after Kor, killing him and finding the very Rift Gate they used to travel through time, and ending the Metal Heads threat. The Kid, whom Jak had discovered was his younger self, touches the Stone, reawakening the Precursor entity within, which flies through the gate. As Kiera arrives with a new Rift Rider she had created, Samos reveals that they cannot return to the past—instead, Jak's younger self and Young Samos must go, in order to ensure Jak will fulfill the destiny he completed with Kor's defeat. In the aftermath of the conflict, Daxter takes over Krew's bar, as he, Jak, Samos and Kiera prepare to enjoy their new lives in Haven City. Development and release Jak II began development in 2001. Jak II is the only game in the series in which the versions for English-speaking regions feature the Japanese and Korean voice-over track. The voice-over cast features many notable voice actors, including Showtaro 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. The game's budget was more than $10 million. It took 52 people, 140 voice actors, two musicians, and three sound engineers, plus Sony's internal staff. The voice-acting was jointly recorded in the Los Angeles-based Pop Sound and the New York City-based Howard Schwartz Recording. Reception Jak II received "generally positive reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. IGN gave it a score of 9.5/10, saying: "Naughty Dog weighs in with heavy guns, a dark story and mature content…And unlike pretty much every other platformer in the world, the story here is filled with characters who you'll either love or hate. It's the story that gives this game the feeling that it's an adventure, like Indiana Jones or even Max Payne. Jak is far more likeable now that he speaks, and the fact that he's pissed off and owns honking big guns weaves in an unmistakable new level of emotion into the narrative." GameSpot said, "Everything in Jak II comes together to produce one of the best-looking, best-playing games on the PS2 so far" and continued: "Jak II is an enormous and ambitious game that succeeds on every level, the gameplay is rewarding, and the story twists and turns more than you'd expect from a game like this." Game Informer praised "having the freedom to tackle challenges in a less linear fashion"