ENDING THIS NIGHTMARE - Jak 2 [Part 8]
1Jak II is an action-adventure platformer third-person shooter video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 in 2003. It is the second game of the Jak and Daxter series and a sequel to Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. It was followed by Jak 3 the following year in 2004.
The game puts higher emphasis on combat than its predecessor; new weapons, devices and playable areas are available. The player takes on the dual role of protagonists Jak and Daxter.
Jak II received critical acclaim upon release. Critics applauded the game for being well-designed in nearly every department, with many agreeing it was one of the best PlayStation 2 games released at the time. Some criticism, however, was directed at the checkpoint systems, darker tone, and high difficulty. The game is notorious among gamers for being one of the most difficult games on the PlayStation 2.
The core gameplay of Jak II remains somewhat similar to that of the previous game, with a recurring reliance on platforming challenges and vehicle usage. However, it is significantly different in some areas. Eco as a timed power-up from the previous game has been removed; and the introduction of the Morph Gun, a multipurpose firearm, adds a greater emphasis on enemy combat. The player can unlock four different gun mods for the Morph Gun they use throughout the game: the shotgun-esque Scatter Gun for close range fighting; the semi-automatic Blaster for long-range fighting; the Vulcan Fury, a high rate-of-fire weapon in the fashion of a minigun, which pierces enemies and breakables to hit multiple targets with a single round; and the Peace Maker, which fires charged blasts of energy and is extremely powerful, chaining an instant kill between enemies that are in close proximity to each other. The game also inherits the melee abilities of the prior game, and chaining a melee attack into a weapon fire usually increases the effect of the gun. For example, the Scatter Gun fires quicker than normal, the Blaster fires three shots at once, and the Vulcan Fury immediately reaches its maximum fire rate, but only if a melee strike is done right before the Morph Gun is fired.
Haven City functions as the game hub world, with various other environments accessible from it. Here, Jak can access new missions by visiting various allied characters. These missions serve as a replacement for the previous game's progression focused on the collection of Power Cells. Throughout the game, the player can collect Precursor Orbs which are sparsely dispersed throughout the various locations. The Orbs are non-essential to completion of the game, but allow the player to unlock cheats and other "secret" content. Jak can traverse Haven City using hover vehicles and a jet-board which allows him to hover across water and grind on rails.
Due to experiments conducted on him for two years, Jak has also gained the ability to transform into Dark Jak, a more powerful version of himself. The form is only accessible after Jak has absorbed enough Dark Eco to charge this ability. Dark Eco drops from slain enemies and can occasionally be found in red crates scattered throughout the world. In his Dark form, Jak becomes much more agile and his melee attacks become more powerful but he loses the ability to use the Morph Gun. Jak 2 also introduces a "currency" known as skull gems. By collecting these skull gems, dropped by most Metal Head creatures when defeated, Jak can gain additional abilities for his dark form and play minigames at kiosks throughout Haven City. These new abilities for Dark Jak can be used to unleash devastating attacks that kill all enemies within the vicinity at the cost of ending his Dark form immediately after the attack.
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Intro and Outro by Ross MacKay - FOLLOW AT BANDCAMP Ross MacKay