Jak & Daxter Collection

I've always loved the art-style and humor from the first game since I first played it on PS2 and in that respect the sequels are certainly more of the same. I never played Jak II or Jak 3 back when they released. Anyway, replaying Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy was a nostalgic trip down memory lane. I personally thought Daxter was at his funniest here because he didn't seem as obnoxious compared to the sequels, and so when he did speak his humor stood out more. The environments are lush and varied; beaches, lava pits, dark spider-infested caves, snowy mountain-tops, an underwater "lost city", and so on. It isn't really too story-heavy but what story there is, is semi-entertaining and interesting enough to follow. The first game is mostly a straight-forward 3D platformer collect-a-thon with your occasional boss fights, vehicle segments and cutscenes. But it's a vibrant, colorful and quite enjoyable one. Most fans of this series I've heard from seem to regard this one the highest. Jak II I just recently beat (and platinum'd) so it'll probably be the freshest in my mind and easiest to review now. The game actually has a decent story that has a few twists and eccentric characters. The platforming is also still great when there are platforming segments. It seems to have adopted several elements from the then popular GTA games like GTA III or Vice City. You travel to icons around the city of Haven to start missions. They introduced weapons in the form of guns, which overall makes the sequels actually feel more like shooters a la Ratchet and Clank than platformers, and you now have a "Dark Jak" form which you can activate once your dark eco meter is filled. This form allows you to hit harder and do a few special moves that you can purchase via "skull gems" dropped by most metal head enemies. Sadly, most of the game's strong points end there for me. The city hub in Jak II feels far too padded out and is more frustrating to navigate than being fun. The checkpoints for missions are also very unforgiving, often times requiring a complete do-over if you manage to die. This can be overcome with some trial and error but it can just grate the nerves if you've almost completed a mission, and you just manage to slip up at the end and fall off into an abyss or lose your last sliver of health. Racing was also a pain, as were some of the combat-focused missions such as one requiring you to get to a certain location while endless swarms of cops and turrets descend upon you. Or killing three huge robot vehicles headed towards your base before they get there. There are combat/weapon tricks involved for most of these though, and I'd recommend looking up video guides if/when you get stuck. Some other missions weren't really that hard however, in contrast to what a lot of people led me to believe. The "protect the NPC" or escort missions were actually pretty easy for me. As was the on-rails turret mission which I managed I think on my third try. It just required some patience and very quick disposal of enemies as soon as they appeared. I ended up using an "Orb glitch" to achieve the full 286 required for the Platinum trophy, which otherwise would be near impossible for me seeing as you would have to get "gold" in the shooting ranges among other mini-game type stuff. Overall a solid game but due to most of it being frustrating I personally couldn't rate it any higher than about a 6/10. The first game was just more enjoyable for me and stayed true to traditional platforming. I've only just started Jak 3 and so far, as many people will tell you, it's mostly easier than Jak II simply because of the more lenient checkpoint placement. Gameplay mechanics and mission structure are still very similar to Jak II, however. This one, so far, seems to have quite an emphasis on vehicular gameplay; races galore, driving through the big desert to rescue NPC's before the time limits run out, and so on. There's still platforming sprinkled in here and there but it just seems to be a more "driving-focused" game. I hear it gets better and eventually blends in more platforming as well as combat missions but having to drive around or ride those large birds everywhere can kind of feel repetitive. The story is otherwise solid enough and characters well-done. But I'm more eager to see what the game has to offer besides driving, and the occasional boss fight missions. I will say, and I almost forgot, I actually enjoy the few sections where you get to play as Daxter. Aside from running from the spider in Jak II which was highly frustrating initially, the other parts where you get to play as him in Jak 3 are, thus far, varied and spicen up the monotony of all the driving and shooting you do as Jak. Anyway, like I said at the beginning of this "review", I love the art-style and platforming (when it's present) of this series so much that I have to rate it five out of five stars here on Amazon. For all its shortcomings, it's certainly a unique series. I also have the Ratchet and Sly collections for PS3, but they haven't really grabbed me yet based on trying out the first games in each series. Jak & Daxter was just likable to me from the get-go so I tend to prefer them out of the three series. Maybe that'll change once I give them another shot after finishing up Jak 3.

I grew up with these games, these were my childhood games so that may affect my review but here it is: They were great games and I loved them. With this HD release I could not only complete the games again, I could complete all the challenges(achievements) which was fun to do. The graphics are amazing(Compared to the old ones.) Jake and Daxter was great to see, although it didn't seem as amazingly stunning graphically as jak 2 and 3, this was still a fun game that had many secrets and a great storyline with many twist, weird people, and funny jokes. Jak 2 is very different from jak and daxter but in a good way. The platform is back but with guns and flying cars. Its a longer game with many many more things to do and a lot more features. The story once aging is amazing with more twist, really messed up people that you'll remember for a long time, and funny jokes. Jak 3 a great game but to me was not as great as Jak 2. It had more guns, more cars, more missions, more jokes, however I didn't like all of the people in the story and the story had major twist which were great, the characters just kinda brought it down for me. Voice acting for all games are amazing. Since this does have three games with it, it'll take a long time to complete them all. If your good at platform games and try to skip as much as you can then the games will only take like 10 though or less. I completed Jak 1 100% so far and that took me 4 hrs 15 mins(I died a few times and missed a few orbs.) Anyway Summary - Game:Great Story, Great Jokes, Great Characters, Great Game play, Great Way to create childhood/adulthood memories or just a fun game to play when you feel like a platform adventure.

Jak & Daxter was made in 2001 it was a epic Journey.How the Story go's is that Jak & Daxter go wounder off to misty island than Daxter falls into Dark Echo and turn's into a orange rat looking thing and now they have to change him back to normal.The game looks good in HD.The game will only take 5 or 6 hours to beat and the collectables are easy to get all of tham.Jak & Daxter was one of my favorite games as a kid it is one of the best Adventures game out there. i will give Jak & Daxter a 4/5. Jak 2 was made in 2003...The game features new weapons and devices, new playable areas, and a storyline that picks up after the events of The Precursor Legacy. The game's plot was noted for being much darker than its predecessor's. 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 both a sequel and prequel to the first game.This time the game is Rated T.This game get's a 5/5. Jak 3 was made in 2004.The game opens with Jak being banished to the Wasteland desert for life by Count Veger for supposed "crimes" against the people of Haven City. As he (along with Daxter and Pecker, who decided to join him) begins to succumb to the heat of the desert, a flashback shows Haven being under a mass attack by Metal Heads. Contrary to Torn's theory in the previous game, the destruction of the Metal Head Leader did not wipe out all the Metal Heads. Also, the Krimson Guard's special force of "K.G. Robots" went rogue and began attacking Haven citizens, leaving the city divided into three parts. The Palace is then destroyed by an unknown force. As Jak, Daxter, and Pecker lose consciousness, they are rescued by a group of desert-dwellers, who take them back to Spargus City.This game is Great i will give it a 5/5.

Cheesy title aside, this is a steal. This collection contains 3 of the best games I have ever played and a gateway to numerous fond memories from my childhood. I tried playing them on the PS2 again recently, but the graphics were not good and it felt outdated. The updated graphics are very colorful and sharp, and you almost can't tell that these games are from the last console generation. Of course the textures remain non-HD and you won't see it like Battlefield or anything, but I was impressed at how sharp and colorful the game was, and how great it looks. For those of you who haven't played these games, they have great characters, voice acting, collecting, platforming, combat, and missions. The games are overall just fun experiences with a great feel. Also, there is a lot of cheesy humor. Luckily for me I love cheesy humor so it's just icing on the cake. I'll put it simply - if you played these before and liked them or enjoyed them, you will only enjoy them more on the PS3 - and only $40 for all 3! Also, if you've never played them and don't mind slightly dated textures/detail and physics, but with sharp graphics then I highly recommend you check this out. It doesn't have much coverage online for some reason, but I assure you almost any gamer who plays the Jak games will agree that they are amazing games! The more people who buy this, the higher chance that Naughty Dog will try again to create Jak 4! Edit: Oh and there are no load times (so far) since the PS3 can MORE than handle these titles. There are also no installs. As another reviewer pointed out the port isn't the best, but it's nothing specifically WRONG with the port, it's just that they didn't anti-alias it (remove jagged lines.) I'm assuming it has something to do with Naughty Dog's style of creating the game or something, since Naughty Dog is known to do things differently. but it could just be laziness at Mass Media's end. Who knows.

The Jak trilogy was games made by Naughty Dog during the early to mid part of the last decade. However this collection was not made by Naughty Dog but it was ported by a different company. Anyway if you have never played Jak then I would recomend to pick it up right now, cause these games are defiantly in my top 10 ever made. The genre that these were in is just about dead on this generation of consoles (except for super mario galaxy and very few others) thanks to all the first person shooters so this was a nice break to relieve my childhood and remember where everything was for the trophy s. Which speaking of trophys there is trophys for each of the 3 games and while the 1st is a mostly an easy platinum (except for finding every single orb in the game)the 2nd and 3rd games are very challenging to get all the trophy's for. The Graphics have been extremely improved expecilly the 2nd and 3rd games. The 1st has been improved a lot to but not quite as impressive but keep in mind that was one of the 1st good ps2 games. Anyway I'll have a short review for each of the games but if you have never played Jak and Daxter stop reading and buy it now. Jak and Daxter-9/10 My first ps2 game also one of my favorite games of all time unlike the other Jak games this one is more like Super Mario 64 but better Jak 2-10/10 Same as the first one this is one of my favorite games ever made and I know a lot of people like the 3rd better I actually preferred this one but this game is pretty much more platforming game and gran theft auto combined to make one epic game Jak 3-8.5/10 this is a good end to the trilogy but I have only played this one a few times before and its they only jak game in this collection I haven't beat on ps2 which will change with this collection

These games are fantastic! I was not old enough to play these games when they came out (I was just born and was like 4 when Jak 3 came out) Jak 1 was cartoony and relaxing to play. Jak 2 made me really think about where I was going and how I was going to perform each jump without dying and having to start the mission all over (Stupid Mountain Collection Mission). Jak 3 made me think of what gun I needed at a certain moment in time, or if I should turn into Dark or Light Jak. The gameplay is awesome. I should also mention no loading screens in any of these games!?!?!? Yeah, no loading screens. And because this is a remastered game, the graphics are great. I don't care about graphics, as long as the gameplay can make up for not as good graphics. All these games look amazing on the PS3. You can see each little grass blade in Jak 1, see the Baron's palace from almost anywhere in the city, and in Jak 3 you can see what feels like forever in the desert. Overall, Jak is an amazing game for people who missed it the first time, or want to enjoy the games again with better graphics and a wireless controller.

Edit (July 10, 2014): I wrote some more thoughts on Jak II in the comments sections of this review. If you are reading this review, please check out what I wrote there, for some fair analysis of the game. Thank you! Sadly not in a new series, but this collection is the next best thing. In case it wasn't obvious, this collection includes HD remastered versions of the three original Jak & Daxter games, made by none other than Naughty Dog, of Uncharted (and Crash Bandicoot) fame. Now if you were expecting anything else, like the other JaD games or perhaps some bonus features, or maybe even *gasp* a downloadable avatar, you will not find it here. Pure and simple, the games (accompanied by the standard HD Collection menu and achievements...er...trophies, sorry) are the only thing here. Not even the making of video is included. Oh yeah, speaking of trophies, there are quite a few here as each game in the trilogy has it's own separate trophies (somewhere around 40 to 50 for each game). Yes that means three separate platinum's for trophy hunters. Also, most of the trophies are pretty easy to get, most of them (except for those precursor orb ones ): ) will be acquired by simply playing the game. Anyways, buying an HD collection for merely trophies or bonus content is a total waste, it's really about the games. So... Are these games any good? Jak & Daxter: The Precursor Legacy An old school 3d platformer, this is a great game (possibly my favorite of the three) which screams potential for future installments (more on the irony of that in a moment). The Precursor Legacy looks and plays beautifully. Sure it's a bit graphically dated, but the colorful island environments look quite pretty regardless of age. Amazingly enough TPL (Precursor Le...oh you know) never loads. Every location flawlessly transitions into the next, almost making the game feel like one large level. No "door" tricks here guys, walk across a bridge toward a jungle and you'll discover that you just reached the next level. Jak II I'll boldly proclaim it right now: THIS GAME SUCKS! Got that? Ok, moving on now Ja-What's that? why does Jak II suck? *sigh* Jak II throws almost everything about its...heh...precursor out the window. Jak and Daxter get warped into some strange Sci-Fi city, set in the center of an apocalyptic world. Poor Jak gets kidnapped by guards and is put under torture and experiments for years by an evil baron ruling the city until Daxter finds and saves him. Jak is now totally pissed off and vows for revenge (yeah, he starts speaking for the first time in this game). Together the duo Hijack cars and traverse the city and its outskirts completing missions for "the resistance" (Or was it the rebellion?) in hopes of eventually taking down the baron and saving the city. Oh yeah, Here's why it's horrible: -Open world lacks interesting things to do. No exciting side missions (only boring ones), guards patrol the city and become extremely annoying when they chase you down, also driving around becomes monotonous and repetitive after playing the game for awhile -Way to hard. Hard isn't bad, it's fun when done correctly. Unfortunately, Jak II 's idea of hard is so annoying that it actually interrupts and seriously injures the game. Frequently the difficulty would suddenly spike beyond whatever explanation I could possibly describe here and I would start dying over and over and over and over again. Now that isn't quite what makes things terrible, it's that Jak II's evil level designers decided there should be next to no checkpoints, meaning, each time you die, you will most likely restart all the way back at the beginning of a mission (said missions are usually quite long). It's so frustrating that I still feel tense and angry writing about it right now. -Dated. this game hasn't aged as well as the other two. graphically, it may look better than the first game, but it often appears bland and dull. Unfortunately, the controls are the real issue here. Jak now carries guns and well, controlling them can be a real pain since, instead of a cross hair, the game uses a laser line on the edge of each gun to show exactly what it is being aimed at. Auto targeting is here too, to make sure things don't get too rough. Sounds good? it's not. aiming at what you want doesn't happen fast enough, and you'll shoot the wrong people or things often. Because of this the game is (yes, you guessed it) HARDER! Also, because the entire trilogy has inverted camera control, I had to visit each games settings menu to fix camera, so it would turn like it would in a normal, modern third person game. BUT, for some unexplainably irritating reason, in the second game (not in the first or the third), doing this causes the camera in first person mode to invert left and right. Ever tried turning left to turn right in a game before? It's very frustrating (and of course up and down are inverted too, but that's a standard for the whole trilogy). So yes that means, you guessed it, the game is EVEN HARDER! (shooting robots from a turret was never so minded-screwingly frustrating and, yes, hard) There's probably more, but I'm done. No more complaining Jak 3 Wonderful! The best game of the series, everything wrong with Jak II, besides the lack of memorable side quests, has been fixed. It's open world again, but this time Jak and Daxter travel back and forth between a desert (where they get to drive around in awesome dune buggys) and that city, which is no longer lame and annoying (no more guards hunting you endlessly, and no more long useless driving). There's a ton of variety in the missions, insuring that things never really get boring. Checkpoints are scattered logically and the difficulty has been toned down; However, Jak 3 isn't "easy", it's just right. There's a ton of new guns as well as a new Light Jak to accompany Dark Jak (oh, right, Dark Jak was added in that crappy second game). Now our hero can do cool stuff like fly (with wings) and freeze time. Also the hoverboard (yes, like Back to the Future Part II) is back and improved with the option to attack enemies (Yeah, the hoverboard was in Jak II). The story is interesting, but the gameplay is the real star of Jak 3 With all that said, is this collection worth your cash and time? Totally! The first and third JaD games are fun experiences that blend the platforming, action, and adventure genres together for a worthwhile purchase. I do want to apologize for lack of proper grammar (I'm sure the Jak II bit has some issues that I didn't look over properly) and for so much criticism.

Unless I am missing something, the only thing I don't like right now is that you can't drop out of the game and go back to the main remake menu to pick between the 3 games. You load the game, get a menu to pick 1 of the 3 games, and then you have to quit the game with the PS3 menu and reload the whole game to play a different one. Overall that isn't a huge deal and you won't be jumping between games often. But I like to play number 1 for a while, then #2, and then #3. So that I am not playing any of them for a really long time at once. The HD looks good. I loaded up my PS2 versions and it's definitely sharper. If you enjoyed the PS2 versions, then I highly recommend this remake bundle as it is definitely sharper in HD, is a great value over finding and buying all 3 in PS2 format. And required if you don't have an older PS3 that plays PS2 games. If you are looking to get this game and haven't played the PS2 versions, you may be disappointed because it's still a PS2 quality game and you may find it lacking as a modern game. Though I think it still stands up even now. I have certainly played worse games that are native PS3 generation games. UPDATE: Please leave a comment if you don't find my reviews helpful. Tell me why you think it is not helpful to you and I will try to answer your concerns. What are you looking for from this review.