Jak II (PS2)

After the amazing success of Jak and Daxter: The precursor Legacy which sold out of all copies within 3 months 'Naughty Dog' finally popped out the second, darker instalment titled Jak II.
As soon as you have the game on you sense a whole new edge to it. Its storyline starts of a lot darker (and continues) to what it originally was in Jak and Daxter, Long gone is the light hearted mute Jak and in his place is an almost evil looking, older ...
...of new things not including Jak finding the miracle of speech. For example, you have more modes of transport this time. If you can't be bothered to walk, just steal a hover car or jump on your hover board. And then there's the weapon. Jak is way past just fists. Now its scatter guns and automatics all the way. Then there is the added bonus of being able to play as Daxter at a few points during the game which is surprising fun. This review will go ... more

After the amazing success of Jak and Daxter: The precursor Legacy which sold out of all copies within 3 months 'Naughty Dog' finally popped out the second, darker instalment titled Jak II.
As soon as you have the game on you sense a whole new edge to it. Its storyline starts of a lot darker (and continues) to what it originally was in Jak and Daxter, Long gone is the light hearted mute Jak and in his place is an almost evil looking, older version…WHO TALKS! There are a few familiar elements to the new game from the old, the main one being Daxter and his constant need to being witty yet extremely annoying at times. But there are also loads of new things not including Jak finding the miracle of speech. For example, you have more modes of transport this time. If you can't be bothered to walk, just steal a hover car or jump on your hover board. And then there's the weapon. Jak is way past just fists. Now its scatter guns and automatics all the way. Then there is the added bonus of being able to play as Daxter at a few points during the game which is surprising fun. This review will go into all the different elements of the game in more detail. If you haven't played Jak and Daxter but intend to then I should warn you this review may spoil some parts from the game and I would suggest you read it another time - I don't want to go spoiling it for you now do I? I hope it helps!

Set up
The game is rated for everyone so the whole family is able to play. On the same note though once again it is a one player game. The game has a vibration function too which is a good feature for the game as it helps during play. You will need your PS2, your game, controller and if you intend on playing the game through a memory card. Make sure there is enough memory on the card - if there isn't then the game will tell you early on to stop you having to repeat the story.

Story Line
The game begins back in the good old cute Jak days where the first game left off.
Jak, Daxter, Keira and Samos have just completed the repairs to the 'Rift Rider' and the Precursor ring found in Gol and his sisters Citadel at the end of the previous game. Everyone sits down and Jak impatiently presses a button on the Rift rider (stupid idea). This causes the rift gate to open followed by a enormous monster coming out of it, praising the final rift game being opened after all this time - it doesn't sound good! The Rift Rider then goes into automatic and shoots through the creature and into the Precursor ring. While travelling through the precursor rings tunnel the rift rider explodes, separating the four friends. Jak and Daxter (conveniently still together) drop into a futuristic and well polluted city called Haven city. Very quickly Jak catches the attention of the local police force (known as the Krimzon Guards) and after a short chase is sent to prison by Erol under the direct order of Baron Praxis - the Ruler of Haven City. During the arrest, Daxter takes it as his queue and manages to escape.

The storyline then skips forward two years. You are looking in on a 'test' in a prison - on Jak. It turns out he is being used by Baron Praxis for his 'Dark Warrior' test. This means that Jak is being injected with Dark eco - and anyone that played the first game knows the dark eco is very bad, it's the stuff that turned Daxter into an ottsel!
Even though he has been injected for two years he is showing no sign of progress, yet also not dying. Praxis grows impatient and orders Erol to dispose of him later on in the night. Before this is possible though Daxter (finally) comes to the rescue. Quick comes his remarks about Jak's new darker look. Jak responds by turning purple and shooting electric like bolts from his body while appearing physically bigger. This is what we come to know as dark Jak throughout the game. Soon after, we hear Jak speaking for the first time screaming "I'm gonna kill Praxis!" Then its straight into the game, escaping from the prison which is cleverly used as a tutorial with Daxter back on you shoulder mocking you for not remembering how to jump. And that's just the beginning.

Original Characters
Jak - The main character of the game (hence the name misusing Daxter). Has been experimented on for the past two years with dark eco injections and the toll it took on its body has shown. Long gone is the cute and innocent Jak we grew to love and in his place is a darker, more violent (and older) bad boy all fathers would keep away from their daughters. Of course one of the big things about Jak this time is that he talks, and this time he makes sure he is heard too.

Daxter - Still an ottsel, the previous journey in vain. The little orange fuzz ball has changed little. He is loud, rude but extremely funny making you laugh several times with comments throughout the game while he is perched on Jak's shoulder. The funniest thing about Daxter this time is his way with the women. Despite a species different he still hits on any female in his eye site and watching the consequences is very funny too.

Samos/The Shadow - The green sage from the original game. Doesn't like fun, is one to quickly not faults, especially Daxter's and the father of Keira. There are two versions on Samos in the game, the other being known as the shadow. But I'm not going to go into details and spoil it.

Keira - Daughter of Samos and Jak's fascination. She ends up working at the local stadium as a mechanic - what she dos best. She is using the money she makes to try and build a new Rift rider to get herself and the others back to their home place.

New Characters
Baron Praxis - The ruler of Haven City. He has a metal plate that covers half of his face (Batman anyone?) from when he tried to destroy the metal head nest. During the game, Haven city is being attacked by metal heads and even though it looks like Praxis is protecting the city from them he is actually working with them.

Erol - Praxis's right hand man. Like Jak, he is in love with Keira but always gets the cold shoulder. He is also a racer and during the game you will have to do a rather annoying and difficult race against him. He is also the leader of the Krimzon guards.

Krew - The extremely over weight and smelly crime king of Haven city. Owns a bar called the Hip-Hog. A lot of the things you help him with rewards you with weapons/upgrades. He tends to have loads of information 'from the underground'

Sig - Krews body guard and kick butt metal head killer. Has an amazing weapon called the peace maker which you can eventually have as a weapon near the end of the game. His armour is made from his victim's bones…Lovely

Brutter - Lead of the Lurkers. In the first game Lurkers where the main bad guys but there are now few.

Metal Head Leader - Leader of the metal heads. Is being bribed by Praxis with dark eco to limit his attack on haven city.

Torn - Used to be a Krimzon guard. Is now the right hand man to the leader of the underground. He gives Jak and Daxter missions. He and Daxter are constantly arguing which is extremely funny. He doesn't Trust Jak and makes him do loads of trials.

Tess - Works undercover for the underground. Is a barmaid at Krews bar collecting information. Daxter constantly flirts with her and she finds him extremely cute.

Ashlyn - Another underground spy who poses as a Krimzon guard. In a twist she is the daughter of Praxis. She seems to have a close relationship with Torn but her attention soon turns to Jak.

Vin - Underground worker. Computer wiz. He keeps the cities shield up to protect it from the metal heads. He is extremely jumpy and nervous with funny results.

Onin/Pecker - Onin is an old, blind wise woman. She does not talk with her mouth but instead with her hands and their motions. Pecker is her pet. Half parrot, half monkey. He interprets what Onin says to Jak and she helps him on his journey.

Kor - Mentor to 'the child'. The person meant to be on the throne. Knows more then he says

The Child - The real heir to the Haven city throne, he is only a small boy. Around the neck he wears the Seal of Mar. Most about the child is a mystery till the end of the game.

Weapon/s
The Weapon you receive during the game is called a Morph gun and you can get four different weapons. They can each be obtained then upgraded twice apart from the Peace maker. All have different uses.

Scatter Gun/Red Weapon - Can hold 50 rounds (100 after upgrades). This is a short ranged weapon and the first version is pretty useless. Once you have the final upgrade it is an alright weapon but still my least favourite.

Blaster Weapon/Yellow Weapon - Can hold 100 rounds (200 after upgrades). Has a laser sight which is extremely useful. This is the weapon I used the most as it is easy and as I said, the laser sight really helps you. You know exactly where you are shooting so you waste little.

Vulcan Fury/Blue Weapon - Machine Gun! So cool. Means you can kill loads of enemies in one hit. Unfortunately it also means you run out of ammo quickly. It starts off with 100 ammo and after the upgrade its still only 200.

Peace Maker - ROCK ON! Sorry, I couldn't control myself. This is the best weapon EVER. Given to you by Sig, it only takes 10 rounds after its upgrade but it is worth it. It is like an atomic bomb and destroys everything in its path except you. So much fun to be had, so little time…

Transport
Hover Crafts
These are the cars of the future. There are a few parked throughout the game in specific areas but there is always someone near by driving. Just press the x button when in the shadow of on and you go all GTA style and steal it. You soon learn which cars are faster and which withstand more attacks (like when you're being shot at by the Krimzon guards) but in my opinion the best ones are the ones my sister and I named the thunderbird - because it looks like a car version of the green thunderbird rocket. Good speed and withstands quite a few attacks. The best car for a mission.

Jet Board
Like a hovering skateboard. Once you obtain it you can use it whenever you want. A bit difficult to move and if you hit anyone it hurts them and you which is EXTREMLY annoying. Especially if you accidentally hit a Krimzon guard as it counts as an attack and then they all start to chase you.

Titan Suit
This is used a few times during the game but is used for specific reasons - you can't just run free which is a shame. It is used for its strength for breaking thick walls and heavy lifting.

Areas/Locations
The game is non-stop free walking so there is no loading to get from one area to another. Whenever you go outside the city and through the wall you do end up standing at a thick wall for a minute before the door opens but no actual loading pages. There are several different areas over the game. Some include:

Haven City - Ruled by Praxis and swarming with Krimzon guards you need to be careful at all times not to upset anyone. This area routes off to all others.

Strip Mine - One out f three of Praxis's eco mining operations. There is dark eco all over the place and the metal heads use it to lay their eyes. During one mission you have to destroy all of the metal head eggs.

Palace - Towering over haven city and is seen by all. Jak enters it a few times to find out information. Has high security level.

Sewers - Below Haven city. Have quite a few metal heads and a high security system when needs to be destroyed for one of the missions. Quite dark and gloomy. A bit icky to be honest.

Mar's Tomb - Location of the precursor stone hidden under the statue of Praxis in front of the palace. Only the heir of the throne can open the huge doors at the entrance. Once they have done this they must complete the tests of manhood and collect the stone if successful

Haven Forest - It's like a jungle with an ancient feel. Very Indiana Jones. You can free roam unless you are on a mission and metal heads will be placed through out the place.

Landing Pad - A very small green area. Only real purpose is to lead off to other areas including the pumping station, weapons lab and the dig.

Ruins Wasteland. - Only seen during the final part of the game. There are three different parts. There are metal heads everywhere so make sure you have loads of ammo and keep collecting it along the way.

Other important elements of the game
Precursor Orbs
Unlike the first game where you can find these golden floating eggs every where there are now in short supply and are considered rare. You will find one or two dotted around during the game and completing side missions via the screens in the game will earn you more. You can then spend them on secrets via menu screen including weapon upgrades and…Jak having a goatee.

Side Missions via screens
Throughout the game there are screens that look like hologram televisions. If you walk up to it and activate it then you will activate a mission. It could be a race through the streets with someone, a race against time to find something or a jet board skills contest. All earn you precursor orbs which in turn earn you secrets.

Collecting Orbs
Throughout the game killing enemies causes them to leave behind two different types of orbs that help you in different ways.

Dark orbs - Once you have collected enough, your purple meter glows. If you hit L2 and L2 simultaneously then you become 'dark Jak'. You are strong and fast and it is a great help if you have loads of enemies on your back!

Green orbs- Restores health, Very important! They come in two sizes. Big and small! Small ones need to be collected and after 50 you get another health bar. Big ones give you a health bar straight away. Jak's health meter comes in three parts and every time you get hurt you lose one so you need to be very careful (and it can sometimes get annoying!)

Others
The graphics are no final fantasy, they are not groundbreaking, but they are still very good. What you see on the package is the graphics you get and they are consistent throughout the game. I have played the game for many hours and am yet to encounter a fault with the graphics. The game doesn't need to load for its graphics which is nice so you can flow through the game.
The sound is good. The main thing you notice is Daxter. Perched on your shoulder he always likes to point out the obvious. For example, you accidentally walk into dark eco and Daxter starts screaming at you about what happened the last time he went near that (referring to his ottsel state).
If you just want to play the game for the quick thrill and the story line it will take around 10 hours first time (max) - all the extras can go on for a long time with several attempts. For example, if you want to unlock all the secrets it will take a long time to find all the hidden eggs, do all the missions and find all the hidden stories. I sometimes had to get help with the races as I am useless.

Availability
The game is really easy to get. From most retail stories you can pick it up for £15. Online I saw it for as little as £7 so just search around till you can get the best bargain.

My opinion
I personally think the game is fantastic. It is playable for all the family and there is a challenge for every type of person. The game varies in its tasks to try and stop being repetitive and despite Jak's brave new dark self it works very well. I would recommend it to anyone - of course referring them to the original Jak and Daxter first.

 

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