Jak 3 (Throwback Thursday)

Today I played some Jak 3, the conclusion of the Jak and Daxter trilogy. We join our favorite spunky pair once again, this time in the Wastelands.

Much like the sequel you're thrown into a new atmosphere, this time desert. The first one was more jungly beach and then some, the second one was in the city, and this one is just banishment lands. I think that's cool, that they give you a new atmosphere every time.

So you guessed it, Jak and Daxter were finally banned from Haven City. I mean come on, all the ruckus they caused on their own was enough; stealing and crashing hovering vehicles, getting into multiple, multiple fights, and doing a ton of illegal things. Not to mention being a part of the underground rebels...They were quite the troublemakers. Anyways, they were left out there to die, when they were found by a secret organization that survives out there in their own city. Pretty cool little setup there. Naughty Dog never disappoints.

The storyline flows right, which is nice. It eases my previous fear of the storyline not continuing. Like Jak II you get gnarly weapons and vehicles. And dinosaurs! In the wasteland there are Leapers, who are the cutest and my personal favorite mode of transportation. It makes me feel like I'm in The Land Before Time (Throwback) whenever I ride one, and it's awesome. Oh the nostalgia.

One of the biggest parts of the game is the vehicles, as briefly mentioned earlier. As you improve your driving skills, mostly by racing and things of the like, you unlock more of these four-wheeler type cars you can have the best time in. Whether you're chasing down metalheads or simply racing, it's fun. Quite hard, but fun nonetheless.

I don't want to spoil much considering it's the conclusion, so I'll end with the one-word summarization: Spunky. The humor, which I love, still holds the same spunkiness. Apart from that, the missions are very upbeat and keeps you on your toes. It's just very...Spunky. The second one, somehow, is still the best of the three. I can't put my finger on exactly why, but they just hit a home-run with that one. The gameplay, storyline, characterization...All great. The gameplay in this one was almost exactly the same, so I can't complain there, but the storyline was off. Barely, but it made a difference. Characters were lacking, too. They weren't the best. It just had a lot to stand up to, I guess. Even from my childhood I remember playing Jak II the most. In fact, I have hardly any memories of this game. There isn't as much of a draw.

I could be wrong. It might be because I didn't play enough of it, who knows? But as of now, I'm giving it a two and a half star out of five stars. Worth a look if you played the other games, because it is the finale, but if not...Just pass this one up.

Stay excellent.