Jak 3
Encyclopedia
Jak 3 is a platform game
for Sony's PlayStation 2
console
developed by Naughty Dog
. It is the third game in the main Jak and Daxter
series. Jak 3 was completely localized and dubbed in Japanese, but was not released in Japan due to Jak IIs poor sales. Japanese, however, is selectable on the Korean
release of the game and will play on a Japanese
PlayStation 2.
. Jak 3 largely focuses on the Wasteland, a large desert
only briefly referred to in the previous entry in the series as being completely uninhabited and inhospitable.
Spargus City, a large settlement within the Wasteland bordering the ocean
, is where the game officially begins, and serves as a hub for the player, where new weapons and upgrades can be earned, and most missions are given out. Later on, the plot shifts focus to Haven City, a sprawling metropolis
which was the central locale in Jak II
, though the size of the area is only a fifth of the Wasteland. Some levels from the previous game are radically altered (Haven Forest, Metropolitan area) or removed entirely (like the Arena, Bazaar, and farm district in Haven City), while others are added (New Haven City), branching off from Spargus and the Wasteland and Haven.
' s two main protagonist
s are Jak and his best friend Daxter
the 'ottsel', which is a fictional cross between an otter
and a weasel
. Jak's mechanic friend Keira returns in this game. There is also Ashelin, the Governor of Haven City, who was previously involved with Torn, the now-commander of the Freedom League. Daxter's love interest Tess returns as a weapons designer; and Keira's father, Samos, also makes appearances through the game.
A new character, Damas, is first introduced here. He is the king of Spargus City. More minor but returning characters include Sig, a spy of Damas back in Haven City who later becomes the new king of Spargus after Damas, and Pecker, Onin's translator from Jak 2 becomes adviser to Damas in the early parts of the game.
Few of the original antagonist
s from Jak II
reappear in this game. A new secondary villain is Count Veger, a self-absorbed Haven City aristocrat who banishes Jak to the wasteland at the beginning of the game. The player later finds that Veger wishes to journey to the core of the planet and gain the power of the Precursors. Even as he attempts this, a species known as the Dark Makers begin to invade the planet, seeking to destroy it. The Dark Makers are Precursors who have been corrupted by Dark Eco, similar to the antagonists of The Precursor Legacy.
The main antagonist is the former Krimzon Guard commander Erol, first introduced in Jak II
, renamed Errol. He is a cybernetic version of himself, as he was badly wounded in Jak II
when he crashed into a supply of Eco barrels trying to run over Jak after he won the class one race. Sometime before the start of this game, he restarts the manufacturing of newer Krimzon Guard Deathbots, whose original factory was shut down during the events of the previous game. Errol launches a war against Haven City in tandem with the remaining Metal Head monsters, and later forges an alliance with the Dark Makers. He obtains a massive Dark Maker terraforming robot at the end of the game, with which he attempts to destroy the planet. The Terraformer is then destroyed by Jak as it advances through the Wasteland towards Spargus City.
for life by Count
Veger for supposed "crimes" against the people of Haven City. As he (along with Daxter and Pecker, who decided to join him) begins to succumb to the heat of the desert, a flashback shows Haven being under a mass attack by Metal Heads. Contrary to Torn's theory in the previous game, the destruction of the Metal Head Leader did not wipe out all the Metal Heads. Also, the Krimson Guard's special force of "K.G. Robots" went rogue and began attacking Haven citizens, leaving the city divided into 3 territories. The Palace is then destroyed by an unknown side. As Jak, Daxter, and Pecker start to die, they are rescued by a group of desert-dwellers, who take them back to Spargus City.
Upon their arrival in Spargus, Damas, the king, demands that Jak serve him in return for allowing Jak to remain in the city and to repay the debt for saving his life. In their time there, Pecker becomes Damas' royal adviser, and also learns that their longtime friend Sig was actually a spy from Spargus. They also become connected to a Precursor Monk temple, where Jak receives many new powers, and learn from a monk named Seem of a foretold destruction of the planet. During one of Damas' missions, Jak is found by Ashelin, who begs him to come back to Haven City to defend it from the Metal Heads and the new Krimzon Guard Deathbots. Still embittered about being exiled, he refuses to return. Ashelin leaves him, but later, Jak changes his mind and makes the journey via transport to Haven City. Jak and Daxter help reunite the Freedom League and give them hope that they can beat back the Metal Heads and KG Deathbots. While at the Naughty Ottsel, the new temporary HQ for the resistance, they receive a transmission from Errol, now a cyborg due to an explosion in the previous game, saying that he corrupted the K.G. Robots to use them to destroy the resistance, and secure his plans to dominate Haven City.
Partway through the game, Jak and Daxter start to encounter strange creatures. A Precursor telescope in the forest of Haven City reveals that the beings are Dark Makers, who were once Precursors, but exposure to Dark Eco transformed them into twisted beings. Jak finds that a purple star in the sky is actually a Dark Maker space ship, and it is nearing the planet. The only way to stop the ship is to activate the planetary defense system situated at the core of the planet. During an attack on the Krimson Guard War Factory, Jak finds Errol, who boasts of his new strength and his body. It's also revealed that Errol is the one calling the Dark Makers. Jak destroys the KG War Factory, but Errol manages to escape. Jak tracks down Errol again at the Metal Head Nest Tower, where Errol is once again able to escape before the tower collapses. With the general containment and victory over the Metal Heads and Deathbots in Haven City, Jak and Daxter begin their trek to the Planet Core.
They are aided by Damas, who helps them break through the Metal Head territories. Damas is killed in the attack, and with his dying breath he unintentionally reveals that he is Jak's father (Damas never knowing Jak is his son); he also reveals that Jak's true name is Mar, the name of the founder of Haven City. They are then ambushed by Count Veger, who then tells Jak that he was the one who took him from Damas hoping to use his eco powers for his experiments but then lost him to the underground in the last game. Count Veger then begins a race with Jak and Daxter down to the planetary core. But at gunpoint, Veger forces Jak away, while he absorbs the Precursor's powers. Then, the actual Precursors come to reveal that they are Ottsels like Daxter. Veger is then detained by The Precursors, and he is turned into an Ottsel. Jak and Daxter are then teleported to the Dark Maker Ship to slow it down while the planetary defense system charges. The mission is a success, but Errol, who boarded the ship using a Warp-Gate, takes a Dark Maker Terraformer and pilots it down to the planet's surface. Jak follows, and after a battle, Jak takes one last shot into the cockpit of the Terraformer, destroying it along with Errol.
After a celebration in Spargus City, the Precursors bid farewell to the planet and go out into the universe to combat the Dark Makers. Jak is offered a place in their ranks, but he declines.
Like its predecessor, the gameplay of Jak 3 is a blend of platforming
, driving
, and gun combat. The player is led through the story as they complete missions, assigned by the various characters in the game. Missions can consist of anything from defeating particular enemies, reaching a specific location, or completing a puzzle. With the exception of timed or otherwise linear missions, the player is free to explore the game world as they see fit. Special machines set up around the levels also assign short, non-plot-related tasks; for some significant missions, guns are a reward for completing the task. Precursors can be found in mysterious places, not after completing missions.
Cheats, made available as the player progresses, can upgrade weapons, flip the game world around into a mirror image of itself, or grant the player invincibility. After the game has been completed, the Hero Mode option is made accessible, which, when purchased, allows the player to re-play the game at a harder difficulty level. As Precursor Orb count is not reset, and the orbs are regenerated at their original locations, the player is able to regather orbs that he or she had already collected the previous time they played through the game. Collecting all 600 Precursor Orbs has some cosmetic effects on Jak's appearance, but has no effects other than this. In Hero Mode, Jak also keeps all twelve of his weapons.
There are some differences between Jak 3 and Jak II
. Most notably are the changes undergone by the Haven City environments. While Jak II provided the player with four different types of gun
s, Jak 3 expands on the concept with two additional modifications for each type, ending with a total of twelve weapons. Also, the 'Dark Jak' form, introduced in Jak II, which allowed the player to transform into a more powerful version of Jak, is countered by a 'Light Jak' form that mainly focuses on defensive abilities. As well as the hover vehicles within Haven City, Jak can drive a variety of off-road vehicles in the desert.
for the PlayStation 2
. Jak 3 was first revealed to be in the works by one of Superplays writers on January 8, 2004. While browsing the Naughty Dog offices, he saw early work being done with desert environments. It was first announced by Sony Computer Entertainment
on February 24, 2004. On April 19, 2004, information was revealed about the plot and gameplay. It was revealed in North America on November 9, 2004, and in Europe on November 26, 2004. On August 4, 2005 the game was added to the Greatest Hits collection.
, a 9.6 out of 10 from IGN
, and a 9.25 out of 10 from Game Informer
magazine. Its average review score is an 84 out of 100 from Metacritic
and 85% on Game Rankings. IGN listed the game 23rd on their list of "The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time".
A racing spin-off called Jak X: Combat Racing
was released in 2005.
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
for Sony's PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
console
Video game console
A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or customized computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game...
developed by Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog
Naughty Dog, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1986 as an independent developer, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001...
. It is the third game in the main Jak and Daxter
Jak and Daxter
Jak and Daxter is a critically acclaimed video game franchise created by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 2.The series consists of four main games and two spin-offs,though they are also considered to be part of the main series...
series. Jak 3 was completely localized and dubbed in Japanese, but was not released in Japan due to Jak IIs poor sales. Japanese, however, is selectable on the Korean
Korean language
Korean is the official language of the country Korea, in both South and North. It is also one of the two official languages in the Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture in People's Republic of China. There are about 78 million Korean speakers worldwide. In the 15th century, a national writing...
release of the game and will play on a Japanese
Japanese language
is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
PlayStation 2.
Location
Like its predecessors, Jak 3 takes place in an un-named fictional universe created by Naughty Dog specially for the games. Specifically, it is set in the New World, its time frame placing it around 300 years after the events of the first gameJak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a platform game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment and is the first video game in the Jak and Daxter series. It was released exclusively for the Sony PlayStation 2 on December 3, 2001 for North America, December 7, 2001 for...
. Jak 3 largely focuses on the Wasteland, a large desert
Desert
A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Most deserts have an average annual precipitation of less than...
only briefly referred to in the previous entry in the series as being completely uninhabited and inhospitable.
Spargus City, a large settlement within the Wasteland bordering the ocean
Ocean
An ocean is a major body of saline water, and a principal component of the hydrosphere. Approximately 71% of the Earth's surface is covered by ocean, a continuous body of water that is customarily divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas.More than half of this area is over 3,000...
, is where the game officially begins, and serves as a hub for the player, where new weapons and upgrades can be earned, and most missions are given out. Later on, the plot shifts focus to Haven City, a sprawling metropolis
Metropolis
A metropolis is a very large city or urban area which is a significant economic, political and cultural center for a country or region, and an important hub for regional or international connections and communications...
which was the central locale in Jak II
Jak II
Jak II, , is a platform game developed by Naughty Dog...
, though the size of the area is only a fifth of the Wasteland. Some levels from the previous game are radically altered (Haven Forest, Metropolitan area) or removed entirely (like the Arena, Bazaar, and farm district in Haven City), while others are added (New Haven City), branching off from Spargus and the Wasteland and Haven.
Characters
As in the games before it, Jak 3Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
s are Jak and his best friend Daxter
Daxter
Daxter is a fictional character and a protagonist of the Jak and Daxter series. First introduced in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Daxter is Jak's best friend, and was accidentally transformed into an ottsel . Daxter is voiced by Max Casella and Richard McGonagle . Daxter stars in his own...
the 'ottsel', which is a fictional cross between an otter
Otter
The Otters are twelve species of semi-aquatic mammals which feed on fish and shellfish, and also other invertebrates, amphibians, birds and small mammals....
and a weasel
Weasel
Weasels are mammals forming the genus Mustela of the Mustelidae family. They are small, active predators, long and slender with short legs....
. Jak's mechanic friend Keira returns in this game. There is also Ashelin, the Governor of Haven City, who was previously involved with Torn, the now-commander of the Freedom League. Daxter's love interest Tess returns as a weapons designer; and Keira's father, Samos, also makes appearances through the game.
A new character, Damas, is first introduced here. He is the king of Spargus City. More minor but returning characters include Sig, a spy of Damas back in Haven City who later becomes the new king of Spargus after Damas, and Pecker, Onin's translator from Jak 2 becomes adviser to Damas in the early parts of the game.
Few of the original antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
s from Jak II
Jak II
Jak II, , is a platform game developed by Naughty Dog...
reappear in this game. A new secondary villain is Count Veger, a self-absorbed Haven City aristocrat who banishes Jak to the wasteland at the beginning of the game. The player later finds that Veger wishes to journey to the core of the planet and gain the power of the Precursors. Even as he attempts this, a species known as the Dark Makers begin to invade the planet, seeking to destroy it. The Dark Makers are Precursors who have been corrupted by Dark Eco, similar to the antagonists of The Precursor Legacy.
The main antagonist is the former Krimzon Guard commander Erol, first introduced in Jak II
Jak II
Jak II, , is a platform game developed by Naughty Dog...
, renamed Errol. He is a cybernetic version of himself, as he was badly wounded in Jak II
Jak II
Jak II, , is a platform game developed by Naughty Dog...
when he crashed into a supply of Eco barrels trying to run over Jak after he won the class one race. Sometime before the start of this game, he restarts the manufacturing of newer Krimzon Guard Deathbots, whose original factory was shut down during the events of the previous game. Errol launches a war against Haven City in tandem with the remaining Metal Head monsters, and later forges an alliance with the Dark Makers. He obtains a massive Dark Maker terraforming robot at the end of the game, with which he attempts to destroy the planet. The Terraformer is then destroyed by Jak as it advances through the Wasteland towards Spargus City.
Plot
The game opens with Jak being banished to the WastelandWasteland
-Literature:* Wasteland , the Celtic motif of the land of the Fisher King* The Waste Land, a poem by T. S. Eliot* The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands, a novel by Stephen King* Wasteland , a novel by Francesca Lia Block...
for life by Count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
Veger for supposed "crimes" against the people of Haven City. As he (along with Daxter and Pecker, who decided to join him) begins to succumb to the heat of the desert, a flashback shows Haven being under a mass attack by Metal Heads. Contrary to Torn's theory in the previous game, the destruction of the Metal Head Leader did not wipe out all the Metal Heads. Also, the Krimson Guard's special force of "K.G. Robots" went rogue and began attacking Haven citizens, leaving the city divided into 3 territories. The Palace is then destroyed by an unknown side. As Jak, Daxter, and Pecker start to die, they are rescued by a group of desert-dwellers, who take them back to Spargus City.
Upon their arrival in Spargus, Damas, the king, demands that Jak serve him in return for allowing Jak to remain in the city and to repay the debt for saving his life. In their time there, Pecker becomes Damas' royal adviser, and also learns that their longtime friend Sig was actually a spy from Spargus. They also become connected to a Precursor Monk temple, where Jak receives many new powers, and learn from a monk named Seem of a foretold destruction of the planet. During one of Damas' missions, Jak is found by Ashelin, who begs him to come back to Haven City to defend it from the Metal Heads and the new Krimzon Guard Deathbots. Still embittered about being exiled, he refuses to return. Ashelin leaves him, but later, Jak changes his mind and makes the journey via transport to Haven City. Jak and Daxter help reunite the Freedom League and give them hope that they can beat back the Metal Heads and KG Deathbots. While at the Naughty Ottsel, the new temporary HQ for the resistance, they receive a transmission from Errol, now a cyborg due to an explosion in the previous game, saying that he corrupted the K.G. Robots to use them to destroy the resistance, and secure his plans to dominate Haven City.
Partway through the game, Jak and Daxter start to encounter strange creatures. A Precursor telescope in the forest of Haven City reveals that the beings are Dark Makers, who were once Precursors, but exposure to Dark Eco transformed them into twisted beings. Jak finds that a purple star in the sky is actually a Dark Maker space ship, and it is nearing the planet. The only way to stop the ship is to activate the planetary defense system situated at the core of the planet. During an attack on the Krimson Guard War Factory, Jak finds Errol, who boasts of his new strength and his body. It's also revealed that Errol is the one calling the Dark Makers. Jak destroys the KG War Factory, but Errol manages to escape. Jak tracks down Errol again at the Metal Head Nest Tower, where Errol is once again able to escape before the tower collapses. With the general containment and victory over the Metal Heads and Deathbots in Haven City, Jak and Daxter begin their trek to the Planet Core.
They are aided by Damas, who helps them break through the Metal Head territories. Damas is killed in the attack, and with his dying breath he unintentionally reveals that he is Jak's father (Damas never knowing Jak is his son); he also reveals that Jak's true name is Mar, the name of the founder of Haven City. They are then ambushed by Count Veger, who then tells Jak that he was the one who took him from Damas hoping to use his eco powers for his experiments but then lost him to the underground in the last game. Count Veger then begins a race with Jak and Daxter down to the planetary core. But at gunpoint, Veger forces Jak away, while he absorbs the Precursor's powers. Then, the actual Precursors come to reveal that they are Ottsels like Daxter. Veger is then detained by The Precursors, and he is turned into an Ottsel. Jak and Daxter are then teleported to the Dark Maker Ship to slow it down while the planetary defense system charges. The mission is a success, but Errol, who boarded the ship using a Warp-Gate, takes a Dark Maker Terraformer and pilots it down to the planet's surface. Jak follows, and after a battle, Jak takes one last shot into the cockpit of the Terraformer, destroying it along with Errol.
After a celebration in Spargus City, the Precursors bid farewell to the planet and go out into the universe to combat the Dark Makers. Jak is offered a place in their ranks, but he declines.
Gameplay
Platform game
A platform game is a video game characterized by requiring the player to jump to and from suspended platforms or over obstacles . It must be possible to control these jumps and to fall from platforms or miss jumps...
, driving
Vehicular combat game
Vehicular combat games are typically video or computer games where the primary focus of play concerns automobiles or other vehicles, normally armed with guns or other weaponry, attempting to destroy vehicles controlled by the CPU or by opposing players...
, and gun combat. The player is led through the story as they complete missions, assigned by the various characters in the game. Missions can consist of anything from defeating particular enemies, reaching a specific location, or completing a puzzle. With the exception of timed or otherwise linear missions, the player is free to explore the game world as they see fit. Special machines set up around the levels also assign short, non-plot-related tasks; for some significant missions, guns are a reward for completing the task. Precursors can be found in mysterious places, not after completing missions.
Cheats, made available as the player progresses, can upgrade weapons, flip the game world around into a mirror image of itself, or grant the player invincibility. After the game has been completed, the Hero Mode option is made accessible, which, when purchased, allows the player to re-play the game at a harder difficulty level. As Precursor Orb count is not reset, and the orbs are regenerated at their original locations, the player is able to regather orbs that he or she had already collected the previous time they played through the game. Collecting all 600 Precursor Orbs has some cosmetic effects on Jak's appearance, but has no effects other than this. In Hero Mode, Jak also keeps all twelve of his weapons.
There are some differences between Jak 3 and Jak II
Jak II
Jak II, , is a platform game developed by Naughty Dog...
. Most notably are the changes undergone by the Haven City environments. While Jak II provided the player with four different types of gun
Gun
A gun is a muzzle or breech-loaded projectile-firing weapon. There are various definitions depending on the nation and branch of service. A "gun" may be distinguished from other firearms in being a crew-served weapon such as a howitzer or mortar, as opposed to a small arm like a rifle or pistol,...
s, Jak 3 expands on the concept with two additional modifications for each type, ending with a total of twelve weapons. Also, the 'Dark Jak' form, introduced in Jak II, which allowed the player to transform into a more powerful version of Jak, is countered by a 'Light Jak' form that mainly focuses on defensive abilities. As well as the hover vehicles within Haven City, Jak can drive a variety of off-road vehicles in the desert.
Development
Jak 3 was developed by Naughty DogNaughty Dog
Naughty Dog, Inc. is an American video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1986 as an independent developer, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001...
for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
. Jak 3 was first revealed to be in the works by one of Superplays writers on January 8, 2004. While browsing the Naughty Dog offices, he saw early work being done with desert environments. It was first announced by Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment
Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc. is a major video game company specializing in a variety of areas in the video game industry, and is a wholly owned subsidiary and part of the Consumer Products & Services Group of Sony...
on February 24, 2004. On April 19, 2004, information was revealed about the plot and gameplay. It was revealed in North America on November 9, 2004, and in Europe on November 26, 2004. On August 4, 2005 the game was added to the Greatest Hits collection.
Reception
Jak 3 received positive reviews, such as an 8.6 out of 10 from GameSpotGameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
, a 9.6 out of 10 from IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
, and a 9.25 out of 10 from Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
magazine. Its average review score is an 84 out of 100 from Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and 85% on Game Rankings. IGN listed the game 23rd on their list of "The Top 25 PS2 Games of All Time".
A racing spin-off called Jak X: Combat Racing
Jak X: Combat Racing
Jak X: Combat Racing , is a vehicular combat game video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 and first released in North America on October 18, 2005, then in Australia on October 26, 2005 and then in Europe on November 4, 2005...
was released in 2005.