A solid and underated adventure game.
For a Nik game, Tak is a pretty solid game. The environments in this game are gorgeous, especially considering they come from the Gamecube, and was one of the earliest releases on it. In this game, you are a simple villager who just happens to be the only member of his tribe, the Poopoonoonoo tribe, that has not been turned into a sheep. You must help the Shaman Jabulba turn the mighty warrior, Lok, back into a human so he can defeat the evil Juju (or spirit) that has done this terrible deed.
You start in a way similar to other games of this nature like Mario 64 in that you have a kind of overworld with several other levels to go into and fetch different items that Jabulba needs to correct Lok's.. condition. This game has a lot of freedom in what you can do story wise. You can go to the levels in a somewhat independent way, and will spend much time exploring the fairly expansive world. The problem is, things could be a little more straight forward. Most of the time, you are put in situations with no explanation, and are left to figure it out on your own. This can be fun, or a nightmare. Gameplay wise, the fighting system is incredibly simple. You use your weapon (which is pretty much between three very simple weapons: A club, a big bamboo pole, or a wand type thing) to bash your opponent to death. It's that simple. This would be a terrible drawback to this game had it not been for the juju powers you obtain a long the way. These are sorta spells, and in the style of the FF games you need mana points to cast them and so on. However, the way you use them is very confusing, and requires a lot of memory. You won't be using this much because of this.
The gameplay mostly consists of clever puzzles and platform jumping, that is a pretty solid balance of gameplay. The overall outcome is pretty enjoyable, and is suprisingly lengthy and challenging, too. The graphics and fun gameplay (not including fighting) are consistent throughout the adventure. You may discover places you've never been to even after you've beaten the game, however unlikely this may be. The sound in the game is pretty great, too. The music consists of very nice tribal beats and other instruments and there are many different tunes. A lot of them are catchy and none of them are annoying or noticeably repetitive. Also, every once and a while, when you bash an enemy, Tak will say a little phrase like "sweet!" or "Boo-yah!" This clever little addition gives Tak a bit more personality.. an annoying one. Does this little wild man ever shut up!?
But overall, it's a pretty solid outcome and can keep you busy for quite a while.