Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Naughty Dog, a company that makes games exclusively for the PlayStation 2, delivered a worthy replacement for the loss of their great Crash Bandicoot series with Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. I own this game and I love it.

Made in the vein of a Disney cartoon, and featuring some good voice acting, led by Max Casella of "Doogie Howser" fame, the story is about Daxter falling into a vat of black eco and turning from the elf-like creature he was into a otter/weasel combination. His strong but silent friend Jak and he must find the only person who can turn Daxter back. So in a game that blows away what Super Mario 64 first brought in (the huge 3D worlds) Jak and Daxter visit many interconnected worlds to find Power Cels that will allow them to get Daxter returned to normal.

The game features gorgeous graphics, complete with changing times of the day. Great voice acting (Casella delivers some hilarious lines), great gameplay, and plenty of fun. The game is easy to play (you get unlimited lives), constantly saves your progress any time (computer gamers always want that) and challenges you without being cheap. Only the music is a weak spot, with much of it sounding too much like Crash's. One great addition is if Jak and Daxter walk by a character, you will hear them talking to themselves about certain things or the characters themselves. Throw in that the Keira character is one of the spunkiest characters ever created (What? Paige Davis in a video game?!?) and you've got a must-buy. ***** out of *****.