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[img align=right width=200]http://www.rfgeneration.com/images/games/U-072/bf/U-072-S-01010-A.jpg[/img]After their wildly succesful Crash Bandicoot series on the original Playstation, Naughty Dog decided to venture into the unknown for the PS2 and in 2001 they came out with Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.
I'll cut right to the chase: Jak and Daxter was one of the first PS2 games I played and has since conquered a special place in my heart. Why? Because it rocks, plain and simple.
The game's story isn't anything spectacular but serves its purpose well, for a game in the Platform-genre. Jak and Daxter are two friends who adventure to Misty Island where they find a group of lurkers (bad guys of the blocked type) being addressed by two unknown individuals. When suddenly a lurker attacks the duo, Daxter falls into a pit of Dark Eco (A purple goo) and gets transformed into an ottsel. They search help from Sage Samos who sends them on their quest to find Gol, Sage of the Dark Eco and the only one who can return Daxter to his human form.
Much more important than the story is the gameplay of a platformer, which in this case feels solid and smooth. Jak is the only playable character of the game with Daxter riding along on Jak's shoulder, letting him do all the work. Jak's moves are simple: you can jump and double jump, punch and perform a spin-kick. Your moves list may be small but animations for them are smooth. (and in Daxter's case: funny) Enemies aren't exactly difficult to defeat, but this suits the game well considering the fact you die after three hits.
To make the gameplay a bit more interesting, for a limited amount of time, Jak can attain some extra abilities after running into a beam of Eco. Green Eco charges your health, blue Eco makes Jak jump higher and run faster, yellow Eco gives him the ability to shoot blasts of energy and red Eco makes Jak stronger. Using these Eco powers is one of the cornerstones of the gameplay and is often required to complete an objective.
Objectives of the game are simple tasks which get rewarded with Power Cells, the main collectible in the game. To gain access to a next part of the world, you need a certain amount of these. Precursor Orbs are much more common and can be traded in with NPCs or special statues for more Power Cells. Also, when finding all Scout Flies in an area, you are rewarded with yet another Power Cell.
Although the gameplay might sound a bit simple and dull, it certainly isn't and this is largely due to the impressive 3D engine Naughty Dog has made for this game. Instead of seperate levels, players are thrown into a large world, devided by seperate (themed) areas. Travelling between these areas can be done through portals at each Sage's home. Loading times get avoided by streaming data from the disk while playing, enhancing to the effect of a single world.
Graphics are detailed and colorful and the cartoon-look of characters and enemies help create a laid-back atmosphere throughout most of the game.
Background music for each of the areas does its job well and never gets irritating. Sound effects are great aswell as voice-acting. Especially Daxter's voice brings life to the character's slapstick humor.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a game that set the bar for future 3D Platformers and pushed the genre as a whole to a next level. Sadly enough, 3D Platform games seem to be over their peak with few games in the genre being made for the next-gen consoles, an evolution that saddens me.
This evolution makes Jak and Daxter all the more precious and a game no PS2 owner should miss. The game gets a well-earned 9.2/10 from me.
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