Jak X is stupid fun. Yep, that’s all there is to it. It has a lot of flaws, but sometimes just simply being fun makes up for it.
In terms of story, it’s actually a surprisingly fully-fleshed story for a racing spinoff. It has the usual jak standards: compelling story, good writing, dialogue and characters, great performances, all that fancy jazz. The new characters are also really entertaining. It’s definitely not up to par to the quality of the trilogy, but does it really need to be? Of course not, and yet they still went ahead and gave us a good story nonetheless.
Gameplay is the main attraction of this game and it’s quite the doozy. If crash got the kart racer treatment, jak gets the PG-13 Carmageddon treatment. The focus is on finishing 1st in races just as much as blowing the absolute living shit out of your opponents. Do some cars handle terribly when upgraded too much? Yes. Is the powerups balance non-existent? Yes. Is the track design 70% hit and 30% miss? Yes. Do all of these somehow combine for an extremely chaotic, fast and explosion-filled thrill ride that entertains you the whole way? Hell yea! And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
Presentation is great for a racing game and it’s on par with the previous games. Character models and environment all look great, with the game running at a consistent 60fps. The effects are also not disorienting. My only complaint is that the cutscenes here are FMVs this time instead of in-game, and in the ps4 port, the compression is extremely noticeable. Doesn’t bother me too much, but it’s something worth mentioning.
Easily the biggest upgrade this game got over all the games in the entire franchise is the music department. HOLY SHIT! WHERE WAS THIS ABSOLUTE BANGER OF AN OST ON THE OTHER GAMES?! All the songs here are killer, no filler and they do an amazing job at pumping you with adrenaline while racing. Easily the best music in the franchise.
Overall, while flawed in many areas, jak x is just good old fashioned dumb fun that offers balls-to-the-walls racing, a surprisingly good story and a killer as fuck soundtrack as the biggest reasons why jak fans should check this game out.
In terms of story, it’s actually a surprisingly fully-fleshed story for a racing spinoff. It has the usual jak standards: compelling story, good writing, dialogue and characters, great performances, all that fancy jazz. The new characters are also really entertaining. It’s definitely not up to par to the quality of the trilogy, but does it really need to be? Of course not, and yet they still went ahead and gave us a good story nonetheless.
Gameplay is the main attraction of this game and it’s quite the doozy. If crash got the kart racer treatment, jak gets the PG-13 Carmageddon treatment. The focus is on finishing 1st in races just as much as blowing the absolute living shit out of your opponents. Do some cars handle terribly when upgraded too much? Yes. Is the powerups balance non-existent? Yes. Is the track design 70% hit and 30% miss? Yes. Do all of these somehow combine for an extremely chaotic, fast and explosion-filled thrill ride that entertains you the whole way? Hell yea! And at the end of the day, that’s all that matters.
Presentation is great for a racing game and it’s on par with the previous games. Character models and environment all look great, with the game running at a consistent 60fps. The effects are also not disorienting. My only complaint is that the cutscenes here are FMVs this time instead of in-game, and in the ps4 port, the compression is extremely noticeable. Doesn’t bother me too much, but it’s something worth mentioning.
Easily the biggest upgrade this game got over all the games in the entire franchise is the music department. HOLY SHIT! WHERE WAS THIS ABSOLUTE BANGER OF AN OST ON THE OTHER GAMES?! All the songs here are killer, no filler and they do an amazing job at pumping you with adrenaline while racing. Easily the best music in the franchise.
Overall, while flawed in many areas, jak x is just good old fashioned dumb fun that offers balls-to-the-walls racing, a surprisingly good story and a killer as fuck soundtrack as the biggest reasons why jak fans should check this game out.