A month or so ago, I posted a review of "Jax and Daxter". Jak 2 and 3 respresent the final two chapters of the Jak trilogy. Or at least the first trilogy in the Jak series as reports indicate a 4th game may be on the way. (If you think that's a spoiler, you've never played a game before. They could kill the entire cast and blow up the planet and they'd still find a way to make a sequel if a game sells well enough.)
I'm reviewing both games here since they are very similar.
Jak 2 picks up immediately where the first game ended, however this time around the mood has changed from a "everyone's campy and happy" kid's game to a much more edgy game that is still safe enough for kids to play...depending on your parenting rules.
The biggest change outside of the mood is a change in the game design. The games should have been called GTA:Jak and Daxter 2 & 3. Its a totally free design within a city where you have tons of side quests and can carjack vehicles. Its not GTA, but the design is like GTA. (GTA=Grand Theft Auto, but if I had to tell you that, you've just awaken from a coma and shouldn't be worried about video games.)
Another big change in Jak 2 from the original is the introduction of guns. Rather well done too. The guns come in varying styles: shotgun, rifle, machine gun, and BFG, which are easily selected via the directional pad right below the joystick on the PS2 controller. Jak 3 takes it up a notch by introducing 3 variations of each weapon, all still selected via the directional pad. All the weapons are well done in each game, and the variety adds a lot of gameplay options, particularly in Jak 3, but you'll have favorite weapons. For example, I rarely used anything buy the shotgun in Jak 2 and rarely used anything but the second version of the rifle in Jak 3.
Still, its Jak and Daxter so there's still a humorous, fun mood to take the edge off of the guns and killing.
The storyline is well done throughout the trilogy and is more than enough to drive a player. Are there cliches, plot holes, and other "bad" writing? Yes, but you forgive it because the games are simply fun to play and because those mistakes aren't big enough to pull you out of the story.
The graphics and sound are good enough. These games won't be mistaken for Half-Life 2 or Doom 3, but they work in the cartoony environment that is Jak's world.
The gameplay is what really gives you a bang for your buck. Everything is fun to do and easy to control. You've got a hoverboad ala Back to the Future. You've got vehicles, specifically floating cars and variations of dune buggys. You'll ride animals. The monsters are varied (robots, humans, and monsters). You can fight with your arms, feet, guns, and special dark/light powers. You can carjack. You can practice your weapon skills at an interactive shooting range. You compete in multiple events in a few arenas. You can play a timed version of hide and go seek. You can race around the cities in various ring challenges, etc. You can even play Whack-A-Mole.
Like I said, TONS to do.
One complaint I have is aimed at Jak 2. The races aren't tough, they're REALLY tough. In most you'll be racing against the clock and I'll run a perfect race only to finish with 1 second left. They really made it very difficult for players to beat the races in the game. They must have gotten a lot of feedback on this because the problem is gone in Jak 3.
I'm sure I had other complaints while playing, mostly in the realm of being frustrated until I finally beat some challenge or level. Nothing is really a game killer though. I could say the games are short, but that'd only apply to gamers like me. Casual gamers would find months worth of gameplay.
I could go on and on as there are a ton of things I didn't even bring up like collecting power cells, the dark/light powers (I don't because while they're awesome and a MUST to use in certain places, I didn't rely on them at all), the cheats/upgrades rewards, etc, etc, etc., but there's no point. The games are good and that's all that matters.
Easy controls, a good design, an engaging storyline, and fun gameplay with lots of rewards make a winner everytime.
Jak 2: 7 out of 10. (Docked one point for being a bit harder than it should have been.)
Jak 3: 8 out of 10.