When I first played Jak 2, I hated it. No up-and-down camera controls, huge hub world that's a pain in the ass to navigate, non-stop gameplay switch-ups, a hoverboard that didn't work, bonus missions with strict time limits. It seemed at every turn, Jak 2 resisted the idea of having fun.
Turns out I just needed to get good.
The gunplay in this is really good, and it's what brought me back after that miserable first run. All the weapon mods feel good to use, whether it's the Scatter Gun pushing back waves of critters, the Vulcan Fury filling enemies with countless needles, the Peacemaker vapourizing several goons in one shot, or the old reliable Blaster with its maybe-too-generous auto-aim. These jump-and-gun missions are the highlights of Jak 2.
Cutsecenes have also seen an upgrade from Jak 1 by being skippable and fully subtitled. They're still all very entertaining, with solid writing, acting, and animation across the board. Unfortunately none of the dialogue from Jak's floating walkie-talkie is subtitled, and the old radio effect makes it hard to parse when Krew or Torn are speaking. Fortunately I never felt lost on what to do if I missed something.
With each playthrough, I died a little less, found a new Precursor Orb, perfected the gimmicky one-shot missions, learned I can do a 360 on the way up during a hoverboard jump and still get the speed boost. Haven City is still a pain in the ass to navigate. Jak 2 is now one of my favourite games ever.
Turns out I just needed to get good.
The gunplay in this is really good, and it's what brought me back after that miserable first run. All the weapon mods feel good to use, whether it's the Scatter Gun pushing back waves of critters, the Vulcan Fury filling enemies with countless needles, the Peacemaker vapourizing several goons in one shot, or the old reliable Blaster with its maybe-too-generous auto-aim. These jump-and-gun missions are the highlights of Jak 2.
Cutsecenes have also seen an upgrade from Jak 1 by being skippable and fully subtitled. They're still all very entertaining, with solid writing, acting, and animation across the board. Unfortunately none of the dialogue from Jak's floating walkie-talkie is subtitled, and the old radio effect makes it hard to parse when Krew or Torn are speaking. Fortunately I never felt lost on what to do if I missed something.
With each playthrough, I died a little less, found a new Precursor Orb, perfected the gimmicky one-shot missions, learned I can do a 360 on the way up during a hoverboard jump and still get the speed boost. Haven City is still a pain in the ass to navigate. Jak 2 is now one of my favourite games ever.