Jak 3

"Anyone who doesn't love this game doesn't know.... squat!"

Super Mario Bros 3. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Super Metroid. Jak II. What do all those games have in common? They are sequels that dramatically improved upon their predecessor(s). Jak II was one of my favorite 3D platformers of all time, it had an intensity rarely seen in them. Compared to Crash Bandicoot: Free Roaming, er, Jak and Daxter, it was a huge improvement, ditching my despised aimless wandering, putting in much more variety in transportation and attacks, and adding what is easily the best story ever in a platformer.

That paragraph could spark dozens of pages of arguments over J&D and the other series mentioned, so let's switch to the game at hand: Jak 3. Jak 3 is the third Jak game (hey, someone might not have known that!) and the final in the story arc started in Jak and Daxter. Despite how highly I think of Jak II, it had some noticeable flaws, and Naughty Dog hoped to fix them in Jak 3. As evidenced by the score, I think they succeeded.

Story:
As mentioned, Jak II had an absolutely incredible story for a platformer, holding its own against games from more story centric genres. It greatly expanded upon the simple story from Jak and Daxter about the title characters quests to turn Daxter (the weasel like creature, called an ottsel) back into a human. Jak's world revolves around eco, an energy source that comes in several different colors, each with unique powers. Daxter fell in dark eco, causing his transformation. He and Jak set out to search for a cure, along the way meeting with villains who were exposed to dark eco. The game ended with the characters discovering a mysterious glowing ring portal, something involving the technology of an ancient race called the Precursors.

Jak II picked up right after J&D, or so it seemed. Our heroes and their friends Samos the sage and his daughter Keira entered the portal, and emerged in a very different place. The futuristic, dark, oppressive, ironically named Haven City. Jak was grabbed by the army of the city and experimented on for two years. The experiments involved pumping him full of dark eco. Eventually, Daxter rescued Jak. But Jak was... different.

Then the opening cinema ended. I don't want to spoil the story of Jak II, so I'll just say Jak joined a resistance force and freed the city from its tyrannical ruler and defeated the Metal Heads, a dangerous race of monsters.

Jak 3 actually does pick up right where Jak II left off. Jak has been made a scapegoat for what happened to the city in Jak II, and is banished to the wastelands, a desert area outside the city. Jak is found and captured by a city made up of people banished from Haven City, and from there the story continues.

Jak 3's story is every bit as good as Jak II's. There are several very surprising twists, and the dialogue is entertaining through out. Although the main story is very serious, there is plenty of well done comic relief. As I've repeatedly said, best story in any platformer.
Story score: 10/10

Gameplay:
Jak 3 is an action-platformer at heart, but it has a lot of variety. The biggest side attraction is driving. You can drive many vehicles in Jak 3, mainly divided between weapon equipped dune buggies for the desert and futuristic hover cars in the city. The driving has some problems, but it is manageable. Despite some control problems, driving is still fun.

In addition to driving, there are several shooter sequences similar to light gun games. These were very well done, without the frustration that a similar sequence in Jak II had. There are also skating sequences, and more types of mini-games. Jak 3 has lots of variety.

But regardless, the platforming is the best part. The control is perfect, making the platforming very enjoyable. There are lots of enemies and several guns you can use against them, all of which have a distinct use. There could be more platforming, but what's there is incredible and the other parts of the game are still incredibly fun.

Another thing you have in the game is Light Jak and Dark Jak transformations. Activating these will turn Jak into a different form, filled with light or dark eco. You can use new powers in these forms to help you in combat or platforming, and thankfully, the energy for them is much easier to refill then the dark meter's energy was in Jak II.

Jak II also has a huge amount of secrets. Throughout the game, you can find 600 precursor orbs hidden in levels or as a reward for doing an optional mission. These are used to purchase from a gigantic list of secrets. One thing I especially appreciated was getting to choose the order you buy secrets in, so if you only want some secrets you don't have to track down every single orb.

A complaint many had about Jak II was the difficulty. I thought these complaints were exaggerated, but Jak 3 has the difficulty toned down. Unable to be pleased, some have complained the game was too easy, but I thought it still presented a reasonable challenge, and there's a (much easier to unlock then last time) higher difficulty setting available after you beat the game.

Jak 3 has a lot of content, with over 50 missions in the story and dozens of optional ones. I got through the game fairly quickly, but that was because I couldn't pry myself away from it. The game has plenty of replay value with the orbs, secrets, and mainly just being a lot of fun to play again.
Gameplay score: 10/10

Graphics:

Another area where Jak 3 excels is in graphics. The areas are varied and beautiful. The game initially has a desert theme, with a wasteland, desert village, and volcano. However, soon enough you'll find more varied areas, including the city from Jak II. You're constantly finding new environments. The enemies are also very well detailed, with rag doll physics implemented to make destroying them more fun to watch. The weapon effects also shine, I especially liked shooting the new ricocheting several times and watching the bullets bounce everywhere. The overall graphics are amazing.
Graphics score: 10/10

Sound:
You guessed it, Jak 3 is also great in the audio department. The music fits, and while not the catchiest ever, it works. The voice acting is superb, every character has a distinct voice and no lines sound wrong. The sound effects perfectly compliment the action.
Sound score: 9/10

Story: 10/10
Gameplay: 10/10
Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 9/10
Overall: (not an average) 10/10

Conclusion:
To repeat my basic theme throughout the review, Jak 3 is an incredible game. Though some may find it a little easy or short, it is fun to play all the way through, with tons of replay value. Throw in the exceptional story and graphical/audio effects and you have a fantastic platformer every PS2 owner should have.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/17/04