Full Review

24 December 2004 - By the publisher’s own admission, this is the end of Jak and his pal Daxter, or rather, this is the final game in the trilogy of successful platformers. The story follows right on from number two, and sees Jak thrown out of Haven City into the desert - a gaming world much larger than previous games.

Essentially this is another good development for the series, a natural progression from the predecessors. The new world is much larger, including Haven City and the wasteland in which it sits. There is less emphasis on vehicles, although there are still plenty around. Basically it is the same as before, the same controls and characters, the graphics are the same and the sound is much as before.

My criticisms of the earlier games stand true of Jak3 - you still get the long cutscenes, and an unyielding introduction. At the end of the day, it’s a platform game, and if you don’t get on with them, then you’ll soon tire of jumping from platform to moving platform and falling in the hot stuff below, or worse, having to start again.

The big addition here is being able to play as light Jak, a juxtaposition to the dark Jak we saw in number 2. This enables Jak to regain health or freeze time. It’s a good effect but not wholly original - which goes for storyline really - there are comparisons that you could make left right and centre, but kids probably won’t notice, or care.

VERDICT
Jak3 is fairly easy and you’ll soon complete it, which makes me think it is better for the kids. The series has done very well and has a lot of fans, so part 3 is sure to sell well. If you are a fan, you probably already own it. Those who are new to the series - I’d advise jumping for one of the earlier games, which you should be able to pick up cheaply now. If you are not into platform games, then don’t even bother.