Oh my. A blog post? How come? Because I'm going to RANT! And by looking at the above title anyone will instantly know on what I'm fuming over. But wait a minute! Isn't the J&D series one of my favourites? Yep and High Impact Games has ruined it.
So let's take a look-see. Jak and Daxter started their wondrous adventures in Sandover Village back in 2001. According to my brother because I couldn't find any info on it, the story has a root in some legend or myth from some place on this planet. Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy gave us a fresh intake of design and story. Original, fabulous, you just HAVE to LOVE the characters, story is inviting and it's not boring which is a MAJOR plus. End of the day, good guys beat bad guys and oh my gosh... a cliffhanger?? Beautiful touch there Dogs.
Moving on two years, a sequel is released. Trust me on this one, if you've never played these games before, do not, and I mean DO NOT, play this game right after TPL. In the first game we have a simple platformer which leaves you with a smile on your face, and the colors are impressively vivid. Jak II: Renegade is its exact OPPOSITE. Goodbye greens and hello grey.The game is angry and violent. Not for the kiddies. Ok, so it's not THAT bad but it's still not the kind of thing you'd want your five-year-old to be playing. If the first game was cartooney, this one has an edge. And it's sharp. Jak's something entirely different, Daxter is still the same only rude, Kiera and Samos are pretty much the same. i was hoping to find a different Kiera, one who's grown up a little bit. The new characters fit the atmosphere and the story drives you to finish it. Evil Metalhead dead, and we're presented with a little twist. Another thumbs up to the Dogs. (Although it's cliche...)
Onwards to 2004, Jak 3. Personally, the first two games were exceptional. This one was lame. I still like it, has a different side to the ongoing story but... it could've been better. I really thing Spargus could've done with a tad bit more work. Story-wise, it's a winner. I love it. Graphics took a nice few steps forward. The three new character are great though Seem was a bit sidelined. One thing which pissed me off way over the top was that Kiera barely existed! What the WTF?? (Yes) I still don't get why did Naughty Dog pretty much kicked her off screen and replace her with Asheline. Speaking of the redhead, Errol bye bye scene? That kiss? WHAT THE F@£!?? That should've never happened! I almost had nightmares because of it! Not really, but you get my point! That was a MAJOR no-no in my book! And the final thing which I still can't wrap my mind around is: Jak = Mar. Excuse me? How's that work? Read fanfiction and you get Jak going back in time. Mega-LAME! I write fanfiction myself and the only way I could keep with the story and NOT send Jak back in time or whatever is make him the reincarnation of Mar. THAT makes sense. No, no kudos to the Dogs here.
2005 is MEGA-KUDOS to the Dogs though. I still don't know why Jak X: Combat Racing got such low prestige because I found it blooming addicting. Imagine my brother and I, in his room, and flew through the games in three days straight. That's right. We couldn't switch the darn thing off! One thing I absolutely adore in this game is the soundtracks. I love them. Graphics are good, characters are good, character development is GOOOOD, story is absolutely fantastic, cars absolutely SUCK. Seriously, they look like painted sheet-metal was magically attached to areas on the vehicle-skeleton (some parts such as rear fenders don't touch anything but air). So yeah, cars NEEDED work but the rest was beautiful. I love how Kiera evolved in this game. We finally get to see a bit behind that visor of hers. The only thing which didn't tick right with me was how the poison didn't effect Rayne. Three seconds and blah blah yap yap bull...*ahem* Already immune makes better sense but that's what fanfiction is for right?
Ready At Dawn. 2006. PSP. Daxter gets the spotlight. My brother's glued to the thing right now. Have never played it but from what I've seen so far it's an astounding game. Wonderful graphics, characters are great, music is divine. Can't comment much on the story because I yet need to TOUCH the PSP. Alright, alright, I set the dang thing but I haven't played anything yet...
2009, High Impact Games is delivering the most anticipated game for us Jaktards and unfortunately... it sucks. From what I understand from the videos and so on that I could find, the game goes WAY overboard into another UNIVERSE! Let me list the good and the bad ok?
The Good:
Kiera looks older. I think it's about time she looks like she grew in the past four years. Jak 3 already tinkered with her a bit, the most defined feature being the shape of her eyes which are gorgeous. She's twenty years old now, she should look that age. One MEGA PLUS is that she FINALLY dons a new outfit. Jeezus Bacon on a toad! It takes another company to realize she's in need of a new set of threads?!
Keeping to wardrobe... I like Jak's outfit. White polo and a jacket. I like it.
They're in the air! From running to the jetboard to wheels, we finally get to fly... most of the time. I know there's a mission in Jak 3 where you fly around in a Hell Cat but that's just one.
Daxter will be Daxter.
The Bad (and Ugly): (Already? Yes.)
Graphics are PSP material, and seem to wane a bit. Not much to say there.
Jak's got a new voice actor which is... not so great. I agree on changing the voice actor for two reasons only: One - the character is older or changed (i.e. mutated....) such as what happened with Kiera. The voice change was NEEDED. Two - the character's personality has changed. This happened in Sly 3: Band of Thieves. Murray in Sly 2 was a hero, he was The Murray. At the end of that, he kissed the pavement. in the last game, Murray is a different person and the new voice suited this new characterization VERY well. Now I don't know if Jak changed in any manner but Mike Erwine is pretty much synonymous with Jak so it doesn't go down too well that he's not voicing the blond anymore.
Keeping to Jak... Yellow pants? WTF???
From Jak we go to his sweetheart. Hey! Didn't I say I like Kiera in this game? Yeah, I like her. Except her HAIR! It's supposed to be aqua. Blue on top melding down to green, NOT...er... what color is thay again?
On to... The Brink. Robots? Ex-cUUSE me. Robots? Which look like they belong to Ratchet and Clank? What is this, a cross-over? A weird new species, sure, why not. Robots?
Lastly, I know Kiera truly deserves some good amount of screen and story time but... a sage? Of what?? As far as I know she was never under her father's tutelage, she's not a scholar and the number one fact about her is that SHE'S A MECHANIC! What's she to be, Mistress of Robotics? If there's anyone who should wear a sage's garb it's Jak. Trouble is, he's already got too many titles to begin with. Not to mention one particular title is demanding enough. If you're not sure what I'm talking about, it's "Your Highness". Get it?
Ok, so that's that. I needed to rant. If I buy this game, it's definitely the PSP version and I'll only buy it for the sake of the series.
Yes, I is a Jaktard and proud.
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