Jak 3

"Two words... HELLA FUN!!!!"

Jak 3 is a great game. It has an involving story and plot. It also boasts the newly added rag doll effects which adds life-like falling to the enemies that you kick, punch, shoot, and eventually kill. Wouldn't it be nice if you could see your enemy tumbling down the stairs after you kick it. Anyway, the sound is pretty good, the graphics could have been done better, but they're okay. Overall, I would give the game an 8.8, but, as it says, no fractions, so I went with an nine. They game itself could have used more depth, but I'd say that it's pretty good as it is.

The story: I 'm going to go through the whole thing for all those non-hardcore gamers out there to bring you up to speed. In the last game, you see Jak beat Metal Kor and you see a "Precursor" come out of the Precursor Stone. Metal Kor tries to fly into a portal to escape, but dies instead.Jak sends the little him through the portal so that he could grow up to become the Jak we know and love. Everything seems like it's going to quiet down, the Metal Heads are dead, Sig's back, unfortunately Vin's dead, and everything looks like it's going to be a happy ending. Guess what, it is!!... at least for now. (Now we move into Jak 3) Somehow, a few very strong metal heads have survived and have taken over part of Haven city (the city that Jak lives in) and set up shop with a giant and menacing looking tower. On another, even worse note, KG (Krimzon Guard) death bots (robots with guns and lasers) have taken over another part of the city. They don't have a tower, noooooooo, they have a giant factory... floating in the air!!! An evil dude named Count Veger (known to the Great Daxter as Count Vegan and Count Vulgar) decides that he hates you, your dark powers (kinda like super powers, but evil), and the damn dark eco (purplish stuff that gives you your dark powers) inside you. Sooooo, he banishes you, leaves you in the desert to be roasted by the sun, and leaves you to get the darkest tan in the world. Oh, don't forget death, sweet old death. Your hot friend (Ashelin) slips you a beacon and tells you that someone will find you. After some arguing between Daxter and Pecker (The loud mouth ottsel and the annoying bird-monkey) who got left in the desert too, and two flash backs, you faint. Someone finds you and soon enough, you are introduced. His name is Damas, the ruler of Spargus City, a city outside Haven and in the supposedly uninhabitable wasteland (desert). Later in the game you learn the real quest. If you hardcore gamers out there remember Errol from Jak 2, well, he's back. He's meaner, tougher, uglier, and.....um... more metallic than ever. You have to stop him from harnessing these, alien powers, before he destroys the "earth". That's about it. You can find out all the little details when you buy the game.

Game play: The game play is great in this game. The weapons are great and the fun is infinite. As I said before, the story is very involving. You don't just go around and kill people (most of the time), but there are puzzles too. There are parts where you have to ride the jetboard to finish certain tasks. By the way, there is now a weapon on the jetboard. The dune buggies are great to drive and, obviously, they have weapons. As you progress through the game, you earn more vehicles. There are some vehicles that must be bought in the secrets menu, and unfortunately, they're the best ones. The weapon system has been adjusted slightly for the extra weapons. Since you will carry more than four weapons for most of the game, you now have lto hold down the directional pad to put away the weapon. The only kinda odd part of the game is the consistency. The following are a few examples. At the beginning of the game it seems that you are stripped of all your weapons, but when you get to the arena at Spargus, Damas hands you your old scatter gun. In another part, since Sig is a citizen of Spargus, it implies that he was banished as well. If he was banished, how come he was in Haven city in the last game. He clearly wasn't banished in between the two games, because Jak is surprised to find him there and, in the last game they say that Sig is a wastelander. There are a few odd inconsistencies like that in the game, but nothing serious. Overall, the gameplay is about a 9/10.

Sound, Graphics, and spl. efx.: The sound in this game is good. There isn't any lame elevator music like in some games, but it's not anything great. The sound makes sense for the level you are playing and usually adds the right effect on the game. There are no corny sound tracks or anything, just plain, yet fitting music. The graphics are okay, but not as great as I expected it to be. It kinda let me down after all the build up, but not so much so as other games. I'd say that NaughtyDog could have made more of an effort on the graphics because the dirt which flies up from the wheels of you dune buggy looks really fake. Even in the desert, there aren't that many rocks, and they don't even look like rocks. In fact, they look more like slightly undersized mud balls. The special affects were really good. There were no mistimed sounds, and the lava looked more like lava than red-orange water. I thought they could have add a little more "twist" on the weapons. You are supposed to be able to charge the peace maker, but charging it doesn't really make it stronger, and for the vulcan fury, you can't even walk around while shooting. You just stand there and turn the flocking enemies into a puddle in a few seconds. Overall, this stuff gets a 7.5

Re-playability: Oddly enough, this game has really good re-playability. First, you can replay it on hero mode. Then, you can challenge yourself to finish the game faster, get all the precursor orbs, or just for fun. You could just keep on playing. Once you get bored, play some other game for a month or so, and then come back to this game. You'll still be happy with it. I am. score: 9.5/10

Rent or buy: Although this is a short game, the first time through may take you more than a few days. If your really familiar with the controls on your first time through, you'll still need at least a week. I'd say buy, but if you're not sure about how great this game really is, you can rent it to try it out. Don't worry, it's really fun.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/20/06