Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier (Playstation 2 version)

[Sky Warrior Bob]

Yes, this is a review for a Playstation 2 game, and a new one at that. Get over it.

Alright, Jak & Daxter:The Lost Frontier isn't done by Naughty Dog, but rather by High Impact Games (the guys who made the Ratchet & Clank games Size Matters & Secret Agent Clank, for the PS2/PSP). End result, is that you get a game that's good, but doesn't entirely feel like the prior Jak games.

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Story:
This is where the game really does its best. The story is well conceived, but could have been put together a bit better. (Still, I'd rate it above the convoluted & confusing story of Jak 3.) The biggest problem is with the secondary characters, which don't get fleshed out very well, and don't get much past stereotypes.

The story takes place sometime after the Pre-cursors left. Eco is in short supply, and what's left is getting increasingly unstable. Jak, Daxter & Kira head out to the Brink (of civilization?) to see if they either find more Eco, or possibly the cause of the problem.

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Gameplay:
It depends on what part you're talking about...

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The traditional Jak & Daxter platformer bits are either spot-on, or at least close to the traditional titles. Only occasionally getting marred by a bad camera angle. Light & Dark Jak are gone, and replaced with new Green, Yellow, Red & Blue Eco powers. Morph gun is more like the gun of Jak 2, but with some extras.

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Flight combat is pretty good. The ability to change & modify your rides is actually well done. Flying around obstacles however, is not very well done & it wasn't always clear where I was supposed to go. Still, this was mostly good.

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Dark Daxter... Ugh. This wasn't very good. Occasionally, the game would turn Daxter into a Tasmanian Devil Dark eco version of himself. These scenarios, play out something like a puzzle game, where you either kill all the enemies, or somehow change the environment to progress further. While it was a great idea in concept, I didn't care for the execution. Also, story-wise they don't seem to flow at all.

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Graphics:
They're not bad, but they're not great either. First off, camera angles aren't always the best. 90% of the time, they're perfect. Its just the remaining 10% of the game that's a bit tricky because of poor choice/programming.

Next, all the edges are a bit sharp & pixelated. To give you an idea, take a look at this video. Now, replace the Wii version of Tales of Monkey Island, with this game, and consider the PC version Jak 2/3. Nothing you can't live with, but you will notice a difference.

Colors seem a bit washed out, but having seen the PSP version in action, that might just be my settings (as the PSP looks spot on). Then again, I did look at the box art for the PS2 version & the PSP, and the colors for the PSP seem a fair bit richer.

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Overall:

Okay, this isn't the greatest of games, and unless you play most of the optional mini games, it also might feel a bit short. However, it is a fairly decent game that is at least worth a look, if not a rental. Especially if you don't have a Wii or PS360.

'Nuff Said
SWB