A good starter to the series with plenty to do, although not particularly imaginative or surprising.
Unlike the following games, J&D is more about exploring and solving puzzles than it is about combat, although the elements are there. Those later in the series – at least, Jak II and 3 – are more dependent on combat and close fighting than thinking and solving problems although, again, the elements are there.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a great game. It has great visuals, concepts, humor and, most of all, it's fun! The camera is so natural you'll probably never have to touch the right analogue stick but to examine surroundings on a ground level. There are a range of options, the controls are simple yet functional, and the soundtrack has a nice feel.Again, it has great visuals. I AM NOT KIDDING.
Your mission is to collect power cells. That's really it. To save the world of course. This may sound like a stupid plot, but it's actually not as bad as I'm making it sound. After all, there a whole variety of ways to get the power cells, and you can't even explore without finding something. After all, it's (unfortunately) a relatively short game with 101 power cells (the idea is that there are 100, but there is a difficult, hidden and usually unnoticed one in a certain place in time...) to collect. Your main use of these power cells is to upgrade heat shields on your A-Grav Zoomer, or to charge machinery. Both these purposes are so that you can advance through pathways (usually of lava, but in the machinery case grass) to collect – more power cells.
On the side you are also collecting Precursor Orbs. They look like bronze eggs with alien symbols on them, and you'll use them to – buy more power cells. And if you collect all Orbs in one area you get.... a power cell...
Unfortunately, all this Orb collecting gets tedious, as they are common enough to be annoying, and most are hidden enough to be a great effort to find (it's the scout flies that really set the mark). However, this doesn't stop it from being a really great game. Naught Dog really does set that standard, and if you enjoy anything of a normal game, then you'll enjoy this. Just don't expect more than the.. well, ONE surprise, most of it is fairly predictable.