jak and daxter
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Hands-on: Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier
The Jak and Daxter franchise has been dormant for quite a long time. It's been more than three years since the release of the last game of the franchise, Daxter, and over five years since Jak 3 on PS2. Considering the strong fan following of the franchise, we were surprised that SCEA had done so little to promote the existence of the next true continuation of the series: The Lost Frontier for PSP (and PS2). However, after spending some time with a preview build, we can see why Sony would stay so secretive: it's not very good.Ready at Dawn proved with Daxter that the formula can be done well on the handheld. The studio intelligently streamlined the experience for the PSP, creating level designs that constantly drove the player forward. The controls always felt natural with Daxter's bugspray pack easing platforming sections -- a necessary feature, considering the PSP's less-than-ideal analog nub. Three years after Daxter's release, High Impact Games (developers of last year's mediocre Secret Agent Clank) ignores all the small innovations made by Ready at Dawn, and The Lost Frontier suffers greatly for it.%Gallery-64981%
See Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier's high drama, hijinks
We have to be honest: If you haven't played any of the Jak and Daxter games (or it's been a while since you have) the context of the latest trailer for the series' PSP debut, The Lost Frontier, will be lost on you. Thankfully, it's brimming with airborne action, Eco pirates (with airships, no less) and, of course, plenty of comic relief provided by Daxter.Developer High Impact Games (Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters) seems to have the characters and tone of the series locked down. The verdict's still out on the gameplay's mix of action, platforming and air combat, but we'll hopefully get to spend more time with the game -- which, oddly, seems to be flying under most people's radars -- soon.
Video: Jak & Daxter travel to the Lost Frontier
Jak and Daxter are going where no .... green-haired dude and weasel thing have gone before. They're heading off to some place called the "Lost Frontier" in their new portable adventure for PSP (also available on PS2).Jak & Daxter: The Lost Frontier looks like a standard Jak title with some added flying game mechanics. Check out the vid and see it in action. Maybe you'll want to brush up on those piloting skills.%Gallery-64981%
Qore leak reveals new PSP Metal Gear and more
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/05/30/qore-leak-reveals-new-psp-metal-gear-jak-and-daxter-and-more/'; In a leaked interview in the June issue of Qore, Sony's John Koller revealed new game announcements Sony is set to make at its E3 2009 press briefing. Among the titles mentioned are (a previously revealed) Jak & Daxter PSP and a re-emergence of Gran Turismo for the handheld -- first revealed when the PSP was announced. Koller also mentions a new Metal Gear Solid for PSP is in the works, which may be the subject of the current Kojima Productions countdown nonsense (seriously, stop). Also, around the 15 second mark of the leaked Qore video, footage appears that bares a striking resemblance to Warhawk -- but (as comments have pointed out) the ship appears apart of the Jak & Daxter footage reel. Other clips include footage of LittleBigPlanet and Jak & Daxter. Let's hope, for Sony's sake, this video doesn't encapsulate the lion's share of announcements the company was planning for June 2. Incidentally, crack out those bingo cards and a big red marker ... you have a few things to cross off.
Report: Jason Rubin's Iron and the Maiden sued by ... Iron Maiden [UPDATE]
When former Naughty Dog chief Jason Rubin rolled out of bed this morning, we imagine he had a lot on his mind: What cereal to eat, what paper to read, and, oh yeah, how best to deal with lawyers representing Iron Maiden. According to online rag TMZ, the aging metal band has filed suit against Rubin's comic book company, Iron and the Maiden LLC, for what the site describes as using a "confusingly similar" name. We admit we were befuddled at first too; after all, who knew that Iron Maiden was even still around?Rubin, who has not yet responded to Joystiq's inquiry on the matter, is best recognized in gaming circles as the face behind Crash Bandicoot and Jak and Daxter. Lately, however, his energies have been spent elsewhere after leaving game development in 2004 for social media, comics and the greener pastures of Web 2.0. Still, judging by Iron Maiden's catalog of album covers, we're not sure how any of this could have prepared him for facing down a gang of haggard rockers and what we imagine to be a throng of undead legal counsel. Update: A spokesperson representing both Jason Rubin and his companies, Iron and the Maiden LLC and Morgan Rose LLC, sent over an official response to the lawsuit this evening, calling the whole case "completely without merit." The complete statement can be read after the break.
Sony announces new Jak and Daxter for PSP, PS2
Don't worry, this isn't an April Fools prank. Sony has just sent us a press release, announcing a new Jak and Daxter game for the PSP and PS2. The game, titled Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier, will be out this Fall and will pick up "from where the original Jak and Daxter trilogy left off." You'll be exploring the titular Lost Frontier as you help Kiera on her "quest to become a Sage and save the world from the threat of darkness." Emphasis is being placed on "sky-high adventure" as you take "flight in one of five different aircrafts" and "blast airborne enemies and battle skypirates with your powerful Gunstaff" -- a new transforming weapon. The game is being developed by High Impact Games -- the developers of Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters. We're glad to see Daxter's name back up there in the title. Hopefully it more resembles the colorful fantasy world of Jak and Daxter 1 than the depressing GTA-esque Jak 2.Update: Just in case you're still scared that this is an April Fools joke, here's a quote direct from Sony: "Nope -- not an April Fools." See?%Gallery-49049%
No shirt? Sony launches official apparel program
Tired of searching Etsy in vain for fan-made God of War apparel? You're in luck! Sony today announced partnerships with four different clothing and accessory makers to feature the company's biggest franchises on all sorts of shirts and such. IV Gear has a list (shown above) of at least some of the franchises which will be depicted, including God of War, Ratchet & Clank, Resistance: Fall of Man, Heavenly Sword and Little Big Planet. Apparel makers Fortune Fashions, Bioworld and MJC will also put the games' logos and character on everything from hoodies to handbags."PlayStation is an extremely strong and well-known brand" Shelly Gayner, Director of Licensing, SCEA, said in a press release "We feel that this is a great opportunity for us to satiate our core fans and extend and capitalize on PlayStation name recognition by creating a new line of apparel in connection with the PlayStation brands and our top franchise titles." Memo to Sony: If you really want to satiate the fanboy audience, you'll put Sofia from Battle Arena Toshinden on a body pillow. We're just saying ...
Ex-Naughty Dog staffers start Big Red Button Entertainment
It's been said that the ultimate user interface would be "a little box with a single red button; when pushed it would give you exactly what you need exactly when you need it." We'd like to think that this was the inspiration that led two ex-Naughty Dog staffers to create game studio Big Red Button Entertainment. Or maybe their inspiration was a little less high-minded. We don't know.Anyway, the new studio has vowed to become the "United Artists of games" (much like EA) by creating "original character based intellectual properties for cross platform and cross media development." OK, so that doesn't really mean anything, but with titles like Crash Bandicoot, Jak & Daxter and Uncharted: Drake's Fortune to the creators' credit, we're still excited about the possibilities. Hey, maybe they should design some games for the Buzz controller. Y'know ... because it has a big red button ...? No? Not funny? FINE! WHO ASKED YOU?!
PSP's Daxter sells 2 million copies in 2 years
Developer Ready at Dawn, currently preparing God of War: Chains of Olympus for March 4 release, announced its freshman effort Daxter has sold over two million copies worldwide. Sure, two million sold for a game which released in 2006 isn't an insane sprint in terms of sales, but it's a marathon victory. The game certainly benefited from being bundled with new PSPs last year, but the developer says Daxter saw its best sales in nearly two years during December '07.Ready at Dawn notes that it can only look forward to GoW: Chains of Olympus doing better than its first project. Considering our experiences with Kratos' handheld adventure so far, there's not too much Ready at Dawn needs to worry about.[Via PSP Fanboy]
Naughty Dog interested in using Uncharted engine for new Jak & Daxter
Discounting the excellent PSP-exclusive Daxter, it's been a while since we've seen a new iteration of Naughty Dog's action platformer. With work finished on Uncharted, Naughty Dog's Evan Wells had a few things to say to ThreeSpeech. The engine used to create the beautiful vistas of Uncharted will certainly be used as the foundation for their next game. "We will most definitely continue to build on the Uncharted code base with all of our future titles for the PlayStation3. We have a lot of very sophisticated systems that are general purpose and could be used for a wide variety of genres. It's very exciting to think what we can do with this tech now that it's in place and we can focus on accomplishing something even more ambitious."Of course, what could the team be working on next? "Jak and Daxter is a definite possibility some time in the future. There is a lot of interest around the office in going back to that franchise and seeing what we could do with it using the Uncharted engine."Granted, we'd be more than ecstatic for the announcement of either a new Jak or Uncharted game. Leave it to Naughty Dog to create characters that we just can't get enough of.
