"A solid platformer for the PSP"

I loved the original Jak and Daxter. Then Jak 2 came along and left a nasty taste in my mouth and a 2 year gap. Daxter for the PSP fills in that gap and it's perhaps the best platformer on either of the current handheld systems.

Daxter ends up in Haven City. He winds up at an exterminators place and starts killing bugs. It's a very basic plot but it fills in that small gap in time between the games. It doesn't show much of what happened to Jak but it does show what Daxter was up to.

Graphics wise Daxter looks good. The character models are rather impressive. The city itself is fairly large but it's also rather empty with zero zoomers around and no people on the streets. The level designs are great, some of the best I've seen in the past few years. I never noticed load times; a little lag happened during the times where the game was saving but over all the graphics are fantastic.

Sound wise the game is nice as well. Daxter sounds the same and is probably the same voice actor. Rest of the cast is still up to the par rest of the series. Music was fantastic and I really enjoyed it. Sound effects are also good. Steps change sound depending what you're on, clatter of things, rocks crumble. It all sounds great.

Those who have played a number of PSP titles know the control isn't always the best for these 3D titles. I will admit that this title does have a few small problems but after the first hour, if that, you'll have the hang of it. Driving is simple and easy. Even Daxter moves with ease. The camera is moved with the L and R buttons, which was easy to remember and wasn't used that often. Jumping, hovering, attacking, spraying and all of that is easy. It actually feels like for the harder platforming bits the game uses a loose auto target to make it easier with the PSP's nub.

Daxter plays just like Jak 3. You're in a very limited city and the map shows where your next location is. You have a home base of sorts that allows you to enter the mini games when you unlock them. The city acts as the main hub and you enter each new location. I'd say there are about 15 levels total. Some may have the same theme but are very different layout wise and goal wise.

The levels are fairly large, tend to wrap around them selves and come off bigger than they really are. Enemies fill the levels and sadly they lack variety but to be honest each new bug will cause you a problem until you learn how they fight. The bosses are also big but kind of easy to figure out.

Daxter can swat the bugs or later on he can spray them, which stuns them. What's really cool is as you get further you gain 2 new powers for the sprayer. These make the game way easier than it should but also add to some of the puzzles later on. Say you need to land on a platform full of bugs. Switch the sonic spray on and then do a hover, causing a bomb to drop on them. The fire spray makes you jump a smidge higher which I didn't realize until I really had to use it and was getting annoyed. The catch of course is those 2 new add ons use up more spray power, which can be refilled by touching the green spots that are randomly about.

The game also offers a variety of setups. Some levels are purely vehicle based which breaks up the platforming nicely. Others are pure platforming fun. The final stage actually takes some notes from Metal Gear Solid and plays like a stealth mission. It really broke the final few stages up for me and allowed me to beat the second half of the game at work.

The game offers a lot of replay value. There are 1001 orbs to find. A ton of metal head things as well. Collecting these nets you some mini games and making of and other fun things. The mini games are a blast. They are all movie based (Indiana Jones, Matrix, lord of The Rings, ECT). The idea behind them is you're waiting for the enemy to get to X spot and you need to hit the button that is shown when he gets to it. It sounds easy but it gets rather hectic on some of them. The game itself only took me about 9 hours or so but that's at only 50% complete.

I rented Daxter and I will be buying my own copy soon. I really enjoyed it that much. The humor from the other games in the series is still here and this is one of the few portable games that actually feel like a full fledged console games (excluding the RPGS, which that genre feels slightly overrun at the moment).

Story - 7/10
Graphics - 8/10
Sound - 9/10
Control - 8/10
Game Play - 9/10
Replay value - 8/10

Final Score - 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/31/06