Jak II (Sony PlayStation 2, 2003)

Jak gets hardcore in this second installment of the series. Prison time has made him mean and he is ready for revenge. This was a surprising turn after the first had been such a great family title. But the solid gameplay is still there with a mix of the GTA formula. Driving is fun but finding your way around can prove tedious because most of the city looks the same. Graphics are still great but the game has a much darker tone than before. Daxter is still as funny as ever though. Great story! Great characters! Great action throughout the game! A big change that will affect the series dramatically. Still a must have title for any platformer/action genre fan. 4.5/5

With their initial release of Jak and Daxter, Naughty Dog set a new standard for platformers. With vast playing fields, diverse characters, challenging enemies and puzzles the game attracted a fan following that has kept the title alive these many years.

But with Jak II, we get to see a darker side of the series, and frankly, I think we all like it a little dark from time to time. With Jak II we got to see the same things we loved about the first game (open levels, tangable characters, and challenging gameplay), but this go around we had our socks blown off as the game was taken up a notch.

While the original release left was great, it was remnant of several other Naughty Dog games, and you could tell it was targeted mostly towards children. But with Jak II we saw the game start to approach the teenage and adult audiences and their intrests. The scripting became more direct, and in some aspects passionate (the characters developed considerably more personality). Whats more is that the weapon system of the game was boosted significantly.

But I think the major turn in the series took place with the character we've all come to associate with Jak. In the first game we saw a kid willing to go to the ends of the earth to help his friend (well, to help anyone, really), yet in the second game we see a more world-weary character who has an objective in mind and while that objective may be saving the world, he doesn't mind looking after himself. From car jacking, running from the cops, and anarchy itself, the Jak series changed significantly with Jak II -- and all without sacrificing plot or playability.

What is perhapes most amazing though is that this game blends target audiences together like nothing I've ever seen - Here is game that I at the age of 20 can appreciate playing, while I can still safely let my nephew play it without worry that he's going to hear any extremely harse language or run into anything sexual.

If your Jak collection is missing Jak II, I strongly suggest you pick this one up. Out of all of them (including Jak X: Combat Racing), I'd have to say that this was my favorite.

Jak II is like the original Jak & Daxter only in the main characters. The hero is captured and imprisoned in a very dim, slum-like city of contrasts being run by an evil Baron and the "metalheads." You get serious weaponry, and missions are unrelenting and HARD. And I mean throwing-the-controller-in-fru​stration hard. There is no difficulty setting. If you expected a traditional platformer like the first game, forget it. While there is an occassional dungeon (or sewer) crawl, and some areas require you to control Daxter. the lightheartedness and silly missions (chasing moles into their burrows) are completely gone. The atmosphere is dark, brooding... like Jak's DNA got mixed up with Doom III. Controls are good, but you'd best have nimble fingers. The greatest difficulty is in controlling the air-cars, and one early mission has you racing to get across the city through several twists and turns without being shot down in under a minute, a difficult task. The individual enemies, on the other hand, are usually one or two-shot kills; even the few stage bosses are not that hard. Be patient and be prepared for frustrating repetition; I'm told it is a good game... but I've never got past 2/3 of it!
Graphics are excellent, lots of scenery and side quests, vehicles, and eerie atmosphere with great music. Just hit a patrolling cop and see what happens!
But if you are looking for a platformer with great graphics that plays easier and with just as much fun, try Ratchet & Clank series which uses the same game engine.

This was and still is one of my all time favorite PS2 game, the gameplay is similiar to the GTA series, in that you are not totally tied down to storyline and can goof around or if you like follow the storyline!!!! Not to say that it is as good as GTA, but in its genre it is one of the best!!!! Rachet & Stank be hung!!!! Graphics are good for PS2 game and I actually won this without cheats!!! Although some of the missions were not sucessful on the first, second, but usually the third try!!!! Overall this game gets 9 out of ten for fun and replayability!!!!!

Jak 2 is the awesome sequel to Jak and Daxter. In this game there’s more action, new characters, including Dark Jak! And best of all, new weapons and vehicles! If you thought Jak and Daxter was great, you'll love Jak 2 and have hours of fun!