Jak and Dexter was a darn good platform game.  It was encompassing, awe inspiring, it had varied levels, it was pretty non-linear, the levels were lengthy yet doable.  It was basically a fun all around game.  So Jak 2 comes out, and they made a lot of changes, all for the worse.
First off, I guess the marketing folks told the developers to emulate Grand Theft Auto 3.  Let me tell you, this does not work.  GTA had a living-breathing city that fit into the environment.  What does Jak 2 have?  It was a non-descript closed off city with hardly anything in it.  The worst is the movement throughout the city.  To go to a different a different part of the city, you need take this horrible "hover vehicle" that apparently can't hover beyond "up" or "down".  The movements of this vehicle are sluggish, slow, and uncontrollable, and the vehicle itself doesn't possess any subtlety.  Couple this with the fact that all the missions are clear cross the city, and the alleyways are small, and you've got one boring, annoying game.  I passed maybe 10 levels, and most of my time was spent hovering between those levels.
Secondly, in GTA fashion, they decided to make it "gritty".  Oh geez, give me a break.  Who was begging for a cartoon platformer to be gritty?  Why does Jak need to cuss?  I don't mind it, but it serves no other purpose other than to alienate a chunk of potential gamers.  The "gritty" factor might have been an excuse as to why they could not re-produce the lush, varied environments that really made the first game.  Every level I played looked the same, either an indoor level or an outdoor level.
Okay, so the environment and movement is no good, what about the missions you say?  Well, these missions are tedious missions and designed to be repeated over and over again.  Some of the missions are easy, but you basically go through the same jumps and enemies over and over again.  Many are difficult, made so that you have to die a few times, repeat what you just accomplished, just to die a little bit later.  While not hard, but if the missions were any fun, it wouldn't be so bad.
Finally, the first game required you to reach a certain number of spheres for you to pass.  Whatever way you wanted to get them, you could.  This meant that if a mission was boring, not fun, or out of the way, you could skip and try something else.  This game pretty much is linear.  It's sort of de-evolution of video gaming right here.
So, in short, what was once an original, fun, lush platform game now spawned a sequel which is no more than a badly designed conglomeration or random gaming ideas.
Pros:
Uhmm, I can't think of any.
Cons:
Pretty much linear.
City is mundane.
Environments unvaried, stale.
Repetitive, tedious levels.
Adult for no reason.
Hover system is mind boggling bad.
Difficulty: Medium
Frustration Level: High
Hours to complete (my estimate): 25 Hours
Jak and Dexter was a darn good platform game. It was encompassing, awe inspiring, it had varied levels, it was pretty non-linear, the levels were lengthy yet doable. It was basically a fun all around game. So Jak 2 comes out, and they made a lot of changes, all for the worse. First off, I guess the marketing folks told the developers to emulate Grand Theft Auto 3. Let me tell you, this does not work. GTA had a living-breathing city that fit into the environment. What does Jak 2 have? It was a non-descript closed off city with hardly anything in it. The worst is the movement throughout the city. To go to a different a different part of the city, you need take this horrible "hover vehicle" that apparently can't hover beyond "up" or "down". The movements of this vehicle are sluggish, slow, and uncontrollable, and the vehicle itself doesn't possess any subtlety. Couple this with the fact that all the missions are clear cross the city, and the alleyways are small, and you've got one boring, annoying game. I passed maybe 10 levels, and most of my time was spent hovering between those levels. Secondly, in GTA fashion, they decided to make it "gritty". Oh geez, give me a break. Who was begging for a cartoon platformer to be gritty? Why does Jak need to cuss? I don't mind it, but it serves no other purpose other than to alienate a chunk of potential gamers. The "gritty" factor might have been an excuse as to why they could not re-produce the lush, varied environments that really made the first game. Every level I played looked the same, either an indoor level or an outdoor level. Okay, so the environment and movement is no good, what about the missions you say? Well, these missions are tedious missions and designed to be repeated over and over again. Some of the missions are easy, but you basically go through the same jumps and enemies over and over again. Many are difficult, made so that you have to die a few times, repeat what you just accomplished, just to die a little bit later. While not hard, but if the missions were any fun, it wouldn't be so bad. Finally, the first game required you to reach a certain number of spheres for you to pass. Whatever way you wanted to get them, you could. This meant that if a mission was boring, not fun, or out of the way, you could skip and try something else. This game pretty much is linear. It's sort of de-evolution of video gaming right here. So, in short, what was once an original, fun, lush platform game now spawned a sequel which is no more than a badly designed conglomeration or random gaming ideas. Pros:
Uhmm, I can't think of any. Cons:
Pretty much linear. City is mundane. Environments unvaried, stale. Repetitive, tedious levels. Adult for no reason. Hover system is mind boggling bad. Difficulty: Medium
Frustration Level: High
Hours to complete (my estimate): 25 Hours