Reviews
Reviews of the games I play, aiming to quickly encapsulate the game’s essence and quirks. Most games have an audience; my goal is for the review to make it clear to you whether you are part of a game’s audience (whether or not I am).
A compilation of the first three Jak and Daxter games (Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II, and Jak 3) remastered with a few visual and control improvements and the addition of trophy support. There are also some bugfixes, including for the save-file-ruining “Stadium bug” from Jak II.
The PlayStation 3 version runs at 720p 60fps and is arguably the definitive way to experience this fantastic trilogy.
Another handheld followup to the Jak and Daxter series that - unlike Daxter - attempts to be a full sequel and evolve the formula with middling results.
The game is not open-world and missions are in a specific sequence. The setting is far removed from the areas in the previous games and very few characters recur.
A scaled-down spinoff of the Jak and Daxter series that puts Daxter in the spotlight with a game structure similar to Jak II or Jak 3 (open-world mission progression with varied platforming/combat/vehicle gameplay) but substantial mechanical differences due to the change in player character.
Taking place during the two-year time skip at the beginning of Jak II, the game follows Daxter working as a bug exterminator as he tries to find and rescue Jak.
A spinoff that expands the dune buggy gameplay from Jak 3 into a full game. Despite using the same characters and continuing the story and worldbuilding where it left off, this isn’t really the same kind of game as its predecessors. As implied by the title, you’re now spending all your time racing and engaging in vehicular combat.
A direct sequel to Jak II that builds on its foundation and adds more. The setting, mechanics, and abilities from Jak II are all present with new ones added on top - a second city to explore, new vehicles to ride, several new firing modes for the gun, and “Light Jak” powers added on top of the “Dark Jak” ones.
A direct sequel to Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy that is a radical departure in tone, difficulty, and structure. While it does still have a strong sense of humor, it’s much darker than its predecessor, replacing the bucolic setting of the first game with a techno-dystopian walled city and opening with Jak being subject to torturous experiments for two years that leave him with a superpowered “Dark Jak” side.
A 3D platformer in the mold established by Super Mario 64 (a series of hub areas with multiple non-linear levels each with several objectives that can be tackled in various orders but a certain number of objectives that is fewer than the number available must be completed to gain access to the next part of the hub with the next set of levels) but that evolves the formula to incorporate more story, character development, and world-building.
A top-down action adventure set between seasons one and two of Stranger Things and modeled after classic The Legend of Zelda games, in particular A Link to the Past. (Nevermind that the show is explicitly set eight years and two console generations before the release of that game.) Gameplay consists of a series of dungeons connected by the overworld of Hawkins, Indiana, with combat and puzzle-solving in both environments.
A budget-priced downloadable Color Picross game. The visuals and soundtrack are a bit unpolished, but they get the job done and you really don’t need more than that for a Picross game. The game comes with 150 puzzles ranging up to 20x20 in size, though the largest of these are a bit awkward on the 3DS with the vertical clues displaced to the top screen.
An incredibly influential game that popularized the template still followed by many 3D platformers today. Progress through a “hub” area (Peach’s castle) that presents access to several themed “spoke” levels (Bob-omb Battlefield, Whomp’s Fortress, etc.) that each have several different available objectives (defeating specific enemies, reaching specific destinations, collecting eight red coins, etc.