Off the Shelf Media

“I’m gonna kill Praxis.” That’s all you need to hear to know that Jak II is going to be completely different than Jak and Daxter. I’m not going to bury the lead, this game is a 10/10 and one of my favorite games of all time. So let me put my biases out there from the jump.

Before we get into the review, we need a brief history lesson. 

Naughty Dog has made it big with platformers in the 1990s, but as the world entered the new millennium, gamers wanted something different. Videogames were turning more violent, and the technology and bigger budgets allowed developers to expand the meaning of videogames and target an adult audience. 

Believe it or not, Jak II was made in response to Grand Theft Auto III, which was released in October of 2001, just weeks after Jak and Daxter. Naughty Dog was aware of the success of GTA III, as well as the controversy around it, and decided to take a page from GTA’s book and turn their silent protagonist into a killing machine with dark powers. 

Naughty Dog found the middle ground to have that open-world and combat-focused gameplay, but toned it down to a T for Teen rating and found a perfect compromise where parents (like mine) were comfortable buying it for their kids. 

Ok, enough history, let the praise begin. 

Gameplay: 2

Jak and Daxter was a straightforward platformer with easy controls and a decent story. Jak II still has the platforming, but they added vehicles, a darker Jak, more memorable characters, an open world map, and guns. Oh yeah, 9-year-old me ate this game up from start to finish. 

There’s a lot to do in this game, and while a lot of it is going from point A to point B to get a mission, that journey from A to B isn’t boring. I could be in the Port district and get a mission to go all he way to Haven Forest on the other side of the map, and I wouldn’t complain because I love the driving mechanic. 

I cannot say enough how much I love driving around in this game. The zoomers are a lot of fun, and they all vary. You have the 1-seaters that are fast but get destroyed easily. You need those for speed challenges and races. The 2-seaters are stronger but slightly slower. They are my go-to when I want to drive around and create some chaos. Then there’s the Krimzon Guard ships, which are the 1-seater and the 3-seater HellCat carriers. The only difference with them is a blaster attachment.  

The best feature is the hover feature on the zoomers. You can fly low to the ground or up in the air with the rest of the zoomers. Each has its pros and cons, but I typically drove low to the ground unless I was in a bigger ship, and would raise the vehicle under a small one and send it flying into the wall and explode. It’s chaos in every possible way. 

The map is large and broken into multiple sections, you unlock them as you advance through the game. Each section is in a unique biome with its own character and charm. There are areas outside the city that you will visit frequently, like the dig site or the pumping station. Each time you go, there’s a new area to explore with new enemies. This makes the game feel bigger than it is and gives you an extra chance to go back and search for collectibles you missed the first time.  

Let’s talk about the combat. Adding guns to this game makes it 10 times better than the series’ previous iterations. The guns are unique and fun to use. The blaster is your most reliable rifle, shooting one round at a time. The scatter gun is your shotgun, which is good for smaller enemies and when you’re driving. The Vulcan Fury is your machine gun, which is fun, but keep track of your ammo.  Finally, we have the Peace Maker that acts as the grenade launcher, destroying everything in sight. 

Switching back and forth between guns is seamless, and a special shoutout to the designers for a cool animation Jak does when he switches between weapons. It’s a minor detail, but one I always appreciated. Also, I just noticed this during my last playthrough, but each ammo for each gun is represented by the eco colors from the previous game. I thought that was cool. 

If I had to make one critique, it’s that Jak’s dark powers are often overlooked. The dark eco bomb is by far and above the best move he has, but I didn’t use Dark Eco that often. It’s such a pivotal part of the game, and it doesn’t get enough attention as a weapon or an option when in combat. 

Outside of that, the gameplay is perfect. The missions are fun and vary in difficulty and scale. Driving is incredible. Combat is the best in the series, and I want to complete the challenges in the gun course, races, and underground challenges so I can unlock the secrets and get to Hero Mode, which is starting the game from the beginning with all your weapons. 

I didn’t know this game needed a New Game+ until I played it and loved the story even more. 

Story: 2

Speaking of the story, it’s a lot to unpack. The game starts where the previous game leaves off with Jak, Daxter, Kiera, and Samos putting the finishing touches on the precursor rift they found at the end of the last game. When the rift is opened, a swarm of metal heads emerge along with their leader and our heroes get sucked into the rift. 

Jak and Daxter land in a new city with no idea what’s going on. Next thing we know, Jak is captured and Daxter is on the run. Fast forward two years, Jak is reduced by Daxter, he speaks, and he has new dark powers. 

Upon their escape, Jak and Daxter join up with the Underground, a rebellious group led by Torn in the Slums. Jak does missions for Torn and the underground in their fight for freedom against the tyranny of Baron Praxis as he wages war against the metal heads. 

There are a lot of twists and turns with time travel and paradoxical loops, but for the sake of spoilers, I won’t go too far into it. 

What I love most about this game is the characters and how memorable they are. 

Krew is a slimeball and the anytime I see his tiny legs hanging out of his chair I laugh. 

Sig is a badass mercenary that I needed to see more of. 

Errol is an annoying antagonist who didn’t need to return for the third game, but we’ll get there in another review. 

Vin’s missions sucked but I love going to see him lose his mind like your average Gen-Zer today. 

All of these new characters left an impression and made an impact on the story. When I return to this series, I look forward to their cutscenes and their development as characters. Their cutscenes may be short, but you do remember them and want to see what happens to them. 

[SPOILER] When one of them died it made me sad or when I thought another died I was bummed out just to be happy when they showed up again for the final cutscene. Every story needs strong characters, and Jak II has multiple. 

Atmosphere: 2

What else is there left to say that I haven’t already said? The world is expansive and fun to explore. I like going around the farming area of the city and taking my guns and shooting the large vegetables simply because I like the sound they make. 

The sound design is exceptional in this game. Every action, movement, or round you fire has a distinct and unique sound. The explosive bang of the scatter gun, the precise pop of the blaster, the increasing speed of the Vulcan, and the boom of the Peace Maker all add so much to the immersion of the game. 

The crash or explosion of the zoomer is loud and makes me verbally say “ow” whenever I crash. 

And the music is great. The chase music whenever the guards are coming after you is iconic and never gets old. 

Visually, the game stands on its own, even though it came out in 2003. The PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 remasters help with the colors and visuals, but the original looked great for its time. The color theme is darker overall, but the lights pop when they need to, mostly during combat. 

There’s a mission in the sewers where you’re finding some artifact for Krew, and a pair of metal heads are approaching you. As they get closer, the lights go out and all you can see if the shiny gemstone in their heads. The sudden sound of the light going out and the screen going completely dark was awesome back in 2003, and it still gets me to jump today. 

Naughty Dog put a lot of time and attention to detail into the world they built, and that’s why they are still one of the best developers in the world today. 

Value: 2

This game is worth every penny and then some. There’s a reason why Sony re-released this game on the PlayStation 3, brought it onto the PS4, and again on the PS5. I’m not ashamed to say I’ve bought these games multiple times.

If these ever got added to Steam as a PC port, I’d play it again just to say I’ve done all the achievements and beat the game one final time. 

Duration: 2

This game is long, but you don’t feel it or want it to end. It’s split into three acts with very little filler. There are a few unnecessary missions, but I never felt like I was wasting my time playing this game. 

I’d say the complete run is 25-30 hours. This includes the story and doing enough of the challenges and collectibles to unlock Hero Mode. 

I’ve put over 100 hours in this game alone over the years, and I can tell you with confidence that I never wasted or regretted a second. 

Total Score: 10/10

I’m sure you can poke holes in my arguments or tell me where I’m wrong on this, that, or the other. I don’t care. I love this game and think it stands the test of time. It was great when I first played it in 2003, it was great when I played it again in 2015, and it’s still great as I just finished it in 2025. 

It’s an easy 10/10 for me, hands down. 

Next time, we’ll be entering the world of Japan when I review Samurai Warriors and its confusing DLC disk/separate game. I don’t know, I’ll figure it out. 

I’ll see ya there, but until then, y’all take care.