QJ Reviews "Daxter" - Part One |
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So there I am sitting in front of my PC writing an article when I get the irresistible urge to buy a new game. You know the urge, the one that hits you and won't let you go even though your wallet is as skinny as Ally Mcbeal on the Atkins diet. I tried getting a little play time in on Burnout Legends but it wasn't enough, that just made it worse, I absolutely positively wanted, no needed to get my hands on Daxter!Fast forward twenty minutes, I'm at the local Target in a small room with white brick walls, it's dark, it's dank and there's a six foot four security guard with bad breath and an even worse attitude giving me a work over, NYPD Blue style. "This is what happens when you shoplift you little punk!" He spits as he slams his fist into my tender mid section for the seventh time. Now I would take this creep out, but my hands are cuffed and I'm blindfolded. Time's running short.
Okay, so that entire paragraph was made up and I should never write fiction. Ever. Before I start the review proper I should mention that I believe games and portable games in particular shouldn't be reviewed by blasting through the entire game as quickly as possible to get the review out, it's simply not the way the experience was meant to be had. Hence this multi-part review, welcome to part one of many.
Presentation: The cover art's pretty slick. It's simply Daxter in the spotlight holding up the bug sprayer looking somewhat manic. On the flip side of the cover is a neat little map of Haven city that highlights the main areas Daxter's journey will take him to. It's a really cool little addition and hearkens back to the grand ol' days of yore when games were packaged with full fledged uber-beefy manuals that you could scrutinize for hours on end. Speaking of instruction manuals, the one included is your standard PSP affair, it contains just enough information to get you up and running, but again the art's nice.
Graphics: Daxter's world is vibrant and jam packed with color, life and detail, everything's crisp and sharp, with very little aliasing and no visible dithering. The animation in game and during cutscenes approaches a level usually reserved for top tier Disney, Dreamworks and Pixar flicks, it's that good. The best compliment I can give this game is that it's very easy for you to forget you're playing a PSP game, and most of the time you're subconsciously playing a PS2 Jak game (the gold standard in PS2 graphics) again it's that good. The framerate is generally rock solid, except for a few moments where you're out on the streets of Haven city (which I might add is conspicuously less trafficked than it's PS2 counterpart, but understandably so).
Sound: The voice acting and sound effects are easily on par with the rest of the entries in the series, that is to say note perfect. The music is great as well, a lot more intimate than Jak's sometimes heroically heavy tunes, but appropriately quirky and zany. If there was one thing I had to finger as not being quite perfect (and this would really be nitpicking) it would have to be that the audio sometimes takes a second or two to catch up with what's happening on screen as the UMD spins up... like I said, I'm picking nits here.
Gameplay: If you liked the original Jak and Daxter's focus on platforming as opposed to fighting and shooting, you'll find yourself right at home with this title, if you preferred the follow up game's emphasis on shooting and upgradeable weapons there's less meat for you here, but I'd argue it's still a winner and a darn good purchase. It's early going yet, but so far the dynamics are showing a lot of room for creative platforming. The game starts a little slow, and perhaps a little too easy to be honest, with you heading out to the gardens of a nearby hotel to get rid of some pesky critters. At this point the game's goal is simply to get you used to the controls and gameplay, and rightly so. You'll learn double jumping, fly swatting and wall crawling, as well as when and how to use them and be introduced to basic item collection (bugs for combat in the multiplayer mode, vials for bug upgrades and of course gem stones and precursor orbs).
Fairly quickly the difficulty steps up a notch when you're given the spray gun and gain the ability to stun enemies before moving in for the kill with the swatter. It only gets better once you get your hands on a pressure attachment for the device, this attachment lets you hover in the air for a few seconds after a jump, add this to the ability to set the stream from your spray gun on fire using nearby candles, or gain a boost while hovering using strategically placed open flames and the simple gameplay mechanic opens up to a much more complex set of moves and gameplay possibilities. It's also worth mentioning that the hover spray seems to be much better integrated into the gameplay than a similar mechanic was in Mario Sunshine.
To be continued: It's early going yet, but so far Daxter's living up to expectations. The game feels quite nicely polished and it seems like it's on its way to being a blast. If there's anything I'm worried about at this point it's that the game doesn't seem to be very long. I don't know the exact amount of playtime I've put into the game (it doesn't seem like much) but I'm already 10% into the game. Now this might have to do with the fact that it's kinda hard to put down, but I'm hoping it's at least comparable in length to the other games in the franchise. Only time will tell so be sure to check back regularly for further updates to this QJ.net review of Daxter for the PSP.
12 Jumps PSP homebrew - FactXMB
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Comments [refresh]
Good review but I noticed a small error:
"perhaps a little to easy to be honest, with "
"to" should be "too"
I was gonna say that too. Butt i didn't.
What firmware is it?
That grammar is good, it is right.
geezz
I can't wait to get my hands on this game. I've been to busy playing Syphon Filter Dark Mirror.
what firmware do you need?
Thanks for the spelling catch guys, fixed it. I don't know the firmware requirement to be honest, nut I'd imagine it's at least 2.0
The firmware is 2.6 ,I have it.
I used the 2.00+ games on 1.5 method, and I love this game, its just awesome, i bought the umd, ripped it into an iso, and am happy playing it on my 1.5!
Three good gamefor the PSP in one week (Syphon Filter, Daxter, Katamari). Finally things are looking good for the once thought doomed handheld
What are the multiplayer feature exept for the bug battle?
Great game. It's everything "Death Jr." *should* have been. And if the Mini-games alone don't bring a smile to your face... well... something wrong.
I have every single Jak and Daxter game , beat everyone of them ( Except Jak X: combat racing..haven't had a chance to thoroughly play that one yet :P). And I have to say, for being a game all about Daxter, it's an awesome approach. You still have the button mashing ( Grrr, I hate those parts ..lol), the racing against time, even the free moving ability around town. I just hope they do the same for games like Rachet and Clank , and Sly Cooper , now THAT would be awesome
Nice reveiw, i think you just persuaded me to buy it.
I could be wrong, but I don't think you can use IGN tagged images like that in your review legally. IGN would probably get pissed and cease and decist pspupdates.
just finished it... my only gripes is that it's quickly finished and the difficulty isn't exceptionnal. but it's definately by far the best platformer out on psp. loved the minigames, hate the bug battles. now i've gotta finish finding those damn eggs. 86% complete, 10 bugs.
by the way has anyone found one of the three cheats (in secrets)?
Now to wait for Clank....
I too am playing this on a 1.5 psp, there is no lag while the umd spins up.... becuase it doesn't.
Only catch is no multiplayer bug fights, but I can live with that.
For all confused peeps, 2.0 tricked to 2.6 or above won't work. Firmwares that will work: 1.0, 1.5, 2.6 (1.0and 1.5 need the mph loader)
My favorite part so far was the matrix dream, 120 guys is my record
nocomment
excuse but does anybody know where i a can find a nds emulator that actually work, i mean really work.....
thanx
Game is short but fun. Final boss is a biatch. I found the Jak Mask. Thats the only cheat I have found. Its located in the last level where you have to get the key card to open the 4 doors that the soldiers are walking around. Break the picture that is on the shelf to get it. Its a picture of Jak I think.
does this work with the mph 2.0 game loader?
I found the Jak Mask cheat... Daxter puts on a mask that looks like Jak. You can find it on the last level in one of the areas patrolled by guards (it's in a cell... forget which one).
ok....i need help! bad...what does the picture for daxter mask look like?! im there...but lots of pictures.. thnx any1 who helps =P
is it the fat dude....orange haired guy...or what lol?
i really need to know what picture it is
im going on google! lo -(again)-
I`love daxter