Naughty Dog has always produced solid platform titles. Case in point: Crash Bandicoot took the PlayStation by storm, spawning numerous sequels, hilarious commercials and Sony’s default mascot. Quickly leaving this flagship series behind, Naughty Dog’s follow up was another impressive 3D adventure game, Jak and Daxter. An addictive, humor filled game, the story revolved around a young guy and his wisecracking, trouble-prone friend who manages to get himself turned into a rodent by falling into a substance called Dark Eco. Spawning a quest for a cure for his friend’s condition, Jak and Daxter was hailed for its gameplay but even more so for its technical achievements: among them, massive levels and non-existent load times particularly stood out. Now, two years later, Naughty Dog is ready to build on that success, proving that you can’t keep a good hero or his friend down with Jak II. Jak II picks up almost immediately after the ending of the first title with a sudden surprise twist: both Jak and Daxter find themselves caught in a time warp that rips them from their familiar surroundings to a completely unrecognizable future. Even worse, shortly after their arrival Jak gets captured, leaving Daxter to fend for himself as well as plan a prison break. Two years later, Daxter finally manages to spring Jak, but not before Jak has been horrifically experimented on by some twisted scientists, and you can believe that one of the largest ideas on Jak’s mind is exacting revenge. That’s right, folks, this is going to be a darker, much less friendly title. What probably highlights that more than anything is the fact that Jak now packs weapons. Sure, he still has his butt stomp and his spin kick, but many of the creatures in the future are a lot heartier than the ones in the first title. To that end, you can expect to see Jak wielding a high powered rifle and dispatching justice upon unlucky enemies. In a creative plot twist, Jak can now feed on Dark Eco, powering up a rage meter (a la The Hulk) which allows him to become Dark Jak, a pale white version of himself that’s extremely strong and shoots electricity from his hands. Aside from that, Jak appears to get his hands on plenty of equipment, including a very fast hoverboard that he can use to sprint around levels or perform Tony Hawk-like tricks. The two levels in the demo we received focused on two separate levels. One was situated around a pumping station, where Jak was tasked with eliminating four-legged creatures disdainfully referred to as “Metalheads”. Interestingly, Jak doesn’t go alone on this level, he’s sent with an experienced warrior who knows how to destroy Metalheads with an extremely powerful weapon known as the Peacemaker. At first glance this mission seems to be a basic escort and protect task, but as things get deeper in, Jak actually will have to take the lead on some parts of the level while his new ally covers his flank. The other level was set in a strip mine, which featured plenty of rails, jumps and ramps for Jak to hoverboard on or across. Probably one of the closest things to a skate park in the game, the strip mine level also featured a host of bottomless pits, environmental hazards and burrowing spider-like creatures that would attack on sight. Fortunately, with solid timing, Jak can attack and hover at the same time, zipping through the level at a breakneck pace. Fans of the original title who were impressed by what they saw will be floored by Jak II, as the characters have received a major boost in polygons. Easily 2 to 3 times the number of polys per character model were used to flesh them out, and the difference is amazing. Environments have also benefited, with more detailed and expansive terrain on each level than before. Add to that solid particle effects, good animation, and stable frame rates, and we’re looking at a title that could give any game a run for its money as a platformer of the year. But what truly makes Jak II stand out is the voice acting, which was exceedingly good, especially for a demo disc. You get more of a sense of the anger welling within Jak, the extreme conditions of this new future world, and the off the wall zaniness of Daxter. This title is sure to be an incredible hit when it reaches store shelves next month, so check back for a review soon! Questions or comments about the upcoming release of Jak II for the PlayStation 2? Talk to us! [ E-Mail Jeff 'Linkphreak' Haynes ] [ Comment in our Forums ]

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