OrangeRakoon wrote:Jenuall wrote:Jak II was too big. They took a really well designed hub and spoke style world from the first game and blew it up into a poor attempt at a GTA style open city.
I didn't enjoy having to drive an annoying flying car across an oversized, dirty futuristic city, constantly bumping into other vehicles quite as much as I enjoyed running and jumping through the beautiful set of cleverly designed worlds from the first game!
Woah now, you can't say these things now I have a pink name
I have lost literally hundreds of hours to just messing around in the city in Jak II, it's wonderful. I also think it's a complete disservice to say the city isn't cleverly designed, given the varying mission types that are woven through it. Various parts work as race courses, hover board parks, and shooting arenas. It's a densely designed city with very distinct districts that are instantly recognisable, have their own feel both thematically and in gameplay, and work with and enhance the narrative.
It's also not the game's fault you're bad at driving!
Pink name, schmink name!
I have to say I found Jak II to be one of the most disappointing sequels I've experienced. I LOVED The Precursor Legacy, to my mind it is still the most enjoyable game Naughty Dog have produced - I devoured it on release and still replay it when I get the chance.
I was so incredibly hyped for Jak II but they absolutely ruined the joy of the game in so many ways - introducing guns and their very poor implementation of them, the inferior setting, the attempt to copy a GTA-style open city but without the confidence, style and panache of Rockstar, the terrible driving, even just giving Jak a voice was a huge mistake!
I haven't even bothered to try the later games in the series, that's how much Jak II disappointed me!
Also the cars handle terribly in the game, combined with the ridiculous density of NPC's it is just not a fun game to explore.