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Jak II
Jak II NTSC box cover
Developer(s)	Naughty Dog
Publisher(s)	SCEA
Distributor(s)	SCEJ
Designer(s)	Jason Rubin (Director) Andy Gavin (Lead Programmer) Christopher Christensen (Programmer) Hirokazu Yasuhara (Game Designer) Mark Cerny (Additional Game Designer & Programmer)
Artist(s)	Bob Rafei (Art Director)
Composer(s)	Mark Mothersbaugh Josh Mancell Larry Hopkins
Series	Jak and Daxter series
Engine	Kinetica
Aspect ratio	16:9 / 4:3
Native resolution	480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV)
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Release date(s)	NA October 14, 2003 (2003-10-14) EU October 17, 2003 (2003-10-17) JP March 11, 2004 (2004-03-11)
Genre(s)	Platformer, Action
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ELSPA: 11+ ESRB: Teen OFLC: G8+ PEGI: 12+ USK: 6
Media	DVD
Input methods	Gamepad

Jak II, subtitled Jak II: Renegade in Europe, is a science fiction platform game developed by Naughty Dog. Released for the PlayStation 2 game console on October 14, 2003, the game is the sequel to Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy and the second game in the Jak and Daxter series. It was followed by Jak 3 a year later.

The game features new weapons and devices, new playable areas, and a storyline that picks up after the events of The Precursor Legacy. In the game, Haven City, a dystopia ruled under the questionable fist of Baron Praxis, is engaged in a war against a techno-organic group of organisms known as the "Metal Heads". As in the previous game, the player takes on the dual role of recurring protagonists Jak and Daxter. There are also a new array of characters such as Torn, Erol, Krew, Kor, Ashelin, and Sig, as well as some returning ones, such as Samos and Keira.

Jak II is the only game in the series in which the versions for English-speaking regions feature the Japanese and Korean voiceover track. The voiceover cast features many notable seiyūs, including Shotaro Morikubo as Jak. The other games in the series did not follow suit, leaving the voices to be exclusive to the Japanese and Korean regions. However, the Japanese track is not on the disk for Jak and Daxter and Jak 3. This is also technically the last Jak and Daxter game to be released in Japan.

Gameplay

The gameplay of Jak II is significantly different from the previous game. It abolished "Eco" gameplay and replaced it with a rifle, which he can combine with his traditional moveset. It also removed Power Cell progression and replaced it with a sandbox style gameplay.

It does retain certain gameplay aspects from The Precursor Legacy. Many of the missions are similar to that of the previous and a lot of platforming gameplay is still involved. Several pieces of technology from the previous game, such as the Warp Gate, are maintained, as well as Jak's overall moveset which is expanded on with the addition of the Dark Eco abilities. By collecting Dark Eco, Jak can transform into Dark Jak, who is more powerful in close combat. By collecting Metalhead gems, gained by defeating the game's enemies, and giving them to the oracle from the previous game, Jak can gain additional abilities for his dark form.

Jak can traverse the large city using hover vehicles, and change between vehicles mid flight. He later acquires a jetboard allowing him to hover across water, grind on rails and reach new areas. Some sections also see him using a robotic suit.

Synopsis

Plot

The game begins with Jak and Daxter, the protagonists, and Samos, their guardian, watching as Keira, Samos’ daughter and Jak’s love interest, demonstrate the Rift Rider and Precursor Rift Gate that they found in the previous game. When activated, the Rift opens a portal that the four of them are flung through. They arrive in Haven City, which is under the command of Baron Praxis that is at war with a race of beasts called Metal Heads.^[1] They are separated on arrival, and Jak is captured by Praxis’ Krimzon Guard. While Jak is imprisoned, he undergoes experiments with Dark Eco; when exposed to Dark Eco, he turns into a mindless beast.

Two years after his capture, Daxter breaks him out of prison, and together, they join an underground rebel movement that seeks to place the rightful ruler, a boy only referred to as the Kid, on the throne. While serving this Underground, Jak finds Keira and Samos, as well as a younger Samos. He also learns that Praxis has been working with the Metal Heads to maintain the throne. What surprises him the most is that Haven City is actually his home village 200 years in the future.

Partway through the game, Praxis obtains the Precursor Stone, an artifact of immense power. Praxis intends to crack the stone while it is inside the Metal Head nest, not knowing that destroying the Precursor Stone will set off a chain reaction that will destroy the planet. The Baron leaves the destruction of the stone to Krew, the mob boss of Haven City. Jak finds Krew and destroys the device he is building to crack the stone; Krew is killed in the resulting explosion.

After Krew’s death, Metal Heads invade the city. Jak finds Praxis on the outskirts of the city, confronting Kor, a member of the Underground who had been guarding the Kid. Kor is then revealed to be the leader of the Metal Heads. He fires his energy breath at Praxis and flies off. Before he dies, Praxis shows Jak another Precursor Stone bomb, this one containing the Precursor Stone. Daxter rummages through the bomb and deactivates it, and Jak takes the stone.

As the Krimson Guard and the Underground fight the Metal Heads in the city, Jak travels to the Metal Head nest to confront Kor. There, he finds that Kor has the Kid and a Precursor Ring like the one that brought Jak and his friends to Haven City. Kor informs Jak that the Kid is in actuality, a young Jak. Jak had been sent into the past to learn the skills necessary to defeat Kor. The young Jak, because he is innocent and untouched by Dark Eco, is able to release the Precursor entity trapped in the stone.

During the battle with Kor, Kor is decapitated by the Precursor Ring, which damages it. Before it breaks up, young Jak releases the Precursor entity, which enters the Ring. Samos and Keira arrive and send young Jak and young Samos back in time through the Ring, leaving Jak, Daxter, Samos and Keira to live out their lives in Haven City. Daxter takes over Krew's bar, and renames it the "Naughty Ottsel."

Setting

Jak II takes place in the same science fiction universe created by Naughty Dog for Jak and Daxter, though hundreds of years in the future. The plot largely revolves around happenings in and around Haven City, a dystopia ruled by Baron Praxis and his Krimzon Guard law enforcers. Haven City often serves as a hub, whereas the player is given tasks that must often be fulfilled outside of the city, places that are separated via airlocks.

Characters

Jak (voiced by Mike Erwin) is the game's protagonist, along with his sidekick Daxter (voiced by Max Casella). When they first arrived in Haven City, Jak is captured by Krimson Guards and became the subject of Baron Praxis' "Dark Warrior" project. He became subject to several experiments, ultimately giving him the ability to become Dark Jak, a beast-like version of him which is unleashed when Jak has gathered enough Dark Eco. Daxter is an otter-weasel hybrid (known as an ottsel) and is the game's comic relief. After two years of searching for him, Daxter finally sneaks into the prison holding Jak and rescues him. This is also the first time we hear Jak speak in the series.

Other important characters include Torn, the gravelly-voiced second in command of the resistance movement known as the Underground; Sig, a Metal Head hunter/Wastelander (someone who gathers artifacts outside the city); Krew, the overweight gang lord; Tess, the barmaid; Erol, the Baron's right hand man and commander of the Krimzon Guard; and Ashelin, the daughter of Baron Praxis who helps the Underground behind her father's back. Baron Praxis and the Metal Head's leader Kor are the story's antagonists.

Reception

This game received generally very positive reviews from critics. It won Editor's Choice from IGN^[2] and GameSpot,^[3] was nominated for Best PlayStation 2 Game by GameSpot^[4] and received aggregate scores of 87/100 on MetaCritic^[5] and 88% on Game Rankings.^[6]

Jak II was added to Sony's Greatest Hits lineup on September 8, 2004, signifying at least 400,000 copies sold in its first 11 months.^[7]

A sequel called Jak 3 was released in 2004.

References

External links

• Official North American website (www.jakii.com)
• Official European website
• Naughty Dog's Jak II website
• Jak II (PS2) at GameSpot
• Jak II at MobyGames

From StrategyWiki, the free strategy guide and walkthrough wiki

Jak II
Developer(s)	Naughty Dog
Publisher(s)	SCEA
Japanese title	ジャック×ダクスター2
Distributor(s)	SCEJ
Engine	Kinetica
Release date(s)	October 14, 2003  October 17, 2003  March 11, 2004 Greatest Hits  2004  August 13, 2004
Genre(s)	Platform action-adventure
System(s)	PlayStation 2
Players	1
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen ELSPA: Ages 11+ PEGI: Ages 12+ CERO: All ages OFLC: General 8+ USK: Ages 6+
Media	DVD-Rom
Website	Official site
Input	DualShock 2
Preceded by	Jak and Daxter
Followed by	Jak 3
Series	Jak and Daxter

Jak II is a third person platform action-adventure video game developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 2 console and is the second installment of the Jak and Daxter series. The game was released in 2003 throughout North America and Europe, where it was titled Jak II: Renegade, and in Japan in 2004 where it is addressed as both Jak II and Jak Cross Daxter 2 (ジャック×ダクスター2, Jakku Kakeru Dakusutā Tzu ^?). The game is followed up with Jak 3 in late 2004, which finishes the trilogy. The game Daxter serves as a mid-quel, chronicling Daxter's search for Jak.

After discovering both the Rift Rider and Precursor Ring at the end of The Precursor Legacy, Jak and Daxter watch as Samos and Keira test them out back at their home in Sandover Village. When the ring is activated, a large monster appears from within the ring, announcing freedom. The four board the Rift Rider and drive into the ring, knocking the monster back into the portal. The gang continues to ride in the void until an energy spark strikes the Rift Rider and destroys it. The four are separated and fall in various directions and disappear. When Jak and Daxter land, they find themselves in the dystopian Haven City, where they themselves become separated when Jak is captured by Baron Praxis' Krimzon Guards, leaving Daxter stranded in the city.

European cover.

Japanese cover.

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