Sensational

Read First Before Buy Jak II Playstation 2

Jak 2, sequel to Naughty Dog's Jak and Daxter (Naughty Dog, of course, being the creators of the famous Crash Bandicoot) from a few years ago, is simply a great game. Everything from its level design to its voice acting to its art direction is simply top-notch. Clearly a huge amount of love and time has been put into making this game the experience it is.
There are many who would compare Jak 2 with Grand Theft Auto. I think this comparison is completely unfair. Yes, Jak 2 does borrow a number of game elements from GTA. Most notably the use of a mini-map and mission system will be familiar to anyone who played the GTA games. However, these features were not original to GTA, but were simply refined in GTA. And, in fact, in Jak 2, these features are further refined. Also, there is a long history of "borrowing" in platformers (the most obvious example is last year's wildly successful and fun Ratchet and Clank which was in many ways a Greatest Hits Album, compiling the greatest moments from the greatest platformers over the last ten years and throwing some guns in), and, in fact, Jak is being creative to actually borrow from outside the genre.
Actually, its unfair to even spend so much time discussing these features because, quite frankly, they're minor aspects of an enormously more impressive game. Jak 2 adds a number of new features to the original game including a gritty, futuristic setting, the aforementioned GTA aspects, a hoverboard, and guns. Miraculously, all this other stuff does not keep it from being a great platformer. In fact, it makes Jak 2 even better and more sophisticated than its predecessor. Its many missions are relatively short, giving you just enough time to enjoy the action without getting tired of doing the same thing over and over again (fans of the original game may remember the snow level...), but never making you feel cheated. They're perfectly bite-sized, giving you just the right amount of everything.

Finally, Jak 2 is probably the most artistically accomplished game in recent years. The world Naughty Dog has created is so beautifully constructed and conceived that, even if you're just looking to blow away some bad guys, you won't be able to not stop and stare at some of the amazing sights. Naughty Dog's attention to detail is astonishing and even if you're stuck on the same mission, its hard to get frustrated because the game is so gorgeously built.
Thanks Naughty Dog! Gamers owe you!

Get your Jak II Playstation 2 Now!