User Reviews (41 - 51 of 259)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

If I wanted to buy GTA3 I would've...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: November 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have to say that this game misrepresents itself. It's only relation to the original game is 4 characters and a couple of pieces of geometry. It seems that the folks at Naughty Dog decided to make a Grand Theft Auto 3 game and decided to do away with the charm of the original Jak. It reaches a point of near unplayability around 55% of the way through - I like when a game takes a good deal of time to play but I don't want my playing time extended by attempting to do the same mission over and over again. (and of course forced breaks so I don't pound my console into an electrified pile of molten plastic.) The game looks good - it has an incredibly large world which can be annoying when all you want to do is go to the next mission - it has interesting weapons - BUT it really has nothing to do with the original.

It should have been called Jak and Daxter present Grand Theft Auto in Angrytown.

AMAZING GAME!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: October 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

First let me say this, if you are looking for the same cheery environment of the original game, don't! This game has a very dark and ominous setting. However, that's the WHOLE point of the game! Jak has been "changed" by the Baron and he wants to get back at him and that is the object of the game.

Things that make this game amazing:

1 - The graphics are intense. Naughty Dog did a superb job at rendering the entire world. While J&D was great, this is taken to a new level.

2 - The game levels are HUGE. As an example, for you to go from one side of the city to the other, it can take a few minutes. At times, it is monotonous, but, grab a hover craft and blast around. However, be careful not to get on the bad side of the Crimson Guard.

3 - Missions, missions, and more missions. You start out the game having to do "jobs" for characters in the game. Some of these are not simple little missions though. Take Gol's Citadel in J&D and multiply that by 10 for some of the missions.

To put it simple, this game beats the original hands down. J&D started us on the mission and this takes us further than you could have ever thought. I do agree with another reviewer on the target age group for this game. It is not aimed at the younger crowd.

Concept exit stage left

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: January 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Proving that sequels can actually destroy the original, Jak II writes a chapter in this game series that permanently steers it into a nose dive. Like the Alien movie series, which departed into oblivion at Alien 3, Jak II kills the magic of the original. Think Lion King 2. Or think Highlander 2.

It's not that Jak II is a particularly bad game. It's fun. It's addicting in its own way. It's definitely frustrating at times. And it is an evolution in the game - adding more elements and pushing the game experience a little further.

But the original niche charm of Jak and Daxter is completely obliterated. I was looking forward to more giant robots throwing rocks, precursor energy that pulls ancient bridges together, or the awesome soundtracks. Maze like worlds waited exploration in the original - cool tricks waiting to be found. The setting quickly changed from jungle to snowy mountains to beach to volcanic rock.

Gone. Forever. The new game has been designed with a different philosophy. (And clearly it has been influenced by other more violent but successful PS2 games). This new addition is set in a tedious gray and bleak nothingness city. The creative landscape is replaced by a boring cityscape and a frustrating overcrowded transit system. Spin kicks and grunts are replaced with commando guns.

The plot, if there is one, is so loosely tied to the original as to be overlooked. Jak II is eventually tied to Jak and Daxter. But it's barely considered - almost an afterthought.

I'm probably in the minority. I hear the average gamer age is around 30. So maybe I'm not the only one with kids. But I enjoyed playing Jak and Daxter with my four year old. He'd go nuts when Jak would battle the rock throwing robot in the original Jak and Daxter. There's no way I could play Jak II with my son. Shooting down thirty guards with a pulse rifle doesn't go over well with parenting these days.

What a massive disappointment. Naughty Dawg should have spawned off another game (much like Ratchet and Clank) for this new gaming approach and kept Jak II true to the original.

Far exceeds the original

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: June 09, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I rented Jak and Daxter, the first of the series, and found it good but disappointing. The missions were repetetive, the storyline weak, and the game just pretty much boring. But after picking up Jak II, I realized that the makers had fixed what they'd screwed up in the first.
The storyline is one that is very appealing; destruction of an evil government. It's a popular idea, but it works every time (see Beyond Good & Evil, and Final Fantasy VII). So the story gives the player motivation to actually get things done, which the first game seemed to forget about. Also, as the original had too many missions at once, this one gives you them one or two at a time, making the player feel much more confident that he or she isn't missing anything vital. In addition, there is a map (finally!) which the first one for some reason, made less of an effort to supply for players. You get to steal cars, complete interesting missions, complete races and try out fun weapons. If you liked the original, you'll love this. And if you didn't like the original, chances are you'll like this anyway.
It does have it's faults. The flying car-jacking system (a la Grand Theft Auto) is helpful, but it's nearly impossible to make it from one part of the map to your goal without hitting into another flying car, which could be a cop car, causing them to get on your case until you out run them. Try flying closer to the ground and you end up hitting the cops that are walking the streets, which then brings along the previous outcome. In addition to this problem, the save system of the game is a bit frustrating, as it does save your progress, but if you die, you often get brought back to the beginning of the area, forcing you to navigate endless times. You may get a little frustrated with that.
However, this game gets 5 out of 5 stars because it is just so much fun, with lots of shooting and some good puzzle solving. The graphics are great, the gameplay is very enjoyable, and I don't happen to find the fighting repetetive at all.

Jak II is the best

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: September 27, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I think this game was really fun. I didn't play the first one but, it didn't leave you lost like most of the games that have a second version and you don't play the first. The graphics are great. It's good game for any age (despite the teen rating). My nephews love it and there only 5 and, I love it. Overall its a great game I highly reccommend it!

A progression from Precursor Legacy

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

To set the basis for my review I want to say that I loved the first game, we ended up buying it again when I got Jak 2. J and D was hard compared to Mario and Sonic; yet we can all agree that is what made this game great. Jak 2 is at a more challenging level still. I am glad they didn't just update the first game with some new worlds and quests. This is a game that raises the ante from the last game. Some of the challenges are hard and frustrating, but they get easier as you develop your skills.

It takes place in the future, a horrible future, so things are dirty and dark. The atmosphere is set from the first scene: This is a place in dire need of a hero. In comes Jak, a hero from the past tortured and stained like the new world around him. His look and attitude fit the environment. Also, Jak has been experimented upon with dark echo, giveing hime powers that allow you to become this feral killing machine when you collect enough of the dark purple stuff. Use it sparingly, since there will be times where there are a ton of enemies to defeat. The dark echo bomb is wicked cool. Jak has changed, Nevertheless a hero he remains.

Daxter is at times hillarious and you even get to play as hime a couple of times. There are also racing challenges, hoverboard stuff like tony hawk's, and my personal faveorite the shooting galleries.

One major thing to note is that this is NOT a kids game. Look at the rating!! It is not a "cute" game and it is not an easy game. This game is challenging for the experienced platform player like those who have played J and D 1 through more than once. Like I said before this game raises the ante and requires skill.

If you want to see a ridiculously hard game see Rayman 2 Revolution. That game is stupid hard and not nearly as good as Jak 2.

great graphics+great adventure+great story=good game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: June 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Jak II is not your average platform game. First of all it uses the open environement idea from GTA to really immerse you into a completely interactive world that you can reak havok in after missions.

This environment allows hours of replay value where you can do specific tasks to gain secrets like unlimited ammo. All of these missions are done in absuletely beutifun graphics that make for realistic explosions and structures around you in the dozens of levels in this game from a sparkeling forest to a hellish palace. The graphics make the player feel like they are immersed in the game and the cutscenes look very human and unpixelated. Infact the people at naughty dog out did themselves with character animation using almost 10,000 polygons in the face of a character leading to a seemless animation as aposed to the hardly 100 polygons seen in most games' characters.

But what really brings this game to the forefront is the well written and enthralling story. I will not give away the details but expect roring hillarity and good suspense leading to a well deserved and intersting ending. Unlike many games, naughty dog concentrated a lot on their story and make this game a truly story driven experienced. As you move through the game you travel throughout the city to locations where you both recieve and do missions that add up to finish the story of Jak II.

Also, dont worry about playing this "sequel" if you have not played the original Jak and Daxter because the game does not really rely on the story from the first game and it is not needed to understand the story of this game. However if you are more into platform jumping and "e" rated games then get J+D first. As fir the teen rating in this game, the rating is needed mostly because of slight language but if you (or your child) can handle movie PG rated language and its OK. The violance is not bad and is neither bloody or brutal. Basically cartoon violance.

But with all these pros why would i give the game a 4/5? Well the minus one star is becuase of difficulty. I will not lie and say this is an easy game. A hardcore gamer would disagree with me but to a casual gamer their are a few missions that you will need to replay a couple times. However if these missions are too challenging then search the internet for a walkthrough that usually tells you how to beat the mission.

Overall this game is a wonderful experience with blow-you-away graphics and a well written story line. Rent it before you buy it though just to see if the difficulty is too much for you. It will give the average gamer atleast 24 hours of gameplay and more if you want to unlock everything. I hope this review helped you making a choice.

Jak 2....the way a sequal should be

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: November 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Platforming fans should be happy with this one. Jak II was one of the best games I played in 2003. It is possibly the best ps2 game ever made. The game is great and it is the way a sequal should be. The game takes place in a controlled currupted city called Haven City. It is controlled by the man who put Jak through hell for 2 years, Barron Praxis. You then meet other great characters like Vin,Sig,Kor and others. The game has alot of twist and turns. The graphics are a huge success in the game.
Every backround detailed and sharp. The city is HUGE! Really huge acctually. I thought The character development was good. One thing that made this game really awsome is that Jak gets guns. Awsome guns! The Blaster, Scatter, Fulcon fury and peace maker gun. What also made me enjoy this game was that it wasnt short nor long. I hate short games or alteast games little to do. This game isnt like that. THIS GAME IS EXTREAMLY REPETITIVE! One mission took me like an hour to finish. Also the mission variety is great. 60 awsome missions. Some long though. The greatness of this game is shown with pure action.
And if youre looking for a game to beat in 2 days I think you should leave this title alone. Over all if you want lots of game play and lots of hours of mayhem get Jak 2. It is long enough to say this game kicks ass. It took me 23 hours to beat.

Graphics are just simply superb it is one of the best looking Ps2 game ever. The envirment and level desighn is just perfect and I loved the action gameplay cause the graphics were just so amazing. It is so pure and wonderful it really shows how bad Haven City Really is...Nuff said

Gameplay is Hard to the max but it's soooo fun especially after you beat a mission. From hovering to driving to killing Crimzon gaurds or to using the 4 cool ass weapons how can this game play not be good?..The game play it self earns a 5!

Sound....Well....It's great....I can't review on that Since I really had no prob with it Acctually I loved the sound of the gun shots so that is good. Sound is good..

The graphics are simply awesome and some what mind blowing, The gameplay is awesome with some really really sweet Platforming mixed with some other surprises. The sound is great and I had no problem with it. So what if it took some stuff from GTA c'mon...

I had a blast with this Amazing game and it, from my opinion truly earns...a

5 out of 5 stars!

BEST GAMES ON THE PS2 RIGHT NOW..well jak 3 is out so it's a lil late to review it but What ever!..This game is Amazing!

Go get it! AND THEN GET JAK 3

Lates

Video Game Heroin

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: August 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Dear Naughty Dog

I really don't know what to say here. On one hand, you've made a game thats incredibly addicting, fun, imaginative, and an all-around blast to play. But on the other hand, I'm hoping that you fire the sadists who designed most of this game.

I'm glad you made a sequal to Jak and Daxter, a fun and lighthearted game that was arguably one of the best family games in a long time. It's great to go through more adventures featuring Jak and the adorable Daxter. Moving from a jungle world to a city world was an interesting move, and it works for me. Haven city is an interesting place, and enjoyable to go through, but I did notice that there's really nothing to do. No shops to go to, no gyms, no resturaunts. All one can do is just walk around and enjoy the sights. Though I do admit, the palace is awesome!

But oh, what sights they are. Jak II gets a perfect score in terms of graphics. Everything is very detailed and glorious to behold, especailly when you're high above the ground, and have a bird's eye view of the city.

But...Naughty Dog, I have to ask you something. Why did you make this game so f***ing hard? Really, why did you? The difficulty in this game is simply unacceptable. The game's missions are frustrating excercises in trial and error, where the game forces you to memorize a certian pattern with no room for error. Make one, ONE mistake, and you fail and start over. Video game developers, please take note of this. TRIAL AND ERROR, MIXED IN WITH THE DIFFICULTY LEVEL FROM HELL, IS NOT FUN!

I can't even begin to describe how many times I smashed my controler on the ground, screamed curses at the television screen, and generally prayed that Naughty Dog would go out of buisness. At times I felt like I was Dark Jak, running into the Naughty Dog offices while yelling "Hulk smash!" and tearing everything and everyone to bloody shreds for making such an insanely difficult game.

I don't ever want to do those F***ING RACES EVER AGAIN. EVER. Those stupid, insanely difficult races that you have to win to advance in the game are almost impossible to beat due to racers who almost never make a mistake, and have reflexes six times as fast as a normal human. There's one race where you have to race the city champion through the city and beat him. Naughty Dog, I have never experienced so much anger and hatred at a game before in my life. If it takes me sixty attempts and three hours before I can complete a mission, especially this race, I think you made a big mistake in terms of difficulty. I think you should stick with platforming and abandon racing forever. I'd rather lick the inside of an exhaust pipe then do another race in this game, or any other racing game that you develop Naughty Dog.

Oh, and Naughty Dog, people got sick of racing through pink cirlces about a decade ago. In your future games, please do not have any races where you have to go through pink circles. Insanely bad.

And the strange thing is that while the game is unforgivably difficult, I found myself wanting to come back and keep going for more. I don't know why either. Maybe it was just the fact that I wanted to see what was around the next corner, or how the story was going to go. Talk about heroin! It destroys you, yet you always want more.

So while the game is unforgivably difficult and at times infuriating to play, the visuals and sound are top notch, and I found the story to be quite fascinating, with several twists that I never saw coming.

After finishing the game, I have mixed feelings. I think i'll like going through the city for quite some time, just to look at the sights. And while there are a lot of secrets to unlock (by collecting precursur orbs), I don't think i'll try to unlock most of them, simply because the tasks you must do to unlock them are more of those insanely difficult missions. Why do you love to torture me Naughty Dog, by forcing me to get exact times on those F***ing races to earn orbs? To be blunt, your races suck. Loosing them over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again for hours is not fun. Ever. It's a waste of time. I hope you fire the sadists who designed the races, and all these sadistic challanges that you have to do to get orbs.

So do I commend or condem you Naughty Dog? In the end, the answer is neither. I'll play Jak 3 because I do really like this series, and I want to see where it goes. But I hope you learned a lot from this game and the feedback. So the game gets an A+ in the visual and audio department, and a D- in the gameplay department.

To people who are considering this game(or those who have severe anger management issues), I strongely suggest you rent it before you buy it.

Large-scale improvements and a more mature vibe represent Jak's coming-of-age

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: May 24, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I didn't care all that much for the original Jak and Daxter. Let's just get that out of the way right now. I found it was too short, the gameplay too straightforward and repetitive, the characters too sticky-sweet and friendly, and the visuals completely lacking for a first wave next-gen title. Where it did shine was in the gameplay, although even that had a few hiccups, and in the occasional character and level designs. It was, generally, a really fun game to play, but you had to be willing to ignore a few bugs and completely shut your brain off during the storytelling sequences, which were yanked right out of a Saturday morning cartoon show. I felt like I was playing something marketed toward seven year olds, and that worked to put me off of the package as a whole.

That seems to have been a frustration heard by the developers at Naughty Dog a time or two, as well, as it's precisely that image that's confronted and shed like an old skin within the first five minutes of the sequel. They even played off of that old vibe by totally cheesing up the opening moments of Jak II, only to hurl the cast into an entirely different, deeper, darker, more mature-themed universe before the player hits button one. Where you wouldn't be surprised to see the Easter Bunny stashing eggs behind a bush or a unicorn prancing by in the bright, obnoxious world of the original game, the setting of Jak II is more along the lines of Blade Runner.

It's a cold, dark, repressed new world, complete with downtrodden, defeated city residents and a stuffy, filthy rich ruling class. Nothing that hasn't been seen in the realm of gaming before, but also a complete about-face for the series... and the immediate improvements you'll notice are more than just environmental. Though the entire cast of heroes returns from the first game, (albeit mildly altered and scarred by their experiences in this new world) an entire platoon of darker, grimacing new faces is there to join them and, strangely, don't seem out of place or at odds alongside the more innocent characters from chapter numero uno. What's more, the visuals are much better realized, most of the blips in the gameplay have been ironed out, and the experience as a whole feels twice as deep. In short, my immediate impressions were universally good

The mission-based system of objectives from the first title has returned for round two, and remains your only true means of progressing through the main story, although it's been revamped and improved to function a little more easily within the broader scope of this large new world. Where the first game was divided into a half-dozen themed chapters, with no overlapping missions in between, Jak II's basic structure feels a lot more like the games in the Grand Theft Auto legacy. The entire story takes place in one enormous city, with Jak taking instructions from a few key characters spread around the map, and involves frequent backtracking and re-explorations of familiar locales.

Perhaps the most noteworthy change from part one to part two is Jak's occasional Incredible Hulk-like transformation from heroic humanoid to killer albino rabbit, seemingly implanted during his years under the knife at that evil military lab. After absorbing enough dark eco from the bodies of fallen enemies, (and, naturally, accepting a gentle prodding from the player) he grows white fur, develops sharp black nails, dark black eyes and a penchant for hurling purple lightning at anyone in the remote vicinity. After a short period, Jak returns to his normal state and things pick up where they left off. In action, it's a quick way to get yourself out of a tough spot, and if you build up your dark eco and save it for just such a moment, you'll step out of the smoke feeling like an action hero.

Also worth noting is the sudden introduction of gunplay and weaponry to the series, which was lacking entirely from the previous chapter. It goes hand-in-hand with the coming of age of the characters and the story, as well as with the tone of the new environment, but was actually pretty shocking to see after the simple punches and kicks of the first game. One of the characters you'll wind up accepting missions for is actually a weapons smuggler, and your association with him leads to bigger and louder toys as the yarn spins longer. They're somewhat cumbersome and underthought, just as the vehicles were in the last game, and though they play a much bigger part in the overall story than the bird and scooter did in The Precursor Legacy, their inclusion leaves something to be desired and overall they felt clunky and unnecessary.

The flaws in the previous game's control scheme have been addressed and largely ironed out here, leading to a much more enjoyable, less distracting in-game experience. You'll occasionally run into an undetected double-jump, which was a huge issue in chapter one, but it's a much less common occurrance, and the issues with ledge detection and Jak's refusal to grab onto some cliffs after a death-defying leap have been completely erased from the picture. I did continue to notice some problems with out-of-bounds areas that were somewhat bothersome: if you try to leap up to an off-limits zone, Jak will go into this strange floating crouch and slide around as though he were on ice until his feet touch solid ground again. The idea in itself wouldn't really be so bad if that disembodied slide didn't have such a penchant for hurling you off into a bottomless pit.

One of my major gripes about the first title was with the graphics, which I perceived to be lacking, especially for an early next-gen title. When the PS2 and Xbox were first released, it seemed that everyone set out to impress, to flex the new hardware's muscle, and The Precursor Legacy looked like the nerdy guy who gets sand kicked in his face at the beach. In this area, the sequel provides a much better showing. The characters, who were primarily lumpy and dull representations of a truly gorgeous original design, are much more finely detailed this go-around. Eyeballs have the right glint to them, skin doesn't look like it's wrapped around a pile of rocks, and clothing is finely textured and well done. The environments are suitably decayed so as to meet the vibe put out by the story, but to also not lose touch with the fact that this is supposed to be a somewhat cartoony setting. Even more exciting, HD output is supported with beautiful results, although the option to turn it on is buried deep within the options menu and is turned off by default every time the game loads

Of the game's vital components, only the audio leaves much to be desired. While the voice acting work is usually in the "good to very good" range, with a few characters in particular standing out from the pack, the in-game soundtrack is extremely dull, not to mention maddeningly repetitive. For the main cityscape, where you'll spend about three quarters of the game moving from zone to zone, point to point, to only have a single, minute-long looping theme, is beyond inexcusable. It's downright lazy.

In all, I came away feeling much more impressed with this sequel than I expected to be, considering the quality of its predecessor. It is in every way a successful step forward from the ideas and executions that came before: the graphics have improved boundlessly, the controls have been nearly perfected, the characters have grown and developed of their own accord, and the difficulty has gone up considerably. This is a much, much deeper, more involved game than The Precursor Legacy ever could've been, and earns special marks by not only shifting the series into a more contemporary, interesting setting, but by doing so in a way that also makes the first game seem a lot more intriguing and thought-out than it ever really was. There's still room for improvement here, which means I'm expecting a lot out of Jak III, but this is in many ways the Empire Strikes Back of this trilogy. Dark, and in many instances utterly hopeless, but a much better tale than the first, with a better cast, better effects, more variety and a great open-ended story that leaves plenty of room for expansion in the threequel.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Next 

Actions