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WHEN SONY RELEASED JAK & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy early in the PlayStation 2's life it quickly became one of the standout titles on the system. Naughty Dog's lush world, sharp sense of humour and open levels took the platforming genre forward a few steps and was something other developers could aspire to on the system. The series took a darker turn with the release of Jak II: Renegade, taking players from the tropical paradise of Jak's home to the grittier world of Haven City. The gameplay changed with the environment, with the introduction of vehicles, more weapons combat and a wider range of missions. While still remaining quite linear, there were a multitude of side-missions that could keep players occupied for hours.
Jak 3 now completes Naughty Dog's mighty trilogy and follows fairly closely with the gameplay and presentation of the second. At the start of the game Jak is banished from the city that he helped save and exiled to The Wastelands, a large desert expanse characterised by sandy dunes and rocky outcrops. Near starvation after walking in the desert, both Jak and Daxter are saved by a group of outlaws who take them to the fortified town of Spargus, a town filled with exiles from Haven City.
The conclusion to Jak's story follows his and the final battle to save Haven City from the twin threats of the Metal Heads and the Mechanised Death Bots. Pretty much all the loose ends are tied up well throughout the game, which features many of the characters seen in previous games, and is as well told as in those games. A strong sense of humour overlays the more serious side of the story and makes playing through the game quite enjoyable.
As mentioned previously, the gameplay and presentation follow closely with that of Jak II. Controls are virtually identical and are still as intuitive as before, with no major new additions. Some of the same levels have even been recycled, in particular Haven City, although much of the city is now in ruins after various attacks on it. There are certainly newer areas to cover, in particular the Wastelands, but these are not so numerous as before. The result is unfortunately the shortest game in the series, and while there are still plenty of side-mission and things to collect after the main game is completed there is little incentive to do so.
New to the series is the addition of Light Eco power for Jak. These powers include abilities to glide, become partially invisible, slow time and heal Jak. The addition of these powers and an increase in Dark Eco powers does not live up to its promise though, with only the healing ability really becoming useful. While useful in certain situations, through most of Jak 3 these powers are not needed to the point where many players will forget that Jak even has these powers. This is something of a disappointment and turns Jak 3 into a slightly more mundane action game, losing a little of its distinctive character.
The almost total negation of the Eco powers is partially due to the upgrades that have been made in the weaponry available throughout the game, making them much more effective throughout the game. Building on the weapons seen in Jak II, bigger and more powerful versions of the weapons can be accessed as the game progresses. While the arsenal is still nothing compared to that found in a game like Ratchet & Clank 3, there is still a lot of firepower for players to wield. |
