Jak II

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Jak II

Developer(s)	Naughty Dog
Publisher(s)	SCEA
Series	Jak and Daxter
Picture format	480i, 480p (SDTV)
Release date(s)	October 14, 2003 October 17, 2003 March 11, 2004
Genre(s)	Platformer/Action
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen PEGI: 12+ ELSPA: 11+ OFLC: G8+
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Media	DVD
Input	DualShock 2

Jak II, called Jak II: Renegade in Europe, is a science fiction platform game developed by Naughty Dog. Released for the Sony PlayStation 2 game console on October 14, 2003, the game is the sequel to Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy and the second game in the Jak and Daxter series. It is followed by Jak 3 a year later

The game features weapons and gadgets, new playable areas, and a storyline that picks up after the events of The Precursor Legacy. In the game, Haven City, a dystopia ruled under the questionable fist of Baron Praxis, is engaged in a war against an Eco-crazy group of organisms known as the "Metal Heads". The player takes on the dual role of Jak and Daxter and fights these enemies on foot or with a small number of mechanical machinery.

1 Synopsis
2 Weapons & Gadgets
3 Trivia
- 3.1 General
- 3.2 Differences between localizations
4 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

[edit] Setting

Main article: Haven City

Jak II takes place in the same science fiction universe created by Naughty Dog for Jak and Daxter. Much of the action takes place in Haven City, a crumbling dystopia meant to imprison its inhabitants, none of them having seen anything outside its walls. The ruler of this city is Baron Praxis, an imposing figure who constantly floods the city with propaganda-spouting public announcement devices, drilling for Eco, and giving that Eco to the Metal Heads (to stay on the throne). Opposing the Baron's iron fist of hate is the Underground, which Jak works for much of the game.

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of Jak and Daxter characters

The main player characters are Jak, the subject of Baron Praxis' "Dark Warrior" project, and Daxter, a former human turned into an Ottsel by Dark Eco. Throughout much of the story, Jak and Daxter are together, with Jak using Daxter as a weapon if he is without a gun. But in occasional parts of the story, the two are separated, and Daxter becomes playable, either in a race in the stadium, or running away from a pursuing giant spider. Baron Praxis and the Metal Heads are the story's antagonists, although the Metal Heads ultimately become the main villain later in the game.

[edit] Plot

The story of Jak II is told through cutscenes. The game opens with Jak, Daxter, Samos, and Keira finishing their repairs on the Rift Rider and Precursor Ring found in Gol and Maia's Citadel from the previous game. Jak experimentally presses a button on the Rider, and accidentally opens a Rift Gate. A huge creature emerges and the machine activates, forcing them through the Gate where the Rider explodes and the group are separated from each other. Jak and Daxter end up in a dystopia called Haven City (later known to be exactly 500 years in the future). Jak is captured by the Krimzon Guard and sent to prison by Baron Praxis, the tyrannical ruler of Haven City, and his second in command, Erol. Two years later, it is revealed that Jak has been used as a test subject for Baron Praxis' "Dark Warrior" program. This program involved Jak being injected with Dark Eco (the same substance that turned Daxter into an Ottsel). Because of this, Jak, with enough Dark Eco, can transform into a twisted and destructive state known as Dark Jak, though none of the characters refer to it with that title during the game. Daxter breaks him out of prison and, with Jak, joins an underground movement that desires to overthrow Praxis and put the true heir to the city back on the throne. The game takes place in Haven City and its surrounding areas during a war between Praxis and a menacing techno-organic race called the Metal Heads. It is later discovered that Praxis is secretly working with the Metal Head Leader so he can stay on the throne.

It is revealed that the Kid is important because he can open the Tomb of Mar, which contains the Precursor Stone. Jak and Daxter locate the Tomb, but the Oracle says the boy is too young to face the tests of Manhood, so Jak and Daxter enter as the door is shutting. After completing the tests, the duo enter the main room, which houses the Precursor stone. They also learn that the Metal Heads were responsible for destroying the Precursors. Then Baron Praxis arrives and steals the Stone. Despite Jak's efforts, Praxis manages to escape with it. Back at the Hideout, Torn reveals that he sold the Underground out, to prevent Praxis from killing Ashelin. Jak and Daxter head to the Fortress to rescue Samos, Tess, and Elder Samos, who sends Jak to find the Life Seed, which will give Young Samos the power to speak to the plants. Young Samos learns that Praxis plans to destroy the Stone, but this would destroy the Planet.

Later, Keira reveals she has nearly completed a replica rift rider, but is missing two pieces--the Heart of Mar, and the Time Map. Jak runs the class one race against Erol, and in a fit of fury Praxis decides to have Jak killed. Erol charges by on his racer, attempting to ram into Jak and kill him, but collides into a stack of eco barrels, killing himself (which is later shown to be inaccurate in Jak 3). At the Palace, Ashelin reveals Krew is building something for the Baron at a secret weapons factory. Jak and Daxter proceed to the factory, and Krew reveals the Piercer Bomb, which can destroy the Precursor Stone and the Metal Head Nest. Though soon defeated, Krew manages to activate the bomb, but Jak and Daxter escape with Ashelin--only to discover that the Metal Heads have breached Haven City. Vin communicates that Kor sabotaged the shield wall, and is immediately cut off as Metal Heads invade the Power Room. Meeting at the city construction site, Jak confronts both Praxis and Kor, demanding to know what is going on. Kor tells Jak, in his darkest nightmares, he already knows. To everyone's horror, Kor transforms into his true form of Metal Kor, the Metal Head Leader. Metal Kor demands the Precursor Stone, but Praxis refuses. Metal Kor strikes him and his guards with an eco blast and sends them flying across the area. After Kor completes his transformation and flies off, Praxis shows the two a second Piercer Bomb which hides the Precursor Stone. He then dies, and Daxter recovers the Stone.

Heading to the Metal Head Nest, Jak and Daxter face Metal Kor, learning he has both the Kid and the Rift Ring. Kor then reveals that the Boy is Jak. He was sent to the Past to grow up and gain the skills to face Kor, but the Dark Eco means that the older, teenage Jak cannot activate the Precursor Stone (which is, we find, the last Precursor Egg) - though Young Jak can still can activate it and release the Precursor entity inside. After a climactic battle, the Metal Head Leader attempts to flee through the Ring. Kor crashes into it, severing his Head and damaging the ring. Young Jak touches the Stone, to release a being of Light Eco, believed to be a Precursor, who departs through the disintegrating ring. Keira and the Two Samoses arrive with the Rift Rider, which is used to send Young Jak and Young Samos to the Past. As the Rider departs through the Gate, Samos remarks, "It's funny, the boy won't remember any of this." Jak shakes his head and replies, "No, but I do remember the light."

Spoilers end here.

[edit] Weapons & Gadgets

Unlike the previous game, in "Jak II", Jak is able to receive and use weapons and gadgets as rewards for completing tasks. These items include:

The Morph Gun- A gun which can transform into four different guns upon receiving mods. These mods include:

Scatter Gun - Short-ranged shotgun with a wide field of fire. It has a 50 ammo capacity (100 after "Increased Ammo Upgrade") Useful for when Jak is attacked by many enemies. The Scatter gun ammo is red disk charged with red eco and it can hold 5 rounds of ammo.
Blaster Mod - Laser Blaster with laser sight to aim at far off enemies. It has a 100 ammo capacity (200 with the "Increased Ammo Uprgade") The gun Jak tends to use most of the time. The Blaster Ammo is a yellow tube filled with yellow eco with 10 rounds.
Vulcan Fury - A chaingun with a high rate of fire. Equipped with a laser sight, but eats up ammo at a disturbing rate. Like the Blaster Gun, the Vulcan Fury can have a 100 ammo capacity (also 200 with the "Increased Ammo Upgrade") Extremely effective when lots of enemies are bunched together, because a Vulcan Fury shot can pierce and damage multiple enemies. The Vulcan Fury ammo is a blue curve infused with blue eco with 10 rounds.
Peace Maker - Fires a charged sphere of electricity that will arc to hit as many foes as possible. It can hold 10 ammo capacity (5 before the "Increased Ammo Upgrade"). Shots also have limited homing capability. The Peace Maker ammo is a purple sphere shape filled with dark eco and it can only hold 1 round of ammo.

Upgrades

Scatter Gun Fire Rate Upgrade - Increases the rate of fire for the Scatter Gun.
Increased Ammo Upgrade - Doubles the amount of ammo each gun can hold.
Increased Damage Upgrade - Greatly increases the damage each gun does.

JET-Board - Prototype hoverboard designed by Keira. It allows Jak to do tricks and hover over Dark Eco lakes. Running into an enemy or a Krimzon Guard while aboard will cause damage, and not to the enemy. With the JET-Board, Jak can, if timed correctly, attack an enemy with his Board by performing a trick while in close quarters.

Titan Suit - Mechanical suit of armor that allows Jak to smash barriers, lift heavy objects, and travel to places he normally couldn't.

[edit] Trivia

[edit] General

Jak II is the only game in the series in which the versions for English-speaking regions feature the Japanese and Korean voiceover track. The voiceover cast features many notable seiyus, including Shotaro Morikubo as Jak. The other games in the series did not follow suit, leaving the voices to be exclusive to the Japanese and Korean regions. However, the Japanese track is on the disk for Jak and Daxter and Jak 3.
This is also technically the last Jak and Daxter game to be released in Japan. Jak 3 was completely localized and dubbed in Japanese, but wasn't released in Japan. It is, however selectable on the Korean release of the game and will play on a Japanese Playstation 2.
The method of destroying the Eco Ship at the Drill Platform recalls the Doctor N. Gin boss battles of Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back and Crash Bandicoot: Warped. This is probably to be expected seeing that all three games were created and developed by Naughty Dog.
In certain parts of the city the word G4 can be seen crudely drawn on the walls of buildings. One is near the Mar memorial racing stadium where as another but easier to see is right in front of the bar on the RIGHT side of the wall outside. It is backwards but with 15 orbs you can unlock mirror world that causes the word G4 to be seen correctly on the left. This pays tribute to the gaming exclusive tv channel G4TV(Games for tv)
At the lurker totem pole one of the heads bears more than a passing resemblance of Crash Bandicoot.
When the start button is pressed, the menu that comes up is reminiscent of a Stargate from the movie Stargate, and the TV shows Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis.
Jak II seems to be more mature than its last game. It is rated T for mild violence, comic mischief, mild language, and suggestive themes.
Ratchet and Clank appear on a poster in Haven city. Similarity, Jak and Daxter appear on a poster in Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando.
At the back of the Cover of Jak II from the Playstation 2 case there is a 3D view of the map of Haven City.
In Mar's Tomb, the section where Daxter is being chased by a boulder and then a spider, is very similar to some of the levels in Crash Bandicoot.
In the last cutscene, where Jak tells his younger self to avoid a nest on his ninth birthday, is a reference to the movie Back to the Future.

[edit] Differences between localizations

The Hip Hog Heaven saloon is named the Paradise of Hip Hog in the French script.
In each version of the game, Daxter's dialogue in the cinema before the "collecting the moneybags" mission is different:
- In the original English script, Daxter calls Krew "five chins", and asks him how crimes are. He then sings a song about how he needs dirt on his nose because it always gets greasy when it runs. He finishes the song with "How I'm so dry... feeling so DRRRY!" He then complains how Krew has no vision and that the "Hop Heg Hiven" could be a real swinging joint with "more dancing, more mac'n, more WOMEN!" He kisses Jaks hand and blurts out "I love you, man!" for no good reason.
- In the French script, Daxter calls Krew "Your Size", and asks him if what he's wearing is gauze. He then sings a song that goes along the lines of "Come and drink a small blow on the house... We have wine, and we have sausage." He gets up and yells, and complains how Krew is missing imagination, and that the "Paradise of Hop Heg" could be "crowned with more dancers, more fun, more WOMEN!"
- In the German script, Daxter calls Krew "Schwabbel-cheek" and asks him how he can run. He then says "Hello, hello? Is there anybody home?" He complains how Krew can't see very far, and say what the "super shop could have: Hop Heg Hiven wants to dance, more alcohol, more women."
- In the Spanish script, Daxter calls Krew "big belly" and asks him how fiddles go. He then sings the same song as the English Daxter does, starting with "Sometimes I am so so..." and ending with "DRYYY!" He complains how Krew has no idea, and that the bar needs a kitchen maid.
- In the Italian script, Daxter calls Krew "Mr. Double Chin" and asks how life is going. He asks if there's anybody home and sings about how he sometimes feels strange. He then gets up and yells. He compains about how Krew lacks ideas, and that the place could be a true dance. He wants music and a bag of women. He says to Jak "Jak knows what I'm taking about, right Jak? Jak... child... I didn't know you had two hands..." and kisses one of them, proposing his love to it.
The Life Seed Jak and Daxter have to give to Samos (and what Pecker calls it while Onin is preparing it) is given different names in each language. The French script names it the "Vital Seed" (Pecker calls it "a seed"). The German script names it the "Life Grain" (Pecker calls it "bird fodder"), and the Spanish and Italian scripts name it the "Seed of the life" (The Spanish Pecker calls it "canary seed", and the Italian Pecker oddly says "how much good baby food").
While in the English script Daxter tells Pecker to go bite himself, the French Daxter tells Pecker he is only a parrot. The German Daxter tells Pecker to pluck his feathers off. The Spanish Daxter (oddly) tells Pecker "Vetoes to weed small onions!", and the Italian Daxter tells Pecker to go fry himself.