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[sonycowboy]

Boy, I'm spending more time on demos than actual games for the past week.

EB apparently has the new Jak 3 demo in.

So that gives demos of (among others):

MGS3 - OPM
R&C3 - OPM & preorder EB & Gamestop
Killzone - Circuit City Preorder
Jak 3 - preorder EB (& gamestop most likely)

 

[Lord Error]

Prognosis - your thread will get 100x less views than mine

That is, unless you... RIP IT!

 

[Ranger X]

how's Jak 3 dude?

 

[dark10x]

Sadly, like all of the other demos for PS2, I doubt it will have progscan support. I mean, for a magazine demo, I can understand...but for a standalone disc, you'd think they'd offer it.

Then again, with those games, the prog-scan option is enabled through the options menu...and the demos lack an options menu. Sooo...

 

[AniHawk]

how's Jak 3 dude?

Well.. If you liked Jak II, you're going to like Jak 3. That's the impression I get.

 

[sc0la]

I have had both the Jak III and Ratchet III demos for a few days. I haven't had time to play either yet

 

[Ranger X]

Well.. If you liked Jak II, you're going to like Jak 3. That's the impression I get.

That's also my impression! = i'm a lucky gamer and will die from great gaming heart attack next November!

 

[evilromero]

Well.. If you liked Jak II, you're going to like Jak 3. That's the impression I get.

Well, it appears they've even recycled exact environments from Jak II for this new installment. And it still has those horrible mini-games/missions that drive the player mad with rage.

 

[dark10x]

Well, it appears they've even recycled exact environments from Jak II for this new installment. And it still has those horrible mini-games/missions that drive the player mad with rage.

Wait, which environments? I hope they didn't go in there and recycle huge portions of the game or something...

THAT would be pretty cheap...

 

[TheGreenGiant]

I've been standing at the PS2 shelves everytime I go to the shops and I see

JAK II
+
R+C GC

and I want to buy them cause they're cheap but they memory of the first two stuck so much even after 1/1/2 years that I had no desire to play the games because I reckon it'd be more of the same (and this is also because despite's GAF's love for Mark of Kri.. it IS boring). I think a large part is because I can't handle the MOK / Jak / R+C series of games' gourad shaded poly look. Urgh! They needed to go next gen and make their games prettier.

 

[Wario64]

Wait, which environments? I hope they didn't go in there and recycle huge portions of the game or something...

THAT would be pretty cheap...

If you see in the previews, you can see that they recycle one of the cities from Jak 2. I can't say which cause I've never played Jak 1 or 2.

Tsc tsc.

 

[evilromero]

I only saw that really large hub area with the circular harbor (where you board a ship to reach a certain level), littered with bars and such around the rim. You know, the area where you go to get new missions from the fat floating mechanized dude?

 

[dark10x]

If you see in the previews, you can see that they recycle one of the cities from Jak 2. I can't say which cause I've never played Jak 1 or 2.

Tsc tsc.

Yeah, Haven city. I EXPECTED that, though. It does not seem as if you will be visiting it in the same way as you did in Jak II anyways (good lord, that would be too much as Haven city was incredibly huge). I'm more worried about actual levels...

I don't want to go platforming through the same stuff I've already visited or something...

I only saw that really large hub area with the circular harbor (where you board a ship to reach a certain level), littered with bars and such around the rim. You know, the area where you go to get new missions from the fat floating mechanized dude?

OK, so that's where the comment came from...

Haven city is OK, as that isn't actually a "level" per se...but a hub. If you get the chance to re-visit the city (though not in full), that would be just fine.

Like I said above, I was more worried about OTHER areas outside of the hub...

I dunno why, but I'm kind of excited about this game. I really didn't like the original game much (VERY dull), but Jak II had some cool aspects. I'm hoping they fix some of the problems this time, though, but we'll see...

 

[evilromero]

Some of the missions actually have you working in Haven City. You're riding on one of the cars across the harbor area trying to hit checkpoints before time runs out. I can already imagine doing it over and over again and tossing my controller to the side.

 

[dark10x]

Some of the missions actually have you working in Haven City. You're riding on one of the cars across the harbor area trying to hit checkpoints before time runs out. I can already imagine doing it over and over again and tossing my controller to the side.

I liked those, though. :\

I especially liked the race that had you going through a huge portion of the city. THAT was fun!

 

[evilromero]

I would always run into something, which would in turn ruin my chances. I think certain portions of the game were better than others, but I didn't like being timed on missions.

 

[Ranger X]

Dark, go check the gameplay movies on Gamespot. You'll get Jak3.
I'm sure we will like it and if it's not better than Jak2 it's going to be equal-good i'm pretty sure.

 

[AniHawk]

I especially liked the race that had you going through a huge portion of the city. THAT was fun!

Must.... resist.... urge... to troll Jak II..

 

[Pedigree Chum]

I've been standing at the PS2 shelves everytime I go to the shops and I see

JAK II
+
R+C GC

and I want to buy them cause they're cheap but they memory of the first two stuck so much even after 1/1/2 years that I had no desire to play the games because I reckon it'd be more of the same (and this is also because despite's GAF's love for Mark of Kri.. it IS boring). I think a large part is because I can't handle the MOK / Jak / R+C series of games' gourad shaded poly look. Urgh! They needed to go next gen and make their games prettier.

Aren't they $20 now? At least buy R&C:GC...that game rocks.

 

[DSN2K]

Well.. If you liked Jak II, you're going to like Jak 3. That's the impression I get.

 

[belgurdo]

If those fucking "race through half the city in 25 seconds with 15 Crimzon Guards on your ass because you tapped their bikes" missions come back, I'll just save my cash for Up Your Arsenal

 

[Socreges]

I especially liked the race that had you going through a huge portion of the city. THAT was fun!

I'd like to take that as sarcasm, but I suspect it's not.

 

[Littleberu]

If those fucking "race through half the city in 25 seconds with 15 Crimzon Guards on your ass because you tapped their bikes" missions come back, I'll just save my cash for Up Your Arsenal

WELL I'M SURE JASON RUBIN IS CRYING.

I mean, who cares. Just enjoy the damn game.

Oh noes, they recycled Jak 2 area for a mini-game! OH NOES. But, wait, we can't count the numerous new areas that were shown in the video too, no we can't!!!!!

And Jak 2 is TOO hard!!! But Ninja Gaiden isn't hard, it's "challenging"... Challenging my ass.

 

[AniHawk]

Just enjoy the damn game.

It's really hard to with Jak II.

 

[Littleberu]

It's really hard to with Jak II.

No it's not. It is if you're reading reviews, and this board, and thinking it really represent the whole game. It's not. Most reviewers didn't even finish the game.

 

[AniHawk]

No it's not. It is if you're reading reviews, and this board, and thinking it really represent the whole game. It's not. Most reviewers didn't even finish the game.

:lol :lol :lol

 

[Littleberu]

:lol :lol :lol

"Ahaha, I don't know what to say!!!" ???

 

[dark10x]

I'd like to take that as sarcasm, but I suspect it's not.

Well hey, it's not like I'm claiming Jak II to be a favorite game or anything, but I did enjoy it and I found those portions to be quite fun. They were a bit challenging, but it was far from impossible. It took me all of three tries to clear that race.

The city sections weren't exactly my favorite parts of the game or anything (far from it), but some of them were pretty enjoyable...

The ONLY part in the entire game that I found myself having to continue many times over was during that underwater "mech" segment. It wasn't really hard, but it required you to know exactly what was coming...

Did you have difficulty with the game or did you simply dislike it?

Oh, and I did grab the demo today. Have yet to play it, though...

 

[AniHawk]

"Ahaha, I don't know what to say!!!" ???

I know exactly what to say. I've played and beat Jak II. That's why I feel my extreme dislike for the game is justified.

 

[Littleberu]

I know exactly what to say. I've played and beat Jak II. That's why I feel my extreme dislike for the game is justified.

Yeah. You probably played the game with a unbiased and open mind. Tsc tsc.

 

[AniHawk]

Yeah. You probably played the game with a unbiased and open mind. Tsc tsc.

Well I played Jak II before I played Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando and still disliked it. On the old boards, you could find some posts I left with impressions of the game as I was playing it which weren't favorable.

There were some points in the game which were kinda fun for me. Those were very far and in between though.

 

[Lord Error]

I think a large part is because I can't handle the MOK / Jak / R+C series of games' gourad shaded poly look. Urgh! They needed to go next gen and make their games prettier.

You must have really hated the way "Toy Story" looked then.

 

[Ranger X]

Why did you buy Jak2 Ani? Because you liked the first or something?

 

[AniHawk]

Why did you buy Jak2 Ani? Because you liked the first or something?

Yeah, I thought the first one was fun. It had some very positive reviews as well. I bought it alongside Viewtiful Joe.

What a bad decision-making day that was.

 

[Miburou]

You didn't like Viewtiful Joe either?

 

[Ranger X]

I'm still surprised about the amount of hate around Jak2. It's sooo surprising to me as i am myself a very picky gamer after all.

And you know what? I tried the Jak2 demo first (i did like the first Jak but i never trust sequels anyway) and i was horribly surprised by the changes, hated the Tony Hawk impression and the "bad ass with guns" look.
Then my brother bought the actual game when it came out and i've been playing at his place and BAM!! - i was hook! All the new gameplay and changes in the game were dead on and well balanced, graphics and location good looking and diverse (ok not as diverse as the first Jak) and even the soundtrack suffers* from some improvements.
Well, the city and craft driving and also the difficulty (those are the 2 major complains of people aren't they?) didn't even got near bothering me. I actually liked driving the craft and to me, the difficulty level was perfect. (never easy but never cheap).

* i say "suffers" here because it still is miserable after all

I hope Jak3 won't suffer too much from the haters (i'm not counting you Anihawk as you sound respectfull in your "not loving it")

 

[AniHawk]

You didn't like Viewtiful Joe either?

Not as much as I thought I would. Would have rather paid $20 than $35. Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando was one I bought on a whim as well, and I loved it. I need to start renting games or holding out on them until they're cheaper. Mario & Luigi, Dark Cloud, Metroid Prime, Virtua Fighter 4, and Golden Sun were all games I would have rather not spent so much money on.

 

[AniHawk]

I hope Jak3 won't suffer too much from the haters (i'm not counting you Anihawk as sound respectfull in your "not loving it")

Well thanks. I try to keep myself from going crazy on the game, because if people have good fun with the game, it's not really my place to tell them not to (this worked less in this thread than usual, but I've let out a lot of energy building up during the Angels/Dodgers games today).

 

[cvxfreak]

AniHawk HATED HATED HATED HATED HATED Jak II.

 

[Ranger X]

AniHawk HATED HATED HATED HATED HATED Jak II.

Yeah but he bought Jak2 so he did at least contribute in making our great coming Jak3 a reality. I don't mean you have to excuse his tastes though lol

 

[dark10x]

Mario & Luigi, Dark Cloud, Metroid Prime, Virtua Fighter 4, and Golden Sun were all games I would have rather not spent so much money on.

Damn, you have pretty bad taste.

Just what DO you like?

 

[cvxfreak]

Yeah but he bought Jak2 so he did at least contribute in making our great coming Jak3 a reality. I don't mean you have to excuse his tastes though lol

Heh heh heh.

 

[AniHawk]

Damn, you have pretty bad taste.

Just what DO you like?

Didn't like Metal Gear Solid 2 at first which turned me off to stealth games until I played Splinter Cell. Then I went back to MGS TTS and then MGS2 Substance.

I didn't like Virtua Fighter 4, and it has turned me off to 3D fighters. If I picked it up at $20, I'd like it more. I did get to trade it in for Klonoa 2 though, so that was fun. It's funny when I mention my dislike for VF4- it's one of the only games this forum loves across the board. I guess I didn't "spend enough time with it," but I really don't care to sit in front of a fighting game for hours at a time. I'm not good at "perfecting fighting skillz."

I didn't like Metroid Prime since it was being proclaimed as the second coming of Jesus. It went from a "might buy" to "PREORDER THIS GAME AND GET IT NOW!" Then I played it, and was disappointed. I felt my fifty bucks were wasted. I even got the Best Ending Evar on it, and I wasn't really into it.

It was only later I realized there was an actual story going on with those scannings, which helped add more to the game I'd missed before, and got me to appreciate the atmosphere of it all more.

Still, I wouldn't have wanted to spend so much money on them right away.

The games I enjoyed the most this gen were The Wind Waker, the two Ratchet & Clank games, Knights of the Old Republic, Shenmue II, Fire Emblem, The Lost Age, Jet Grind Radio, and Skies of Arcadia Legends. I can go into great detail of any of those games explaining my position on each if you wish. I can also go into great detail on why you liking Jak II is bad taste as well, but that would be just mean, now wouldn't it?

 

[teiresias]

The only thing I really disliked with a passion in JakII were the racing through the city segments and all those timed racing missions. They just annoyed the hell out of me.

 

[dark10x]

Not bad so far...

The presentation blows the shit out of the last two games. It actually seems as if the storyline might be good this time. I wonder if Amy Hennig's appearance on the team helped at all? Heh, who knows...

The next thing I noticed was that the music is actually...not bad! It sounds totally different from the last two games (thank god). The previous games had some of the most generic, boring music I've heard in a game as of late. This new stuff is much better. Nothing amazing or anything, but it's actually pretty nice sounding.

As for the gameplay, I've only tried the one mine level. It plays very much like Jak II's platforming segments, but the design seems a bit more open than most of those levels. You are basically in a very tall canyon with tons of crazy metallic structures zig-zagging through it. Also, there seems to be a platform route and a hoverboard route...

I did notice a really nice ragdoll-like physics engine has been added. It looks a bit more solid than the usual ragdoll, though (the enemies seem to have real weight). Pretty slick.

Finally, they included a full options menu this time around so you can enabled 480p and 16:9 in the demo (as well as mess with every other option that will be in the full game).

 

[evilromero]

I'm with AniHawk on this. I was a huge Jak & Dax fan. I was eagerly anticipated Jak II so much so that I raced to the local game store on launch day to get my copy, battling violently determined mothers. But damn, after drudging through the dull city scenes, the forced missions that lacked any kind of "fun" and the FUCKING HAIR PULLING MECH segments I asked myself, "where's the fucking fun?!?!?" What happened to the adventure? The imagination? I'll be damned if I have to put myself through another lame hoverboard Tony Hawk-meets-Jak section. I really miss the simple hoverbike sections from the first game, under an overcast sky, above a lush green field, free of constraints, just cruisin for fun. Jak II through all that out the window.

 

[dark10x]

Hey, I'm not a huge fan of Jak II or anything...but I did have some fun with it.

However, I really found the first game to be an absolute snore. It was so incredibly easy and aimless that only the visuals kept me playing. I don't like all of the changes that were made, but at least the game had some challenge AND purpose...

 

[evilromero]

You listed the exact reason why I enjoyed Jak 1 so much more. The ambiguity was far more interesting to me. I prefer the exploring aspect of the first title, over the solid narrative of the second.

 

[cvxfreak]

AniHawk is all kinds of funny.

 

[dark10x]

You listed the exact reason why I enjoyed Jak 1 so much more. The ambiguity was far more interesting to me. I prefer the exploring aspect of the first title, over the solid narrative of the second.

I normally enjoy exploration a lot as well, but it was just so boring in J&D. There was really no purpose to anything and it was one big fetch quest...

If you loved that aspect, though, I can see why you'd really hate the sequel...