'Jak' is Back on the Attack for PlayStation 2

By Redmond Carolipio

"Jak 3" reminds us how good platform games can still be. They don't have to be innovative — they just have to do a lot of things right.

The "Jak' series doesn't have the comic gimmicks of "Ratchet and Clank' or the storytelling magic of "Prince of Persia." But no series fused genres together so seamlessly.

Pardon the pun, but the games have been more about being a "jack' of all trades instead of a singular, life-changing experience.

"Jak 3' picks up where the last game left off. This time, Jak and his orange friend Daxter are exiled to a desert planet by the citizens of the world they saved in the last game. Apparently, they didn't like a war being started in their back yard.

The two eventually stumble onto a desert city filled with other exiled warriors.

The only way Jak and Daxter can stay there is to prove themselves with acts of heroism, along with running some errands.

As you can guess, they end up uncovering a massive plot that involves lots and lots of bad guys.

The game is a celebration of gaming styles. You'll find everything from the standard jumping around found in platform games to the point-and-blast skills needed in first-person shooters. Missions range from simply blowing enemies away to rounding up a pack of runaway lizards.

And there's plenty of driving.

"Jak 3' comes loaded with a diverse arsenal of transportation. You use about seven or eight desert vehicles, each with their own abilities. If you use the "Sand Shark," you'll fly across the dips and hills one would find in the desert, while the "Dune Hopper' can catapult itself about 80 yards in the air.

If you're traveling within the city, you can use the jetboard, or commandeer an oversized leaping lizard with a saddle on it.

You control Jak most of the time, and the game switches you to the much smaller Daxter when the story calls for it. As in "Jak II," this game requires players to be sharp at all times.

With all the visually impressive towns, vehicles, animations and action comes a sink-or-swim control scheme that will test your reflexes and your patience.

Every button on the PS2 controller has a purpose, and "Jak 3" expects you to know all of them better than you know your family.

Players must master a litany of button combinations that involve weapon switching, vehicles, hand-to-hand combat and Jak's special "light' and "dark' powers.

The game often puts you in situations that require the perfect combination at the perfect moment. Translation: If you're a beginner, you're screwed.

Even the most experienced gamers are going to find themselves killing off Jak because of brief instances of brain lock — unless they're fight game fanatics, and mastery of combos is second-nature.

However, the game is forgiving with its save points, often automatically recording your progress either after a completed mission — or right before something really bad is about to happen.

An underrated aspect of the "Jak' franchise is its outstanding voice acting. Jak didn't start talking until the second game, but he serves as the perfect straight man while Daxter maintains his Philly-cab-driver charm. (At one point, he extends his arm with his hand off screen and tells someone to "twirl on it.")

"Jak 3' might get lost in all the first-person-shooter hoopla, but it should be remembered as the final chapter to one of the best gaming franchises for the PS2, as well as one of the standards for good platform gaming.

If "Jak 3" is really the end, it will be missed.