Jak and Daxter Lost Frontier Impressions

Jak is back on PS2 and PSP. Look at this hands on from a game site


Jak II might be one of my favorite games from the PlayStation 2. The carjacking, the upgradable weapons and the hoverboards -- it all came together to form this game that I couldn't put down. It moved the characters forward from their simple, platforming debut and set them up for the next chapter in their expansive legacy.

Today, I have seen the continuation of that story; it's called Jak and Daxter: Lost Frontier .

If you're a rabid fan of the series, the "Lost Frontier" title might sound familiar to you. back in 06, Sony patented the moniker with the description of a "real-time online networked game," but it would appear that initial idea fell through. See, Lost Frontier on the PSP and PlayStation 2 is a strictly single-player affair that picks up shortly after Jak 3 while focusing on platforming, combat, and vehicles. Keira has set out on a spirit quest and the boys are trying to figure out what is behind the world' sudden eco shortage. The journey will take the trio to "the Brink" of the universe -- the very place the Precursors didn't get around to finishing -- so expect jagged rocks and cliffs that lead to nothingness.

Jak's hot blooded. Check it and see.

I wasn't lucky enough to play Lost Frontier, but with the big wigs in town for last week's Game Developers Conference, I was treated to a closed-door demo courtesy of developer High Impact, the folks behind Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters and Secret Agent Clank. When the game kicked on -- and even as it progressed -- the thing that struck me was how good the graphics looked. I'd like to think I've seen a lot of PSP games (sorry, PS2 readers, this was playing on the portable), and this is easily one of the best looking titles I have see on the platform. Jak (minus the soul patch) and Daxter (still wearing pants) leapt, ran, and eventually flew in their flying machine without any hitch or stutter -- it was super-smooth like creamy butter. The colors were bright, the models detailed and the action fierce.

Starting in a jungle-like level, Jak had Daxter on his shoulder and was pulling off the traditional jumps and attacks you'd expect from our seasoned hero. Controls should also be somewhat familiar to you. On the PSP, the L and R buttons will rotate the camera; the D-Pad will switch your powers and weapons; and the face buttons will govern firing your gun, punching, spinning and jumping. This scheme is going to leave room for the most popular combos from the previous games such as Jak's Jump and Dive as well as his Uppercut. Now, while running around wailing on enemies in his lush green surroundings, Jak was wielding a staff. When you first get this device, its main use will be for melee combat, but through upgrades, you can trick it out to be a long-range laser.

Upgrading and customizing are going to be bigger parts of Lost Frontier than in any previous Jak and Daxter adventure. Out here on the Brink, there are tons of dark eco, the substance that allows Jak to turn into a hulked-out white version of himself that has some crazy superpowers. Thing is, there's so much dark eco around him that it's incredibly painful for our hero to change into his altered form -- it could actually kill him -- but that amount of eco allows Jak to use superpowers in his regular form.

Confused? Simplified: normal Jak now has awesome powers.

During my demo, I got to see the Rocket Jump -- Jak leaps into the air while keeping stiff as a board, points his palms at the ground and rocket fire comes out of his hands and feet so he can hover up and down like Iron Man -- and the Construct Power, which allows him to create platforms to leap from. Right now, these powers are only usable in certain areas, but when you get your hands on the game, it's going to be up to you to put them where you want them. Perhaps the coolest thing is that as you progress, you'll be able to upgrade these abilities as you like using the different colors of eco you have collected. So, if there's some cool melee power and that's all you want to use, you can pour all of your efforts into maxing that value out. If the powers are diverse enough, this could make for some interesting second and third playthroughs.

After wailing on some robots in the grass, Jak and Daxter headed into a volcano -- the setting shifted seamlessly from the bright blue sky and green grass to purple rock and red lava -- where some more robots popped up to oppose them. Between fighting and using his construct power to get over some lava hotspots, Jak came to a series of suspended poles. He jumped up, grabbed one, and the camera swung out so that we were looking at the action from a side-scrolling perspective. Jak spun around the pole, and leapt to the next one. The process continued until he was back on solid ground.

Warhawk -- Precursor style.

Now, being out on the Brink of existence where things were never quite finished, lots of the locales Jak and Daxter are traveling to will be island worlds. This means two things: 1) Jak and Daxter are going to need some sweet rides and 2) Pirates! The second half of my all-too-brief demo put Jak and Daxter behind the controls of the Hellcat, a small blue-ish purple and yellow jet shaped like the hilt of a sword. With six flame trails coming off the wings, the Hellcat packed your standard machine guns and rockets but like Jak, all that was customizable depending on how you wanted to trick out your ship -- weapons, speed, and more will be yours to fool around with. There's going to be a bunch of different aircrafts in the game and you'll be able to choose which one you want before starting a mission.

Set against a bright blue sky, Jak was taking his tiny ship up against a massive air-pirate ship that cruised the clouds. As Jak swooped in to attack, Daxter would shout that the hero needed to take out the pirate propellers. Battle was frantic -- fighters poured on to the scene every so often -- and the air controls seemed tight as the small ship scooted around the sky. Gun and missile meters regenerated when you laid off using them every five seconds, while you'll need to find health power-ups to repair your smoldering ship.

It's going to be tough to wait for more information on this title, but the fact that High Impact is estimating your first playthrough to last about 10 to 12 hours, the studio is working closely with franchise creator Naughty Dog, Daxter is right there with his trademark one-liners and nasally voice, there are plenty of secrets and unlockables, and the game features dynamic loads so that you don't run into load screens while playing should help ease the pain. When Sony's ready to show more Jak and Daxter fun, you can bet Fusion Hour (lil joke of mine) will have the report ready and waiting for you.

From Inferno

Peace Out