Jak II

Jak 1 was pretty cool. But for some reason people thought it looked like an easter egg hunt for babies so they made Jak II the polar opposite in almost every way.

If anyone is wondering why I don't love the PS2 so much it's because of games like Jak II hogging the light. I thought it was a such a boring meandering video game that your older cousin made you play as a right of passage.

Jak II is about Jak who gone emo with his dark Eco and I actually don't care about it's story because the characters look like American Dragonball Z ripoffs. They say damn a lot and it gives me a realistic depiction of a panic attack every time. Anyway, they have to kill a guy who tortured him or something.

But Jak 2 is so boring in it's gameplay. Oh yes, every game has to ripoff GTA now. Even platformers for some reason? Well here you go, play as Jak and Daxter ready to kick butt. Wielding guns blasting bad guys. This game is much longer and harder than the first one but I don't think that's something to celebrate. The world of Jak 2 is so mundane, it's just lifeless despite it's toony idealistic art direction. Everything is so grey and blue but it's all so boring and drab why do I even bother. Driving is ok, you'll crash alot. There are racing challenges about and side quests. Who asked for Jak II to be a sandbox game? Just stay in your lane Naughty Dog and make semi open or linear games. I felt so bored walking though this land. People who think every game should be open world should not be gamers.

The graphics are pretty cool though, or would be if they weren't so drab and flat as they are. Jak himself is well animated and is made of 10,000 polygons. Maybe if this was a full on PS3 game it would work. Nothing is super blocky or low res. But nothing is super impressive either.

Overall Jak II is a slog and it's only gonna get worse by 3. Blinx is better.

Jak and Daxter: Precursors Legacy was a super fun action platform we for PS2. This sequel not only expanded its lore but completely revamped its gameplay in a way that added a bunch of awesome new mechanics like guns and flying cars. The mission logistics made it feel very GTA inspired which just worked well for this game. This is early Naughty Dog, so the quality is there - fun characters, funny dialog and polish. Overall very fun game and one of the exceptional sequels out there that are better than the first installment.

Yes, in this one you go from your standard platform type game to a game where Jak does not only kill enemies with spin attacks, but also with guns. He also steals hover vehicles and takes them for a spin. Why the sudden shift? Easy, Grand Theft Auto III came out and a lot of games took this sort of free roaming shift. Not that it is bad here, I just prefer the way the first one moved better. This one does pick up where the first one left off. Jak, Daxter, Keira, and Samos the sage have put together some device and it transports them to a future world to a city called Haven City. This place is bad news, Jak is found and taken prisoner and is kept prisoner when Daxter finally comes to the rescue. You then must do various missions throughout the very large city ranging from fetch quests, chases, and re con missions to try to take power back from the one who now rules Haven City. Jak now shoots a gun with different forms of ammo and you even get a skateboard that you can use in a type of skate course or throughout your travels in this huge city. This one though has some missions that are cuss and hair pulling inducing. Some of the chase scenes within the city is maddening thanks to a very filled street. I mean there are so many hover crafts and they do not move out of your way. You also never get any more health during these missions which adds to the frustration. However, the story here is good as is the game play...it is a shame they felt they had to take the game into a new direction, but they do a relatively good job getting it there.

Jak II is a video game that is the sequel to Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. This game starts out right after the first one when they find a precursor "rift gate" and they end up finding a way to power this gate. Once they get the gate powered up it ends up leading them to a place called Haven City which is a huge, dark, futuristic city where people drive around in hover cars, people are trapped behind the walls, and guards called Krimson Guards scout the place. When they get there Jak gets caught by the guards and taken to a prison where he is tortured by the baron, Baron Praxis, with dark eco experiments. When Daxter finds him two years later he finds that he has turned into some kind of monster (at least at the right times). The rest of the game is mainly about how Jak and Daxter are seeking out Baron Praxis to kill him, it is also about how they recover their friends and try to impress a group of rebels against the baron called the Underground.

When I started the game about a month or two ago I didn't think it would be all that great. I would go to the store and laugh at how much different Jak II was from Jak and Daxter, but when I borrowed it from my friend and actually played it I became addicted. The game has a game play that I think is so much better than most games I've played. I actually came to love this game more than the first one, Jak and Daxter, and that is saying a lot because I was a huge fan of it. If you play till the end the ending is not a disappointment, Naughty Dog didn't only provide extraordinary game play, they also provided an ending that, though obvious, you would never have guessed.

Despite the first game, however, this game was not intended for children, its language, violence, and crude humor gave this game a well deserved T rating. If you are not one for crude humor I would encourage you to get past it because the game is that good.

Jak II is probably my favorite game now!

Jak II

A game that has drove many gamers mad, including myself. Not because it sucked. Not because it could have been better. No. If anything, this would probably be one of my all time favorites, but the fact I may kill myself in anger some day from the unfair level difficultly makes me skeptical about playing it again.

This one takes places shortly after the events of the first game, Keira has got the mysterious Precurser Rift Gate working and her, Jak, Daxter, and Samos travel into it. Though after take off in the vehicle, everyone's separated leaving, Jak and Daxter alone in an area unknown to them that resembles a broken city with its residents being watched over by guards. But before they have a chance to check it out, Jak's is knocked out and taken away by Errol and Baron Praxis, two new villains in the game. For two years, the men pump a chemical known as Dark eco into Jak, which at first does nothing, but eventually gives Jak some new powers. With the help of Daxter, the two break out of the jail cell and enter their new home, known as Haven City. Eventually they have to team up with a gang, work as a double agent for weapon supporter Krew, and through out try to find their friends and find a way to get out of this crap hole called home. Guess its not as harmless and cute as the first one, eh?

As game play goes, this is just like the first one. Jak moves the same, fights the same, but now he's supported with a new alter ego created from the Dark Eco, Dark Jak, who, for a short time, has the ability to go on unstoppable killing sprees and as the game progresses you can upgrade his ability's to the point where he is truly invincible. But thats not all Jak II has in store. Now, with a badder look and attitude, and even a tough voice (Jak finally speaks!), the game really shows off a more mature look game play wise. As you continue working for one of the leaders of the gang, Thorn, and as you continue doing jobs for Krew, they begin to trust you and give you access to weapons, four to be exact: The Scatter Gun, the Blaster Weapon, the Vulcan Fury, and the Peace Maker, all of which save your ass more times than you care to think about what with the difficulty spikes. But thats not all. The developers behind this sequel switched the Mario 64 like platform areas in the first game for a Grand Theft Auto style layout with missions that involve you going through platform and shooting stages, as well as have you stealing cars for item drop offs and even go through some races here and there. And if you want to kill some time, later on in the game you get yourself a hover board that you can surf around on all over the city and pull of tricks and even play a few mini games. Or for the ultimate time waster, go on a fetch quest for golden orbs to unlock hidden crap, from big head modes, art galleries, and even a hero mode (which I know better than not to play).

It sounds wonderful so far, right? Great level design, wonderful characters (even with a new voice to show off, Jak still has Daxter to speak for him... even when he doesn't want him to), and an epic plot that makes this game a must to all PS2 owners. But why, for the love of God is it so hard? I still don't know how I got through it, but you can bet I'm not gonna spend my time unlocking everything. I'll kill myself. The unfair difficulty comes from all the opponents. Everyone is out to freaking kill you, considering just about all of them are armed with a gun and unlimited ammo, so you better keep your distance and thank the designers for giving you mercy and giving you a bloody gun. And don't forget about the guards all over Haven City. If you have to pull off a race or drive a cargo of something or another to a far off destination in the city's boundary's, watch out for the damned Krimzon guards because one tap in the head, and they got the whole f**king force after you. Staying above ground (hover cars, nice huh?) just to get away from them won't help either, what with the constant guards flying by here and there is just as bad, only worse because they can get you cornered and confused in mid-air, so its advised to stay on ground and, if you can help it, get yourself a smaller car to pull off easier moves with.

So, aside from the tough level designs, this is truly a great game that you should check out, that is if your not one to chuck a controller out the window in anger.

And to all of you who finished it with no problem... HOW?!? That's all I ask. Great game, hard as hell. 8.5/10