Jak and Daxter Collection

Last updated

Jak and Daxter Collection
JakandDaxterHDCover.jpg
North American PlayStation 3 box art
Developer(s) Mass Media Games
Publisher(s) Sony Computer Entertainment
Series Jak and Daxter
Platform(s) PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita
ReleasePlayStation 3
PlayStation Vita
  • NA: June 18, 2013 [2]
  • AU: June 19, 2013 [2]
  • EU: June 21, 2013
Genre(s) Platform
Mode(s) Single-player

Jak and Daxter Collection (known in the PAL region as The Jak and Daxter Trilogy) is a 2012 collection of the remastered ports of the first three games in the Jak and Daxter series. The remasters were developed by Mass Media Games, with grounds on the originals by Naughty Dog, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

Contents

Development

In July 2011, Naughty Dog's Co-president Evan Wells stated in an interview with Game Informer that they would "love" to return to the series, but said they were currently "focusing" on Uncharted 3 . [3] Wells revealed in a later interview that they had explored the idea of a new game in the series "fairly extensively" before development began on The Last of Us . [4] Neil Druckmann elaborated further in an interview for The Last of Us. He said they had planned on making a reboot of the series, and had spent a long time searching for ideas and concepts they would get excited by, but discover that "the ideas we were getting passionate about were getting away from what Jak and Daxter was." [5] They later hinted, however, that a "dark, dirty and dangerous" collection was in the works. [6]

In October 2011, according to Digital Spy, an online business in South Africa known as BT Games had a Jak and Daxter Collection listed for release in January 2012. [6] Justin Richmond apparently also confirmed that a Jak and Daxter Collection was set to be released in January 2012, according to Video Games 24/7. [7] Sony then revealed that the Jak and Daxter Collection would be released on the PlayStation 3 in February 2012, and on the PlayStation Vita in June 2013. [8]

Remastered features

The game supports a 720p resolution and has a fixed frame rate of 60 frames per second with the Vita version running considerably lower at 20 frames per second. The stereoscopic 3D mode on PS3 runs at 30 frames per second. The game has additional features for the PlayStation Network which includes support for the trophy system. [9]

Reception

The Jak and Daxter Collection was met with positive reviews from critics, who highlighted the overall graphical transformation, and noted: "Though some aspects of the games are dated now, the Jak games still stand up as epic adventures." [16]

Eurogamer offered praise for "three of the most interesting platformers of the 21st century." They maintained that they "may not be as solid a platformer as Sly Cooper and its gunplay isn't as refined as Ratchet & Clank's – but in terms of ambition, invention and grandiosity, it remains leagues above its last-gen platforming brethren." They regarded the games as a "fascinating document of the evolution of the action adventure; its heroes are unstuck in time, without a genre to call home. No series has been so willing to switch gameplay styles with such reckless abandon", and concluded "the Jak represents a shining example of what happens when a capable developer takes a huge risk." [17]

Game Informer "the series was driven by a restless sense of innovation", praising "Naughty Dog's work in this franchise for creating great characters, finely tuned gameplay, and a unceasing inventiveness", and felt "the Jak games stand up as epic adventures." [16]

Related Research Articles

<i>Jak and Daxter</i> Video game series

Jak and Daxter is an action-adventure video game franchise created by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin and owned by Sony Interactive Entertainment. The series was originally developed by Naughty Dog with a number of installments being outsourced to Ready at Dawn and High Impact Games. The first game, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, released on December 3, 2001, was one of the earliest titles for the PlayStation 2, and is regarded as a defining franchise for the console.

Naughty Dog, LLC is an American first-party video game developer based in Santa Monica, California. Founded by Andy Gavin and Jason Rubin in 1984, the studio was acquired by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2001. Gavin and Rubin produced a sequence of progressively more successful games, including Rings of Power and Way of the Warrior in the early 1990s. The latter game prompted Universal Interactive Studios to sign the duo to a three-title contract and fund the expansion of the company.

<i>Jak II</i> 2003 video game

Jak II is an action-adventure video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 in 2003. It is the second game of the Jak and Daxter series and both a sequel and prequel to Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. It was followed by Jak 3 the following year in 2004.

<i>Jak 3</i> 2004 platforming video game

Jak 3 is a 2004 action-adventure video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game is the sequel to Jak II, the third game in the series and serves as the conclusion of the trilogy. The game picks up after the events of the previous games and the player takes on the dual role of recurring protagonists Jak and Daxter. It adds new weapons, devices and playable areas. The game was followed by Jak X: Combat Racing.

Ready at Dawn Studios LLC (RAD) is an American video game developer located in Irvine, California, and is composed of former members of Naughty Dog and Blizzard Entertainment. Formed in 2003, the company has primarily worked on games for the PlayStation Portable (PSP), most notably the Sony Computer Entertainment intellectual property God of War and Daxter. Ready at Dawn has a satellite campus in Portland, Oregon to assist with future PC and console game development. The studio is part of Oculus Studios as of June 2020.

<i>Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy</i> 2001 video game

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy is a 2001 platform video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the Sony PlayStation 2 on December 4, 2001, as the first game of the Jak and Daxter series.

<i>Uncharted: Drakes Fortune</i> 2007 video game

Uncharted: Drake's Fortune is a 2007 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the first game in the Uncharted series and was released in November 2007 for PlayStation 3. The game follows Nathan Drake, the supposed descendant of explorer Sir Francis Drake, as he searches for the lost treasure of El Dorado with journalist Elena Fisher and mentor Victor Sullivan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">High Impact Games</span> Video game developer

High Impact Games was an American video game developer based in Burbank, California, formed in 2003 by former members of Insomniac Games and Naughty Dog. In 2007, the company released Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters for the PlayStation Portable, with a PlayStation 2 port released the next year, and Secret Agent Clank in 2008, also for the PlayStation Portable. On November 3, 2009, the company released its third game, Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 2. The game was based on the Jak & Daxter series made by Naughty Dog. In 2010, High Impact Games was developing a remake of Crash Team Racing for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii, but the game was canceled by Activision before the prototype initial. In 2011 an environmental artist, who had worked on some games, revealed that High Impact Games was working on a new project for the Wii. This game was revealed to be Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension.

<i>Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier</i> 2009 video game

Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier is a 2009 platform game developed by High Impact Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First announced on April 1, 2009, the game was released on November 3, 2009 for the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable, and is the sixth and most recent game in the Jak and Daxter series. The player assumes the role of Jak, the angst-ridden hero enhanced by his exposure to Light and Dark Eco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Rubin</span> American video game director

Jason Rubin is an American video game director, writer, and comic book creator. He is best known for the Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter series of games which were produced by Naughty Dog, the game development studio he co-founded with partner and childhood friend Andy Gavin in 1986. He was the president of THQ before its closure due to bankruptcy on January 23, 2013. Rubin is the vice president of Metaverse Content at Meta Platforms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amy Hennig</span> American video game director and script writer

Amy Hennig is an American video game director and script writer, formerly for the video game company Naughty Dog. She began her work in the industry on the Nintendo Entertainment System, with her design debut on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System game Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City. She later went to work for Crystal Dynamics, working primarily on the Legacy of Kain series. With Naughty Dog, she worked primarily on the Jak and Daxter and Uncharted series.

Sony has released a number of previously released PlayStation video games, remastered in high-definition (HD) for their newer consoles, a form of porting. A number of related programs exist, the most prominent two being "Classics HD" and "PSP Remasters". The former consists of multiple PlayStation 2 games compiled on one Blu-ray Disc. The latter are individual PlayStation Portable games republished on Blu-ray. These games are not direct ports, but remastered versions in high-definition, to take advantage of the newer consoles' capabilities. The remastering of the games include updated graphics, new textures, and Trophy support, and some of the remastered games released on PlayStation 3 have included 3D and PlayStation Move support. Some HD remasters have also been released individually or in bundles as downloads on the PlayStation Store; others are released exclusively as downloads.

<i>Uncharted 3: Drakes Deception</i> 2011 video game

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is a 2011 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It is the third main entry in the Uncharted series and was released in November 2011 for the PlayStation 3. Set two years after Among Thieves (2009), the single-player story follows Nathan Drake and his mentor Victor Sullivan as they search for the legendary lost city of Iram of the Pillars while battling a secret society led by Sullivan's former employer, Katherine Marlowe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daxter</span> Video game character

Daxter is a character from the Jak and Daxter video game series. First introduced in Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Daxter is presented as Jak's cowardly, vulgar and womanizing best friend. Daxter's accidental transformation into an ottsel sets the plot of The Precursor Legacy into motion. In The Lost Frontier, Daxter is exposed to more Dark Eco and undergoes a further, but temporary, transformation into a form known as Dark Daxter.

<i>The Last of Us</i> 2013 video game

The Last of Us is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States. The Last of Us is played from a third-person perspective. Players use firearms and improvised weapons and can use stealth to defend against hostile humans and cannibalistic creatures infected by a mutated fungus. In the online multiplayer mode, up to eight players engage in cooperative and competitive gameplay.

<i>Ratchet & Clank Collection</i> 2012 video game

Ratchet & Clank Collection is a high-definition remastered collection. The collection includes the original 3 PlayStation 2 games: the first game, Going Commando/Locked and Loaded, and Up Your Arsenal, all at 720p in 60 frames per second, and includes stereoscopic 3D support at 30 frames per second. It also includes the multiplayer of Up Your Arsenal over the PlayStation Network. The PlayStation 3 Multiplayer Servers were terminated on February 15, 2018. It includes a Trophy set for each game. All of the games in this collection have been re-rated E10+ by the ESRB; they were originally rated T since the E10+ rating didn't exist at the time these games were released on the PlayStation 2.

<i>PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale</i> 2012 fighting crossover video game

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a 2012 crossover fighting video game developed by SuperBot Entertainment, in conjunction with Bluepoint Games, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It features various characters drawn from different PlayStation video game franchises competing against each other in multiplayer battles. The game was released in November 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita video game consoles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bruce Straley</span> American video game designer

Bruce Straley is an American game director, artist, designer, and studio director. He previously worked for the video game developer Naughty Dog, known for his work in the video games The Last of Us and Uncharted 4: A Thief's End. Straley's first video game work was as an artist at Western Technologies Inc, where he worked on the Menacer six-game cartridge (1992) and X-Men (1993). Following this, he formed a company, Pacific Softscape, where he worked as a designer on Generations Lost (1994). After the company disbanded, Straley was eventually hired at Crystal Dynamics, where he worked as a designer on Gex: Enter the Gecko (1998) and was initially game director for Gex 3: Deep Cover Gecko (1999); he left the company partway through development of the latter.

<i>Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection</i> 2015 video game compilation

Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection is a 2015 action-adventure video game compilation developed by Bluepoint Games and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It includes remastered versions of the first three main games in the Uncharted series: Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007), Uncharted 2: Among Thieves (2009) and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception (2011), all of which were originally developed by Naughty Dog. The Nathan Drake Collection was released in October 2015 exclusively for PlayStation 4. Players control Nathan Drake, a treasure hunter who travels the world to uncover various historical mysteries.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Jak and Daxter Collection hits PS3 February 7". Blog.us.playstation.com. January 24, 2012. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  2. 1 2 "Jak & Daxter Trilogy arrives on PSVita". Blog.eu.playstation.com. Archived from the original on June 24, 2013. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
  3. ↑ "PS3 News: Naughty Dog: We'd love to make another Jak and Daxter". ComputerAndVideoGames. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Naughty Dog seriously considered new Jak & Daxter title". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 1, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  5. ↑ "Naughty Dog's Jak & Daxter reboot". PlayStation Official Magazine. Archived from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  6. 1 2 "'Jak and Daxter HD Collection' rumoured". Digital Spy. October 2, 2011. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Rumour – Jak and Daxter HD Collection heading to PS3 in 2012". VG247. October 10, 2011. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Jak and Daxter Collection coming to PS Vita". PlayStation.com. April 19, 2013. Archived from the original on June 14, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  9. ↑ "Jak and Daxter Collection Hits PS3 February 7th, 100+ Trophies to Collect". January 24, 2012. Archived from the original on March 1, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Jak and Daxter Collection for PlayStation 3 Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on February 11, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  11. ↑ "Jak and Daxter Collection for PlayStation Vita Reviews". Metacritic . Retrieved February 19, 2023.
  12. ↑ North, Dale (February 7, 2012). "Jak and Daxter Collection Review for Destructoid". Destructoid. Archived from the original on July 7, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  13. ↑ Matulef, Jeffrey (February 16, 2012). "The Jak and Daxter Trilogy Review". Eurogamer . Eurogamer Network. Archived from the original on April 18, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  14. ↑ Helgeson, Matt. "Jak and Daxter Collection Review". Game Informer . GameStop. Archived from the original on February 10, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  15. ↑ DeVries, Jack (February 7, 2012). "Jak and Daxter Collection Review". IGN . Ziff Davis Media. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved July 6, 2022.
  16. 1 2 "Jak and Daxter Review". GameInformer. Archived from the original on February 10, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Jak and Daxter Trilogy Review". EuroGamer. February 16, 2012. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2014.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.