2003's "Jak II" is a Naughty Dog release, and a sequel to their prior release "Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Saga."
We once again follow Jak (and his sidekick Daxter), this time in a new setting. The game is essentially controlled the same way as it's predecessor, although there are new features, such as a gun which you can acquire upgrades for, and a new feature called "Dark Jak"... more on that later. In addition, it feels like the controls have been somewhat tightened.
Players familiar with the original game will be in for a shock. The game takes a dark turn early on, and it significantly more mature in terms of tone and artistic style than the first entry. The first game was rated "E", but this one bumps it up to a "T"... and that "T" is a little too lenient- a few lines of suggestive dialog seemed "M"-worthy. While the first game was bright, cheerful and cartoonish, this entry is dark, murky, and coated with dreariness. The world is oppressive- it's truly a remarkable departure- and it works! Seeing the previews, I was concerned that the game wouldn't feel like a sequel to the original- On the contrary, this feels like a logical continuation, and is very much in the same vein as the previous game- just more mature.
The story begins with Jak, Daxter, Samos and Keira activating the Precursor portal they discovered in the last game, only to be whisked in after being confronted by a horrible creature. Sperated from the others, Jak and Daxter find themselves in a decaying futuristic city (Haven City), and Jak is captured by the "Krimson Guard"- the minions of the dreaded Baron Praxis. Jak is experimented on with Dark Eco for two years in prison, before Daxter breaks him free. We learn that Jak was being experimented on for a program to make, for lack of better words, "Super Soldiers" to fight the Metal Heads- vicious creatures who have been attacking the city. From there on, Jak proceeds to meet new characters, search for his friends, and try to put together the larger plot- he's out for revenge, and he wants to take Praxis down.
The original game was quite linear. You'd go from world to world, exploring levels and collecting the items over and over to proceed. "Jak II" functions less like the linear platforming original, and more like a sandbox title. Playing the game is akin to playing titles like the "Grand Theft Auto" series- the world is open, there's lots to see, and the setting is vast. You can hijack zoomers and hover-cars, you have to avoid the Krimson Guard (basically the police), and you receive missions from your contacts. "Jak II" truly is a Sci-Fi/Fantasy version of "GTA3", though toned down in violence/profanity.
In addition, the experiments on Jak have given him a new ability- "Dark Jak." After collecting enough Dark Eco, Jak can transform for a limited time into a beastly version of himself that deals great damage and can kill enemies a lot quicker.
The voice acting is great all around. The writing in terms of story is also a lot more solid. Characters and their motivations are clearer, and the plot itself is far more intricate than the last game, which was a bit simplistic. There are a number of outstanding twists and turns.
The graphics are also a quantum leap forward from the previous game. The characters are much smoother, the animation is more detailed, and you can see a lot more in the frame than the first game could have even hoped for.
Now, all of this praise being said, there are some problems. Some BIG problems. Problems that dropped it from a 10 to an 8.
For starters, the game's difficulty is all over the place. One mission may be easy as pie. The next may take you 4 hours to finish because you are overwhelmed by its difficulty and you keep getting killed. (Thank god you have unlimited lives.) Every time I sit down to play this, I inevitably have to turn it off sooner than I'd like because I get too frustrated after a point.
Another huge flaw is the Krimson Guard. As a large part of the game takes place in Haven City, you have to avoid these guards. The problem- there are too many of them, they are too easily provoked and they seem to randomly spawn near you- they overwhelm you. I can't tell you how many times they've killed me because I accidentally ran into one, and they thought I was attacking. Not to mention, many of your missions automatically make them come after you, so it increases the already hard difficulty to near impossibility.
The sheer volume of people and hover-cars/zoomers also makes traveling a chore, as you either have to move with the traffic at a snails pace, or zoom through and risk angering the Krimson Guard by accidentally hitting one of them- which is very easy to do.
Finally, a good portion of the missions equate to nothing but busywork in the same areas over and over again (Go to this location and kill Metal Heads... now go back and hit three switches... now go back and defeat more Metal Heads... now go back again for menial task #27), and more often than not, you are given an extremely unfair time limit to deal with. And they will get tedious very quickly. There is a real lack of variety, particularly in the first half or so of the game. It gets stale every so often, and takes just a little too long to get interesting again.
All that being said, despite its faults, this is still a great game! It's one of my favorites due to the great story and characters, and I recommend it! An 8 out of 10.
