"Who you gonna call? The Daxternator!"

Ready at Dawn Studios has taken over the Jak and Daxter series for development on the PSP (as they will also be doing for the God of War series) and gave it a much needed shot in the arm. It's not as good as Naughty Dog's original game, but it's much better than Jak 2. With Jak gone the way of the anti-hero, Daxter is the series only light-hearted character. So not only is it a novel idea making the little otter/weasel the game's hero, but unless Ready at Dawn Studios wanted to make a darkly serious game, they'd have no choice but to give Daxter his own game, which he rightly deserves.

The Good:
+ Daxter's humor is in top form
+ Simple and fun gameplay
+ The optional mini-games

The Bad:
- A tad on the easy side, especially when you get the flamethrower
- Not enough cutscenes to build Daxter's character

The Ugly
:( Takes place during Jak's torture, just before he becomes an anti-hero

Story—8/10

The story takes place right after the first game, and just before the second, and thus, before the series goes the way of the oppression of fun. It begins with Daxter running away from the Krimson guards, just as Jak was captured by them. He promises he will rescue Jak, but ends up at a bar where he is just about to meet the local exterminator, whose business is being threatened by a big business/government official. The bugs are getting bigger and the exterminator's employees are too scared to fight them.

This sad exterminator is sitting at a bar having a drink when he hears Daxter telling the cute bartender the story of how he fought the Krimson guards and defeated them. It's obviously exaggerated, but Daxter tells all of his stories with such confidence and vigor that they're entertaining to listen to. And when there's a cute girl in the area, his charms automatically turn on, as though he can't even help it. The exterminator is the only man gullible enough to believe Daxter's tale and enlists him to help his failing business. Of course, Daxter can't refuse, and besides, the exterminating provides for him a way to crawl around the city and search for Jak. The cutscenes telling the story are all well done, as is the voice-acting.

The story jumps around a bit, forgets key characters, and introduces new characters who serve little use, except perhaps to color the cast. There's one character in particular, a woman named Taryn, who seems to exist only for some eye candy and to attempt to liven up the dialogue. The scenes with her are some of the least funny of those that attempt humor, but the camera has a way of situating both Taryn and Daxter in the shot so that gamers get a view of her bare back and thong sticking from above her pants line. That's great and all, but these are just polygonal models, and it's silly to sexualize them. It seems like Taryn was placed in the game in order to cover any of the bad jokes. Otherwise, Daxter has some truly funny lines, especially when under pressure and putting on his bravery routine, which he does quite effectively. Probably the funniest scene has to do with Daxter bringing his employer's vehicle back to the base.

Gameplay—9/10

The game truly shines in this department, which is where it counts in action/platform games. It leaves behind the complex shooting gameplay of Jak 2 and harks back to the simple action of Jak and Daxter. Sometimes simple is redundant, but Daxter provides the gamer upgrades and new moves throughout the game to keep things interesting. Early on, Daxter only has an electrified flyswatter, a few moves, the ability to crawl, and his double jump. Defeating the bugs is just as simple as pressing the square button, which, admittedly, would grow redundant over time, but Ready at Dawn provides additional weapons for Daxter to use. Ready at Dawn borrows from Jak 2, using only one firearm and simply replacing a canister to change the type of weapon fire, and this is fine. The first weapon you get is a gas gun, which temporarily stuns enemies so you can give them a few good whacks. Against many of the tough enemies you'll come across, this weapon is a necessity, especially against the tunneling bugs. The gun receives two other attachments, the second being the flamethrower, and from that point on, the combat becomes much easier. One shot from the flamethrower kills most every bug instantly. The other weapon is a plasma grenade type weapon that is only useful for the level you get it at and the last couple of bosses.

Also sticking with Jak and Daxter tradition, Ready at Dawn gives Daxter some vehicles to ride around. One of the more fun parts of Jak 2, admittedly, was driving the vehicles around the city. Daxter gets a small scooter, though he can't steal vehicles like Jak, and rides around town that way. There are a few levels where you have to pilot a vehicle, and all of them are quite fun. The first level has you spraying some infected plants so they can continue to grow, and then spray some infected bugs. The environments in all of the vehicle missions are wonderful to look at, reminding me of one of Jak 2's shining moments that takes place in a lush, green forest—a nice break from the drab city colors. Sometimes the visuals truly enhance or devalue the gameplay, and in Daxter, they serve to enhance it

Precursor orb collecting is back, with one thousand orbs to collect throughout the course of the game. They do nothing except unlock some mini-games, and when you've unlocked all of those, they unlock bonus stuff that isn't really as interesting. Collecting five hundred of the orbs is enough to get everything you'll need. The mini-games are very fun button sequence games. It requires a strong memory of the PSP button layout, which for PS2 gamers, should be a done deal. The game takes scenes from box office hits such as The Matrix, Indiana Jones, and Lord of the Rings, and casts Daxter as the lead character, battling his foes. These are dreams, of course, and provide some extra humor along with a break from the platforming and shooting. The games grow more complex as you play them, requiring the D-pad as well as the face buttons. Beating them provides good rewards, though, such as extra moves and life bars. My only complaint is that I wish there were more of these mini-games.

Visuals/Sound—10/10

The graphics engine that Insomniac and Naughty Dog developed for their games does a very good job of making nice looking environments, with a few hitches (like the fact that some flat surfaces push you off when you jump on them), but I think Naughty Dog has put it to the best use, when it's not using it to create a drab city, that is. Ready at Dawn also puts this engine to good use. The game looks slick on the rather large, powerful handheld and rarely lags. Needless to say, the visuals will not disappoint.

The voice acting is very good, especially for Daxter. There aren't really any hitches with sound, and it all adds appeal overall to the game. Also, fortunately, Ready at Dawn does not use those one-liners many comedy games use, you know, those lines that are used over and over again and grow older and less funny each time they're used. Those lines that aren't even that funny in the first place. Yeah, Ready at Dawn doesn't pollute its game with those, thankfully.

Longevity—9/10

My only real complaint is that I wish the game was a little longer, but there's no real harm in a short game. In our busy world, sometimes a short game is best, as it provides the satisfaction of completion without making you invest forty or fifty hours. And there's no reason you will quit mid-game. I say this little company called Ready at Dawn studios should be given some support, and here's to hoping they can do something with the stale God of War series.

Overall—9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/29/07, Updated 08/31/07

Game Release: Daxter (Greatest Hits) (US, 2007)