Jak is back and now he surely has something to say. Really, he does.
Jak II starts off right after the original game's 100% completion ending. Jak, the green mage, Kira and Daxter are all in the portal cart and going into appearently a different dimention through time. Sometime later, black pan, Jak wakes up strapped to a table. Seems like someone's been doing some experiments on him. Lucky for him, Dax s there to free him. But Jak is not satisfied, he's mad and his talking.
Yep, he has a voice now. Like the Pink Panther, who held its charm by being silent and having body personality, Jak now talks, and talks a lot of trash and sometimes even curse-words. They somehow got transported to the future, into a futuristic version of their world, and Jak got captured by the evil Baron Praxis, the big cahuna of the place.
Jak II throws through the window the cutesy and naive look of the original and borrows a lot from Ratchet & Clank in terms of gameplay. Now, Jak can handle weapons along with his old ability. He also gets a hoverboard, ala Back to the Future 2. The gameplay in this game is based on shoot first and ask later, leaving the melee to the side, most of the time. You'll have to collect some items too, like before. Precursor orbs now are rarer and will act like a hidden goodie. Adding to those, you'll look for gold skulls from enemies. Killing metal heads, the game's standard enemy, you'll get those gold orbs. With a certain number, you'll be able to buy moves for use with Jak's normal mode and his dark mode. The dark mode is a temporary mode in which Jak turns into a beast and is strong as heck.
The graphics are awesome and again makes full use of the game hardware that the PS2 offers. The voice acting is as good as before, if not better. Jak sometimes sounds a little too pissed off, but nothing you haven't seen before (hint hint Prince of Persia: WW)...
In the game you'll also get to drive some vehicles, a lot like GTA, since you can jack all sorts of stuff and throw people off their property for your own sake. But be careful, there are cops around and they are a pain. There are a bunch of car types, and you'll be able to fly them in two vertical levels, one close to the street, but good to dodge enemies and the higher level that all cars stick to. You'll also be able to shoot while driving, which is cool and better done than GTA.
Jak II is a cool game and most people will enjoy it, overcoming the fact that the cute look of the original got changed to the more heavy-metal type that the series took. The story is strong and fun, and all of the characters are memorable, from meanies to friends. The gameplay is hard at times, so you'll have a challenge, but don't be annoyed, it's worth the playthrough.
Thanks for reading!