Daxter
PSP
As a fan of the Jak and Daxter series, I've known about this game called Daxter for quite some time now. I've never given much thought to playing it, though. Whether it is justified or not, I've always had a slight disdain for handheld games. I immediately assume they aren't very good, and that they are inferior to anything you'd play on a home console. So while the idea of a standalone 3D platformer starring Daxter was something that appealed to me, I ended up writing it off because "it's just a PSP game."
I've been trying to be more open-minded lately. It seems like every time I play a Game Boy or GBA game, I walk away pleasantly surprised. So why not give the PSP a chance, too? Plus, I've been big into Jak and Daxter lately because my son has been so obsessed with the series. I figured it was time to finally suck it up and give the game a chance. If not now, then I was never going to get around to it.
Let's see what I thought.
Story:
You don't need to know much about the lore of Jak and Daxter to enjoy the game. It takes place in between the OG game in the series and Jak II. Jak II begins with Jak waking up from a two year slumber, during which he was imprisoned and experimented on. But that is irrelevant. All you need to know is that this game covers the two year gap he was asleep, and what his buddy Daxter was doing during that time when he was all alone.
Turns out, he was working as an exterminator. The main goal of the game is taking missions and going on-site to various areas throughout the city to kill bugs and destroy their eggs and nests. As the game goes on, Daxter spots his long lost pal Jak being transported through the city in a vehicle. He gives chase, and eventually ends up rescuing Jak from prison at the end of the game. That's where Jak II begins.
If you are looking at the Jak and Daxter series as a whole, the events of this game are fairly irrelevant. It's basically a side quest starring Daxter the exterminator. Now that I've played through this game (and the OG Jak and Daxter very recently), I am probably going to move onto Jak II soon. I played it once back in 2013, but that was two years before I started this blog, so I never ended up reviewing it. I only review games that are fresh in my memory. I remember pretty much next to nothing about where this series goes from here, so I am kind of excited to keep playing.
Gameplay:
This is very different from the other games in the series. The obvious difference is that you play as Daxter, and the fact that he handles very differently from Jak. He's little. He hits enemies with an electric flyswatter. He can jump. He can double jump. He can ride vehicles. But what is most different about him is his array of insect-fighting accessories.
The main gimmick of the game is "hovering." Once you get your first backpack item (the green spray), you'll quickly discover that much of the action of the game is dependent on this move. If you've played Mario Sunshine, you'll be familiar with this backpack. On its own, it works as an anti-insect spray. It stuns the insects in front of you long enough to hit them with your electric flyswatter. But when you are jumping, its jets shoot towards the ground. This allows you to hover in mid-air, as long as you are spraying. I mentioned Mario Sunshine because there is a move with the water pack that is very similar to this. Jump, hit the jets, and allow it to let you hover in mid-air for a little bit so you can get over gaps or reach secret items.
The levels seem to be designed around this gimmick. You are going to need to master it if you want any chance at beating the game. As the game progresses, you get a fire spray that shoots you into the air even higher. You are going to abandon the green bug spray as soon as you get this. Another accessory allows you to fire bombs at your enemies, but is useless when it comes to propulsion. You'll be using your green gas and your fire for that.
This is a very straightforward 3D platformer, although it does give the illusion of the more open world you see in Jaks II and III. But it is not an open world. The game begins with a visit to your employer. He tells you to go to the hotel. You walk through the city streets to the hotel. The man at the desk tells you that you need to go into the basement and kill 30 bugs, and bring the gems they drop back to the desk for payment.
You head down on the elevator - and essentially a 10-15 minute 3D platforming stage begins. No frills, no funny business. Just make your way through the linear level. Kill bugs, collect eggs. Look for secrets. Make it to the end of the stage. Check in at the hotel desk. Go back to your employer. He tells you to go to the next stage. You walk through the city and go to the next stage. The linear stage begins. You fight through it, completing whatever the objective may be (collect x number of gems, destroy all the bug hives, defeat the boss, etc). Then onto the next level. Then the next. then the next. There is an overworld where you spend time in between stages, but like I said, it is nothing like Jak II or III, which I consider to be much more like open world, GTA-style games. This one is fairly straightforward.
While the platforming action is fun, it can get repetitive from time to time. About halfway through this game, I was like "maaaan this getting old." But luckily the game does keep things fresh with a little variety in its mission objectives. And you keep getting new powers and abilities also. Some things that break up the gameplay include vehicle levels or reflex-based button timing minigames. Mastering these minigames helps Daxter learn new abilities. They take place while Daxter dreams, and are based on movie franchises like The Matrix and Braveheart. I never expected this game to branch off into Conker-style movie satire when I first fired it up, but here we are.
The game isn't too long to beat. I'm sure you can finish it in fewer than 10 hours. I can't remember what my total was, but it was probably somewhere in that ballpark. All in all, this game gave me exactly what I was looking for: a fun little diversion from some longer games I am playing that have been dragging on a bit (Legend of Dragoon and Ecco for the Dreamcast are these games). Not everything needs to be 90 hours long and super serious all the time. Sometimes you just need something quick, fun, and lighthearted.
Graphics:
This is a PSP game, so be prepared for it to look a little rough. It's noticeably bad during the cutscenes. I cringed when the first cutscene started playing. I thought to myself: oof. Am I going to be able to play this game? Luckily, the game looks a lot better once the actual gameplay begins.
It's not as sharp looking as a PS2 game, but it is laudably close. If you squint your eyes and stand all the way on the other end of the room, this could possibly pass for one. But it's all good. The game has some jagged edges and won't win any beauty awards, but that doesn't really matter to me. I'm here for the gameplay. As long as the graphics aren't affecting whether the game is any fun to play or not, I can live with anything.
Sound:
This game sounds great. The music is on-point. The sound effects are perfect. The voice acting is what steals the show. Daxter is the star of the game not only because of the title of the game, but because his performance carries the game's story. Not that the story is very interesting to begin with, but just think about how dull it would be without Daxter's humor infused. My kid is a big fan of Daxter and his wise cracking, so this was right up his alley.
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Overall:
This was a surprisingly good game. It kept my interest from start to finish. I was always interested in seeing what kind of level the story would take me to next. But what I liked the most was taking my time to check out all the nooks and crannies of each stage. I liked experimenting with the gameplay gimmicks. I liked fighting bugs and collecting their gems. Honestly, 3D platformers are one of my favorite game genres. It's really hard to mess them up for me *cough Yooka-Laylee cough cough*.
But this game didn't mess it up. In fact, I'd say it was pretty good! Maybe not outstanding. It's not going to sniff anything close to an A from me. But still, pretty good.
Will I ever play this game again? Eh, probably not. I'm at the age of 43 now where I am starting to see myself running out of time to play all the games out there that I haven't played yet. While this was certainly an enjoyable game, I just can't see myself coming back to it when there is still so much out there to explore. I can certainly recommend it to anyone who has never played it before, however. It's a fun 3D platformer, and it is a shame it got buried on the PSP where I am sure a lot of people have unjustly passed on the game, or simply never had the means to play it. Good news, as of right now this game is available on the PlayStation Network. I don't know if it will be there forever, but it is a good way to check out this game if you've never been able to before.
THE GRADE:
B
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