Jak And Daxter The Precursor Legacy is a game released in 2001 by Naughty Dog, makers of Crash Bandicoot. Jak and Daxter is for the Playstation 2.
Jak and Daxter is a platform game in the vein of Mario and Crash Bandicoot. Jak and Daxter is a game about two adventurers who went to Misty Island and Jak accidently knocked Daxter into a pool of "Dark Eco" which transformed him into a half otter, half weasel, half something else. (His actual race is kept semi secret from us.) While Jak is the strong silent type, Daxter has enough spunk for both of them. Daxter is a wise cracking smart ass who is constantly thinking he is top dog, or what ever he is, (until a problem comes along and he waits for Jak to take care of it).
The story is basically Jak and Daxter must find a way to get Daxter back to his real form. This requires a small story which includes Jak to collect Precursor power cells. The cells are achievable by certain quests, trades and just randomly found. There is many ways to achieve the power cells, and many tasks that the player must undertake.
In addition to the cells, Jak needs to grab more Precursor orbs and Scout Flies. The orbs can be traded often for more power cells and seven scout flies will allow allow Jak to gain another cell.
To aid in Jak's quest, he can utilize magic Eco. There is five important Eco's to remember.
- Blue Eco increases speed, jumping and opens doors.
- Red Eco increases attack power but weakens speed.
- Yellow Eco allows Jak to shoot yellow balls of energy when he punches
- Green Eco allows Jak to recover health, fifty small green Ecos or one large green Eco will recover one unit of health.
- Dark Eco will instantly kill Jak.
Jak is not limited to his feet either. Jak rides a Zoomer during a part of his game and on a few courses. The Zoomer is a speedy ride to test players memories and reaction times. The courses are definitely frustrating at times, luckily after winning them once, they don't need to be completed again.
Jak also can ride a Flut Flut bird at another part. The Flut Flut can walk through Dark Eco and fly for short distances. The Flut Flut is only used twice and is not a major character in the game.
The graphics in the game are on par with the Playstation 2. They are nothing to really mention. The Playstation 2 has the weakest graphics capability of all the next generation consoles but Jak and Daxter is decent compared to some other systems. Don't expect to be amazed at the graphics though as this is a game about having fun, not showing off the system.
The music and sounds in the game are quite forgettable, they are ok and don't annoy the player but also don't help the players too much. They do their job of not being noticeable but not being absent. As long as you can deal with not being amazed by a ground breaking score, the sound can be forgiven.
Jak and Daxter is an excellent game and can be a lot of fun. The game is kinda short but has an excellent replay value. Though if money is tight you can borrow or rent it and probably finish it in three days if you are a hard core player. I personally think it should be bought as after a couple months you probably will want to play it through again. The game is just as fun as Mario 64 and other great platformers. Naughty Dog proved that they are worthy of a mention in the Big Book of Platform Games.