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Review: Having gained a refund for the mediocre "Dredd vs Death"I opted to take a gamble on Jak 2: Renegade having played the impressive demo...cutesy characters ? What the hell its worth a spin (So thought this 31 yr old vetran gamer) My God ! This game has restored my faith that the PS2 is still king of the Hill . On graphics & eye candy alone I think Jak 2 gives the X-box a run for its money . PS2 users may agree that liquid & water effects have always been a little bit of a hit & miss affair when it comes to the PS2's graphics engine. Jak 2 delivers some devasting punches on the 'water front'-Beautiful rippling portals, shimmering lakes of Dark ecco & rolling lakes of lethal lava. Hold on a moment , lets get to the game. I haven't played Jak & Daxter so you'll have to forgive the fact that until this point I've never seen anything like this on the PS2. Jak 2 plays a lot like Vice City except on an alien world in a city called Haven city, this place is VAST & believable. Within half an hour of learning the ropes I was in absolute awe , flying cars that you can hijack , highly populated streets & alleyways . You get to free roam & explore to your hearts content . Like GTA you'll need to find your way to points on the map to embark on missions that will progress the story . The developers have obviously taken note of the success of Pixar movies in terms of pleasing adults as well as kids. The humour is sharp & acccessible whatever your age. I've been more than impressed with the seamless way the game offers new environments away from Haven city, dark caves, sewers, a forest , mining facilities & so on. No loading screens , no waiting around, no watching the scenery pop up out of no where (GTA3,Vice city)Jak 2 provides a fully immersive alien world.Lovers of detail & eye candy will really appreciate the use of perspective is employed; for example on many missions you will find yourself at a high point in the scenery which provides a vista to look at the city from afar , you then notice that you can see other environments from other levels outside of the city walls . Its jawdroppingly seamless & highly satisfying. You'll be left wondering 'How did they cram it all into the PS2 ?' In terms of content , Naughty Dog have pulled a few aces, there's the 'GTA 'style of game play , there's the 'Tony hawk' style of gameplay , there's "Wipeout" style of gameplay, Space shooter style, smash & collect , jump & grab style and so on . Once again , the jumps in styles have been seamlessly blended , so much so you don't even question it when it happens. Another review criticised the 'Time trial ' missions, its your reviewers opinion that this style of mission only takes up a small fraction of the game , yes some of them are hard & frustrating but would'nt you feel short changed if a game was too easy ? In every way so far this game has presented beautiful graphics & smooth gameplay . Wonderful particle effects used appropriately , every trick the PS2 can produce with graphics has been carefully added to the world of Jak 2 with consideration instead of overkill . The music & sound suit the style & pace , the story is excellent , the jokes are funny ...I could ramble on . In summary .. 10/10 graphics.
10/10 Gameplay/plot
9/10 Sound
10/10 Upgrades & weapons
11/10 Value for money For anyone who thought the GTA series is as good as it gets ,Jak2 pushes the envelope 100 miles further .A most surprising & overall mega-satisfying purchase.Buy it ! | 
PC & Video Games
