Jak II

Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment
Developer: Naughty Dog
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: Teen
Platform(s): PS2

Score: 8

Review by: Tim Harris

            Take a seat in your lazy boy guys. It's time to Jak 2! Ok, I know, the opening sentence sounds pretty nasty, but it's true. Everyone can now Jak 2 and by that I mean play Jak & Daxter 2 for the PS2. It seems the developers wanted something a little more darker this time around. I'm happy to see that these developers know that by adding "X" to a title, it doesn't make it hard-core, or more extreme, or more violent. Like "Freestyle Metal X" or "BMX XXX." Boy, what a disaster that was. Anyway back to Jak 2. To make Jak darker, the designers had him arrested, tortured for 2 years, and given a goatee. Because we all know, nothing says "I'm evil", like facial hair.

The duo is in there home city, in a bleak, and terrible future. The city is mostly composed of slums, destroyed buildings, and pollution. Basically, it's Jak and Daxter, go to the ghetto. Um no, but that would make for an interesting platform game. Oh that's right, I almost forgot, this is a platform game. Which means, there's going to be jumping, running, and swinging from bars. But it doesn't matter, because the game is so darn fun. There's been a couple of additions. One is weapons. Now the combat is a lot more intense, and you blast enemies from a distance, rather than throw down with them. Also there's dark eco. Collect enough and you can become dark Jak. Yes, all that work and effort and the best name they could come up with is "Dark Jak." The city is free roaming, but only to a certain extent. It's really only used to get from point A to point B. or in other words to get your next mission. You can steal cars, but don't expect any "Grand Theft Auto" clones here. The final feel of the game is pretty good. The cut-scenes help forward the story flawlessly. So for good game play, good graphics, and overall fun time, I'm happy to give Jak 2 an 8 out of 10.