Experience the Uncharted 4: A Thief's End cinematic trailer for PSX, the PlayStation Experience 2015. Here, fortune seeker Nathan Drake gets reunited with his older brother, who he has not seen for seemingly ages. Uncharted 4 casts off next year.
Showing posts with label naughty dog. Show all posts
Showing posts with label naughty dog. Show all posts
Saturday, December 5, 2015
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Crash Team Racing (PS1, PSN) Retro Review
We're speeding to August in style, and to do so we're doing one more retro review to round out July! It's Crash Team Racing time! Is it not one of the best kart racers of all time? What a loaded question! How dare you! Here's SuperPhillip Central's review anyway!
Remember back in the day when mascot platformers were in high demand? How about mascot kart racers? Yep, those were popular back in the day, too. ...I miss those days. Thus, I decided to time travel, so to speak, back to 1999 and bust out my copy of Crash Team Racing. Giving Mario and his pals a run (or is it ride?) for their money, Crash Bandicoot and friends have a kart racer that's solid and most importantly, a blast, whether solo or with friends.
Crash Team Racing is in no short supply of modes, making games like Mario Kart 8 jealous, even when that title has online play! The main single player mode is Adventure, which was obviously inspired by Diddy Kong Racing, a game that had just released the previous year. Players control one of eight characters as they progress through overworlds, collecting trophies, CTR tokens, relics, and gems in their bid to take down the evil Nitrous Oxide who wishes to turn planet Earth into one gigantic parking lot. Good for karts, bad for everything and everyone else.
A pithy selection of races are available at the beginning of the adventure mode, but as races and trophies are won, new locations open up. Once all of the racing trophies have been earned in an area through getting first place, the boss garage opens. After a boss has been defeated, CTR challenges and relic races open up, as does a new area to explore and compete in races in. CTR challenges pit you in a race against seven other opponents. However, you must not only win, but you have to collect the letters C, T, and R too. Relic races are essentially time trials where running into differently numbered boxes stops the timer for a limited amount of time.
While it's a nice twist on the adventure mode formula Diddy Kong Racing invented, Crash Team Racing's offering isn't as enjoyable a kart-filled quest. The relic races do encourage exploring every inch of each track, the CTR challenges less so, but I found them a bit tedious towards the end of the game. The boss races aren't nearly as entertaining as going up against a giant octopus, a trampling triceratops, or a flying dragon. Instead, you race against a fellow racer in a kart who throws one type of item behind him and creates a challenge through severe rubber band AI.
My favorite part of Crash Team Racing isn't the wacky characters, that to be fair, I didn't grow up playing the Crash Bandicoot games so I really have no emotional attachment or interest in them. No, it's the track design, specifically the shortcuts available. Some offer some insane sections to slice off seconds from your overall time or create more distance between you and your competitors. A lot have a risk vs. reward dilemma to them (such as hopping off a ramp or hill at the exactly right time to make it over a wall), while others are just hidden well and require great skill to access them.
The tracks themselves take place on a wide range of terrain and environments, and they are a perfect length overall. Most do not outlive their welcome, and that's terrific for time trials where messing up on the final lap doesn't mean you have to redo five minutes of "work."
To assist in getting the best possible times in races, you're going to need some skill and some finesse. An incredibly crucial kart racing maneuver in any kart racer that has any worth to it is the power slide. It works a bit differently in CTR than say, Mario Kart, but I don't say that like it's a bad thing. A power slide begins with a hop and a slide around a corner or turn. As the slide continues, exhaust builds from the back of the kart. When the exhaust turns black, that's your signal to hit the left shoulder button to create a makeshift boost. This can be done three times, taking into consideration when the exhaust turns black for each boost attempt, of course. The final of the three possible boosts lasts the longest.
It's really challenging at first to steer your kart as you slide around a turn while simultaneously watching the exhaust for when to boost. However, once this has been learned (which doesn't take too terribly long), it becomes second nature. I even found myself trying this in Mario Kart 8 because my mind must have subconsciously forgot what game I was playing!
While power slides are an essential to liven up a kart racer, so are items. Crash Team Racing has enough of those in both offensive and defensive forms to keep races interesting. Thankfully, CTR uses a Mario Kart 64-like position on items. What I mean by this is that you will never see the AI using a CTR equivalent of the blue shell. Instead, they tend to stick to boosts, bombs, missiles, and flasks, which in Mario Kart lingo become mushrooms, green shells, red shells, and banana peels respectively.
Where items come out of boxes with a question mark on them, boxes with no symbol on them produce Wumpa Fruits. Continuing to compare this game with Mario Kart item-wise, Wumpa Fruit are the coins of that series. Collecting more increases your maximum speed. However, having ten in your possession makes the strength and power of your items stronger. A normal TNT box that would give a player caught in it time to escape will turn into a NITRO box, immediately blowing up player who runs into it in a glorious explosion.
Crash Team Racing delivers multiplayer thrills for when just competing against computer racers gets a bit dull after a little while. The game supports up to four players, though for three and four player action you'll need the Multitap peripheral for the original PlayStation version. Even with just two players, going against the AI and competing in four race cups is a wildly exciting and thrilling time.
I was amazed by how well Crash Team Racing holds up in some graphical regards. As many know, a lot of the PS1 era titles don't look too great, particularly the 3D ones. Crash Team Racing does have its ugly moments, but overall it isn't that bad of a looker. There is some chugging in the frame-rate here and there, which is unfortunate to see-- that is important to note. On the sound side, the music has high notes and low notes. There just seems to be more low notes (i.e. highly forgettable tracks like everything other than a handful of pieces) than high notes (i.e. the main theme of the game, the results screen, the lobby themes).
Crash Team Racing was indeed the PlayStation's answer to not only Mario Kart but then-popular Diddy Kong Racing. With a capable adventure mode, lots of multiplayer options, plenty of unlockables, tight controls, and solidly designed tracks, Crash Bandicoot's racing debut delivers a rewarding kart racing experience that is unmatched on the PlayStation platform and wouldn't be matched until the PS3's Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing in the kart racing arena, almost a decade later. This is probably preaching to the choir, but Crash Team Racing is a well done kart racer that's still worth a spin today.
[SPC Says: 9.25/10]
Naughty Dog gives a crash course in kart racing.
Remember back in the day when mascot platformers were in high demand? How about mascot kart racers? Yep, those were popular back in the day, too. ...I miss those days. Thus, I decided to time travel, so to speak, back to 1999 and bust out my copy of Crash Team Racing. Giving Mario and his pals a run (or is it ride?) for their money, Crash Bandicoot and friends have a kart racer that's solid and most importantly, a blast, whether solo or with friends.
Crash Team Racing is in no short supply of modes, making games like Mario Kart 8 jealous, even when that title has online play! The main single player mode is Adventure, which was obviously inspired by Diddy Kong Racing, a game that had just released the previous year. Players control one of eight characters as they progress through overworlds, collecting trophies, CTR tokens, relics, and gems in their bid to take down the evil Nitrous Oxide who wishes to turn planet Earth into one gigantic parking lot. Good for karts, bad for everything and everyone else.
A pithy selection of races are available at the beginning of the adventure mode, but as races and trophies are won, new locations open up. Once all of the racing trophies have been earned in an area through getting first place, the boss garage opens. After a boss has been defeated, CTR challenges and relic races open up, as does a new area to explore and compete in races in. CTR challenges pit you in a race against seven other opponents. However, you must not only win, but you have to collect the letters C, T, and R too. Relic races are essentially time trials where running into differently numbered boxes stops the timer for a limited amount of time.
 |
| You can't get second on the track named after you, Crash! |
My favorite part of Crash Team Racing isn't the wacky characters, that to be fair, I didn't grow up playing the Crash Bandicoot games so I really have no emotional attachment or interest in them. No, it's the track design, specifically the shortcuts available. Some offer some insane sections to slice off seconds from your overall time or create more distance between you and your competitors. A lot have a risk vs. reward dilemma to them (such as hopping off a ramp or hill at the exactly right time to make it over a wall), while others are just hidden well and require great skill to access them.
 |
| Careful. We've spotted a mad dingo riding around these parts, pardner! |
To assist in getting the best possible times in races, you're going to need some skill and some finesse. An incredibly crucial kart racing maneuver in any kart racer that has any worth to it is the power slide. It works a bit differently in CTR than say, Mario Kart, but I don't say that like it's a bad thing. A power slide begins with a hop and a slide around a corner or turn. As the slide continues, exhaust builds from the back of the kart. When the exhaust turns black, that's your signal to hit the left shoulder button to create a makeshift boost. This can be done three times, taking into consideration when the exhaust turns black for each boost attempt, of course. The final of the three possible boosts lasts the longest.
 |
| For our Spanish-speaking friends, a screenshot to make you feel more at home! |
While power slides are an essential to liven up a kart racer, so are items. Crash Team Racing has enough of those in both offensive and defensive forms to keep races interesting. Thankfully, CTR uses a Mario Kart 64-like position on items. What I mean by this is that you will never see the AI using a CTR equivalent of the blue shell. Instead, they tend to stick to boosts, bombs, missiles, and flasks, which in Mario Kart lingo become mushrooms, green shells, red shells, and banana peels respectively.
 |
| This mask serves as Crash Team Racing's answer to Mario Kart's Super Star. |
Crash Team Racing delivers multiplayer thrills for when just competing against computer racers gets a bit dull after a little while. The game supports up to four players, though for three and four player action you'll need the Multitap peripheral for the original PlayStation version. Even with just two players, going against the AI and competing in four race cups is a wildly exciting and thrilling time.
 |
| Use some of that polar bear power to get into first place! |
Crash Team Racing was indeed the PlayStation's answer to not only Mario Kart but then-popular Diddy Kong Racing. With a capable adventure mode, lots of multiplayer options, plenty of unlockables, tight controls, and solidly designed tracks, Crash Bandicoot's racing debut delivers a rewarding kart racing experience that is unmatched on the PlayStation platform and wouldn't be matched until the PS3's Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing in the kart racing arena, almost a decade later. This is probably preaching to the choir, but Crash Team Racing is a well done kart racer that's still worth a spin today.
[SPC Says: 9.25/10]
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Uncharted: Golden Abyss (Vita) Review
They say that "all that glitters is not gold." True, but does "all that is Uncharted that is not made by Naughty Dog bad?" While you ponder that question and while we wonder a smoother way to word that, check out SuperPhillip Central's review of Uncharted: Golden Abyss, a launch title for the PlayStation Vita.
The PlayStation Vita showed immense promise when it launched. It not only had powerful hardware with a plethora of features already from the get-go, but it also had the games to back up that the system was ready and raring to go. It's my belief that the Vita's launch lineup was one of the industry's best. What amazed me with the Vita was how full console experiences from the PlayStation 3 could be brought over to the Vita with minimal compromise needed. One such excellent example is Uncharted: Golden Abyss. While the series's creator Naughty Dog may not have had a direct hand in developing the game, the always capable Sony Bend once again shows that they're more than a match for any property that is thrown their way.
Beginning in the middle of things, Uncharted: Golden Abyss tells a tale of treasure hunting, betrayal, and the bonds between protagonist Nathan Drake and the many characters he comes across. Taking place before Drake's Fortune, the first in the Uncharted series, Golden Abyss follows Drake as he is hot on the trail of a rival hunter Jason Dante. What occurs next is a rewind of sorts where the game delves into the events leading up to this moment and how the former allies in Drake and Dante had their friendship turn very sour. While narrative in video games is hardly a strong suit for the medium, the Uncharted series usually does a serviceable job on this end. In that regard, Golden Abyss shines, but nowhere near as brightly as its console brethren.
For those wanting an action-packed Hollywood blockbuster thrill ride on a portable, Uncharted: Golden Abyss is this. All in all it's a successful attempt at bringing Uncharted to a handheld with a big budget presentation like its console brothers. The gameplay is relatively the same too, with little touches added to work with the Vita's various tech and some scaled down aspects to better fit a handheld.
Like its big brothers on the PS3, you're constantly moving from set piece to set piece, albeit these don't have anywhere near the gravitas of said console versions. As Nathan Drake, you're engaged in shootouts with a myriad of enemy grunts firing right back at you while you hide behind cover, occasionally coming out for the opportunity to potshot someone. This is all the while being aware of your surroundings, escaping cover when a foe launches a grenade near you to flush you out, and participating in the rare "cover your AI pal or he or she will die" engagement.
The Vita's built-in gyroscope can be used exclusively or in tandem with the right analog stick to aim down the sights of Drake's numerous repertoire of weapons (Drake can only hold two at a time, one handgun and one heavier weapon like an AK47 or RPG, for instance.) Overall, I found using both to be an adequate combination, as the analog stick by itself can feel a little clunky, while the gyroscope can be used to fine-tune and adjust your aim ever so slightly.
Platforming, climbing, and light exploration have always been a part of Uncharted, and Golden Abyss doesn't stray too far from the formula here either, for better or worse. Platforming still feels as rigid as ever, not allowing a feeling of tightness. Instead, this is rather a feeling of leaping in the general direction of what you're supposed to grab, such as a ledge or rope, and being attracted to the object as if it and Drake were magnets. Precision-based jumping is not fully there, sometimes offering more moments of aggravation than satisfaction.
Climbing cliff faces and other walls is made easier due to touch screen controls. These are totally optional, but tapping on the front screen where you want Drake to head towards mid-climb allows a greater sense of accuracy. When I found myself not knowing where to climb or drop to next, I could simply touch different sectors of the screen until I discovered a path for Drake to shimmy up like a monkey on a coconut tree.
Touch controls are used for other means as well, and it comes across that for every action that touch controls use that works well, there's one that doesn't-- dare I say, one that even hurts the overall experience. Engaging with enemies is enjoyable, as when you're ready to brawl with them with Drake's bare fists, you touch the enemy when you're near them and start a quick mini-game of sorts. If the foe blocks your attack, they'll counter with a punch of their own.
It's these moments as well as many other quick-time event-esque occasions, where you'll need to swipe your finger across the screen in the direction of the arrow. Doing this correctly results in success, such as knocking out the enemy with a bare-knuckle sandwich. Failing it can result in taking damage, or in the case of missing a finger swipe while climbing, can result in death. The timing is open enough so you usually have plenty of time to react. However, on harder difficulties (I'm looking at you, Crushing), the timing is very strict and quite frankly, very frustrating.
Many times in Uncharted: Golden Abyss you'll come across an ancient marketing that needs to have a charcoal rubbing done. All this does is force you to mindlessly rub the screen until the rubbing has been completed. This happens so much that it just detracted from the experience. Once was cool. Ten times? Not so much. Then there's puzzles that involve engaging the touch screen, turning dials, moving statue pieces onto what is essentially a grid, and arranging torn-up pieces of a document into a completed jigsaw puzzle of sorts. Again, some of this is fun, while others either overstay their welcome or actually make you loathe Sony Bend's attempts at control and gameplay innovation.
The campaign of Uncharted: Golden Abyss will take players an initial 8-10 hours to complete. There's multiple difficulties, an abundance of hidden treasures strewn about the 34 chapters of the game, points where you can take photos of specific in-game areas to satisfy optional conditions, and even bounties on enemies that can be offed, the latter gameplay element uses the Vita's Near functionality. It's important to note that Golden Abyss is much like Drake's Fortune as there is no multiplayer component to speak of, which will definitely bring down the longevity of Golden Abyss regardless of its admirable campaign content.
Uncharted: Golden Abyss is a remarkably stunning game. It amazes a guy like me who grew up on black and white handhelds that I'm able to play a full home console-like experience on the go and in the palm of my hands. Golden Abyss manages to pull off looking just like it was a game for the PlayStation 3, and it does so while running at a buttery smooth frame-rate. This is Uncharted on a handheld, and it is glorious.
For some, Uncharted: Golden Abyss could just be denounced as a tech demo for the PlayStation Vita hardware. While it does serve that purpose, it's also just a well done game in general. It won't thrill fans as much as the console entries, due to the scarcity of large scale set pieces, possessing a somewhat subdued story in comparison to what the series has delivered in the past, and having a small amount of locales represented; but Uncharted: Golden Abyss is one treasure that Vita owners should not go without hunting for. It might not be a priceless treasure like what can be found in the fabled "Golden Abyss", but Uncharted's debut on a handheld is a mighty fine one.
[SPC Says: 8.25/10]
The Uncharted series goes into uncharted territory-- on the go.
The PlayStation Vita showed immense promise when it launched. It not only had powerful hardware with a plethora of features already from the get-go, but it also had the games to back up that the system was ready and raring to go. It's my belief that the Vita's launch lineup was one of the industry's best. What amazed me with the Vita was how full console experiences from the PlayStation 3 could be brought over to the Vita with minimal compromise needed. One such excellent example is Uncharted: Golden Abyss. While the series's creator Naughty Dog may not have had a direct hand in developing the game, the always capable Sony Bend once again shows that they're more than a match for any property that is thrown their way.
Beginning in the middle of things, Uncharted: Golden Abyss tells a tale of treasure hunting, betrayal, and the bonds between protagonist Nathan Drake and the many characters he comes across. Taking place before Drake's Fortune, the first in the Uncharted series, Golden Abyss follows Drake as he is hot on the trail of a rival hunter Jason Dante. What occurs next is a rewind of sorts where the game delves into the events leading up to this moment and how the former allies in Drake and Dante had their friendship turn very sour. While narrative in video games is hardly a strong suit for the medium, the Uncharted series usually does a serviceable job on this end. In that regard, Golden Abyss shines, but nowhere near as brightly as its console brethren.
 |
| "Excuse me, pretty boy, but we've got some work to do!" |
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| When you're not hunting for treasure, it's always nice to find time to enjoy the view. |
 |
| Aiming does take some practice, and even then, it doesn't feel 100% right. |
 |
| One shot left. Better make it count. |
Climbing cliff faces and other walls is made easier due to touch screen controls. These are totally optional, but tapping on the front screen where you want Drake to head towards mid-climb allows a greater sense of accuracy. When I found myself not knowing where to climb or drop to next, I could simply touch different sectors of the screen until I discovered a path for Drake to shimmy up like a monkey on a coconut tree.
 |
| Don't mind me. Go ahead and admire the sunset. I'm just hanging around. |
It's these moments as well as many other quick-time event-esque occasions, where you'll need to swipe your finger across the screen in the direction of the arrow. Doing this correctly results in success, such as knocking out the enemy with a bare-knuckle sandwich. Failing it can result in taking damage, or in the case of missing a finger swipe while climbing, can result in death. The timing is open enough so you usually have plenty of time to react. However, on harder difficulties (I'm looking at you, Crushing), the timing is very strict and quite frankly, very frustrating.
 |
| There's no gentlemen's agreement when it comes to treasure. |
The campaign of Uncharted: Golden Abyss will take players an initial 8-10 hours to complete. There's multiple difficulties, an abundance of hidden treasures strewn about the 34 chapters of the game, points where you can take photos of specific in-game areas to satisfy optional conditions, and even bounties on enemies that can be offed, the latter gameplay element uses the Vita's Near functionality. It's important to note that Golden Abyss is much like Drake's Fortune as there is no multiplayer component to speak of, which will definitely bring down the longevity of Golden Abyss regardless of its admirable campaign content.
 |
| The interactions between characters is top-tier stuff as always. |
 |
| I'm here to shoot thugs and style my hair. ...And I'm all out of styling gel. |
[SPC Says: 8.25/10]
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2) Retro Review
How about a retro review? We had one last week with Klonoa: Empire of Dreams, so let's continue this platformer-themed retro review trend with Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. If you don't want to bust out and dust off the ol' PlayStation 2, you can plop down the cash for the Jak and Daxter Collection, an HD compendium of all three major PS2 Jak games. Of course, the first will always be my favorite!
Naughty Dog is one of the PlayStation brand's most proficient developers. While nowadays they craft experiences meant to be compared to and rival Hollywood, their past projects include multiple platforming games such as Crash Bandicoot, and the subject of this review, Jak and Daxter. Before the series went off into The Simpsons' Poochie the Dog territory with Jak II, with its unnecessary focus on narrative in a platformer and new "attitude", the original Jak and Daxter was meant to be a bright and cheery new platforming franchise akin to games like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. Not only is it the best the series has to offer but a great platformer in its own right, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is one of Naughty Dog's finest titles to date.
Going against the wishes and warnings of Samos the Sage, who Jak and his loudmouthed pal Daxter live with in Sandover Village, the pair head to the mysterious and incredibly dangerous Misty Island. Hiding behind a rock, they catch wind of a plan from two figures being told to an army of Lurkers, foul beasts that don't take kindly to trespassers. After the villains have vamoosed, Jak and Daxter near a pool of Dark Eco, a hazardous liquid to touch. Unfortunately, Daxter falls into the pool, and when he comes out he takes the form of an ottsel, that is a combination of an otter and a weasel. When the duo return to Sandover Village and receive their deserved scolding, Samos the Sage advises the two to trek to Gol Acheron, a sage of Dark Eco who might be the only person who can return Daxter to his original form.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a product of the nineties era of 3D platformers, despite being released in 2001. The focus is on exploring large interconnected worlds in order to gather various important collectibles through platforming and puzzle challenges.
You control Jak, with the always-wisecracking Daxter in tow on his back. The typical platformer arsenal is represented and accounted for-- you have your double jump, spin attack, glide attack, among many other helpful moves to progress through the game. Jak controls well, although his jumps aren't as impressive as say, competition like Mario, for example. However, there's no denying that moving Jak around and occasionally smacking enemies feels very nice and responsive, so in that essence, Jak is like Mario.
However, Jak can have his powers heightened for a limited time with interactions to various types of Eco energy. Green Eco energy grants Jak full health; while Blue Eco energy augments Jak's speed, ability to pick up nearby objects, and also turns on various machinery; and lastly Red and Yellow Eco energies boosts Jak's strength and allows him to shoot beams from his fist respectively.
Although Jak can only put up with getting hit three times before it's lights out (and a snide remark from Daxter who stands over Jak's KO'd face), there's a healthy amount of checkpoints to be found, so it's rare to be forced to make up a lot of ground, saving players from a hassle most of the time.
Power Cells, of which there are 101 within the game's multitude of worlds, are the major collectible of Jak and Daxter. They are the collectible similar to the Power Stars of Super Mario 64, the Jiggies of Banjo-Kazooie, and the Golden Bananas of Donkey Kong 64. These are received through traditional platforming means (i.e. make it an obstacle course full of platforming peril), as well as through trading Precursor Orbs, the currency of the series, to numerous NPC's within the many worlds of the game. Much like the games it is modeled after, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy requires player to collect a certain number of Power Cells in order to progress at some points within the game.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy isn't a very long game, but its 10-12 hours of content will make most players happy, especially compared to the amount of time it takes to beat some more modern games with a higher price tag that release these days. Collecting all of the Power Cells takes a certain degree of skill, and finding all of the Precursor Orbs in every area of the game makes for even more longevity.
As for the presentation, Jak and Daxter may be an early PS2 title, but it certainly didn't look or run the part. I don't mean that in a negative way either. The graphical gods at Naughty Dog crafted a seriously well performing product. While the game itself may look visually unimpressive, how the actual game runs is nothing short of amazing. There's no loading times to speak of, next to no fog in expansive areas, allowing you to easily see across long distances, and the transitions between worlds are seamless. The sound is less inspired. Don't get me wrong-- the voice work is top notch, if not excessively Saturday morning cartoon-like, but the music is highly forgettable and did little to engage me as a listener. It's not horrid by any means, but it's also not fantastic either. It's just there.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was a promising start to a new PlayStation franchise. It's a shame Naughty Dog went a different direction with the series than I, as well as many others, would have liked. That said, the platforming is solid, the levels are well made, the humor is abundant, and the technical polish is immense. Jak and Daxter's first foray into gaming as well as Naughty Dog's first attempt at developing a PlayStation 2 game both were successful if not a tad long in tooth by today's standards.
[SPC Says: 9.0/10]
Ready to Get Jak'd Up?!
Naughty Dog is one of the PlayStation brand's most proficient developers. While nowadays they craft experiences meant to be compared to and rival Hollywood, their past projects include multiple platforming games such as Crash Bandicoot, and the subject of this review, Jak and Daxter. Before the series went off into The Simpsons' Poochie the Dog territory with Jak II, with its unnecessary focus on narrative in a platformer and new "attitude", the original Jak and Daxter was meant to be a bright and cheery new platforming franchise akin to games like Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie. Not only is it the best the series has to offer but a great platformer in its own right, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is one of Naughty Dog's finest titles to date.
Going against the wishes and warnings of Samos the Sage, who Jak and his loudmouthed pal Daxter live with in Sandover Village, the pair head to the mysterious and incredibly dangerous Misty Island. Hiding behind a rock, they catch wind of a plan from two figures being told to an army of Lurkers, foul beasts that don't take kindly to trespassers. After the villains have vamoosed, Jak and Daxter near a pool of Dark Eco, a hazardous liquid to touch. Unfortunately, Daxter falls into the pool, and when he comes out he takes the form of an ottsel, that is a combination of an otter and a weasel. When the duo return to Sandover Village and receive their deserved scolding, Samos the Sage advises the two to trek to Gol Acheron, a sage of Dark Eco who might be the only person who can return Daxter to his original form.
 |
| "What the $%#% did you guys do!?" (Okay, that may not be the exact dialogue.) |
You control Jak, with the always-wisecracking Daxter in tow on his back. The typical platformer arsenal is represented and accounted for-- you have your double jump, spin attack, glide attack, among many other helpful moves to progress through the game. Jak controls well, although his jumps aren't as impressive as say, competition like Mario, for example. However, there's no denying that moving Jak around and occasionally smacking enemies feels very nice and responsive, so in that essence, Jak is like Mario.
 |
| Sandover Village is where Jak and Daxter make their tropical home. |
Although Jak can only put up with getting hit three times before it's lights out (and a snide remark from Daxter who stands over Jak's KO'd face), there's a healthy amount of checkpoints to be found, so it's rare to be forced to make up a lot of ground, saving players from a hassle most of the time.
 |
| Or become fish food and lose a life instantly! |
 |
| Power Cells are to Jak and Daxter like Jiggies are to Banjo and Kazooie. |
 |
| A real platforming fan would run along this narrow cliff side path like a boss! |
 |
| Play Misty Island for me. |
[SPC Says: 9.0/10]
Friday, March 28, 2014
Crash Bandicoot (PS1, PSN) Retro Review
This past Wednesday we took at look at Klonoa: Door to Phantomile, a charming PS1 era platformer. Now we take a look at what is the system's most well known platformer, Crash Bandicoot. Bean gives us his opinion on the game with this retro review.
Crash Course
Way back before Naughty Dog was making cinematic-oriented games, they were a company that was struggling to find a direction for themselves. Mark Cerny, who at the time worked at Universal Interactive Studios, liked the promise that the team had and asked the studio to try and put that ability into making a new platformer. Many had tried to compete with Nintendo's series in the past, but at the time, only Sonic the Hedgehog had seen any semblance of lasting success. It seemed an odd move, but there was one advantage the team had. The game would not be a simple side-scroller, but a 3D-based one instead. The game, of course, would be none other than Crash Bandicoot, and it would be one that Sony quickly signed on to their Playstation in order to compete with Nintendo. How was this first game that helped put Naughty Dog on the map? You don't have to answer that. I will.
Crash Bandicoot has the titular character mutated into his hero-to-be self by one Dr. Cortex and the sinister scientist's Evolvo-Ray. The animal is subjected to a mind-control experiment from another invention known as the Cortex Vortex, but this machine fails, and the marsupial is tossed out with the trash. During his time in captivity, the bandicoot found a love interest, so I guess we have our standard save the world and get the girl plot that this genre is famous for!
As stated earlier, Crash Bandicoot isn't a standard platformer. The game focuses on platforming in 3D, even in levels that look like they would be traditional, 2D side-scrolling stages. The object of the game is to not only reach the end of the level, but also break every box in your path along the way. This is actually easier said than done in a lot of cases as a good many levels offer a decent degree of challenge to them, whether it be with enemies placed in spots that will hinder your movement or stage hazards that will cause you to plummet to your doom in no time at all. It's certainly not an easy task considering the decent variety in levels and sometimes the not so decent flaws that come along with it.
There's plenty of level types to get going through. Standard stages see Crash running forward through a jungle environment and dealing with the local wildlife such as crabs or aggressive plants. To combat these annoyances, you have the old-school ability to hop right on their heads with the X button or go and use Crash's patented spin attack by pressing square instead. In some cases, you'll have to use both techniques in tandem to be able to take down an enemy. For instance, one level early on in the game sees Crash trying to scale a wooden fortress. Along the way, he'll run into tribesmen that are carrying shields. If you try to spin into them right off the bat, you'll be bounced back until you're most likely pushed right into a pit. That said, if you jump direct on top of a tribesman at first, he'll raise his shield to block you, giving players a chance to spin him out of the way. I do like how it's pretty easy to tell which enemies you'll need to do this on. It's something a lot of platformers, even today, can get wrong at times. Yeah, I'm looking right at you, Sonic: Lost World.
Again, the variety of levels you'll go through in this game's three islands is a nice thing. Even better, many of these types get more than a one-and-done treatment, and I think it's good to refine what you have instead of throwing in everything and the kitchen sink. Platforming on moving lilypads, climbing temple structures, running towards the screen to avoid getting squashed by a giant boulder, and hopping on a hog for a little animal buddy stage, these levels will are generally fun and manage to get the whole fun factor thing down right. There are two examples, though, where I found that not to be the case. These are the bridge and darkness levels.
The former will see you doing thin platform jumps, with some of those breaking almost instantly on you if you mistime your jumps in any fashion. To make matters worse, there are parts in both bridge stages where planks will be invisible until you walk right up to them. This happens at the start or end, depending on which bridge you're on. I absolutely loathed going through Road to Nowhere and falling to my doom after reaching a hidden path just beyond the goal as you have to make a few leaps of faith to cross planks. Miss one jump, and bye-bye boxes. Did I mention that checkpoints in this game don't save your boxes broken progress as they all respawn? Yeah, you have to clear these in one go, or you might as well just back out and start the stage over.
The issue with the darkness levels are that there is that the terrain itself will get in your way more often or not. Taking place in a castle, some parts to these stages have you jumping around doors that I had Crash get stuck on a few times. The worst level in the game, Fumbling in the Dark, is one where you have to jump around doors four times in succession and angle yourself to the sides of the room to both break the level's first few boxes and not fall into the giant pit in the middle of the area. The moment Crash gets caught on the wall, his momentum just halts, and you will fall into said pit more times than you'd care for. As a guy that already can't stand darkness gimmicks to begin with, mixing in more frustration due to a geometry glitch is something I could have done without. Luckily, Naughty Dog agreed as other entries in the series would not have you platforming against the game's physics engine. Good.
So you're going through and breaking boxes, but what's the point? Well, your reward for making it through a level with every busted box is a gem. Most of the time, these will be simple silver-colored ones that do nothing but increase your percentage progress, but there are a few stages that offer a better reward. By making it to the end of those, you'll receive a colored gem. You see, some levels have paths that would otherwise be inaccessible until you earn these crystals. This does make you have to do some forced backtracking to clear out the small number of boxes you were previously missing, but these paths are generally easy enough to get through. I can't get too annoyed with this, but I will say that I wish the gem paths would have occurred in levels beyond the point where I earned them instead of in previous ones.
Boxes themselves have plenty of goodies inside of them. Aside from the game's version of coins known as Wumpa Fruit and extra life ones, there's also a floating mask known as Aku Aku. This magical mask grants Crash the ability to take an extra hit or two depending on how many crates of Aku's you can find. If you get three without taking a hit, you'll turn invincible. Not only does this allow you to plow through enemies like there's no tomorrow, but you'll also tear through boxes and see an increase to your speed. It's only a temporary thing before it reverts back into its level two form, but it's nice when you can earn it. The last item that you can get from boxes are tokens of either Crash's girlfriend, Cortex, or his assistant. In levels where they appear, they always show up in threes. Collect all three, and you'll be able to enter into a bonus round. Depending on which three tokens were collected, you can either collect quite a few more lives and instantly make a superfluous save or get sent to a more challenging area. The two Cortex ones will unlock hidden levels if you can make it to the end of them.
The goal of all this is to get through all three of the game's islands and put a stop to Cortex and his army of both natives and mutants. That said, the bosses in this game are so basic that it's almost a wonder if they were just tacked on for the sake of having them. Most involve you just slowly dodging obstacles that will have no chance of hitting you even on an off day and only take a handful of hits before going down. Even Dr. Cortex himself is simply a matter of dodging his slow-moving chemical concoctions while spinning the correct one back into him. If there's one flaw that Naughty Dog has had over the years, it's that they're usually unable to design an engaging boss encounter.
In the end, I left feeling satisfied but also thought there were enough flaws to keep me from outright recommending it. It has some interesting design decisions at the very least, even if those decisions are a mixed bag. Thankfully, the foundation that was established with this game would be built upon in future installments. That said, Crash Bandicoot is a respectful first attempt at creating a game in a genre that was trying to take off in the mid-90s. As such, I do think it's worth your time, but I won't be surprised if you some of you Crash and burn after playing this game.
[SPC Says: 7.0/10]
- Bean
Thursday, December 26, 2013
The Last of Us Was Robbed: Or The Problem With Gamers
Let's rewind time just a little bit. It was a few weeks ago that GameSpot named The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds as their game of 2013. This meant Zelda beat out games like BioShock Infinite, Grand Theft Auto V, and yes, The Last of Us, a game created by Naughty Dog, or as many of the studio's most ardent supporters affectionately call them, "Naughty Gods." (Just don't review one of the studio's games an 8.0 like Eurogamer did with Uncharted 3...)Instantly, the YouTube video comment section of GameSpot's video was hammered with negativity and copious amounts of insults towards GameSpot and other gamers who didn't agree with their obviously objective facts that The Last of Us should be the game of the year everywhere, and if you don't agree, you're obviously didn't play through the entire game or something. It definitely had nothing to do with people having different tastes in gaming and what they view as most important in their gaming experiences.
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| GameSpot's Game of the Year for 2013 is... The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds. |
This incessant whining about what someone or some media outlet calls game of the year is rather ridiculous, and it reveals an underlying theme with many gamers. This theme is that many gamers cannot understand that a lot of people have opinions that differ from their own. It's hard to accept, I know, but once you do, you can finally stop making total asses of yourself and your hobby.
I have seen far too many comments and posts regarding Ken Levine's top ten games of 2013, or David Jaffe's own list. These comments and posts say things like "oh, so-and-so game is good, but it shouldn't be on that list." It's this chutzpah that's basically saying "I know your opinion better than you do. Your choices are objectively wrong." Seriously? Are some gamers this pathetic? Unfortunately, the answer is yes.
The idea that a lot of gamers still can't comprehend that not everyone agrees with their thoughts and that their opinion isn't the be-all end-all is frightening to me. We can readily view otherwise rational adults turn into emotionally childish people who will fling insults and other rude, negative words at people who disagree with them. There's seldom legitimate discussion. Instead, there's just pure, unadulterated vitriol.
We as gamers can do better than this. Perhaps one could just say that it's only "internet culture" to be rude, but I've seen this behavior outside of technology's boundaries. It's just as sad, it's just as depressing, and it's just as much of a black eye on the industry and our hobby as everything else.
Hopefully some who have read what I've had to say have been nodding their heads in agreement throughout their whole read. Some might disagree, and that's all right, too. I'm just requesting that we somehow get to a point where we respect others' opinions without needing to deride them-- without needing to think that our opinion is somehow superior over someone else's just because we don't exactly agree with them. I just hope that some of the same people who have been indulging in the negative type of behavior I've spoken of accept the opinions of SuperPhillip Central when we select our choices for games of the year when our sixth annual awards ceremony begins tomorrow night.
Tuesday, July 23, 2013
The Last of Us (PS3) Review
We're approaching the end of July, but SuperPhillip Central still has some big games to review. One such is Naughty Dog's The Last of Us, much proclaimed as one of the greatest games of the generation, if not THE greatest. Let's find out what SuperPhillip Central has to say about it with our review.
I am always hesitant to play something that many herald as the "game of the generation." I feel that this title puts an almost impossible to overcome bar for the game in question to reach and leap over. Sometimes I might even feel some animosity towards the game after playing it, realizing that all of the overly emotional compliments and awards were undeserving of the game. The Last of Us is the type of game that falls into neither category of game of the generation or a title that I show ill will towards. No, it's a game that ranks right up there with Sony's finest first-party titles, one of Naughty Dog's greatest achievements, and one of the best games of the year-- nay-- of the generation. It's not without problems, but what is? It's Naughty Dog at their most sensational, it's The Last of Us.
The Last of Us begins with a bang, putting the player in the role of protagonist Joel's daughter Sarah. A mutant strain of a fungus known as cordyceps has infected large numbers of human beings, turning them into malevolent and highly violent beings. The city turns under into chaos, with thousands rushing to find safety amid the carnage. Joel and his daughter are stopped by an enemy soldier, who fatally wounds Sarah with a gunshot. The game fast forwards to twenty years later where major cities are under lockdown, sections of cities are quarantined by police, and a huge swath of humanity has been destroyed. Joel meets up with Ellie, who a friendly rebellion group known as the Fireflies, wishes to have "smuggled" across city limits for the reason that she might hold the key to curing humanity. Joel and Ellie start out not on the greatest of terms, but as their journey together takes each twist and turn, they understandably grow closer. It's a relationship that showcases a lovely transformation between the two, and a heartfelt, beautiful story that heavily contrasts with the hellish world the two must survive in.
If I had to describe the game in one short and simple sentence, it would be that The Last of Us is an action-adventure game with some survival horror sensibilities to it, and then that wouldn't even be fair to the game. The Last of Us has you deciding the best way to tackle encounters. With limited ammo and the threat of being overwhelmed, it's not always the greatest idea to rush into rooms and areas like Rambo. Instead, stealth is key, which The Last of Us has plenty of. Joel can sneak behind enemies and strangle them to death, or, for a more quiet kill, use a shiv to stab right into their throats. Yes, that is pretty gnarly to see. However, sometimes your only choice is to fight fire with fire.
Alongside encounters is some simple environmental puzzles to break things up, as well as exploration, which The Last of Us contains a wide sampling of. One such environmental puzzle requires Ellie, who can't swim (join the club!), to cross over a flooded part of an underground passage. In order to do this, Joel must swim and find a plank of wood and set it by Ellie. She rides atop the wooden plank (after a little hesitation to do so), and Joel pushes it to get Ellie safely across. These aren't brain-busters like any means, but they offer a nice change of pace for the game.
As for exploration, a lot of The Last of Us takes place in rather linear areas, but most of time there are side rooms or areas to journey into to acquire goods for crafting, health kits, and supplements, which are used to boost Joel's overall health, healing time, etc.
Crafting is a major part of The Last of Us. At any time in the game, you can look through Joel's bag in real time. Just make sure there's no infected breathing down your neck beforehand! Through acquiring crafting goods from shelves, drawers and other places within the game world, Joel can craft things like health kits, Molotov cocktails, and upgrades to melee weapons, such as strengthening them so they don't break as quickly. In addition to crafting goods, Joel can visit workbenches placed throughout the game to upgrade his various weapons, increasing their reload speed, capacity, and so forth.
The Last of Us is genuinely frightening in many regards. One part within the first half of the game has Joel's team in the darkened confines of a subway station. Unfortunately for them, the station has plenty of inhabitants in the form of one hit kill Clicker creatures. Clickers are unable to see, but they are super susceptible to sound, so Joel and the gang must quietly move through the labyrinth of benches, walls and columns as they make their way to the other side. When there, Joel must defeat one of the Clickers that stands in his way, and if he doesn't do it quietly enough, he'll alert the other handful of Clicker creatures to his location, possibly getting his throat torn out in the process!
But these tense and immersive moments are occasionally ruined by the AI. Generally your AI partners behave themselves, but sometimes when you're supposed to be silent, such as in the previous Clicker example, they will move around, even move right next to the Clicker threat. Thankfully, the AI can't alert the enemy to you, but it's still something that took me out of what was supposed to be an super-serious experience. Furthermore, I've had it where enemies would do erratic behaviors, almost as if the AI couldn't decide what it wanted to do.
That said, overall, the AI in The Last of Us is rather smart, despite the aforementioned issues. Enemies react differently depending on the situation. For instance, if they spot Joel in a vulnerable position or see him reloading, they will take that opportunity to go after him. They can surround Joel and try to take him down that way. Ellie can pretty much take care of herself, hiding in appropriate places, and even stabbing foes that have Joel in their grasp. It's a high level of intelligence that not many games can claim to have, but The Last of Us has it.
The Last of Us has four difficulties to play through for beginners and experts alike. After beating the game initially, players can start a New Game+ on their current difficulty for even more fun. Completing in-game challenges, some of which are related to trophies, unlocks cash that can be spent on character skins (such as unlockable Uncharted shirts and Jak and Daxter goggles), concept art and graphical filters, like sepia tone and black and white.
Additionally, if the massive single player campaign wasn't enough, Naughty Dog has a multiplayer component to The Last of Us. This mode is called Factions, and has players picking a side, either Hunters or Fireflies, and participating in matches to help their clan stay alive for 12 weeks. Each match serves as its own day. After surviving (or failing to survive) the 12 weeks, a player can choose their clan once again. It's an incredibly innovative take on multiplayer, currently only marred by the amount of lag in a wide number of matches. Note: That I'm saying this at the time of this review. It could be fixed by the time you read this.
The world of The Last of Us is absolutely breathtaking. Environments in the post-apocalyptic world of the game have plenty to see and admire. I personally love how there's so much vegetation covering the game's structures. It's almost serene, which is completely contradictory to the hell and horrors that exist in Joel and Ellie's world. Character models are by far the most impressive aspect of The Last of Us's presentation, using motion capture to create sophisticated and realistic looking human models-- from their look to the way they move. Simple things like Ellie running her fingers through her hair as she moves are what separates games like The Last of Us to the competition. The voice acting is some of the strongest I've heard in a long time, really punctuating the drama of the game. The minimalist music, composed by Gustavo Santaolalla, delivers a soft spoken score to The Last of Us that focuses less on bombastic horror themes and more on emotion, perfect for Naughty Dog's vision of the game.
Perhaps what's most great about The Last of Us is that it is a roller coaster of emotions for the player. From fright to delight, from sorrow to happiness, The Last of Us offers a wide range of emotions that I, personally, went through while playing the game. It's rare for a video game to do that to me. I think that speaks volumes for Naughty Dog's latest. The Last of Us succeeds at creating a compelling story that is, at its heart, a heartwarming journey between two completely different individuals brought together through a harrowing adventure in a Dystopian future. I found myself caring about both Joel and Ellie, and really rooting for them to survive despite how hopeless their situation seemed. The game isn't perfect, as there are some AI and online multiplayer issues, but all in all, in a world where AAA become more and more soulless to me, The Last of Us is an example that moved me as a player. As an adventure, it can't have been for nothing, and as a game, Naughty Dog's work certainly wasn't for nothing either.
[SPC Says: 9.25/10]
Not Quite the Game of the Generation,
But It's Absolutely One of Naughty Dog's Best
I am always hesitant to play something that many herald as the "game of the generation." I feel that this title puts an almost impossible to overcome bar for the game in question to reach and leap over. Sometimes I might even feel some animosity towards the game after playing it, realizing that all of the overly emotional compliments and awards were undeserving of the game. The Last of Us is the type of game that falls into neither category of game of the generation or a title that I show ill will towards. No, it's a game that ranks right up there with Sony's finest first-party titles, one of Naughty Dog's greatest achievements, and one of the best games of the year-- nay-- of the generation. It's not without problems, but what is? It's Naughty Dog at their most sensational, it's The Last of Us.
The Last of Us begins with a bang, putting the player in the role of protagonist Joel's daughter Sarah. A mutant strain of a fungus known as cordyceps has infected large numbers of human beings, turning them into malevolent and highly violent beings. The city turns under into chaos, with thousands rushing to find safety amid the carnage. Joel and his daughter are stopped by an enemy soldier, who fatally wounds Sarah with a gunshot. The game fast forwards to twenty years later where major cities are under lockdown, sections of cities are quarantined by police, and a huge swath of humanity has been destroyed. Joel meets up with Ellie, who a friendly rebellion group known as the Fireflies, wishes to have "smuggled" across city limits for the reason that she might hold the key to curing humanity. Joel and Ellie start out not on the greatest of terms, but as their journey together takes each twist and turn, they understandably grow closer. It's a relationship that showcases a lovely transformation between the two, and a heartfelt, beautiful story that heavily contrasts with the hellish world the two must survive in.
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| The Last of Us is one of the most gorgeous games to have a realistic take on things. |
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| Sometimes Joel just has to get his hands dirty. |
As for exploration, a lot of The Last of Us takes place in rather linear areas, but most of time there are side rooms or areas to journey into to acquire goods for crafting, health kits, and supplements, which are used to boost Joel's overall health, healing time, etc.
Crafting is a major part of The Last of Us. At any time in the game, you can look through Joel's bag in real time. Just make sure there's no infected breathing down your neck beforehand! Through acquiring crafting goods from shelves, drawers and other places within the game world, Joel can craft things like health kits, Molotov cocktails, and upgrades to melee weapons, such as strengthening them so they don't break as quickly. In addition to crafting goods, Joel can visit workbenches placed throughout the game to upgrade his various weapons, increasing their reload speed, capacity, and so forth.
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| This brick could easily be replaced by a launch Xbox 360. |
But these tense and immersive moments are occasionally ruined by the AI. Generally your AI partners behave themselves, but sometimes when you're supposed to be silent, such as in the previous Clicker example, they will move around, even move right next to the Clicker threat. Thankfully, the AI can't alert the enemy to you, but it's still something that took me out of what was supposed to be an super-serious experience. Furthermore, I've had it where enemies would do erratic behaviors, almost as if the AI couldn't decide what it wanted to do.
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| And a "good day" to you, too! |
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| "I could use... a hand here...*choke*" |
Additionally, if the massive single player campaign wasn't enough, Naughty Dog has a multiplayer component to The Last of Us. This mode is called Factions, and has players picking a side, either Hunters or Fireflies, and participating in matches to help their clan stay alive for 12 weeks. Each match serves as its own day. After surviving (or failing to survive) the 12 weeks, a player can choose their clan once again. It's an incredibly innovative take on multiplayer, currently only marred by the amount of lag in a wide number of matches. Note: That I'm saying this at the time of this review. It could be fixed by the time you read this.
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| Here's something to heat this match up! |
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| I could stare at many of the areas of The Last of Us for hours. |
[SPC Says: 9.25/10]
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Rank Up! - Jak and Daxter
Did you know that yet another HD collection of games has hit the PlayStation 3 today? It's the Jak and Daxter Collection available for $39.99. It's set to release in PAL territories later in the month. It makes perfect sense to have another Rank Up! segment to greet the Jak trilogy's arrival into HD... well, sub-HD. Anyway, what games will we be ranking this go around?
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
Jak II (PS2)
Jak 3 (PS2)
Jak X: Combat Racing (PS2)
Daxter (PSP)
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PS2, PSP)
Before wrongly believing video games should mimic movies as close as possible with the Uncharted series, Naughty Dog had experience with a platforming mascot with Crash Bandicoot on the original PlayStation. After Crash left Sony's hands they had a go of developing their own platformer franchise and that was none other than Jak and Daxter. The series had six unique games developed for it within a relatively short time span. As is usual with Naughty Dog games, the writing was humorous and well done, and the action was enjoyable for the majority of their games.
6) Jak X: Combat Racing (PS2)
As is customary with mascot platformers, one must have a racing game. Jak X: Combat Racing is just that, offering a plethora of modes, tactics, racers, tracks, and unlockables. Hampered by loose controls, floaty and unpredictable physics, obnoxious rubberband AI, and a list of other problems, Jak X is more of an effort in frustration than an enjoyable racing game. Yes, there's enough content to justify the cost of entry, but when the irritation of the playing the title is so high, is it actually worth it? I say no.
5) Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PS2, PSP)
When the world's supply of invaluable Eco begins to run dry, Jak, Daxter, and Keira go out on a journey to the edge of the planet in search of new sources. There they meet a band of sky pirates who won't have that. Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier was an entry that landed on both the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. If you have to choose between the two, the PSP version is the way to go. Regardless, when you're not battling against creatures on the ground and performing acts of platforming peril, you'll be flying around in a ship doing battle against sky pirates. One of the weaker entries in the franchise because 1) It was not made by Naughty Dog, 2) It was made on a cheap budget, 3) The camera is finicky, and 4) The game is relatively short, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier is still a worthy entry in this series that struggled to find an identity and an audience.
4) Jak II (PS2)
Completely selling out the franchise to make it appeal to god-knows-who, Naughty Dog chose to not only change the colorful and cheery setting of the first game, but make Jak chatty and hurl out the occasional expletive. This embarrassing shift in tone made playing Jak II a difficult proposition for me. Add in an empty open-world city to explore, annoying racing missions, the addition of guns as Jak's main means to attack, the ability to transform into a Dark Eco-craving beast, and a lesser focus on actual platforming, and you have the catalyst to what was a great start to a franchise. Leave it to Naughty Dog to miss the point entirely on what makes video games entertaining.
3) Daxter (PSP)
Daxter is a prequel to Jak II. Jak and Daxter entered a new dimension and Jak was imprisoned, subjected to scientific experiments and Dark Eco. This excellent PSP game tells the tale of Daxter, alone in an unfamiliar world, in search of a way to rescue his best bud. The orange ottsel opts to join an extermination gig where he either sprays or gets up close and personal and swats the metal-bug infestation with a fly swatter. With each new job and each new mission, Daxter gets one step closer to discovering how to save Jak from his uncomfortable staying arrangements. In Daxter, the titular hero has the ability to climb up walls, enter areas that an ordinary human wouldn't be able to fit through such as vents, and he can use his spray can to hover over gaps a la F.L.U.D.D. in Super Mario Sunshine. High Impact Games did a wonderful service to the series with Daxter.
2) Jak 3 (PS2)
After getting the sour taste out of my mouth from Jak II, I opened up to idea of Jak being a completely different character from the first game in the franchise. Leaving behind the boring environment and setting of Haven City from Jak II, Jak 3 banishes our hero to a desert wasteland, a much larger place than his previous playground. Jak 3 doesn't sell itself as a platformer at all. Instead it mixes genres completely such as platforming, adventure, puzzle, strategy, racing, and more. Vehicles play a bigger part in the game as crossing the rugged slopes of the desert on foot is essentially suicide. With less frustrating missions than its predecessor, Jak 3 is an excellent and fun romp through multiple gaming genres.
1) Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
Games that emulated the open-ended formula of Super Mario 64 were few and far in-between, especially on Sony's PlayStation 2. Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy looked to change that. With vast, expansive worlds just begging to be explored, players collected power cells to open up new areas, precursor orbs that needed to be gathered, and multiple secrets to discover, this then new IP offered a fresh take on the Super Mario 64 styled platformer. Jak himself was a mute while the former human turned ottsel from a bath in Dark Eco, Daxter, was Jak's partner and the series's comic relief. The Precursor Legacy continues to be the best game in the franchise, and it does so without selling its soul to be more "mature" or "dark" or "edgy."
Do you plan on picking up the Jak and Daxter Collection for the PS3 any time soon? For those that have never played the series, it's the perfect opportunity to do so. We'll see you here tomorrow for more SuperPhillip Central goodness.
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
Jak II (PS2)
Jak 3 (PS2)
Jak X: Combat Racing (PS2)
Daxter (PSP)
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PS2, PSP)
Before wrongly believing video games should mimic movies as close as possible with the Uncharted series, Naughty Dog had experience with a platforming mascot with Crash Bandicoot on the original PlayStation. After Crash left Sony's hands they had a go of developing their own platformer franchise and that was none other than Jak and Daxter. The series had six unique games developed for it within a relatively short time span. As is usual with Naughty Dog games, the writing was humorous and well done, and the action was enjoyable for the majority of their games.
6) Jak X: Combat Racing (PS2)
As is customary with mascot platformers, one must have a racing game. Jak X: Combat Racing is just that, offering a plethora of modes, tactics, racers, tracks, and unlockables. Hampered by loose controls, floaty and unpredictable physics, obnoxious rubberband AI, and a list of other problems, Jak X is more of an effort in frustration than an enjoyable racing game. Yes, there's enough content to justify the cost of entry, but when the irritation of the playing the title is so high, is it actually worth it? I say no.
5) Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PS2, PSP)
When the world's supply of invaluable Eco begins to run dry, Jak, Daxter, and Keira go out on a journey to the edge of the planet in search of new sources. There they meet a band of sky pirates who won't have that. Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier was an entry that landed on both the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable. If you have to choose between the two, the PSP version is the way to go. Regardless, when you're not battling against creatures on the ground and performing acts of platforming peril, you'll be flying around in a ship doing battle against sky pirates. One of the weaker entries in the franchise because 1) It was not made by Naughty Dog, 2) It was made on a cheap budget, 3) The camera is finicky, and 4) The game is relatively short, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier is still a worthy entry in this series that struggled to find an identity and an audience.
4) Jak II (PS2)
Completely selling out the franchise to make it appeal to god-knows-who, Naughty Dog chose to not only change the colorful and cheery setting of the first game, but make Jak chatty and hurl out the occasional expletive. This embarrassing shift in tone made playing Jak II a difficult proposition for me. Add in an empty open-world city to explore, annoying racing missions, the addition of guns as Jak's main means to attack, the ability to transform into a Dark Eco-craving beast, and a lesser focus on actual platforming, and you have the catalyst to what was a great start to a franchise. Leave it to Naughty Dog to miss the point entirely on what makes video games entertaining.
3) Daxter (PSP)
Daxter is a prequel to Jak II. Jak and Daxter entered a new dimension and Jak was imprisoned, subjected to scientific experiments and Dark Eco. This excellent PSP game tells the tale of Daxter, alone in an unfamiliar world, in search of a way to rescue his best bud. The orange ottsel opts to join an extermination gig where he either sprays or gets up close and personal and swats the metal-bug infestation with a fly swatter. With each new job and each new mission, Daxter gets one step closer to discovering how to save Jak from his uncomfortable staying arrangements. In Daxter, the titular hero has the ability to climb up walls, enter areas that an ordinary human wouldn't be able to fit through such as vents, and he can use his spray can to hover over gaps a la F.L.U.D.D. in Super Mario Sunshine. High Impact Games did a wonderful service to the series with Daxter.
2) Jak 3 (PS2)
After getting the sour taste out of my mouth from Jak II, I opened up to idea of Jak being a completely different character from the first game in the franchise. Leaving behind the boring environment and setting of Haven City from Jak II, Jak 3 banishes our hero to a desert wasteland, a much larger place than his previous playground. Jak 3 doesn't sell itself as a platformer at all. Instead it mixes genres completely such as platforming, adventure, puzzle, strategy, racing, and more. Vehicles play a bigger part in the game as crossing the rugged slopes of the desert on foot is essentially suicide. With less frustrating missions than its predecessor, Jak 3 is an excellent and fun romp through multiple gaming genres.
1) Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy (PS2)
Games that emulated the open-ended formula of Super Mario 64 were few and far in-between, especially on Sony's PlayStation 2. Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy looked to change that. With vast, expansive worlds just begging to be explored, players collected power cells to open up new areas, precursor orbs that needed to be gathered, and multiple secrets to discover, this then new IP offered a fresh take on the Super Mario 64 styled platformer. Jak himself was a mute while the former human turned ottsel from a bath in Dark Eco, Daxter, was Jak's partner and the series's comic relief. The Precursor Legacy continues to be the best game in the franchise, and it does so without selling its soul to be more "mature" or "dark" or "edgy."
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Do you plan on picking up the Jak and Daxter Collection for the PS3 any time soon? For those that have never played the series, it's the perfect opportunity to do so. We'll see you here tomorrow for more SuperPhillip Central goodness.
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