Review
The PS2 is finally getting its fair share of platform games, and Jak and Daxter is a corker. Following the adventures of the yellow-haired Jak and his wisecracking sidekick Daxter (newly transformed into a rodent, and not happy about it), the game is a free-roaming 3-D adventure, very much along the lines of the N64's Banjo-Kazooie, only less irritating. The gameplay, while not breaking any new ground, is perfectly polished and diverse enough to keep the interest high throughout. The main body of the game involves running, jumping, and spinning around the world collecting orbs and power cells and bashing enemies, but there are also racing, fishing, and sliding bits, and all are very well done.
The game's seamless world allows you to move between areas and missions pretty much at will; there are no loading times whatsoever, a lesson that the latest Crash Bandicoot game would have done well to learn. What's more, the irritation of having to restart levels and collect everything again if you lose all your energy is mercifully absent here. The graphics are truly scrumptious and the sound lush--and, much to our surprise, the script is good and the characterization and voice acting not half bad. It's not quite as amusing and cleverly thought out as Rare's aforementioned N64 stalwart--or the company's more recent Conker's Bad Fur Day--but it's pretty close.
The downsides? It's maybe a bit too easy for seasoned gamers--though by no means a cinch--and the magnificent graphics have eaten up memory that might have been used to make the game longer. As tradeoffs go, though, it's pretty reasonable. Bring on the sequel! --Rikki Price -- .co.uk
