Jak and Daxter (PS2)
Publisher: SCEE
Developer: Naughty Dog
Platform: PlayStation 2
Price: £49.99
Sony is wishing Irish PS2 owners a very merry Christmas with the release of the hugely anticipated Jak and Daxter. The first next-gen game from the creators of Crash Bandicoot immerses players in a sprawling 3D world straight from the pages of Disney. While at heart a textbook 3D platforming romp, never before has so much spit and polish been apparent as you lose yourself in an adventure that takes you from snow topped mountains to scorching lava beds.
An evil magician has transformed your best pal, Daxter into an Ottsel. Thus, acting on a wise old Sage's advice, you embark on an adventure with your wise cracking rodent pal in tow to find the one who has the power to help him.
Naughty Dog has pilfered the best ideas from classic games like Donkey Kong, Mario, and Zelda for J&D, while Crash hasn't been totally forgotten - the character designs and music are reminiscent of the orange marsupial's adventures, not to mention the Bandicoot's trademark spinning attack. Gameplay-wise, it's the usual jumping/attacking/item collecting fare mixed with real time cinema sequences from a huge cast - but rather than tackling the game level after level, players can travel from world to world in whatever order they see fit.
J&D features some of the most eye-popping visuals yet seen on the PS2 (Jak is rendered in 3,200 polys - as opposed to 500 for Crash), while the environments have been lovingly created with epic graphical brushstrokes down to the last polygon.
Jak and Daxter features the most fully realised gaming world yet devised for a platformer. The lush organic landscape stretches as far as the eye can see and players have the ability to go pretty much anywhere they want with no real load times in between. Never has such freedom been seen in a PS2 game than with this platforming masterpiece - eat your heart out, Nintendo.
Neil McGreevy
