Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier is a solid entry in the series. The new gameplay additions are fun.
So, you could probably guess that I was excited to hear they were finally making a true platformer follow-up to the Jak series, for the first time in years. I was even more excited to hear it was coming out for the PS2. Yet another top game to add to the PS2's epic library, nearly 10 years after the console's release, no less.
I was so excited for this release, that I actually pre-ordered it. I usually wait until a game has been out for a while, so I can buy it cheaper. I also usually like to wait until I see reviews of a game before I buy it. The last time I bought a newly released game was about 2 years ago. There are very few games that will excite me enough to make me want to buy them the day they come out. A brand new Jak & Daxter game on the PS2 is one of those games, which says a lot.
I was skeptical about a few things, though. For one thing, the new Jak & Daxter was not being developed by Naughty Dog, who developed the rest of the games in the series. Instead, it would be made by a smaller company, High Impact games, who were responsible for Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank. While those were solid games, they didn't really live up to the high hopes that fans of the series had.
To a certain degree, the same holds true for Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier. It's a very good game, but it doesn't stand up well when compared to the masterpieces that were Jak II and Jak 3. The Lost Frontier is a lot of fun, and it's a worthy addition to the series. However, I had a pretty long list of complaints about it.
For one thing, the controls feel slightly different. They're not as fluid as the previous Jak games. The button configuration and many of the animations are the same, it just feels a little different. This one is tough to explain, but just play the old Jak games for a while, and then pop in Lost Frontier, you'll feel the difference. It's minor, and I adjusted to it quickly. But, it's still a slight flaw.
A bigger problem is the camera. The camera is zoomed in a little bit tighter than previous Jak games, sometimes allowing enemies to attack from off-screen. That usually never happened in the old games. It's not a huge problem here, but it makes a difference. Also, the default camera angles make it hard to see period. Luckily, you can use the right analog stick to adjust the camera, which obviously can't be done in the PSP version. That alone makes the PS2 version far superior in my opinion. But other than that, there doesn't seem to be too many differences between the two. Anyway, the camera is not a big deal, but it could've used some refining.
A much bigger issue to me, was the story. The other games in the series were known for their long, epic storylines, filled with twists, and were totally engrossing. Lost Frontier, not so much. It barely has any meaningful plot twists (the one twist that is in there isn't really satisfying), and the story itself isn't really that great in the first place. It's not really tied in to the previous games, it's basically just about saving the world from certain doom. At least it does have to do with eco, a substance that's a staple in the series.
Also, only three characters from previous Jak games are in The Lost Frontier. Jak, Daxter, and Keira. That's it. No Torn, or Sig, or Samos, or Ashelin, or Pecker, or any of the other cool characters from previous games. Since it's been so long since we've gotten a Jak game, I would've liked to see a few more familiar faces in here. The new characters are not nearly as memorable. Daxter is still funny, though. Problem is, he doesn't have any other funny characters to bounce off of. Daxter's interactions with Pecker, for example, were some of the funniest parts of Jak 3, and there's nothing like that here.
Lost Frontier also doesn't have quite the amount of gameplay variety as previous games. The core platforming is obviously intact, with the four guns. The only change is the Peace Maker is gone, and has been replaced with a grenade launcher-type weapon called the Lobber, which isn't as cool in my opinion. Still, the Scatter Gun, Blaster and Vulcan Fury work exactly the same as they did in the previous games. But in Jak 3, they had 3 different versions of each weapon, which they don't have here. They only have the basic weapons, but with mods.
The driving, both in hovercars and on-ground dune buggy-type vehicles, has all been removed. Also, the hoverboard isn't in here either. There isn't nearly as much variety in the mission objectives. It's mostly just get to the end of the level, killing enemies as you go. Dark Jak and Light Jak are also gone.
That sounds like some major losses, but they did add other stuff to replace it. The most substantial new addition comes in the form of new flying missions. You can choose from many different planes, kind of like the vehicles in Jak 3, and you can customize the planes, adding new weapons and armor. The flying missions dominate a large portion of the game. Luckily, they're tons of fun. Actually, they're more fun than the platforming levels. The control and camera issues are only problems in the platforming levels. The camera is fine in the flying missions, and the controls are perfect. Shooting down enemy planes is very satisfying. All in all, it's an awesome addition.
They also added one of the coolest features in the history of the series, which is Dark Daxter. Every once in a while in the game, Daxter is covered in dark eco, at which point in transforms into the giant monster Dark Daxter. He can shoot dark eco projectiles, smash enemies with his hands, and even turn into a tornado to destroy everything in his path. It's a lot of fun.
To replace the Light Jak, they added some abilities which you unlock gradually that are very similar to Light Jak abilities from Jak 3. You still collect dark eco from your enemies, but in this game, it acts as currency to buy upgrades to your health and attacks. The new additions are nice. If only they had included all of the old gameplay types too, it would've been amazing.
Finally, my last complaint about Lost Frontier is the length. I blazed through it in just over 6 hours, but that was skipping all of the side missions. According to the game progress screen, side missions account for about 30% of the total game. The side missions are pretty similar to the previous games, such as "find the precurser orb within the time limit". Also, once you beat the game, you unlock a harder difficulty. All in all, there's some replay value here, but not as much as the previous games.
The graphics in Lost Frontier are fantastic. Not quite as polished as the high-end current-gen games, but for PS2 standards, it looks great. The sound is good too. The voice actors for Daxter and Keira reprise their roles from the previous game, but the voice actor for Jak is new. Still, he sounds good too. The other sounds in the game are pretty similar to what was in the previous games.
It may seem like I did a lot of complaining in this review. Granted, there's a lot of little flaws to complain about. But none of them cripple the game. Despite its flaws, it's a fun game. It's sure to appeal to fans of the series, even though diehard fans of the series, like myself, will have their problems with it. For fans of both platformers and flight combat games, this is a must-buy, because it offers a solid platforming experience with a solid arcade-style flight combat game as well.
I believe that a lot of the flaws in this game wouldn't have happened if Naughty Dog themselves had made the game. We're just going to have to wait and see if Naughty Dog will pick up the series again. I can only imagine, if Naughty Dog were to make a new Jak game with all of the new features from this game (flight, Dark Daxter etc), along with the gameplay of the previous trilogy (the controls, the camera, dune buggy, hovercars, hoverboard, etc), and put it all together with a great story, characters and long length, they could make a killer game that would truly give Jak II and Jak 3 a run for their money.
But as it stands today, Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier is a solid entry in the series. The new gameplay additions are fun and worth checking out. I'd recommend it to any fan of the series. It won't set your world on fire, but it's good nonetheless, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.