Jak 3

"A great game, but a little lackluster when compared to Jak II"

I received Jak II as a Christmas present last year, and was expecting it to be a boring, kiddy plat-former. To my delight, I was wrong. It was a fantastic, engrossing game. It broke the mold set by most modern games be being frustratingly difficult at times.

So of course I was eagerly anticipating Jak 3. When I got it, I quickly became immersed in it, just as I had done with the other game. However, I didn't find this particular addiction as satisfying.

GAMEPLAY -- 8

When you get down to it, Jak 3 is simply fun to play. That's what really matters, isn't it? It's satisfying to ride around on a Leaper, or to manhandle marauders in your vehicles, or to just go 'round killin' folk as Dark Jak. You run, you drive, you shoot, you hover, you shoot some more, you punch, you even fly. This game runs the gambit as far as abilities go. Repetition is sometimes a problem, especially when you have to play the same part over and over again. You will die a lot in this game, and sometimes you'll reload a good ways back. Be prepared to play through some areas more than once. On the bright side, this doesn't happen much until later in the game, so that aspect really just helps the natural difficulty progression. Also, it seems as if you use the same techniques for most of the games, while some of your more interesting options aren't necessary. Another major gripe with gameplay is length. This game isn't as long or hard as it's predecessor.

GRAPHICS -- 9

If you like your games to have realistic imagery, this really isn't the one for you. Otherwise, this game is perfectly fine visually. Everything looks good in this game. The character models are especially nice. However, it really isn't anything to write home about. Naughty Dog gets extra points for sticking with their unique style though.

SOUND –- 8

The audio in Jak 3 is just like the visual. Go ahead and look at the previous paragraph and consider this a “ditto”. Of course, not completely, else this would get a nine. Sound gets an 8 because of Jak himself. The rest of the VA crew is pretty good, but Jak and a couple of other characters just sound too cheesy.

STORY -- 6

This is one of the bigger let-downs. Jak II had a marvelous plot, but Jak 3's just seems vapid. There are some nice points to be sure, but most of it either amounts to nothing, is melodramatic, or is pulled out of thing air.

MISCELLANIOUS -- 10

Jak 3 really is a good game. It has pretty high standards to meet, but it really isn't fair to judge this game in comparison. As a stand-alone entity, it really is fun. This is a good purchase for fans of the genre, and a good rental for others.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/03/05