Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
Review
Jak & Daxter return with a roar.
by Daniel Allison
reviewed on PSP
Avoiding doom
Anyone who has played the previous Jak & Daxter games will have fallen in love with them due to the witty dialogue, loveable characters, solid presentation and the overall charm. However, Naughty Dog seemed to have abandoned the series in favour of Uncharted. Now Uncharted may be fantastic but that doesn’t mean I don’t want any more of my favourite gaming duo. Fortunately for us, High Impact Games (Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters, Secret Agent Clank) have brought us the sequel we’ve all been waiting for to the PSP.
Fans of Naughty Dog and even Insomniac Games (The two tend to go hand in hand) will probably be aware of what happened the last time a great series went to a new developer: it was ruined. The Crash Bandicoot games on the PlayStation were great but when Naughty Dog left to series to Universal, the series slowly got worse and worse. Spyro the Dragon led the same fate. This time events went a lot smoother and we got a game that fits nicely in with the rest of the series.
Taking to the skies
Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier plays very similarly to the other Jak & Daxter games, particularly the first game which was more platform focused. It hasn’t completely gone back to roots though, as the gun combat returns and there are plenty of new additions that make it unique from the rest of the series.
The biggest new addition is the introduction of air combat. Similar to the ground vehicles in Jak 3, you will slowly unlock more planes which will be kept in a hangar. From the hangar you are able to select which plane you want to take to the skies and take part in a variety of missions. The main missions involve various tasks ranging from destroying defence bases to chasing after other planes. Each area is scattered with various side missions too. They will either take the form of races or large enemy planes that need to be eliminated. Racing is pretty much fun all the time but the other missions can get quite repetitive after a while. Of course, if you want to just fly about and kill enemies you are free to do so.
All of the planes can be equipped with new weapons and upgrades which add a little more depth to the air combat. New equipment can either be bought or stolen from other planes. Stealing equipment happens to be the most enjoyable option out of the two and sees you firing Daxter onto other planes. This activates a series of Quick Time Events that let you tear apart the plane for scrap metal and parts. This new approach to the series works well and shows that High Impact Games are able to make the game their own without moving away from the formula the fans all love.
8.0
fun score
Pros
Great to have the duo back for some fun, platforming actionGreat to have the duo back for some fun, platforming action
Cons
Minor control issues
