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Jak X Mini Review
Jon Wilcox
15/11/2005
TVG takes the wheel as Jak & Daxter race to the death in this vehicular combat racing title from Naughty Dog...
Think vehicular combat and a lot of gamers (especially in North America) will undoubtedly conjure up the Twisted Metal series that has won wide-spread appeal (again, especially in North America.) Jak X takes the sub-genre and instils it into a racing title that manages to be a strange mix of elements from the likes of WipeOut and Crietrion Games' Burnout series - the genetic make up of how this is so will be explained shortly, but first, the all-important synopsis. Following the death of Jak II bad guy Krew, the duo are invited to the reading of the Will. Obviously surprised at the request, theyāre even more surprised to discover that they (along with the other attendees of the reading including Krewās daughter) have been poisoned and that the only way to survive is to win the Kras City Grand Championship and the antidotes.
Four classes of vehicle are available in the game, one for each Championship, all of them with their own attributes that can be upgraded by spending the Orbs won through racing. A level of customising is also available in the game with wheels, hoods, trunks, and fenders (or bonnets, boots, and spoilers if youāre British) all interchangeable ā“ if you win the Gold medal. All done? Right then, onto the meat of the game, the racesā¦
To expand upon the longevity and variety of the game, the developers have been quite clever in integrating a range of gametypes into the single-player mode from Circuit Races to Deathraces and Time-Freezing. One of the gametypes that does stand out is Rush Hour, where the aim is to collide with drone vehicles to pick up points; each car is a different colour and worth a different number of points. In fact itās this that manages to sustain the attention span for while; standard racing around is fine but with the number of race types available Jak X proves to be more capable than first thought. The control system is very much as expected, responsive and intuitive, which at the very least means that itās an easy game to get into. Points are awarded to players when they finish in the top three, which then contributes to an overall score to gain qualification for the main Grand Prix: win that and itās onto the next Championship Class.
There's no denying that Jak X is just another kart/combat racing title and certainly features all of the main characteristics that you'd expect in this sub-genre; stylised visuals? Check. A selection of weapons to use against the enemy? Check. Turbo boosting? Check. Before the game is written off though it has to be said that Jak X also includes some of the qualities found in the two titles mentioned in the opening paragraph: WipeOut and Burnout. We say qualities out of courtesy especially regarding some of the similarities between the titles: the slow-motion of enemies flying through the air in a ball of fire is so 'Burnout' that it even supersedes the definition of parody or lampoon.
Besides the single-player Adventure Mode, Jak X also features several Multiplayer race types and tries to be as accessible as possible; games can be played offline, online, or across a LAN connection. Though playing against human opponents is more fun in the Exhibition mode the number of PS2 owners who'll actually take advantage of the online/LAN capabilities are likely to be slim, and is a glaringly obvious weakness in Sony's dominant position. All of the gametypes from the Adventure mode, plus a few more, are open to play which means that TurboDashing, RushHour, and SportHunt all feature.
Jak X is more fun that first impressions suggest; of course it's 'another' combat racing title but there's enough variety in the gametypes to keep the experience feeling fresh. There's enough car customisation capabilities for sense of progression together with a range of munitions that can obliterate opponents, and the narrative is exactly what you'd expect it to be in a Jak & Daxter game. The open world environments of some gametypes are imaginative and fun to play through and also lend themselves to some real karting carnage action. The ability to take the game online and across a LAN is nice though the actual number of Jak X gamers who'll utilise the option will fairly small although there's always the ability for split-screen fun instead.
Stuck with PS2
Date Added:Thu 13th Dec 2007 19:16
Anonymous
Date Added:Thu 1st Mar 2007 23:58