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no love in jak


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I'm glad to see a thread like this because I thought I was the only one to dislike Jak.

 

After seeing all those fantastic comments about the franchise I thought I'd fall in love with the games (I got a friend of mine who where really addicted to the franchise too who told me it was fantastic).

So after the report of pratically one month to the release of the retail version here in France I decided to buy the complete collection from the Store last week and I started Jak 1 immediately.

 

I gave up quickly as I didn't really enjoy the story and the gameplay despite the 2 amazing characters that are Jak & Daxter and I really regret my purchase of the whole collection. I'm not a big fan of the camera either. But I found the game really boring and could never really got into it.

 

Hopefully I'll enjoy at least the 2 others a little bit better... I'm about to start Jak 2.

 

Well, tastes vary from one person to another but considering that I loved Sly games and enjoyed Ratchet games I thought I'd love those too...

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I only played Jak II and Jak 3 when they came out so I'm glad to get a chance to play Jak and Daxter. I can't say it's as good as Jak II & Jak 3 but I still like it, I would have probably loved it if I played it at release all those years ago.

 

The camera can be a bit difficult at times but it's nothing to stop me from enjoying it. Subtitles should really be a standard in every game though so that's not great, but it's not exactly a big deal either.

Edited by JoBot 8000
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The need of a thread like this? I'm not sure, it seems like two people who have played the game for max a hour and rage quit the first time they died. :p Hardly the right people to judge the game(s).

 

The biggest problem for you two guys are giving up so early. Took me 7-8 hours of actual gaming to get the (P). It's not long, so give it a better shot. It gets better.

 

I know the camera can be a bit messy at times, but you'll probably soon get used to it. In some games, like Shadow of the Colossus, people complained the camera wasn't moving enough, and how we all aren't film producers or something... This game actually place it the way it thinks is the best for you all the time. It's very annoying when you want to see how far it is between you and the next platform. Still, I get used to it, and almost always roll jump when I think it's far away, and jump when I know it's close. :o You usually know when it's close, whenever you don't know, it's probably not close.

 

If you play more, you will see it's more alike Sly than you think, just better where Sly is boring. Sly will always be ranked below Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank.

 

Sly 1 was a decent 3D plaformer, but nowhere near it's competitors. Sly 2 was the best of the Sly games, but still can't really compete with it's competitors. Sly 3 ruined itself with the beginning of the game, where they told us the end of the game, so the rest of the game just felt like a boring grind that kept getting longer to get there. :(

 

 

I was surprised about no subtitles as well.... hmm

 

 

Are you lost in the game? =P It's not exactly that big, so I kind of doubt that.

 

You should compare Jak 1 more with Sly 1, they are way more similar, just Jak has better execution of the game, with no sub (unlike their earlier games), no loading times (unlike their earlier games, though they have always been great at that).

 

Jak 2 and Jak 3 is not that fond for me, because they introduce more shooting, which I guess you guys like, seeing as you like Ratchet and Clank and Sly. :p

 

If you guys want my opinion. I liked Jak 1 the most out of the 3, because the two other games have way more shooting and less focus on platforming.

Edited by MMDE
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The need of a thread like this? I'm not sure, it seems like two people who have played the game for max a hour and rage quit the first time they died. :p Hardly the right people to judge the game(s).

 

The biggest problem for you two guys are giving up so early. Took me 7-8 hours of actual gaming to get the (P). It's not long, so give it a better shot. It gets better.

 

I know the camera can be a bit messy at times, but you'll probably soon get used to it. In some games, like Shadow of the Colossus, people complained the camera wasn't moving enough, and how we all aren't film producers or something... This game actually place it the way it thinks is the best for you all the time. It's very annoying when you want to see how far it is between you and the next platform. Still, I get used to it, and almost always roll jump when I think it's far away, and jump when I know it's close. :o You usually know when it's close, whenever you don't know, it's probably not close.

 

If you play more, you will see it's more alike Sly than you think, just better where Sly is boring. Sly will always be ranked below Jak and Daxter and Ratchet and Clank.

 

Sly 1 was a decent 3D plaformer, but nowhere near it's competitors. Sly 2 was the best of the Sly games, but still can't really compete with it's competitors. Sly 3 ruined itself with the beginning of the game, where they told us the end of the game, so the rest of the game just felt like a boring grind that kept getting longer to get there. :(

 

 

I was surprised about no subtitles as well.... hmm

 

 

Are you lost in the game? =P It's not exactly that big, so I kind of doubt that.

 

You should compare Jak 1 more with Sly 1, they are way more similar, just Jak has better execution of the game, with no sub (unlike their earlier games), no loading times (unlike their earlier games, though they have always been great at that).

 

Jak 2 and Jak 3 is not that fond for me, because they introduce more shooting, which I guess you guys like, seeing as you like Ratchet and Clank and Sly. :p

 

If you guys want my opinion. I liked Jak 1 the most out of the 3, because the two other games have way more shooting and less focus on platforming.

 

Thx buddy, though its easy to get the plat, but not just for the trophies, I want to enjoy the game and obviously I can't.

Now I am waiting for the DMC hd collection, I love dante, LOL:p

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I never played Jak on the PS2 but just got plat in the first one of this collection.

 

Good things I can to say about this game:

- The animations are nice and the graphics are very colorful and fit perfectly

- Voice acting is fairly good

- Has a nostalgic feeling to it

- Was not too long and might even feel kind of short to some people but I think it was just right

 

Bad things I have to say:

Camera

It sucks. That's all I have to say really.

 

Controls

The controls, oh god... I never thought I'd get this frustrated with the controls in a PS2 platformer with such good reviews.

First of all it's the jumping. It seems to go against everything I have learned in platformers in the last 15 years. What makes it feel so awkward for me is the second jump.

1.) It has to come kind of directly after the first one or else it just won't happen.

2.) You can't really change directions with it in midair like you can in most games.

3.) It's not going far enough. I've fallen in so many pits because the jumping distance felt so utterly wrong that I couldn't grasp it even in the very last stage.

 

Then it's minor things like in that snow level. What the hell were they thinking when they made the ice?

Intuition would lead you to the believe that jumping could make you change directions in midair but nope - you just jump slow as hell in the direction you were sliding in. This was really getting on my nerves only a few seconds into the stage.

 

Why is there no button for running?

Why do you need to slide around when having that blue eco?

Why do you need to slide forward when attacking with square?

There were many design choices which weren't just bad but kind of idiotic because they made an otherwise nice game annoying as hell in some parts.

 

Music

The music is bad - very, very bad. I compose music myself and I could have made a better soundtrack in one day without even trying. And usually I'm really not the kind of guy that goes around bragging about stuff like that.

I've heard many soundtracks with mediocre songs but I haven't heard many with music THIS boring. It felt so uninspired and rushed and to top that they didn't even change the music when the villains appeared and the "boss music" sounded like everything else. That was really, really weak.

 

 

That being said I still kind of enjoyed it. Would give it an 6/10 or maybe 7/10 but nothing more.

I hope the other two games in the series are better.

Edited by Zelos
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You do know that there's a rolling jump...right? :l1: + :cross:

 

It says so right there in the manual ;)

 

I don't think you can finish the game without that jump, so yes, I do indeed know that.

Doesn't change the fact that the normal jump + double jump doesn't go far enough.

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I never played Jak on the PS2 but just got plat in the first one of this collection.

 

Good things I can to say about this game:

- The animations are nice and the graphics are very colorful and fit perfectly

- Voice acting is fairly good

- Has a nostalgic feeling to it

- Was not too long and might even feel kind of short to some people but I think it was just right

 

Bad things I have to say:

Camera

It sucks. That's all I have to say really.

 

Controls

The controls, oh god... I never thought I'd get this frustrated with the controls in a PS2 platformer with such good reviews.

First of all it's the jumping. It seems to go against everything I have learned in platformers in the last 15 years. What makes it feel so awkward for me is the second jump.

1.) It has to come kind of directly after the first one or else it just won't happen.

2.) You can't really change directions with it in midair like you can in most games.

3.) It's not going far enough. I've fallen in so many pits because the jumping distance felt so utterly wrong that I couldn't grasp it even in the very last stage.

 

Then it's minor things like in that snow level. What the hell were they thinking when they made the ice?

Intuition would lead you to the believe that jumping could make you change directions in midair but nope - you just jump slow as hell in the direction you were sliding in. This was really getting on my nerves only a few seconds into the stage.

 

Why is there no button for running?

Why do you need to slide around when having that blue eco?

Why do you need to slide forward when attacking with square?

There were many design choices which weren't just bad but kind of idiotic because they made an otherwise nice game annoying as hell in some parts.

 

Music

The music is bad - very, very bad. I compose music myself and I could have made a better soundtrack in one day without even trying. And usually I'm really not the kind of guy that goes around bragging about stuff like that.

I've heard many soundtracks with mediocre songs but I haven't heard many with music THIS boring. It felt so uninspired and rushed and to top that they didn't even change the music when the villains appeared and the "boss music" sounded like everything else. That was really, really weak.

 

 

That being said I still kind of enjoyed it. Would give it an 6/10 or maybe 7/10 but nothing more.

I hope the other two games in the series are better.

 

The jumping works fine, even though it takes a little while to get used to. It's all about timing it correctly, just like in all other platformer games, you need to do the second jump when the first one is right around it's highest, not before and not later. The game punish you for pressing it too late or too early! ;) Besides, you need to roll jump most of the time anyways, not double jump. I did some of those halfway jumps and then regretted the jump and wanted to go back, but yeah, the game punish you for doing that as well by not letting you make it back, just like in real life. Ever tried jumping in one direction, and then turning back? =P I know the double jump breaks physic laws as well. lol

 

It looks like he is running all the time, so do you really think he should have some kind of faster running? Let me put it this way, why have a run button at all, when most people want to run all the time? Is it not better that the running is turned on at all times, and to walk you just push the analog stick softer? Roll jump is the fastest way to get around in the game, and it's not childishly easy like in most games nowadays, where all you have to do is to press down a button. When you roll jump, you get sent in one direction, so you must be sure you really want to end up all over there, but with that said it sure helped me brute force myself through a couple of places, and you really rarely ever die if you get good at it, which you should.

 

The punch attack animation? I rarely ever used that attack, but I can see it useful if you want to do a fast forward leap and hit the opponent. I used the circle attack most of the time, which is the choice of attack you do when close combat. It attacks everything around you. Did you know the roll forward jump also can be used as an attack, similar to the punch attack animation? =P Again rolling forward and jumping = the best in this game. Also, usually you don't need to fight the enemies in the levels, so skip them unless you for some reason need them killed.

 

I thought the ice level was great! :) You are a bit wrong though. The ice can make you go faster, but you need to build up some speed. It takes time to build speed on ice, it's called little friction. When you build up some speed on the ice, you can jump much further than normal. I liked the way they actually thought that well through, but you obviously didn't though. The ice level fit very well with the rest of the game. Each place has different themes with great variation.

 

Yeah, music wasn't really that great. I never was bothered with it the first time I played the game, then in later playthroughs, after I had read reviews where they always complained, I started listening real carefully. Often the music fit, but sometimes it don't. I thought the boss battle music, at least the fire beast one, was pretty funny.

 

If anyone wonders about subtitles. Naughty Dog said they didn't want them to get in the way of the "movie-like" experience, but then after the game was released realized that gamers with hearing difficulties could end up having trouble with a few of the missions, hence they included them in Jak II and subsequent sequels.

 

EDIT:

Oh, and a very last thing. Get used to roll with the :l1: button and not the :r1: button, because you can't do it with :r1: button in Jak II.

Edited by MMDE
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I admit that although I read the manual, I can't really take controls in unless I am physically shown on a game, so I missed a lot by not knowing about the rolling jump until a bit later on.

 

I'm quite enjoying it, but, as someone who doesn't have great hearing, I find myself having to look up online what I'm doing quite a lot, since I don't hear what the characters are telling me to do.

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I admit that although I read the manual, I can't really take controls in unless I am physically shown on a game, so I missed a lot by not knowing about the rolling jump until a bit later on.

 

I'm quite enjoying it, but, as someone who doesn't have great hearing, I find myself having to look up online what I'm doing quite a lot, since I don't hear what the characters are telling me to do.

 

Yeah, that's a bummer, at least they realized this and changed it for the next two games.

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It looks like he is running all the time, so do you really think he should have some kind of faster running?

 

Yes, it does look like it. And as far as I'm concerned I think he moves too slow for the way the animation looks. :)

I guess that's just me.

 

The punch attack animation? I rarely ever used that attack

That might be just me because I always use square to attack everything.

Is there a way to change the controls? I somehow never bothered checking but my main complaint was that the whirlkick wasn't on square but on circle. I felt like it should've been the other way around.

 

I thought the ice level was great! :) You are a bit wrong though. The ice can make you go faster, but you need to build up some speed. It takes time to build speed on ice, it's called little friction. When you build up some speed on the ice, you can jump much further than normal. I liked the way they actually thought that well through, but you obviously didn't though. The ice level fit very well with the rest of the game. Each place has different themes with great variation.

 

Well, I have played a lot of games and sliding on ice is something that, in my opionion of course, shouldn't work like in real life because it makes controlling your character very frustrating.

I liked the way Sly controlled on ice (or heck, even Mario) but in this game I really couldn't stand the controls in that particular instance.

But I do agree that the ice level fit in well and that all of the levels have a unique and nice feel about them. I just hate the controls on ice. ;)

 

 

EDIT:

Oh, and a very last thing. Get used to roll with the :l1: button and not the :r1: button, because you can't do it with :r1: button in Jak II.

 

I noticed that right away... and of course I always used R1 in Jak I. :rolleyes:

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Yes, it does look like it. And as far as I'm concerned I think he moves too slow for the way the animation looks. :)

I guess that's just me.

 

 

That might be just me because I always use square to attack everything.

Is there a way to change the controls? I somehow never bothered checking but my main complaint was that the whirlkick wasn't on square but on circle. I felt like it should've been the other way around.

 

 

 

Well, I have played a lot of games and sliding on ice is something that, in my opionion of course, shouldn't work like in real life because it makes controlling your character very frustrating.

I liked the way Sly controlled on ice (or heck, even Mario) but in this game I really couldn't stand the controls in that particular instance.

But I do agree that the ice level fit in well and that all of the levels have a unique and nice feel about them. I just hate the controls on ice. ;)

 

 

 

 

I noticed that right away... and of course I always used R1 in Jak I. :rolleyes:

 

I wanted to use :square: all the time too, but after a half hour I was used to using :circle:. I too prefer :r1:, but it has been given a more important role in Jak II, which since I prefer to use that button is good.

 

The ice wasn't much different than old mario games. It sure wasn't very different than Crash Bandicoot! :p

 

Unnatural movement has been a problem with way too many games since 3D was heavily introduced, especially first gen PS2 games, and I don't think Jak 1 was bad, but it improved in Jak II.

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  • 3 weeks later...

This game is annoying me, I have played for about 12* hours and I'm 74% complete. I think I was hoping for better, after playing R&C. I'll be glad to reach the end of the game.

 

Firstly I can't remember where I've been (or is this my age? lol) and secondly the whole game is getting tedious.

 

Still, I'm not one to give up, so I will plough on until the platinum, but I don't feel inspired to play J&D 2 or 3. :(

 

Oh yes, I turned the music off after about 10 mins!

 

*I am getting all orbs and doing all side missions.

Edited by Xorro
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This game is annoying me, I have played for about 12* hours and I'm 74% complete. I think I was hoping for better, after playing R&C. I'll be glad to reach the end of the game.

 

Firstly I can't remember where I've been (or is this my age? lol) and secondly the whole game is getting tedious.

 

Still, I'm not one to give up, so I will plough on until the platinum, but I don't feel inspired to play J&D 2 or 3. :(

 

Oh yes, I turned the music off after about 10 mins!

 

*I am getting all orbs and doing all side missions.

 

The music is pretty good in some places....

 

J&D 2 and 3 is not like J&D 1. :p I had totally forgot how different it felt. J&D 1 is a lot easier. J&D 1 is pretty easy, and I personally enjoyed playing it through 101% again for the third or fourth time. :) They have made the jumping easier in J&D 2, and there is a lot of shooting which will remind you about R&C. J&D 3 follows in J&D 2's steps. Personally I enjoy playing J&D 1 a lot more than the other games, and actually more than most games on PS3. :p

 

You can't remember where you have been? lol what? =P The game isn't that big, and every location is very unique and different.

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Got a bit lost because I missed some stuff, I've managed to make my way back to Boggy Swamp which I didn't do while I was at Rock Village.

 

The game is slightly less annoying now that I have completed the Spider Caves. I have 6 more orbs to get in Boggy Swamp and then I have done all the areas and collected everything.

 

I assume a new area will open up where I get to fight the dark eco pair and save the Sages?

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Got the platinum for this today. At last! I'm sure it took me about 18 hours in total.

 

Then Jak 2 will take you closer to 30 or 40... :p

I've done Jak 2 100% before, and I'm around 60% now, and spent almost 10 hours already. I did Jak 1 in 7-8 hours I think. Can be done in around 5 hours.

 

Im at about 50% completion, I've came to the conclusion that the game is fun but I only like to play an hour or so at a time.

 

Ways to make it more satisfying:

 

Do you use a guide or something? These kind of games are so boring if you use a guide, and because there is no miss-ables, there's no reason to use one either. So don't use a guide! Try to find it all yourself, it's not hard.

 

I always get 100% before I leave each place. Sometimes you can't get 100% on first visit, and in those cases you will just have to go back when you can get 100% before you move too far on. Why 100% each place before moving on? The more you play at a level, the more you get used to it, and will be able to master it. So with other words it's easier, and there's no unlocks later on that makes it easier for any other reasons. Another reason is because you won't need to go back later, which always feel tedious. Yet another reason is to spread the feeling of accomplishment, making it far more enjoyable to play through.

 

Follow the story, if you like the humor in the game, it will of course be more funny to play the game. The whole series story is pretty well linked, so if you plan to the play the next games, it would be good to follow the story. Even though Jak 2 and Jak 3 is far more linked than Jak 1 and Jak 2. While the story in the first game isn't the best, it has it's points.

 

Don't rush, you will just die and will want to get back to where you were, which means you will rush again, and die again. It's a bad circle. Take it slowly and calm, and you will get through the places you want to get through. Many places you can just run past the enemies or let them be. There's no need to keep fighting them over and over every time you die, if you can just run past them and save some health, but still don't rush.

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  • 1 month later...

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