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Jak II, subtitled Jak II: Renegade in Europe, is a science fiction platform game developed by Naughty Dog. Released for the PlayStation 2 game console on October 14, 2003, the game is the sequel to Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy and the second game in the Jak and Daxter series. It was followed by Jak 3 a year later. The game features new weapons and devices, new playable areas, and a storyline that picks up after the events of The Precursor Legacy. In the game, Haven City, a dystopia ruled under the questionable fist of Baron Praxis, is engaged in a war against a techno-organic group of organisms known as the "Metal Heads". As in the previous game, the player takes on the dual role of recurring protagonists Jak and Daxter. There are also a new array of characters such as Torn, Erol, Krew, Kor, Ashelin, and Sig, as well as some returning ones, such as Samos and Keira. Jak II is the only game in the series in which the versions for English-speaking regions feature the Japanese and Korean voiceover track. The voiceover cast features many notable seiyūs, including Shotaro Morikubo as Jak. The other games in the series did not follow suit, leaving the voices to be exclusive to the Japanese and Korean regions. However, the Japanese track is not on the disk for Jak and Daxter and Jak 3. This is also technically the last Jak and Daxter game to be released in Japan.
[edit] GameplayThe gameplay of Jak II is significantly different from the previous game. It abolished "Eco" gameplay and replaced it with a rifle, which he can combine with his traditional moveset. It also removed Power Cell progression and replaced it with a sandbox style gameplay. It does retain certain gameplay aspects from The Precursor Legacy. Many of the missions are similar to that of the previous and a lot of platforming gameplay is still involved. Several pieces of technology from the previous game, such as the Warp Gate, are maintained, as well as Jak's overall moveset which is expanded on with the addition of the Dark Eco abilities. By collecting Dark Eco, Jak can transform into Dark Jak, who is more powerful in close combat. By collecting Metalhead gems, gained by defeating the game's enemies, and giving them to the oracle from the previous game, Jak can gain additional abilities for his dark form. Jak can traverse the large city using hover vehicles, and change between vehicles mid flight. He later acquires a jetboard allowing him to hover across water, grind on rails and reach new areas. Some sections also see him using a robotic suit. [edit] Synopsis[edit] PlotThe game begins with Jak and Daxter, the protagonists, and Samos, their guardian, watching as Keira, Samos’ daughter and Jak’s love interest, demonstrate the Rift Rider and Precursor Rift Gate that they found in the previous game. When activated, the Rift opens a portal that the four of them are flung through. They arrive in Haven City, which is under the command of Baron Praxis that is at war with a race of beasts called Metal Heads.[1] They are separated on arrival, and Jak is captured by Praxis’ Krimzon Guard. While Jak is imprisoned, he undergoes experiments with Dark Eco; when exposed to Dark Eco, he turns into a mindless beast. Two years after his capture, Daxter breaks him out of prison, and together, they join an underground rebel movement that seeks to place the rightful ruler, a boy only referred to as the Kid, on the throne. While serving this Underground, Jak finds Keira and Samos, as well as a younger Samos. He also learns that Praxis has been working with the Metal Heads to maintain the throne. What surprises him the most is that Haven City is actually his home village 500 years in the future. Partway through the game, Praxis obtains the Precursor Stone, an artifact of immense power. Praxis intends to crack the stone while it is inside the Metal Head nest, not knowing that destroying the Precursor Stone will set off a chain reaction that will destroy the planet. The Baron leaves the destruction of the stone to Krew, the mob boss of Haven City. Jak finds Krew and destroys the device he is building to crack the stone; Krew is killed in the resulting explosion. After Krew’s death, Metal Heads invade the city. Jak finds Praxis on the outskirts of the city, confronting Kor, a member of the Underground who had been guarding the Kid. Kor is then revealed to be the leader of the Metal Heads. He fires his energy breath at Praxis and flies off. Before he dies, Praxis shows Jak another Precursor Stone bomb, this one containing the Precursor Stone. Daxter rummages through the bomb and deactivates it, and Jak takes the stone. As the Krimson Guard and the Underground fight the Metal Heads in the city, Jak travels to the Metal Head nest to confront Kor. There, he finds that Kor has the Kid and a Precursor Ring like the one that brought Jak and his friends to Haven City. Kor informs Jak that the Kid is in actuality, a young Jak. Jak had been sent into the past to learn the skills necessary to defeat Kor. The young Jak, because he is innocent and untouched by Dark Eco, is able to release the Precursor entity trapped in the stone. During the battle with Kor, Kor is decapitated by the Precursor Ring, which damages it. Before it breaks up, young Jak releases the Precursor entity, which enters the Ring. Samos and Keira arrive and send young Jak and young Samos back in time through the Ring, leaving Jak, Daxter, Samos and Keira to live out their lives in Haven City. Daxter takes over Krew's bar, and renames it the "Naughty Ottsel." [edit] SettingJak II takes place in the same science fiction universe created by Naughty Dog for Jak and Daxter, though hundreds of years in the future. The plot largely revolves around happenings in and around Haven City, a dystopia ruled by Baron Praxis and his Krimzon Guard law enforcers. Haven City often serves as a hub, whereas the player is given tasks that must often be fulfilled outside of the city, places that are separated via airlocks. [edit] CharactersMain article: List of Jak and Daxter characters Jak (voiced by Michael Erwin) is the game's 17-year-old[citation needed] protagonist. When he first arrived in Haven City, he became the subject of Baron Praxis' "Dark Warrior" project for two years. Because of the Baron's experiments, he acquired the ability to transform into a crazed beast-like form called Dark Jak, who wields a multitude of dark energy-based attacks. Jak's personality is very different from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, in which he was mute and much less aggressive. Daxter (voiced by Max Casella) is an otter-weasel hybrid (known as an ottsel) and is the game's comic relief. In Jak and Daxter, he was transformed into an ottsel by falling into a pool of Dark Eco. After Jak was captured by the Baron, Daxter searched for Jak for two years (see Daxter), finally helping him escape at the beginning of the game. Other important characters include Torn, the gravelly-voiced second in command of the resistance movement known as the Underground; Sig, a Metal Head hunter/Wastelander (someone who gathers artifacts outside the city); Krew, the overweight gang lord; Tess, the barmaid; Erol, the Baron's right hand man and commander of the Krimzon Guard; and Ashelin, the daughter of Baron Praxis who helps the Underground behind her father's back. Baron Praxis and the Metal Head's leader Kor are the story's antagonists. [edit] Reception
This game received generally very positive reviews from critics. It won Editor's Choice from IGN[2] and GameSpot,[3] was nominated for Best PlayStation 2 Game by GameSpot[4] and received aggregate scores of 87/100 on MetaCritic[5] and 88% on Game Rankings.[6] Jak II was added to Sony's Greatest Hits lineup on September 8, 2004, signifying at least 400,000 copies sold in its first 11 months.[7] A sequel called Jak 3 was released in 2004. [edit] References
[edit] External links
Categories: 2003 video games | Video games developed in the United States | 3D platform games | Jak and Daxter games | Naughty Dog games | PlayStation 2 games | PlayStation 2-only games | Video games featuring anthropomorphic characters | Science fiction video games | Time travel video games | Post-apocalyptic video games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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