Review
Played on: PlayStation 4Released: 2017
Originally released: 2001 (PS2)
I remember the summer of 2001, when the very first Jak and Daxter was showcased at the E3 expo in June. I read about it in a newspaper, highlighted as one of the games that grew out of the second wave of PlayStation 2 releases. A wave of great titles, built on more experience with software development for the PS2's complicated architecture. Finally, developers were getting familiar with the hardware and leaving the somewhat bland launch line-up behind.
From here on, the big PS2 titles just started rolling in. J&D was one of these spectacular titles. Developed by the people behind the successful Crash Bandicoot series on PS1, they had a legacy of platformers behind them and were finally going to give Super Mario 64 a worthy 3D platformer equivalent in a new generation of consoles.
Sure, we'd had Crash trying his best on the limited 3D power of the PS1, thus being more 2D than 3D. Spyro the Dragon had attempted even more so. Sega Dreamcast's Sonic Adventure had kickstarted it on this new generation and Rare had done their share of 3D platformers on the N64, but still Super Mario 64 managed to be the perfect blueprint. For me, SM64's legacy and first playthrough never really been surpassed in the genre. It truly testifies how revolutionary SM64 was.
Sure, we'd had Crash trying his best on the limited 3D power of the PS1, thus being more 2D than 3D. Spyro the Dragon had attempted even more so. Sega Dreamcast's Sonic Adventure had kickstarted it on this new generation and Rare had done their share of 3D platformers on the N64, but still Super Mario 64 managed to be the perfect blueprint. For me, SM64's legacy and first playthrough never really been surpassed in the genre. It truly testifies how revolutionary SM64 was.
But we're not here to speak about SM64 now, however, it has to be mentioned to give a backdrop for a couple of titles, outside of Nintendo's own, that have given SM64 a run for it's money. The first Jak & Daxter is one of these and in hindsight, perhaps, the best attempt too.
J&D truly nails a colourful, cartoony and a Pixar-like artstyle, combined with lots of humour, to make a unique style of it's own. Artistically, it works perfectly for the platformer genre and PS2 finally delivered the hardware needed to make that Pixar influence even more possible visually. Gone are the strict limitations of PS1 hardware for large 3D worlds and J&D utilises this to the fullest.
The world is one, truly impressive, massive connected area. Sporting an incredible draw distance for it's time, with distant enemies, platforms, machinery and puzzles that can be seen for miles. The open structure allows the player to just run towards what wants to explored next.
J&D truly nails a colourful, cartoony and a Pixar-like artstyle, combined with lots of humour, to make a unique style of it's own. Artistically, it works perfectly for the platformer genre and PS2 finally delivered the hardware needed to make that Pixar influence even more possible visually. Gone are the strict limitations of PS1 hardware for large 3D worlds and J&D utilises this to the fullest.
The world is one, truly impressive, massive connected area. Sporting an incredible draw distance for it's time, with distant enemies, platforms, machinery and puzzles that can be seen for miles. The open structure allows the player to just run towards what wants to explored next.
I recall walking down to the beach the very first time I played the game, in the early 2000's, and just seeing tons of stuff I wanted to do far into the distance. I was incredibly impressed back then, by the rich visuals and beautiful artstyle. There's obviously a linearity to the levels being connected, but there's always an option to walk back and collect more stuff you missed the first time around.
J&D cleverly connects it's large areas by hiding loading and transitions with lifts, hoverbike rides or small paths leading from one visual styled area to the next. In fact, you can play the whole game without experiencing loading screens at all. It's an impressive feature for such and old game.
J&D cleverly connects it's large areas by hiding loading and transitions with lifts, hoverbike rides or small paths leading from one visual styled area to the next. In fact, you can play the whole game without experiencing loading screens at all. It's an impressive feature for such and old game.
I love the variety of the worlds you discover too: sandy beaches by the sea, snow covered mountains, an underwater city and a boiling lava area. Each environment is truly memorable and bring out how diverse the game engine was.
Having recently gone back, I was reminded that it even has a day and night cycle! Giving every level a chance to show itself in bright light, yellow sunsets and dark moonlit nights. Just a visual treat when it comes to incredible lighting for the time it released. Very few games did realtime lighting at all when this game launched and to think it was combined so well, making the world even more immersive!
What are visuals without grat gameplay though? Rest assured, J&D plays incredibly well too, even today! Probably even aging slightly better than even Super MArio 64 in that respect. It's fast, precise and great fun. After all, the gameplay is what pulled me inafter the visuals had sunk in back in the early 2000s! While I got frustrated at some of the grabbing mechanics, it doesn't feel precise and results in unfair and cheap deaths, the rest of the control system is spot on and responsive.
Having recently gone back, I was reminded that it even has a day and night cycle! Giving every level a chance to show itself in bright light, yellow sunsets and dark moonlit nights. Just a visual treat when it comes to incredible lighting for the time it released. Very few games did realtime lighting at all when this game launched and to think it was combined so well, making the world even more immersive!
What are visuals without grat gameplay though? Rest assured, J&D plays incredibly well too, even today! Probably even aging slightly better than even Super MArio 64 in that respect. It's fast, precise and great fun. After all, the gameplay is what pulled me inafter the visuals had sunk in back in the early 2000s! While I got frustrated at some of the grabbing mechanics, it doesn't feel precise and results in unfair and cheap deaths, the rest of the control system is spot on and responsive.
J&D controls just as well as modern platformers, it's joy to traverse the landscape. The balance between platforming and enemies is perfect too. Unlike Ratchet & Clank's overuse of enemy encounters and shooting, J&D relies far more on it's platformer side rather than combat.
Some technicall port issues aside, J&D still stands as one of the best 3D platformers ever made. Between the groundbreaking, and excellent, Super Mario 64 and this game, nothing truly has engaged me as much in the 3D platform genre, with the exceptaion of other Mario games.
While the return to this PS2 classic release was a warm and welcome one, the PS4 port has it's issues. The most obvious is bad performance occurring frequently, we're talking lots of framerate drops. Sometimes they're so severe they actually hamper the gameplay, crowded scenes with lots of effects slows the gameplay out of pace and makes controlling Jak a pain until it settles. It's sad to not see this problem fixed entirely, even after patches, and a missed chance for a version that could easily run a locked 60fps on such powerful hardware.
The other letdown is the low resolution bump over the PS2 release. Putting this at a measly 1024x768 resolution. While it's a clear visual boost from runningit on a PS2 connected to a HDTV, I would have liked a higher resolution for such an old title. It should easily have been a 1080p@60fps release.
Some technicall port issues aside, J&D still stands as one of the best 3D platformers ever made. Between the groundbreaking, and excellent, Super Mario 64 and this game, nothing truly has engaged me as much in the 3D platform genre, with the exceptaion of other Mario games.
While it may be visually dated for young gamers, it's still an experience I would recommend. Especially gamers from the 90's that missed it's initial launch, should defintely check this out. The gameplay and exploring is addictive and fun, it truly is one of PS2's finest moments and should be remembered as such!
