"Come on, Dax. Let's rock."
Jak & Daxter have come a long way. When we first saw them, they were laying on their backs on a boat, staring up into a night sky. It didn't take them long to get into trouble. Before they knew it, they had trekked across the countryside and had saved the planet from Dark Eco. They were then flung forward into the future, into a grim world of despair. Jak was captured by the brutal Krimson Guard, and his body was pumped full of Dark Eco. When enraged, he transforms into Dark Jak, fueled by the Eco. The city is at war with Metalheads, a vicious race of beasts who were once the mortal enemies of the almighty Precursors. Jak and Daxter reunite once again, and defeat their leader and topple the regime ruling over the city. Once again, they gave hope to a world that desperately needed some. And so at last, the Precursor Legacy has come to its conclusion with Jak 3. I won't lie to you and tell that it has a dramatic ending that has you begging for Jak 4. But I will tell you that it will leave you smiling, as long as you've got a sense of humor. And if you're a J&D fan, chances are you do.
After Jak II, Haven City is a mess. Some of the KG have defected and created their own faction, while the surviving metalheads continue their assault on the city. The force that Jak helped establish is at the end of their rope, and the city is all but lost. After a massive attack brings down the Palace and crushes a good portion of the city, Jak is banished by Count Veger to the Wastelands. Of course Daxter comes along too, not wanting to lose his best friend. They wander through this desert for some time before passing out, only to be found by some tough Wastelanders and brought to the city of Spargus. They are given the opportunity to prove themselves useful by Damas, the King. Their adventure will uncover the secrets of the Precursors, and propel them both to their ultimate destiny.
The missions of Jak 3 are broken into some basic categories: platforming, driving and mini-games. Of course, most of these aren't in the traditional sense. The platforming and shooting is as tight and responsive as it has been since the very first game, you'll find yourself darting all over the screen taking out enemies with ease. Smart gamers will use a combination of physical attacks with their weapons, which there are now many more of. Each basic mod has two other mods to it, making for a total of 12 weapons. Each final mod is a lesson in chaos. One launches a projectile into the air and fires in every direction, wasting everything in site. The amount of destruction on screen is incredible, even early in the game. Dark Jak makes his return again, but he can be deactivated at will to conserve that precious eco. While in Dark Jak form, Jak can move extremely fast and bash foes with a multitude of moves. In Jak 3, he has another side to balance this savageness out. The Precursors have now granted him the ability to transform into Light Jak, an angel-like being. Just like Dark Jak, he can learn moves, like healing himself, shielding, a time freeze and even the ability of flight. You'll need to combine all of Jak's powers to get through the game. Even Daxter gets some platforming time in. He controls just like Jak, he just looks funnier.
The driving takes up quite a bit of the game, but Naughty Dog has included a variety of vehicles this time around. In Jak 2, you could pick the fast jets or the slow jets. In Jak 3, the driving will be done primarily in dune buggies over the vast desert, and they each come with their strength and weaknesses. There are the ones that hug the ground and have machine guns, there are those with huge suspensions in order to make huge jumps, and there are big tanks with rotatable turrets to take out anything no matter what position you're in. The driving missions are fun, as Naughty Dog takes care to make sure you never do the same thing all that often. One moment, you'll be chasing after Metalheads, the next you'll be racing out into a sandstorm to save stranded Wastelanders. You'll also be able to ride Leapers, a lizard native to the Wastelanders. If you remember the Flut-Flut from the original J&D, they control virtually identically. The mini-games, while often, often come out of nowhere and break up the pace of the game. They can also be the most irritating and frustrating missions in the game. My favorite game, which actually took the longest time to beat, is a pac-man like game that places Daxter inside of a computer grid. There are also a variety of missions that can't really be placed in a standard genre. One hilarious mission involves Daxter riding on top of a missile trying to charge it up without crashing into anything.
While Jak 2 had a relatively steep difficulty, it was a long experience nonetheless. Jak 3 goes by kind of quick, but that can be attributed to a few things. One, there really isn't much of a travel time between the missions, which is a great thing. More often that not, once you end a mission, you'll end up right near the next one. The difficulty is also rather leveled, with only a few spikes here and there. Thankfully, most of these missions just require that you get better. I had to admit, I was just plain bad before I started practicing a few of them. You will definitely feel a sense of accomplishment once you beat that tough mission. I appreciated the level difficulty, as it allowed more fun and less frustration. This game is all about skill, there's not a thing lucky about it. If you can't do, chances are you just aren't good enough yet.
Graphically, this is one of the finer games on the PS2, if not the finest. The character models are really awesome, as are the environments. Jak has been given the biggest makeover, losing the long hair and sleeves, and going for a more rugged look. He looks a lot more mature, and of course, a whole lot more badass. This is one dude you do not want to mess with. The desert is really cool, with sand blowing across the screen, and providing some of the best sunsets ever seen in a game. I've always loved the sunsets and rises in the J&D series, as corny as they may seem. They seem to recreate them in such a beautiful manner that no other game really can. Haven City really shows off the power of the J&D engine, as it is now a war zone. Most of the city lays crushed in rubble, but soldiers, metalheads and robots duke it out as you zoom over or run through. All through this, the game never stutters once, even if you decide to mix it up a bit with a few of your own guns. The voices remain the same as the previous games, with the exception of Keira, who has 1-2 lines in the entire game. Yes, it makes me sad too. Daxter, of course, is the funniest, and provides nearly 90% of the humor. The music remains relatively unchanged from the previous games. All of the guns sound awesome, and will really have you digging in deep. Hearing that Vulcan heat up will send chills down your spine as you charge head first into a battalion of metalheads.
I am extremely satisfied with the conclusion to this series. Gamers who take this game too seriously will not enjoy the end, and I can state that as a fact. But Jak and Daxter was never meant to be taken to seriously if you ask me. No matter how dark the story gets, no matter how dirty things might seem, it's all about two friends going out and getting into trouble. It's all about cracking one-liners in the face of unspeakable evil and bragging smugly about it later. That's what Jak and Daxter is all about. It's about making light of serious situations, a skill that pretty much every human could use. It's about talking the talk and then walking the walk. It's about making the gamer smile, or laugh or just shake his head in amusement. Jak and Daxter is like a beacon of hope in a world where videogames take themselves way too seriously. I truly hope that this is not the last we see of them. Adventure is the name of the game for Jak and Daxter, and I don't think retirement would suit them very well.