Exclusive: Hands-on With Jak III Latest Build!

Last Wednesday morning, deep in the vaults of Sony’s London office, Jak 3 – the final part of the acclaimed Jak and Daxter trilogy - was revealed in fully playable form. The previous two games were both received well, by critics as well as the general public, and so great things were hoped for.

At first glance, Jak 3 looks very similar to Jak 2. Indeed, most of the game mechanics have been re-used, so that’s an inevitable consequence. However, Jak 2 looked great and ran smoothly, so there isn’t really much cause for complaint. In fact, the recycling of the engine seems like a positive thing, taking technical pressure off developers, leaving them free to explore more creative concerns.

As we scrolled through the mission menu, these advantages became immediately clear. There’s an immense amount of variety in the tasks Jak and/or Daxter can select. Although few of these missions could be described as truly unique, each one has been developed with sufficient panache as to partially excuse itself of any plagiarism.

Stepping ever closer to the textbook GTA 3 model, there is an increased role for vehicles in Jak 3, with a much wider array of driving-based missions. However, these racing components don’t feel as much like GTA as certain other games. The numerous buggy races out on the dusty dunes of the expansive desert sections are highly reminiscent of Smugglers Run; Daxter’s missile-riding around a harbour quickly prompts flashbacks to Mario Sunshine’s jet-ski style level; and more traditional race-track competitions remind one of, well, every other racing game.

The additional vehicles are also an absolute functional necessity for getting around Jak 3’s huge environment in a quick and timely fashion. Set on an island approximately five times the size of Jak 2, and also including the war-torn shell that was once Haven City, speedy transport is clearly a must. The developers have taken into account fans’ criticisms of the second game, where Jak was frequently forced to travel from one side of the world to the other, largely because the developers had expended considerable effort making the city look fabulous, and they wanted to make sure the player got the full guided tour. There’ll be less of that this time round.

All this new driving malarkey is almost enough to forget that Jak started life out as a platform hero. However, platforming still plays an important role in Jak 3: it’s just less concentrated, and broken up by the diversity of ancillary missions, it’s more easily digestible. Naughty Dog has also married the two concepts of driving and platforming with the introduction of a new grasshopper-style dune buggy. Looking like a mutilated RC car with absurd, gravity-defying hydraulics, missions involving this require you to race whilst simultaneously leaping between sections of the track.

It’s not just wheeled or spring-loaded vehicular action though. The multitude of vehicles include gyrocopters, jetskis...even rideable dinosaur creatures. One such level that proved instantly addictive saw the heroic duo gliding through the skies, passing through floating rings in a very Pilotwings style, but with arguably better handling.

Apart from the obvious and necessary updates to the storyline - illustrated through a large number of entertaining cut-scenes - a few new characters have also stepped in.

As for the two leads, the way in which Jak and Daxter relate to their world has been nicely tweaked. Daxter has a decent sprinkling of his very own missions, our favourite of which involved sliding down a long chute at breakneck speed, and Jak now has light-side powers in addition to his dark ones.

Jak’s new smiley light-side powers are certainly intriguing, although they haven’t yet been fully detailed. Some of the abilities like healing are fairly mundane, but there are some considerably cooler ones too, such as Jak’s sprouting of angelic wings, before casually gliding down from vertigo-inducing cliff-tops. According to one of the game’s producers, light-side Jak can also ‘sort of control time’. When we quizzed further, the response was simply, "I think I’ve said too much." Doh!

On balance, Jak 3 looks set to deliver exactly what fans of the series want. Naughty Dog has gradually built on the premise of the first game, expanding the concept through Jak 2, before climaxing with this third episode. It’s exactly how a standard sequel to a successful title should be approached. Although the very fact that a game has a numerical suffix means it’s not going to be entirely original, that doesn’t mean it can’t be very good.

In fact, Jak 3 is to videogames what the spoddy kid is to an average classroom. The developers have listened and learned from earlier criticisms (however mild), taken hints from other titles in the genre, kept up momentum in a sensible direction and put a great deal of effort in, without ever appearing complacent. The enthusiasm that has gone into the development of Jak 3 is clear for all to see. It’s not a game that will change the world’s understanding of videogames, but it’s certain to put a smile on the face of most gamers – particularly existing fans of the series.

When Jak 3 is officially released this autumn, we’ll deliver the full verdict, which, unless things change dramatically, is likely to be pretty positive. Have a gander at these brand new screenshots in the meantime.