quote ign.com

In its 32-bit years, we could have guessed that each year popular developer Naughty Dog was going to make a sequel to its smash-hit platformer, Crash Bandicoot; and for four years running, it did. But those days of relative predictability seem long gone, as this current generation of systems has created different rules for a newer time.


With sales of Jak and Daxter delivering the message on the waning popularity of platformers (until the J&D picked up under the Greatest Hits lower price), Naughty Dog's sequel Jak II played more like an action game with platform character controls, and so far sales indicate the masses like it well enough. But the series is far from hitting the heights of the former Crash Bandicoot days. Which is why it's interesting to have learned that Naughty Dog is now hard at work on Jak III (working title).

According to Swedish Superplay, Naughty Dog is indeed in the early stages of creating a third in the series. During a visit to see Jak II: Renegade (which is what it's called in Europe), Superplay's writer Thomas Wiborgh saw some early work on the game including several desert environments, and learned it will make its debut in May 2004 at the Electronic Entertainment Exposition (E3).

Sony Computer Entertainment America was unable to return our phone call prior to the publishing of this story, but the company does not comment on "rumors," and it has not made an official announcement on a sequel to that series currently. We'll have more as soon as we find out more.

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Hot on the heels of last year's impressive follow-up to the original Jak and Daxter, developer Naughty Dog is currently working on the third installment in the series. Simply titled Jak 3, the game will be the final chapter in the Jak and Daxter trilogy. While that may sound ominously final to fans of the series, don't sweat it. Jak 3 is just wrapping up the current story arc, which Naughty Dog always envisioned as a trilogy that started in the original game. Just because Jak 3 wraps up story elements from the first two games, it hardly means this will be the last we'll see of our unlikely pair of heroes. We had the chance to visit the Naughty Dog offices in sunny Southern California recently to hear what the seasoned developer has up its sleeve for the pointy-eared hero and his smart- talking companion.



Jak and Daxter are coming back to the PS2 to close out their trilogy.
So when we last saw our heroes everything seemed right in their world. Evil had been vanquished, the future and the past both appeared to be safe, and everyone involved learned valuable life lessons. While this would lead you to believe that Jak 3 opens up in a happy Disney-esque era of utopian prosperity, that's not quite what happens. The game opens up with an unpleasant banishment that will leave you wondering what the heck happened. Fortunately, a perfectly timed flashback brings you up to speed on current events. It appears that Metal Kor's defeat at the end of Jak II didn't magically solve every problem in the city. Unfortunately, the ensuing rush amongst the three major factions in the city to fill the power vacuum resulted in chaos that caused a plethora of problems. This has meant that the forces struggling to maintain order are a little testy--which leads us to our boy Jak, along with Daxter and Pecker, the monkey bird--being banished to the arid wastelands far from the city. While the opening cinema seems destined to end badly for our troupe as they wander through the wasteland and drop like flies from the heat, they are rescued by the other outcasts who have made a home for themselves in the rough desert. When the game starts you'll be proving Jak's worthiness to the chief by going through a series of trials.



Jak 3 starts with Jak II's gameplay and builds out from there.
We got a sense for how the gameplay in Jak 3 is shaping up, thanks to a surprisingly varied selection of levels to play. The team's enthusiasm for the project led them to make a whopping nine levels, playable in order, to let us get a feel for what to expect from the game. Generally speaking, Jak 3 does a lot of what Jak II did in terms of gameplay, in that it takes the bulk of its predecessor's mechanics and builds out. You'll start the game with all of Jak's core moves that will be enhanced as you progress. Jak will now have four different gun types that will have three levels of power. In addition to the original rifle from Jak II, you'll find a ricochet shot in a rifle that unleashes a burst of destruction in a 360-degree area around you. The ammo consumed by your weapons will vary according to the power level you choose to select as you fire. Jack's eco powers have been upgraded and his dark powers beefed up. Also, the inclusion of light eco powers offers an interesting change of pace as well as a striking physical change. When using his light powers Jak is transformed into an ethereal angel-like form complete with functional wings that let him glide for short stretches. He'll also be able to heal himself while in light eco form. The catch to these powerful new abilities is that, unlike the dark eco powers, Jak can't use them whenever he wants; instead, you'll find specific places in the game where you can power up your light eco abilities for one-time uses. You can also expect to see Jak's hoverboard, titan suit, and the addition of a hang glider and, more significantly, a number of vehicles you can drive that give the game a decidedly different feel.

Speaking a bit more specifically on Jak 3's gameplay, the nine playable levels show off old, new, and refined mechanics that handle pretty well. The first level demo is what you'll have to go through to prove yourself. The level is an obstacle course that performs double duty as a refresher on Jak's abilities. Once you've cleared that you'll end up battling against some grunts to show off your fighting prowess and bring you up to speed on combat and weapon usage. The next demo is set in the wasteland city where you are sent on a hunt for lizards (you have to find six of the spry critters). Thankfully, you're provided with a mount: Imagine a hairless tauntaun with some velociraptor thrown in, who is fast and eager for some snacks. The hunt sends you running through the desert city. The next demo offers a distinct Mad Max-style change of pace that puts you behind the wheel of a dune buggy-like vehicle in a timed sequence, sending you off to collect artifacts. The fast-paced segment shows off the impressive scale of the desert and the user-friendly vehicle mechanics. Car controls are basic, and you'll just have to worry about accelerating and braking (there is a hand brake thrown into the mix for some precision turning). You'll also have mounted guns on the car to deal with the packs of unfriendly marauders on the dunes.

The next two demos are set in a mine. You will find yourself making your way down into the bowels of a large complex. The segment shows off an interesting use for local animals in your travels: You'll power some bridges that let you access new areas by stunning ratlike creatures and placing their stunned bodies into a hamster wheel-style device. When they come to they'll run in the wheel and extend the bridge. The other part of the demo level is a very cool escort mission that has you trying to keep up with a moving train car loaded with explosives and shooting switches to shift tracks to give the train a clear path to its target. The next demo puts you in control of a spiderlike robot on a mission to take out a barricade in the city. Obviously, local forces aren't big on that happening, so you'll face some stiff opposition. Fortunately, your robot packs some nice firepower that helps make the demo a pleasing blast-a-thon. The next-to- last demo sends you on a trip through sewers; this is pretty challenging thanks to all kinds of collapsible walkways that require you to time your moves carefully or face a long and fatal drop. The final demo level is set in a forest where you can demolish the local wild life and man a turret.



Jak 3 will feature a new rendering engine designed specifically to handle the game's large desert environments.
The collection of levels gives a taste of the variety the team is aiming to give players in the game. While a lot of this may sound similar to what Jak II offered, the team is doing more than just offering more of the same. The gameplay in Jak 3 is being tweaked to address player concerns with Jak II's gameplay. In addition, the team is aiming to have Jak 3 continue to evolve Jak as a character and expand his colorful, albeit troubled world.

The graphics in the game are quite impressive and pack a considerable punch, despite the fact that the game doesn't boast quite the visual impact of its predecessor; although, Jak II was a massive improvement over the original game. The visuals certainly meet and exceed those seen in Jak II; however, Jak 3's visual impact relies on an impressive array of subtle and not-so-subtle additions to the graphics package. On the subtle side of things, the game is offering cleaner texture and some cool little details, such as tweaked lighting and particle effects, as well as cloth and rag-doll physics. A less subtle addition to the visuals is a new rendering engine created specifically to pump out the massive desert environment. The extra bit of work to create the environment has resulted in a dynamic desert that is more than just a pile of sand. Speaking of environments, Jak III will feature a mix of original settings as well as some familiar ones. However, don't expect to see much recycling going on in the game. While you'll see some locales from Jak II, they've all undergone some changes, thanks to the passage of time in the game.

The game's cutscenes are again done in real time and have a pleasing cinematic flair to them. As far as style goes, Jak 3 is an interesting beast as it retains a lot of Jak II's dark look and feel, but it manages to work in some lighter touches and some striking visual elements. For example, Jak's look has changed some--he's no longer as dark and broody as before, and the look and effects for his light eco power are very cool. The game still runs smoothly, even in its early state, which bodes well for its final incarnation.



Jak's dark eco powers are now joined by light ico powers, which have some pretty cool effects.
The audio in the game is still quite a ways off from being final, but what we have heard so far stays pretty close to the approach taken in Jak II. You'll hear a liberal amount of voice and incidental music in the cutscenes as well as during gameplay. Daxter is still as chatty as ever, and there's also a good helping of ambient chatter.

From what we've seen so far, Jak 3 is shaping up to be an inspired closer to this chapter of Jak and Daxter's adventures. The unique story, improved graphics and gameplay, and polished presentation seem to be coming along very well. Based on what we played and saw, Jak 3 should be more than ready to carry on the franchise's legacy when it ships later this year. For more on the game, check out our exclusive video interview with some of the members of Naughty Dog crafting the game.

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April 19, 2004 - It was a sad day when it was announced that Jason Rubin would be leaving Naughty Dog for an uncertain future. After helping to bring both Crash Bandicoot and the duo of Jak and Daxter to life on the PS One and PS2, he's calling it quits. So what's the good news here? As his final job at Naughty Dog he's helping to make sure that Jak 3 will be one of the best platformers around his holiday season. We recently had a chance to play through a few of the levels down at Naughty Dog headquarters in Santa Monica and we saw a work in progress that is sure to be an incredible recent addition to Rubin's resume.


More than just concluding Rubin's stay with Naughty Dog, Jak 3 will also close out a storyline that has always been intended as a trilogy. There is still a possibility of future games with Jak and Daxter, however, but this will close out the current story arc. As the story progresses and time passes, Jak will also be growing up. Where the original Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy featured a young clean-shaven Jak and Jak II had Jak looking a little rougher with a goatee, expect an even more grizzled look for the third installment.

One of the reasons for Jak's new look is that he's been banished to the wasteland, the vast barren reaches beyond Haven City's walls. In a mad power struggle after the ending of Jak II, warring factions tore the city apart and Jak is punished for his role in the events. Left in the middle of absolutely nowhere with nobody but Daxter and Pecker to keep him company, life looks pretty bleak until some wasteland survivalists, the marauders, find them and bring them to their own town, Spartus. This becomes the new hub for most of Jak 3. Jak will eventually return to Haven City, but it will be radically altered thanks to the fighting that's been going on.

What is a tragic turn of events for Jak and Daxter is a breath of fresh air for the series. Where Jak II was primarily confined to the city walls, the new wasteland is four to five times as big in size and there's no traffic to deal with. To get around his space are some new vehicles. For the first time, Jak will be able to drive around in dune buggies with four-wheel drive rather than the hovercrafts of the big city.

We were able to pay a couple of these driving levels and they were a blast to play with plenty of jumps and shooting going on. One mission sends Jak out into the wasteland to gather a bunch of scattered items before time runs out and the fierce winds return. Worse than a sandstorm that makes it hard to see, these winds are strong enough to rip flesh from bone and provide an incentive to get back inside. The only problem is that other marauders are outside too and they're not looking to make it any easier on Jak and they're certainly not going to part with their more powerful cars either.
Unlike Jak II, all of the vehicles in Jak 3 need to be earned. There's no possibility of just pulling out a driver and joyriding like before. By completing more missions, more of the cars become available and can be picked out from the garage in Spartus whenever Jak needs to go for a spin. As for how the cars felt to dive, they were a little squirrelly when we played, but that's sure to change.


The build that we played featured realistic physics, but this led to a control scheme that felt a little sloppy as turns were harder and spin-outs were a little easy to pull off. This is right for sand dunes, but we were assured that the final controls would be more user-friendly than accurate. The other playable vehicle that we played was a much burlier car that could shoot in all directions and do tricks. By switching between the gas and brake, we were able to get this huge car to pop back and forth between the front tires and the rear tires.

In addition to the car physics, there have been a couple of other tweaks to eh game engine. Ragdoll physics have been implemented for the enemies and we saw some particularly satisfying examples with some bat creatures. Shooting them down made them flop onto the ground with a nice "thud." There have also been some cloth dynamics thrown in to make the animation look more fluid.

With some new guns, there are sure to be plenty of times to see the ragdoll effect. Jak 3 will feature four types of gun and each has three different levels of power. Swapping weapons can be done on the fly so it's possible to run and switch weapons at the same time. Since the higher levels of each gun are more powerful, they also chew up the ammo at a faster rate. In our own experience with the weapons, the low-level for each weapon was useful for one-on-one situations and upon seeing an approaching mob, kicking it up to level three helped to ease the tension. The most creative level-three effect that we saw was a gun that sent out a floating orb that would then shoot at everything it came across before it runs out of ammo.
Jak himself will be changing as well with some new Precursor powers. With the promise of finishing up the storyline, the mystery of the Precursors will be solved as well and Jak will be caught right in the middle. Two opposing forces here will be the two different sides f the "Eco": light and dark. Jak got comfortable with his dark side in Jak II, but he will be balanced out with some light Eco powers as well. At certain locations in he game, Jak will be able to turn into Light Jak. In this state, he looks like he's been given the TRON graphical treatment and has some wings as well. Kind of like a cyber-angel, if that helps at all.

No details were given about the Light Jak abilities except that they will be limited to the few areas that enable Jak to transform. As for the Dark Jak powers, these will be used by accumulating Eco pellets and charging up for a rampage. As someone who can access both the light and dark sides of the Eco, Jak will play a crucial role in the Precursor storyline.
Just like Jak will be the balance of Light and Dark Eco, the staff at Naughty Dog have been hard at work at taking care of the behind-the-scenes balancing of the gameplay. Two of the biggest problems that gamers brought up about Jak II were the spikes in the gameplay and the constant travel required between tasks. With the choked up traffic of Haven City, just getting around could take a significant amount of time. It added to the feel of the city, but it really just added some time that could've been spent playing out more missions. Then again, there are those nasty spikes in the gameplay once the travel was over with.


Jak II was not always for the faint of heart with some sections that made gamers cringe at what was required of them. The task ahead for Jak 3 is to ease up this frustration and there are a couple of different approaches that will be taken for this. One method is to organize the game with a steady learning curve. Curveballs of insanely difficult missions in the middle of easy ones will be left out. Then again, there's always the dynamic gameplay approach. If gamers are having a tough time, the game will scale back accordingly. Getting this right comes back to that crucial issue of balance while still keeping the game fun.

Even though Naughty Dog has shown us that they are dedicated to making Jak 3 accessible, the levels that we played still showed a wicked sense of level design with plenty of clever tricks. Our favorite was the mine cart mission where Jak is trying to break into the city by blowing up a barrier that's blocking a tunnel. Lucky for Jak, there are some train tracks that go straight to the entrance. Unluckily, there are a lot of bridges in the way and all of them are raised up as if for a boat crossing underneath. If the cart, which is filled with explosives, hits any of the upturned bridges or falls off then the missions has failed. All that's needed is to run along the train and shoot all of the bridge switches to lower the tracks.
Getting the mine cart is simple in theory, but getting the task done was a test of all of Jak's skills. The path that needs to be taken crosses over the tracks a few times, requires a few railgrinds on the jet board, involves some platform jumping, and has a few annoying creatures in the way for good measure. After a good half hour of practice and pestering Jason Rubin for tips, we managed to pull off a sweet sequence of moves that dropped the bomb, literally, on Haven City and go us in the back door. The result was intense, a little nerve-wracking, and a lot of fun. By the time we had gotten into the tunnel and saw the game hang up the unfinished next part, we were hooked.

For all the talk about game balancing and new tricks, none of that matters when you actually get your hands on a controller and just get a chance to play. Naughty Dog has proven before that they know how to make games and Jak 3 is looking to be no exception. It's going to be a long wait until the fall when we'll see the finished version, but it'll be worth it. For now, we'll have to wait for E3 to find out some more so check back later for the latest Jak 3 information.
- Cred to Ed Lewis

quote OPM issue 82 preview

Given Jak II's outrageous difficulty, this sequel-normally a shoe in to be considered awesome-has got us feeling a little cautious. Yeah, the new wide open setting sounds interesting. Yeah, the departure from the cluttered Haven City is good. Yeah, NaughtyDog promises that Jak 3 really truly won't be as hard as Jak II. We're still a little nervous.
Lets be clear we're not worried that Jak 3 will be bad. Theres lots to look forward to. We're curious to finally learn just who the Precursors were, and what role if any they play in Jak's current world. We look forward to enhanced hand-to-hand combat, hoverboard mods, and beefed up guns.
We just don't want to get hurt again, is that so wrong?

quote OPS2-UK

There are just two words carved on the stone tablet of videogame sequel design. Bigger and better. Jak 3 meets the first commandment with ease. The desert into which you're banished at the start is five times the size of Haven City from the previous game. Notable landmarks include a MINE, a VOLCANO - yay, lava! - and a city called Spargus that's home to the outcasts and refugees.

Jak's arsenal has also increased to include eight weapons, all with alternative fire modes. Plus, in addition to Dark Jak, you can transform into an angelic alter ego called Light Jak, with more defensively-orientated abilities.

But as for better? Not so clear. Although Jak 3 promises an enormous world - you'll revisit Haven City, which is now in ruins - it's hard to shake the feeling of deja vu. The chance to muck around with Jak's hoverboard in more open plan environments certainly appeals, and the story's guaranteed to be strong but... there just doesn't seem to be cosmos shifting reinvention that we've come to expect from the series. Particularly when one of the key features being highlighted is - can you guess? - the ability to slow time. Sigh. Apparently this is the last game in the Jak trilogy, although spin-offs are planned. Hopefully more hands-on time will reveal currently unknown innovations. Otherwise, the inclusion of online play could make this Ratchet and Clank's year.

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JAK 3

A satisfying Final Chapter

Jak 3 is nowhere near as tough as Jak 2 is. [edit out rest of paragraph]

The Best part about this is that without the constant fighting with the game and the constant fear of running into another mission that will make you want to hurl your controller through the TV screen. So you're free to sit back and enjoy the game. And theres plenty to enjoy.

Perhaps the real gem here is the story [TWR: YAY!]. Not every loose end is tied up, but this is [ostensibly] the final game in the Jak saga, and there is quite a satisfying amount of resolution here. There are some surprises. The reveal of the precursors, in any event, is proceless.

The voice acting is as excellent as ever.[edit out rest of paragraph]

Of course, theres a great deal of game around the story, with the big innovation being the desert driving missions. With the occasional exception resulting from too-sensitive handling, these are almost all awesome - so much that its dissapointing when Jak returns to Haven. [Don't worry, he gets to go back shortly]

Overall, the gameplay is as varied as ever, mixing driving, shooting, hoverboarding, and flying in with straight up platforming in a most satisfying fashion.

The controls aren't exactly perfect. [edit out rest of paragraph]

[some other stuff]

4.5/5

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