Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

I haven't been glogging my way through Jak and Daxter because, well, because there wasn't a whole lot to say about it. My first impressions were that it had little to offer over an N64-era platformer; and that stayed pretty consistent through the end.

If you've played a 3D platformer, Jak won't surprise you in any significant way. You run around, jump on ledges, punch enemies, all the while collecting power cells (stars), Precursor orbs (coins), and scout flies (red coins). There is a green plains level. There is an ice level. There is a lava level. There is a swamp level. There is even a fucking annoying level full of giant fucking spiders.

The game does succeed in at least two ways: technologically, because the game possesses a physics engine relatively sophisticated for its time, as well as a slick no-loading-screens setup that helps the game world come together; and in flavor, through the mostly-great voice acting and comedic script. Overall though the narrative falls short of stellar, since when it gets dramatic it gets very melodramatic - the ending, for instance, is remarkably dull and unfulfilling.

While parts of the implementation are pretty impressive, Jak fails to present anything gameplay-wise that it can really call its own. There are occasional vehicle segments, and infrequent instances of different-colored Eco powers to perform special tasks, but neither of these stand out as exceptionally fun or unique.

Like Sly Cooper, I don't really hesitate to say that Jak is comparable to platformers that came a whole generation before it. In fairness, Jak is put together better than Sly (though it certainly isn't without its fair share of hair-pulling frustration moments, either); but Sly also shows its unique mettle in the stealth tactics and level diversity, where Jak is a clone first and its own game second. Judging by what I've read about the sequels, this doesn't really change. Jak may be a fun platformer... but so are dozens of other games.

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