Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy

Plot synopsis:
=== Setting ===
The game is set on a fictional planet incorporating fantasy elements, which consists of small and not very technically advanced settlements, surrounded by varying environments and abandoned ruins. One major hub is Sandover Village, home of the two protagonists; Jak, a silent 15-year-old boy and his best friend Daxter, a loudmouth who is transformed at the beginning of the game into a fictional hybrid of an otter and a weasel, called an ottsel.
"Eco" is a type of energy which dominates the world and was created by an ancient race of beings known only as "Precursors", implied by Samos Hagai at the beginning to be the masters of the universe and creators of all life on the planet. The two boys live with Samos, the Sage of Green Eco, and father of Keira, who is implied to be Jak's love interest. She builds the flying Zoomer vehicle that Jak and Daxter use multiple times throughout their adventure.
The primary enemies of the game consist of beasts known as "Lurkers" led by the antagonists Sage Gol Acheron (voiced by Dee Snider) and his sister Maia, who have been turned evil by the effects of the Dark Eco they studied. Their goal is to open a giant silo full of Dark Eco and use it to shape the universe to their liking. Other characters are the Blue, Red, and Yellow Sages, all of whom are masters of the Eco they take their name from.
=== Story ===
Against Samos's warnings, Jak and Daxter make their way to the forbidden Misty Island. There, they see two unknown figures ordering the Lurkers to gather Dark Eco. The duo, worried by what they are seeing, prepare to leave, but are soon discovered by a Lurker guard. Jak manages to kill it in an explosion, but Daxter ends up falling into a pool of Dark Eco. He emerges transformed into an ottsel (a hybrid of an otter and a weasel), but is otherwise unharmed. Returning to their home of Sandover Village, they seek help from Samos. Samos explains that only Gol Acheron, the Dark Sage, can reverse the transformation.
As Gol lives in the north, the boys look for a means of crossing the deadly Fire Canyon. Samos's daughter Keira, a skilled engineer, offers to let them use her Zoomer (essentially a hoverbike) in exchange for enough Power Cells to operate it. After collecting enough cells (and defeating a mutated plant cutting off the village's power supply) they make their way through Fire Canyon to the home of the Blue Sage. To their horror, the neighboring village has been destroyed by a massive Lurker known as Klaww, and the Blue Sage has vanished. With the path forward blocked by Klaww, the boys look for more cells, exploring an abandoned Precursor city filled with Lurkers searching for salvageable technology. Using the collected cells, Keira clears the path, allowing Jak and Daxter to defeat Klaww and make their way into the ancient volcano where the Red Sage dwells.
With the Red Sage missing as well, Samos sends the boys to hunt for enough cells so Keira can upgrade the Zoomer's heat shield. While exploring the nearby mines, the two come across a massive Precursor automaton being unearthed by the Lurkers. Upon their return, Samos disappears and the truth is revealed: The Sages have been abducted by Gol and his sister Maia, who intend to harness their combined power to extract the Dark Eco in their possession and use it to remake the world.
Making their way through the tunnels leading to Gol's Citadel, the boys run into Keira, who reveals that the Yellow Sage has also been captured. With the four Sages now under their control, the Acheron siblings begin restoring the excavated automaton so they can release the Dark Eco from its silo. Rescuing the Sages from captivity, Jak and Daxter intercept the machine and engage it in battle. However, they only manage to destroy its Eco weapons. Realizing that a greater power is needed to defeat Gol and Maia, Samos directs Jak to combine the four different types of Eco into one, creating Light Eco. Daxter contemplates using the Light Eco to return himself to normal, but ultimately allows Jak to use it instead.
Unable to escape their crumbling machine, Gol and Maia fall into the silo and are presumed dead. With the world saved, the group focuses its attention on unlocking the fabled Precursor Door, which can only open with the energy of 100 Power Cells. Once the door is opened, it reveals a large, mysterious object enveloped in a blinding light.

Tags: good versus evil

Review:
A worthy successor to Crash Bandicoot..
Naughty Dog, a company that makes games exclusively for the PlayStation 2, delivered a worthy replacement for the loss of their great Crash Bandicoot series with Jak And Daxter: The Precursor Legacy.
I own this game and I love it.Made in the vein of a Disney cartoon, and featuring some good voice acting, led by Max Casella of "Doogie Howser" fame, the story is about Daxter falling into a vat of black eco and turning from the elf-like creature he was into a otter/weasel combination.
His strong but silent friend Jak and he must find the only person who can turn Daxter back.
So in a game that blows away what Super Mario 64 first brought in (the huge 3D worlds) Jak and Daxter visit many interconnected worlds to find Power Cels that will allow them to get Daxter returned to normal.The game features gorgeous graphics, complete with changing times of the day.
Great voice acting (Casella delivers some hilarious lines), great gameplay, and plenty of fun.
The game is easy to play (you get unlimited lives), constantly saves your progress any time (computer gamers always want that) and challenges you without being cheap.
Only the music is a weak spot, with much of it sounding too much like Crash's.
One great addition is if Jak and Daxter walk by a character, you will hear them talking to themselves about certain things or the characters themselves.
Throw in that the Keira character is one of the spunkiest characters ever created (What?
Paige Davis in a video game?!?) and you've got a must-buy.
Almost antiquated in today's world, "Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy" is fun, action-packed platform gaming at its finest!.
Ah, "Jak and Daxter", a game that it shockingly already 12 years old.
(Making me feel like quite the old man, having played it not long after its original release.) It is a nostalgic remnant and figment of my teen-aged years, huddled around an old 19" standard-def television in my room, playing my trusty old PS2 through those clunky yellow-red-white AV cables, staring at a grainy, pixelated image that seems almost neanderthalian by today's standards.Those truly were the days, weren't they?Created by Naughty Dog, the same company who later went on to create classics like the iconic "Uncharted" series, and the stunning zombie- horror game "The Last of Us", "Jak and Daxter" follows...
Jak and Daxter, two heroes who are forced to save the world from an evil force.At the start of the game, best buds Jak (a silent, but still oddly compelling teenager) and Daxter (a fast-talking smart-alec) go to the mysterious "Misty Island" to have a look around, despite being told repeatedly not to go.
However, after an accident, Daxter is knocked into a vat of a mysterious substance called "Dark Eco", which transforms him into a strange weasel-like animal.
The duo also see two mysterious figured plotting possible dastardly deeds with an army of monsters.
Troubled by the turn of events, the two are then sent on a mission to stop the creatures and try to figure out a way to restore Daxter back to his human (well, "humanoid") form.Yes, it's a simple set-up, but this is a game based almost exclusively on impressive gameplay and exploration, so I can forgive a less developed storyline.And that gameplay is impressive, and the game itself a well-constructed piece of software from yester-year.The graphics for the time were a blast.
Able to cover not only bright and colorful scenes almost reminiscent of a Warner Bros.
cartoon, but also dark, dreary sequences when the game is at more critical moments, the visuals are a feast for the eyes.
(Although they haven't aged well and are a bit blockier than later PS2 releases) And the visual design is just fun, fun, fun!
The voice acting, though limited, is very nice, particularly from Daxter.
Some complain that they found him annoying, but I found Daxter's mile-a-minute mouth to be charming and amusing.
The controls are also perfect, making the 3D platform gaming tight and intuitive.The difficulty level is also just right.
It's simple and fun, yet also is able to provide some nice challenges, particularly for completionists who want to discover every secret of the game.The only place this game loses a point is in the fact that that many missions do get repetitive, and at times, certain elements and goals feel tacked on and underdeveloped.
But this is only a small error in a game that otherwise feels pretty much flawless."Jak and Daxter" is a darned great game.
And it is well worth playing.
(As are it's darker, grittier sequels) I give it a great 9 out of 10.
It's a blast, and you should definitely give it a shot!.
Completely Great!.
2 Thumbs Way, Way, Way UP!
5 Stars or higher!This games has it all: Action; Romance; Adventure; and Cute, Fuzzy Creatures that want to eat you.
I swear, it's the best Play Station 2 game ever created!
I hope they make a sequel, a movie, and another version for Game Cube.
They did that with Sonic Adventure 2, why not this?.
A rare game for all ages!.
This game is packed with things to do and also a nice introduction to more open world adventure games for kids!
It's a family friendly game that I've played as a kid and as an adult and was enjoyable both times!.
Fun game with lush environments...best one of the series..
Yes, of the games featuring these characters this one is still my favorite of them all.
Granted the story is not as dark, however I as a gamer do not necessarily like my games dark all the time.
They made the same mistake in the Prince of Persia saga too, trying to cater to the Grand Theft Auto set of people.
This game features two buddies snooping where they should not, the one named Daxter soon falls into a vat of something called dark eco and is transformed into a fuzzier version, granted this does not stop his wisecracking which is the highlight for me for the entire series.
Jak is the silent protagonist here and I prefer that a bit more to the talker he becomes.
Well Jak and Daxter must navigate the world finding the legendary sages so that they might help not only Daxter, but the world from a dark threat looming in the background.
The graphics are great as they really show distance very well.
At the beginning you go to an island from the island you can see the mainland, from the mainland you can see the island.
The game is filled with areas where you can see in the distance where you must go and where you were.
The action is performed via standard platform gaming with your jumping and spin attacks on enemies.
The controls are simple and for the most part the game is not the type to make you pull your hair out.
The environments are great as you navigate tropical locals, snowy mountain tops, and fire filled mine shafts and you get some top notch boss fights too.
It is a shame they did not stick to this formula for future games though.
Not that the others are bad, but they just do not match this one in fun.