Jak 3 is the final sequel of the Jak trilogy, and is a fun, if sometimes flawed, 3D platformer. The game takes off where
Jak 2 left off, with one unpleasant surprise. Instead of being lauded for their heroism, Jak and Dexter are banished to the seemingly barren wastelands, as the ensuing chaos of Haven city is seen as a direct result of Jak’s dark powers. The supposedly barren wasteland also has a “forgotten” civilisation filled with outcasts and law-breakers, ruled by the tough yet fair King Damas. After the king’s men rescue Jak from the scorching heat of the desert, Damas tests Jak and Dexter in the fighting arena to see if they are worthy of staying safely within the city’s walls or if they should be banished out into the desert. And it is here where the gameplay of
Jak 3 begins.
The game has a great variety of things to do and missions to accomplish. In a more-or-less linear fashion, Jak and Dexter are given a set of objectives, must search out the objective on the map, and then complete said mission before receiving a new one. A mission could be to make it to the top of a mysterious volcano by using a hang glider and flying through all the rings, battling hordes of enemies in the arena, shooting targets without missing, or racing with off-road vehicles, to name just a few. What this means is that there’s bound to be something of interest for everyone; but with such a great variety of missions, some people will find at least a portion of the missions unenjoyable, if, for example, they don’t like racing or hang gliding through rings.
Where the game truly gets interesting is in the combat. Admittedly, not a great deal has changed since Jak 2, but there is never a shortage of ways to pummel your enemies to oblivion. Needless to say, Jak starts out this game with his dark powers from the last game. Thus, in addition to the standard jumps, spins, and punch combo moves, Jak can drastically increase his strength and endurance by transforming into Dark Jak when he has enough dark eco, “electrifying” enemies with dark matter and killing several at a time with powerful (but costly to the dark meter) moves like dark bomb. Not too far into the game however, Jak gets a new transformation ability, Light Jak. Where Dark Jak specialised in offensive based moves, Light Jak specialises in defence, which is very valuable in this game. Combat is very challenging, and there are no “potions” or other valuables that you can use to heal yourself while battling an enemy. It also only takes a few hits to die. While Dark Jak enables Jak to boost his overall defence, Light Jak lets him create a shield that can penetrate enemy attacks, glide to safety, and, arguably most important of all, the ability to heal himself, which is a great help in combat.
Then there is Jak’s morph gun, which has four main types of ammunition and several sub-types that are specialised versions of one of the main types. One type of ammunition lets Jak charge up his shot to unleash massive damage to nearby enemies, while another allows him to shoot a laser that can bank across walls, but is relatively weak. With Jak’s standard punch and spinning moves, his abilities to turn into dark and light versions of himself for as long as the dark and light metres are sustained, and with many different types of ammunition, combat never gets boring because there is so much choice. It also can get overwhelming; you need to think fast in the heat of the moment about which is the best course of action to take and which is the best ammunition to use, and make these decisions and changes on the fly while fighting, but it’s just a matter of practice. Overall, both the combat and general missions that need to be accomplished in order to progress with the story are very challenging, but more on the missions like racing and treasure gathering later.
The graphics showcase the best the PS2 has to offer, the voice-acting is top-notch, and the controls are tight and responsive once you learn not to get overwhelmed by all the different options in combat.
But there are some aspects in Jak 3 that do not work. The most drastic flaws are the rare but nevertheless evident bugs that occur from time to time. In one scene, you are supposed to talk to King Damas to get briefed on a new mission. When you approach him to talk, however, the cutscene skips in its entirety and all you are left with is the location on your map indicating where the next mission will take place, whatever that is. After shutting off the PS2 and retrying the scene, it worked. In another scene, I needed to corral these wild lizards into a pen using Dexter, but when the mission was accomplished, the screen went black for two minutes. I was ready to reset the game when the problem finally corrected itself and I was allowed to proceed.
Another problem is the city you reside in; it’s just a hub to reach your next mission, and you cannot talk with the multitude of citizens that pass you by. They are just props, and that indelible impression is hard to hide. The soundtrack is also largely uninspired; nothing memorable is likely to stick in your head. Rather, the tunes are simple and largely unvaried, generally reflecting the theme of the dessert. Finally, there is a small problem with the missions. As stated before, with so many missions available, you’ll end up liking some more than others. But regardless of which mission you partake in, never expect to get it right on the first try. One small mistake, such as failing to pass through a ring while hang gliding, will result in mission failure. Interestingly, however, you’ll have unlimited tries to complete each mission—including battles, and often you’ll be able to try again from where you last failed, thereby ironically reducing the challenge. For example, in one mission you need to rescue three civilians from the dessert with an off-road vehicle before a sandstorm comes in, so you have limited time and a limited energy meter. If you manage to rescue the civilians and bring them to safety, all you have to do is make it back to home base yourself before the time runs out. But if an enemy vehicle blasts yours to smithereens, no problem. Just head back to the camp with a full energy meter a few seconds later, as if you were never damaged to begin with. Some may say this ruins the point, others will say it makes the game accessible to everyone, regardless of skill level, because you can keep on trying until you get it right, even if sometimes it’s only a few seconds from where you failed.
One thing is for certain, however, if you like 3D action platformers, it’s very likely that you’ll enjoy Jak 3. The keyword here is variety. If you like to try many different things and fight many different ways, then Jak 3 is the game for you.
