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Jak and Daxter is a video game franchise originally developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 2 that is named after its own protagonists. So far, five games featuring the two unlikely heroes have been released.
Notable features
The Jak and Daxter series received heavy attention from its first announcement, largely due to its predecessor, the Crash Bandicoot series of games (evidence of the ties between the two games is vast, including a 'spin' move and many similar objects shared between the two series). The original game was one of the first to heavily use streaming, meaning that the game was almost completely lacking in load times. It drew many comparisons to Super Mario 64 and Banjo-Kazooie, for its evolution of the platforming genre. Later games in the series then started to focus on shooting as well as platforming and enhanced this free-roaming, load-free atmosphere in various ways.
The game is also notable for being developed in a variant of the Common Lisp programming language, called Game Oriented Assembly Lisp, rather than the more conventional language C++.
Storyline
Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy
The story of Jak and Daxter (voiced by Michael Erwin and Max Casella, respectively, though Jak does not speak until the second game) begins in the first game, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy. The two characters begin the game as elf-like mischief-makers who are directly disobeying the advice of the Green Sage, Samos. He has warned them to stay away from a mysterious island, but they travel there anyway. After a short battle, Daxter falls into a pit of Dark Eco and becomes an orange Ottsel (half otter, half weasel). The story unfolds as the duo adventures to find Gol Acheron, a sage of Dark Eco who may have the powers to help Daxter return to normal. As the game unfolds it becomes clear to you that you have to stop Gol and his sister Maya's plan to use a Precursor Robot to release the vast quantities of Dark Eco in the silo at their citadel.
Daxter
A spinoff game was released, Daxter, for the PlayStation Portable, starring Daxter and other new characters such as Osmo, Ximon, Kaeden and Taryn. It is set around the time between where Daxter is seen running off at the beginning of Jak 2, and where Daxter breaks Jak out of prison, which is the whole point of the game. It was developed by Ready at Dawn.
Jak II
The second game, Jak II], begins where the first left off. Jak, Daxter, Keira, and Samos travel through a time rift 400 years into the future to Haven City, a large maze like city founded by the great warrior Mar, and Jak is captured and sent to prison by the Baron's right hand man, Erol and members of the evil Baron Praxis's Krimzon Guard. Two years later, Daxter rescues Jak from the prison where he has been tested on like a guinea pig with Dark Eco which has formed a split personality between Jak and his new evil side, Dark Jak. Jak joins the Underground, an operation bent on destroying the Baron and putting the true leader on the throne, a 3 year old boy. The Underground is lead by the mysterious Shadow, who turns out to be a younger version of the Green Sage, Samos. Keira now is in charge of the Mar stadium Garage, and gets Jak to sign up for racing. Later in the game, they find out that The Kid, the heir to Havens throne, is a younger version of Jak. Jak also meets several new characters, including Torn, Ashelin, Vin, Sig, Krew, Kor, Erol, Baron Praxis, Tess, and many others.
Jak 3
In the next installment, Jak 3, we find Jak and Daxter banished from Haven City by the leader of the newly-formed City Council, Count Veger. Apparently, inside the city, a massive three-sided war has broken out between the Freedom League, the city's new police force, a massive army of Krimzon Guard loyalists and their death bots, and the newly regrouped Metal Head army (a small amount of them having survived the assault in Jak II). This war eventually led to the literal collapse of the palace, effectively leveling the better half of the city. Naturally, the few remaining citizens point the blame at their new leader, Jak. Shortly after being sent into the desert wasteland, accompanied by their loyal friend Pecker, they are rescued by a ragtag band of desert dwellers, who take them into their nearby stronghold. The town, Spargus, is ruled by the benevolent Damas, and it is a home for people like Jak who have been banished from Haven City. After proving themselves worthy of staying in Spargus, the duo eventually learns from the Precursor Monk, Seem, that the end of the world may be at hand. The Day Star, a massive starship of destruction piloted by the evil precursors known as the Dark Makers, is approaching the planet with the intent to destroy it, as it has thousands of other Precursor worlds. Jak is soon blessed with the ability to absorb the very rare Light Eco and transform into Light Jak. Light Jak is the antithesis of Dark Jak in the sense that he wields more defensive abilities than offensive.
Later, following an urgent request from Ashelin, Jak and Daxter return to Haven City to help put an end to the war raging within its walls; along the way, however, they are met by Veger, wielding a Precursor Robot very similar to the one Gol and Maia used in the first Jak and Daxter. It is here that Veger reveals that it was he who destroyed the palace in a desperate effort to reach the ancient precursor catacombs beneath it. After defeating Veger and entering the city, Jak realizes upon a visit to Haven Forest that he has the power to mentally infiltrate the Day Star and thus possesses the sole link to the Dark Makers. Soon, the pair manages to destroy both the Krimzon Guard and Metal Head strongholds within the city, but upon their journey through the levelled city sections in an effort to reach the catacombs beneath the palace ruins, Jak learns from a dying Damas that he is in fact Jak's father and once ruled Haven City before Praxis betrayed and exiled him to the wasteland. Upon successfully navigating the catacombs, Jak and Daxter learn the truth about who the precursors really are, and Veger is transformed into one himself, though, as Daxter can tell you, it's not all it's cracked up to be. The precursors then beam Jak up to the Day Star to destroy its cargo, but, unfortunately, Errol has gained control of the Dark Makers and is planning to carry out their work in one of their last surviving machines. Jak and Daxter successfully defeat Errol, and it is implied by the precursors that Jak is the Mar that would build Haven City and preserve an entire generation of people.
Jak X: Combat Racing
In the fourth title, Jak X: Combat Racing, Jak, Daxter, Keira, Samos, Ashelin, and Torn are summoned to the reading of the late crime lord Krew's will, where they are poisoned and forced by Krew to race in the Combat Racing championship for the antidote. Krew's team is pitted against the mercenary racers of rival crime lord Mizo. New characters include Krew's daughter Rayn, the shady race commentator G.T. Blitz, retired racing champion Razer, and the deadly killing machine UR-86.
Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
"The Lost Frontier" is the rumoured 6th game in the Jak and Daxter series of Playstation 2 and PSP video games which on April 21st, 2006 was registered with the USPTO.On May 1st, 2006 IGN.com was the first to break the news that a sixth game in the series may be released. When Sony was contacted about the game they replied saying "As of right now, there is no official announcement regarding the title." which seems to point out that something is definitely in the works.
Speculation regarding Jak and Daxter 6 has pointed out the fact that since Naughty Dog has been hiring for a dual PS2/PS3 project which has yet to be given a name, TLF may be released on the Playstation 3 and, as the trademark description describes, feature online play for the second time in the series (Jak X being the first).
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See also
External links
"Jak and Daxter"