This game has come as a disappointment for long time platformer fans and general fans of the franchise. Not me. Maybe
Many devoted and older fans of the Jak and Daxter universe (including myself) hinted that Naughty Dog was going in the same direction as ND previous franchise, Crash Bandicoot. If you remember, Crash had a trilogy of beautiful fun platforming games, then Naughty Dog decided to make a Crash team racing. At teh time, not many people knew where it was going but the wisemen knew it was the end of teh road. Crash now in the Ps2 era has become a load of crap in every effort they have spit out.
Many of the devoted fans were extremely disappointed knowing that this was the end. But, they had one thing to look for in and that was another superb racing game.
Now, we don't know for sure what Naughty Dog will do with the franchise but Naughty Dog has hinted many times for a Jak in PS3. Enough of the backstory. Lets get this going.
The gameplay was one area that was vital to making this game worthwhile to the gamer. For the most part the whole gameplay was seyt up like a kart racer. But, this game is not even close to being a kart racer. Boos Boos t Boost! This insanely fun mechanic is teh base around the speed of the game and the crazy blurr effects makes it more immersive. Red eco is used to defend attacks. Yellow eco pickups are used for the weaponry ranging from grenades, missiles, machine gun, peace maker, Super nova. Blue eco is what signifies the boost. Dark eco boosts all weaponry and is an upgrade to every weapon and pcikup. That adds a nice spice to the game. But the handling-it reall realy sucks at times and its like your tyring to control an insanely fast bouncy ball. The customization adds a nice twist to the overral gameplay but doesn't really help your vehicle at all.
Graphics-The graphics are superb! Considering the vehicle is travelling at such high frame rate and all of this is not pre-rendered. Its all in real time and if you look at the enviornment and the insane amount of detail really brings your game to life. If the ps2 had more processing power then just imagine how great the game would look. The frame rate is very very steady and it almost never lets up and stutters. The cutscenes are so detailed that the figures and characters really come to life.
Sound- The music is well orchestrated and the intro song in the cutscene feature Queens of the Stone age. The overral music is orchestrated by the guitarist of the perfect circle. It is good and fits in with the insane action. Its also miced with some sweet techno sounds. The voice actingi is a trade mark for the Jak series and it doesn't let up this time iether. Its great but the new characters are very weird and they don't have a style to them. the most annoying has to be the commisoner GT blitz. The story is O.K. but not even close to what you woudl expect from the Jak series. It is quite stupid and the whole plot is like a plan C type of plot and it doesnt go well with the Jak series. The sounds of the engine and road noises are quite good and up to par.
The value- The game is quite long because of the superb online play and the game can put you througha good 20-30 hours in the single player campaign to get complete 100 % completion. The unlockables are quite good inlcuding secret helmets, cars, blooper cutscenes, characters from previous jak games and dice and flags. You can aslo unlock secret thigns from Daxter on the PSP and vice a versa.
In summary, if you have played some of the Jak games and you love the franchise you will be a little satisfied but be alittle disappointed with it. The casual gamers who have never played the Jak series will have a good time with this game.