There’s an old adage in the games industry that says that (with the obvious exception of Mario) if a game series resorts to a racing game then it’s run its course, is past its sell-by date and is basically a “dead game walking”. Going by this axiom then; expect Driver K4rt, Resident Evil Offroad and Metal Gear Rally to be announced any time now…
From the intro it’s obvious that Jak X certainly retains the high production values of the previous Jak & Daxter games... But without any of the platforming and exploring can it make me want to play it for more then ten minutes before I get bored stupid(er)? Well yes and no, the racing is fun if brainless, the “combat” side of things is almost too easy, the difficulty curve seems to be perfect (starting off really easy and slowly building the challenge up), you can customise your buggies (there are not only loads of different buggies available, but different engines, wheels & body parts) and even paint them any colour you like with a smart colour-chooser.
Multiplayer options stretch as far as split screen, online and LAN, and retain the solo game's fast and smooth action. It's just a shame more people don't seem to be playing the network game, because this is definitely one of the PS2's better online experiences.
Last year Jak 3 supplied us with some awesome racing within the story of the game, and its wide-open spaces seemed designed to enjoy the perfect handling of the buggies in. This year nearly all the racing takes place on purpose-built tracks or arenas, and there are several different race styles (my favourite being the Smuggler’s Run-style free roaming checkpoint races), and although I’m a huge fan of the series because it’s just racing and no platforming it seemed to lose its attraction quite quickly. This is disappointing when both Jak 2 Renegade and Jak 3 were games that I could lose myself in for hours at a time.
The racing is fast, smooth and can be exciting too, and the upgrades that you win or buy genuinely make a difference. Racing in the different locations the tracks vary in style, but not all that much, and that’s generally Jak X’s problem, it’s way too samey from start to end. The cut scenes are just as beautifully done as in the previous games, but you know the story ain’t really leading you anywhere but the next race, so even they become a bit of a chore – Jak’s wise-cracking sidekick Daxter doesn’t even seem as funny this time around. The game is called Jak X: Combat Racing elsewhere and it’s almost like they didn’t want the European market to know the game is racing pure and simple – maybe the market demands more these days, I know I do.
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