I think that some of the feeling of repetition could have been removed from the game if there was a greater variety to the weapons. Weapons are obtained as pick-ups on the track rather than being components built into your vehicle. The game makes it easy for you to really customize the look of your car and it would have been great if this extended to your weapons load. If you paired this game with the arsenal that comes with a Ratchet & Clank game, then you’d really have something here.

The tracks have a wide variety of features.

My biggest complaint with the game is with the AI of the other racers. There is no way to blow away your competition in a race as the game will always keep the other racers in the running. You can work hard to out-drive and blast your competition, only to be blown up by a guided missile and knocked into fourth place as you approach the finish line. It happened to me on more than one occasion and I have to say it definitely felt like I was cheated by the game each time. I can see why the developers used “rubber band” AI – they wanted to keep the combat action going until the end of the race. However, the races are usually relatively short so you wouldn’t have been faced with several minutes of circuiting an empty track in any case. Don’t get me wrong – I am not saying that Jak X is not an enjoyable game. It is, in fact, quite enjoyable. It’s just that it’s one of those good games that could have been a great game.

Jak X includes a “Secrets Shop” where you can use points earned in races to unlock additional characters (including “guest” characters like Ratchet), videos, and a host of other goodies. Naughty Dog went all out in packing a lot of bonus content into the game and you’ll appreciate all the extras.

Jak X also supports multiplayer play, both via splitscreen and online play. The online support includes both races and battle modes and overall is quite impressive. You can create a custom car for online racing and use points earned in races to purchase upgrades. To ensure that games are not dominated by the players who were able to fully upgrade the fastest, the game will only place you into matches with similar level vehicles. Online play is a lot of fun, especially with rubber-banded AI replaced with human players. The game also provides full support for leaderboards and clans, completing the online experience.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 82%.  Jak X is kart racing for the Twisted Metal generation.

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