PixlBit

 Still not Nintendo Related

Hey there Pixlbit, hope you all had a good weekend. Today I will continue off where I left off from my Jak and Daxter Trilogy blog. Like I said before, I have no idea what to write about alot of Playstation games but I'll give you my thoughts about them. Today will focus on Jak ll. Jak ll is a pretty interesting game in my opinion. Jak and Daxter was a very fun and whymsical platformer, whereas Jak ll took a 180 with the setting, plot, and maybe some of the characters. So let's begin...

                      

Jak 2 takes place directly after the first game, but due to how spoiler heavy it is, I'm going to try and minimize any spoiler. I know it might not sound interesting but I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't played the games. Okay, now that I derailed the post, lets continue. So, the game takes place after the first in a different setting called Haven City, and it's ironic because it doesn't look like any definition of the word "haven". It actually looks like alot of slums with only a few areas in the game that look almost decent and not like a slum. The city as a whole is like a huge walled city under rule of a tyrant and the city is "protected" by the tyrants police known as the Krimzon Guard. Also our tyrant and his Krimzon Guard is in war with machine like creatures called Metal Heads. Sadly they aren't Metal fans which would be an interesting thing. Haven City is big, and you spend alot of your time here so you're gonna have to get used to it and know where everything is. It's also serves as this games hub world and yes there are levels in this game, but I'll get to those in a bit.

                       

So lets move away from the hub and focus now on other things. The game is darker this time around and our protagonist, Jak, has some anger issues with our tyrant of Haven City. What they are, I can't say because spoilers, but it's pretty interesting. Due to that though, Jak is sort of a wanted criminal in Haven City, so if you're doing something bad, like hitting a patrolling Krimzon Guard officer or something of the like, they'll chase you. Either on foot or via vehicle. But if you're being chased, surely you can do something else other than runaway right. Sadly no...

                          

Oh wait I lied. You can attack like in the previous game, but you also get a gun called the Morph Gun, which as it's name implies, can change into different guns each with different effects. As you play through the game, you also get access to different mods for it. Each mod has a different effect to the Morph Gun, like a shot gun, long range gun, and more and each one is useful depending on the situation. Also, it uses ammo so be careful and don't go all trigger-happy when not needed. But if you don't like using guns (but trust me, you'll be using it through the whole game), you can transform into Dark Jak, which is an angry Hulk version of Jak. As Dark Jak, you have access to different powers like turning invincible or growing in size. The gun and Dark Jak have replaced the Eco powers from the first game, but whether that's good or bad depends on your perspective.

              

Now surely all of this sounds great for combat, but what about transportation? Well you have access to a hoverboard in this game, all Back to the Future fans rejoice. It's a nice addition but also points you to a sad reality that they don't exist yet. It's not the fastest thing around but fast enough to traverse Haven City or the levels in the game. But if you don't want to use the hoverboard (and why shouldn't you) you have access to hovercrafts of as I like to call them, the vehicles that we should have now but don't. It's more faster than your hoverboard but it also gets damaged if you hit something alot of times. You also have to be careful because the Krimzon Guard likes to roll in their own hover cruisers and will chase you if you hit them. But don't worry cause Daxter can use the Morph Gun for you while you're driving.

As for the levels, not sure how much I like them from the first game, but they're big enough to explore. According to the game, outside of Haven City is the Wasteland, where nothing lives or exists. So we're a Fallout game now? And if nothing exists outside the city, why are there levels here? Clearly something exist since technically you're not in Haven City. Jokes aside, the only times you'll venture outside of the city is for story related purposes or sidequests. Also there's Metal Heads in the levels so hopefully you're stocked up on ammo. Also, Metal Heads drop Skull Gems which are used for various things in the game, so collect as much as you can.

             

But one of the things I have a problem with is the checkpoints. They are too far and between sometimes. The game itself is challenging, sometimes you might die by accident from a bad timed jump or enemies and it gets annoying when you respawn too far behind and have to trek through a difficult section. It's not the difficulty, it's the checkpoints for me. 

As far as collectibles besides Skull Gems, Precursor Orbs make a return in forms of challenges. You can also find them scattered around like you normally would, but some of them are only available through challenges. And alot of them can get pretty hard and require trial and error. They are only required if you are a completionist or if you want cheat codes. 

As for the story, it took a 180, which I don't think it's a bad thing but it certainly was an interesting change in a series that was originally lighthearted. Imagine if they turned Mario into a more darker and gritty platformer. It certainly would be an interesting twist Or like Conker, it was a lighthearted game series at first, but took a 180 in Bad Fur Day, but not that drastic with Jak and Daxter. But as I've said before, I can't say much without giving spoilers away and trust me, writing things like this is hard without giving away spoilers.

             

As for final thoughts, it's not that bad actually. It certainly was an interesting surprise when I first played it. The game did add more variety with the weapon and Hulk Jak (yes I'm calling Dark Jak Hulk Jak from now on) with an interesting direction in a series that was more kid friendly. You sometimes might get annoyed going from one location to the next in the city and the checkpoints could of been better, that and Precursor Orb challenges might drive you crazy but the game is definitely worth checking out. I still like the first game more, but definitely glad I got to try this.

So, have you ever played Jak 2? What did you think of the changes? Opinions on it? Next time will be a blog about Jak 3 so hoping you look forward to that, so thanks for reading and later.