Daxter

"Why, the nerve of you Daxter! Come over here and get your slap!"

Hiya- welcome to my third review here on gamefaqs. Daxter is a very decent (although very short) game for the PSP console which can appeal to any gamer- so in other words, you don't need to have played the other games in the series to appreciate this.

Thinking of getting Daxter for the PSP, are you? Thinking that it'll redeem the PSP in your mind, are you? Thinking 'well it should, especially after me blowing over 200 smackers on the bloody system only to be met with a slew of incredibly dissapointing and overpriced games with shoddy graphics and gameplay! I thought this system could do stuff like mimic the PS2's capabilities, for cryin' out loud! Maybe I ought to teach Sony a lesson and buy meself a DS! That'll show them!'

Well it was smart to read this review, fellow PSP hopeful- I'll give you a totally un-biased analysis. I've never played any of the Jak and Daxter games and have but one frolic for the PS2- Final Fantasy X.

First off, let me get to the graphics. Whenever I buy sommat, especially a game, I always do a huge amount of research on the item as I hate to spend money. Every single site I visited (including gamespot, which gave the game the 'Editor's Choice' award for excellence) was just going nuts over the graphics, using words like dream and gorgeousness. Although I have the strapping body of an 18 year old, I have the mental capabilities of a small child (probably with some severe case of attension deficit dissorder to boot) so my imagination tends to build things up in my head, and I was thus dissapointed when I first fired Daxter up.

However after investing some time in the game, I eventually began warming up to it. It's still not fun addictive gameplay or really that original, but it's a pretty standard platformer, decent on any system, making it among the top 10 games in the PSP's current roster.

There are some impressive animations here, like when Daxter is scaling walls- you can really notice some fluid, lizard-like body movements as his actions course through his body, ending in his tail. However, this entire game feels like its all scaling walls and jumping/hovering; its 85% platforming and 15% action- in other words, 100% repetitive.

The action revolves around Daxter spraying things with his souped up can of Raid and then swatting his opponents (which don't vary very often) with a flyswatter. You can get power ups for the sprayer every few levels, but thats aboot it. Cutscenes move the plot along to the next level, but you'll find after a while your only playing for the next cutscene.

There are also some very fun mini-games you can get by collecting precurser orbs scattered throughout the levels. These mini-games are probably the true shining redeeming point in the game. They are controlled via pressing the corresponding button when you're prompted to do so, and it is quite fun- better than looking for the orbs or playing through the levels. However, a major gripe in the game is that the map doesn't tell you where the place where the mini games are kept (Osmo's shop) so you gotta kill a load of time in frusteration looking for the blamed place.

Another aspect of the game I couldn't quite get into was the multiplayer- Bug Combat. Its a sort of a rock/paper/scissors fare, where you choose a bug and customize him, and play him against the CPU or human opponent, but it didn't really interest me. I suppose it tacks on some extra points to the replay/lasting value of the game, and its good to be able to choose different bugs/customizing agents, so maybe friends will get a kick out of it.

The sound (next to the mini-games) is probably the very best aspect of Daxter. The music is catchy (and orchestraed by musical instruments- something that always impresses me) and the voice acting is hilarious. It is impressive, like how the sound changes if Daxter begins walking on a pile of coins, or he starts up his scooter. Some very subtle, very nice stuff here, folks.

Truth be told, it is a good game for the PSP, probably the best considering some of the derivitive applesauce on the system right now. The PSP is supposed to be an incredibly powerful system, able to duplicate the PS2's graphic's engine, but I'm getting sick of Sony allowing developers releasing sub-par, derivitive, cookie-cutter games to a dissapointed public.

Daxter is an example of a PSP game that had some work go into it, but still it isn't that great- definetely not as good as everyone's making it out to be. This game should be the standard level of criteria for the PSP, not the best, because, at best, its a slightly above-average game. It'll satisfy you in a pinch, but just so. Be sure to RENT this game before you buy it.

To end this review, when's the PSP going to get a Castlevania game, huh? The DS is soon getting ANOTHER Castlevania game- the Play Station Portable doesn't even get one?! C'mon people! Mail a letter to Sony or sommat for good games, like Castlevania/Resident Evil/Final Fantasy/Silent Hill- stuff that made the PS2 so great! 'Nuff said!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/18/06