In Jak II, Jak was imbued with dark energy that gave him the ability to
transform into Dark Jak. In Jak 3 Jak still can make this transformation by
picking up dark energy dropped by defeated enemies. As Dark Jak you get new
attacks and powers that you draw upon when the going gets rough. New to Jak 3 is
Light Jak powers which are given to you by a mysterious sect of harlequin monks.
These are more “good” powers than the attacks provided by the dark energy,
although eventually getting healing powers and the power of flight is pretty
useful.
|
| This time out Jak gets some light powers as well. |
There are a wide variety of mission types in the game but one thing they
share in common is an above average difficulty level. You’ll have your work cut
out for you whether you are fighting enemies or racing against other drivers,
and there is no moving forward until you win. Veteran gamers will be able to get
through the missions after a few plays as they begin to recognize patterns and
get a feel for the level, but novice gamers may find the going slow and
frustrating at times.
Hidden among the game’s levels and environments are crystals that you can
collect and then spend on a wide variety of unlockables. Concept art, cheats,
designer commentary, and more can be had for the price of a few crystals. You
can even unlock items for use in the game such as weapon upgrades and new dune
buggies.
The game’s mission-based structures makes for a lot of opportunities to show
cutscenes, and Jak 3 takes full advantage of this. The cutscenes shown at the
start and end of missions, as well as the ones that are there purely to advance
the story, are all top-notch quality from the art to the colors the animation.
The voice-work is always excellent and together with the animation make for a
vivid and compelling story. Those of you who enjoyed the first two games in the
series will be glad to hear that there is still plenty of humor in the game,
primarily thanks to Daxter of course.
Players who enjoyed Jak II will like Jak 3 as well as there is not much
change to the core gameplay. Conversely, if you didn’t enjoy Jak II, then
there’s not much chance that Jak 3 will appeal to you. It’s a bit different than
your typical platform game and the variety of gameplay and high quality
production make Jak 3 a game worth checking out.
In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated:
88%. Unique and varied gameplay set within an imaginative world makes Jak 3
a good addition to any PlayStation 2 gamer's collection.
« Page 1 of 2
