breathe much needed life into the characters as only two of the characters are really likeable: Daxter and Ximon
Value
There is quite a bit of value in this game as you will find yourself collecting quite alot of precursor orbs and searching for some bug cages/upgrades, this game is also for the hardcore platformer as collecting all the 1001 precursor orbs become time consuming which may make casual gamers stray away but there are rewards.
These rewards include the already mentioned bug combats bugs and upgrades as well as extra mini games which are called Dream sequences. These mini games depict Daxter in a dream world reminiscent of movies. Dreams include Daxter being the main character in the Matrix, Lord of the rings, Indiana Jones and Braveheart. There is alot to keep you busy in this game.
Story
As this might not be an epic story, its still quite a good story, nonetheless. As mentioned above the plot takes place between Jak and Daxter and Jak 2 and involves Daxter searching for and rescuing Jak from prison.
The story doesn't really kick in til about half way through the game but when it does it becomes quite charming. Basically Daxter starts off as an exterminator of a major outbreak of metal bugs. Defeating these bugs unravel more secrets behind why they are there and the villain soon reveals his plan, after this one thing leads to another.
Conclusion
This platforming experience should be enjoyed by anyone who owns a PSP, while this may look like its a childish game, it really isn't as it involves some deep background and witty jokes. The gameplay is solid, graphics are amazing for a PSP games, sound is great, has high replay value and a charming story. Quite frankly this is a game worth playing, whether you be a platformer fan or not.