JAK & DAXTER REVIEW

Platformer games are all about the gameplay, and Jak & Daxter has it in spades. To accompany the plot (which basically involves stopping someone bad), you must perform various tasks to achieve items named power cells so you may progress. But the sheer variety and scope of the tasks you must perform is what makes it so fun & entertaining. One hundred tasks, which range from herding cattle, to acrobatically swinging up to a high ledge, to catching fish in a net all feature, and rarely fail to bring a smile to your face, be it during or after the designated task. To accompany this, Jak (the only playable character) has a wide variety of moves which he can perform. These range from a Crash Bandicoot-style spin (if you didn't already know, Jak & Daxter was made by the people responsible for everyone's favourite marsupial, Naughty Dog), to the obligatory ground stomp (only Jak uses his fist), to an excellent move which is decidedly similar to Ryu & Ken's Dragon Punch in Streetfighter 2. Jak can also get glowing orbs (called Eco) which enhance his powers - green Eco gives him more health (and is the most common), red Eco makes him much stronger, blue Eco makes him faster and attracts nearby collectables to him, and yellow Eco gives him the ability to shoot projectiles for a short while.

The graphics in this game are absolutely astonishing - the best ever witnessed in any platformer. Not only is there an insane amount of detail in everything on screen (from little clumps of grass to an astonishing heat haze effect), but there is no draw distance either. Yes, if you get to a high point then you can look around the landscape and see areas you will have access to later during the game - practically everywhere you can see, you can go. The different areas you encounter are vast and varied, ranging from sandy beaches to a jungle, to a dark, dank swamp and an ancient underground city, all brilliantly designed offering a good balance of skill, thinking and brute force. At one point a few days ago I was playing on a snowy level in the latter part of the game and I just stopped to look at some mountains in the distance, and I saw the sun slowly setting and the moon rising shortly afterward - it literally took my breath away. Now it's not just a cosmetic effect to make it look pretty, either. The fact that you can run from any area in the game to any other, choosing whether to help people along the way, collecting orbs, or fighting or avoiding enemies gives this game a near-perfect game structure. Infact, it's got more in common with the likes of Zelda than Mario - the world is one massive landscape and there are no levels as such - just a huge play area.

The sound quality - both in music and speech - is also suitably top notch. Every once in a while you are treated to a cutscene which helps roll along the story and usually gets you an ear-bashing from your mentor, Samos the Sage. Between Samos and Daxter there are many jokes throughout the game and you will find yourself amused and entertained by the speech and the excellent script. Every time you collect a power cell, the game autosaves for you as you watch a short scene of Jak & Daxter reveling in their glory (usually involving Daxter breakdancing, or showing off his muscles, or the like). This happens in about four or five seconds and means you will rarely have to go to the options and save for yourself (although you still can whenever you want to). It's all the qualities like this which make this game feel like it's on a cartridge, not a CD and bless the game with it's perfect interface.

You have a few occasions where you have to jump on the back of a V-grav Zoomer (think one of the speeder bikes from Return of the Jedi, only with propellers) and progress through dangerous areas like grassy canyons filled with explosive barrels, or massive underground lava trenches. These bits too are great fun and the vehicle handles perfectly. You also get to ride a bird called the Flut-Flut, which grants you with it's amazing jumping skills, allowing you to perform tasks you would not otherwise be able to do, and collect more elusive power cells. The Flut-Flut too is great fun, but I'd like to have seen it featured a bit more.

The faults? Difficult, this one. As you can tell, I'm a massive fan of this game and I'm not being biased - but I think there is very little wrong here. It is (as are most platform games) a little too easy. You would most likely have it finished within about two or three weeks. I have read somewhere that due to the phenominal level of the graphics they had to make the game relatively short. As in Abe's oddysee, you have infinate lives, too. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Personally, I think they should have stuck with the Crash style of collecting extra lives, although there are times and areas in the game when it becomes a bit frustratingly easy to pop your clogs. The camera is generally very good, as you can move it as you like with the right analogue stick, but as the L2 or R2 buttons are not used it would have been nice to have a centre camera button, a la Ape Escape. Other than that I have nothing else bad to say about this game.

To sum it up, if you like platformer games, then you will love Jak & Daxter. If you like games to have a sense of humour, you will love Jak & Daxter. If you like games with good gameplay, you will love Jak & Daxter. Jak & Daxter is one of the first platformers for the PS2, and it has set the standard at dizzying heights for all the others to follow.