Daxter for PSP

Time to be contrary and state that I enjoyed Jak 2 and 3, but the first didn't impress me. It certainly isn't a bad game, but it just didn't grab my attention.

Jak 2 and 3 are pretty much two halves of the same game: same free-roaming mission design, two halves of the same storyline, and lots of areas are the same (though Jak 3's versions are updated due to the storyline's events).

Jak 2 does have problems, though: it's really really bastard hard and not in a good way. Nobody likes having to start from the beginning of the level after missing a jump right before the end of the mission. Also, some of the missions can be quite repetitive: you'll do the exact same tasks in several levels. Sure, the scenery changes, but the gameplay doesn't. And finally, the city is too large and labyrinthine. A great deal of it feels like filler because you'll never actually do anything worthwhile there.

Jak 3 fixes just about every problem with Jak 2. The same GTA-style freeroaming mission layout is the same, but the areas are condensed, the missions are much more varied, there are continue points placed at sensible locations, and the minigames are much more fun. The length is nearly identical, too - my completion time was within 20 minutes of Jak 2's, despite that Jak 3 felt like a much shorter game. I can't explain it. Must be the fun of not having to repeat a mission 15 times to finish it that made the game feel shorter, though the opposite must be true if that's the case.

My advice is to skip Jak 1 and get 2 and 3.

Oh, and I'll definitely be buying Daxter when it comes out. Finally, a good non-puzzle and non-racing game for PSP!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Jeremy

I've been steering clear of 2 and 3 just due to how boring every screen's environment looked. The first game is pretty fun, even now.

---

Jak 2 and 3 are really good; like ten times better than some of the crap you've gushed over in the past.

Not to mention they're fucking beautiful in motion.

I knew the PSP was pretty powerful for a handheld, but damn... this shits all over DS's 3d graphics. The last thing I need right now is to buy another system...

Jak 1 was an average platformer with some neat character and locale designs. It was purely vanilla, but the story was awesome. The control was also a bit spotty.

The second and third games are much less platformers as they are 3rd person "action/shooter" games. Gone is much of the platforming, though it's still there to a small degree, replaced by tons of shooting, vehicle elements, and again a ton more story.

The problem with Jak2 is that it tried to capitalize on the whole GTA phenom with pretty weak results. That being said, I still like Jak2 much more than the first game.

Jak3 is basically Jak2.5. Where in 2 we saw a huge upgrade in graphics/gameplay, 3 is pretty much just more of the same, though a bit more polished in all respects.

What I LOVE about the series is how prominent a role story plays in all three games and how well they all tie together. Each game segues perfectly into the next and the series as a whole has a much more interesting and in depth story than 95% of rpgs released this gen.

Ranking the gameplay alone, I'd put Jak below Maximo, Ratchet, and Sly, but in story Jak KILLS.

If you even slightly like 3D platformers/action games, I can't see how anyone would be dissapointed paying the greatest hits prices for the series.

IGN's Chris Roper had some hands on with one of the game's levels at CES 2006. So far sounds like it has solid control, he says animation is beautiful/on par with the console games and that it has a smooth framerate:

http://psp.ign.com/articles/679/679363p1.html

Now I just need to get off my duff and buy Jak 1. :sweat:

That was a good preview. The preview said that the style of gameplay in Daxter resembles the original Jak & Daxter game much more than its sequels. I also noticed this resemblance from the screens and videos, although it does appear to have some elements from the later games, such as the Metal Heads and the Skull Gems you get when defeating them.

Earlier tonight, I went back and watched the videos that IGN had posted back in May of last year on this page:

http://media.psp.ign.com/media/688/688226/vids_1.html

Look at the richly detailed backgrounds, the smooth animation, and the variety of gameplay being showcased. What they've demonstrated is really impressive, and you have to consider that these are old videos from eight months ago. I'd like to know just how much progress has been made in development since that time.

Also, to answer a question that Dylan1CC asked earlier in the thread:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Dylan1CC

Do you get to play as Daxter at all in the PS2 games?

---

In Jak & Daxter, you only control Jak directly. Daxter tags along for the ride (usually perched on Jak's shoulder), and spouts off wisecracks and occasionally dispenses valuable hints as well, but you never take direct control of him without Jak.

In Jak II and Jak 3, there are a few portions of the game where you control Daxter directly as an independent character, but they're rather infrequent. I'd estimate these portions make up less than 5% of both games. The Daxter segments are generally simpler platforming or chase sequences, which in some ways are a throwback (and homage) to the Crash Bandicoot games on PS1 that Naughty Dog originally developed. They are a welcome break from the more "exploratory" style of platforming that makes up a larger portion of these games.

Jak X: Combat Racing has Daxter as a playable driver in Exhibition Mode. While we're on the subject, you'll be able to use a USB cable to connect a PSP containing Daxter to the PS2 containing Jak X: Combat Racing to unlock secrets or special features in both games.

^^^^

Thanks for answering my question, X.

And yeah, forgot that it will have unlockable extras via the Jak racer.

It is sounding more and more like a very good platformer. Too bad the game will force me to update my firmware again. I don't want 2.6. Help us Fanjita eboot updates, you're our only hope. :(

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Interpol

Jak 2 was horrible and I haven't bothered with 3, as it looks like J2 but with more stuff.

Jak 1, however, is a masterpiece. Get Jak 1, skip Jak 2 and get Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando instead.

---

lol. What the hell's wrong with you? How is Jak 1 a masterpiece and Jak 2 horrible? How far did you get? The only sucky things about Jak 2 are the somewhat muted color scheme, which goes with the story, and the admittedly sad and misguided I'm-a-platformer-but-I-can-be-edgy-too GTA elements. Everything else is leagues better than the first. Not "horrible" on any scale. Such exaggeration. Calm down.

On another note (the thread's note as luck would have it), Daxter will be awesome. He's my favorite platformer sidekick. Always well-written. Never annoying. Stays out of your way during gameplay. I don't get all the complaints against him. The only thing I don't like is how he keeps buggins you to go back to the city when a mission's over.

Lengthy new preview and developer video interview from IGN. Sounds better and better all the time (haters may say the bug spray is a 'rip off' of Sunshine's water nozzle but it would be fine by me if Daxter ended up being the better action game ya know?). More confirmation that the graphics will probably be the most impressive on the system to date, "true console/PS2 quality." Also, I am finally getting off my duff and buying the first Jak tomorrow after work. :)

http://psp.ign.com/articles/688/688304p1.html

A few excerpts:

Quote:

---

Easily the most impressive thing about the game, at least initially, has to be the game's visual presentation. The quality of animation is as good as anything we've seen on consoles, and truthfully it's better than most. This is true of normal gameplay, but also of the animated cutscenes, which the team rendered using the game's 3D engine. Furthermore, some of the shared environments between Daxter and Jak II, such as the sweeping cityscapes, share identical geometry and textures. So certain scenes don't just look like their PS2 counterparts, they actually are - very nice. Fans of the series will be happy to know all voice talent returns for every major character, and the game packs 32 minutes of cutscenes penned by the same author as previous games.

---

Quote:

---

Daxter plays much more like the first game in the series, Jak and Daxter, than Jak II or Jak X: Combat Racing. This is because developers wanted to make a traditional platformer, instead of a game that tried to mix too many genres while mastering none. As such, we spent most of our time with Daxter avoiding obstacles, exploring vast environments and killing bugs. Daxter has a lot of "platforming without platforms" as the developers like to put it, because much of the action revolves around hovering. Yes, hovering. Daxter can use his pesticide gun to levitate throughout the environments in short, 10-second spurts.

---

edit: And how is this for a cool extra minigame mode?

Quote:

---

Another cool extra, Bug Combat, looks to add a ton of replay value. Bug Combat is actually an illegal sport in the Daxter universe, much like cockfighting here, but hey - it's fun. We found out that players will need to collect bugs throughout the game and outfit them with weapons and various attacks by finding hidden tokens. Once a bug is ready to roll, players can enter them in battle arenas to fight other bugs over the PSP's wireless Ad-Hoc functionality. Each player can modify their respective bugs in real-time, and there are apparently over 240,000 bug combinations, according to developers. The actual battle interface looked cool and not like it was designed as a last minute addition to the game.

---

IGN's Chris Roper gives Daxter a 9. Says it focuses on platforming nicely, very tight control, some of the most beautiful visuals and animation on the system to date, almost no loading in game and next to no slowdown. Only drawback is challenge is a bit on the easy side at times and the story is not as involved as the Jak series.

http://psp.ign.com/articles/694/694798p1.html

Quote:

---

Daxter is simply an outstanding PSP game that brings back the old-school platform gaming the industry has been shying more and more away from. Sure, its story is kind of ridiculous and even a little boring, but the events that said story lead into are fantastic. From the great level design to the ultra-refined controls to the excellent production values, Daxter is a game every PSP gamer should check out.

---