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Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier (PSP)

common sense media says

Cool sci-fi weapons & steampunk levels, but just OK overall.

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What parents need to know

Parents need to know that playing Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier can be a frustrating experience because it doesn't feel truly finished. Aiming weapons is often annoying. The lack of depth perception leads you to die a lot. While the violence isn't a major issue as enemies die with a flash of light (and with no blood), the game design is. Within this confusing story are some mild cussing and sexual references of the double-entendre type.

Educational value: Not applicable.
Positive messages: Because the story here is oddly and sometimes poorly presented, it's sometimes hard to see that Jak and Daxter work together for the greater good and help to save the world. Even when Jak becomes dark, you know that down the line by the game's end, the hero will prevail.
Positive role models: While the characters are cranky, mocking, and sometimes evil, they do get through the worst of times as a team that uses humor when situations seem hopeless.
Ease of play: There are problems with this game that keep you from seeing a true depth of field. Also, you might have trouble aiming your weapon via the analog stick (often troubling with PSP games). Finally, there are camera issues as well that hinder a fully enjoyable experience.
Violence: Violence is presented with splashes of light, but no blood. There is a variety of weapons, from lasers to sci-fi shotguns, that do different kinds of damage. However, no blood is ever seen. When Jak dies (and the player returns to the last checkpoint), he often lets out a mournful moan.
Sex: You'll hear some references to sex, of the wink-wink, nudge-nudge variety. One female character "entertains" a male character, for instance.
Language: You'll hear words of the 'damn' variety, but no worse. There is also a lot crude humor including butt jokes and the like, but nothing too salacious. It's mainly dialogue including phrases like "exit through the rear."
Consumerism: Not applicable.
Drinking, drugs, & smoking: Not applicable.
Our ratings and reviews are informed by child development guidelines. Learn more.

More on Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier

What to talk about

Talk to your kids
  • Families can talk about the relationship between Jak and Daxter. Which character do you like more, the heroic Jak or the wisecracking Daxter?
  • Do you think the story should have been made clearer? Or do you think it is fine the way it is?
  • There are many weapons from which to choose in the game. Which do you like best and why?
  • Did you find it frustrating that you died a lot in the game?

What's the story?

What's the story?
THE LOST FRONTIER, the fourth installment of the Jak & Daxter action platformer series, reintroduces you to Jak, a tough, young boy adventurer and Daxter, his wily ottsel (half otter, half weasel) sidekick. As the game proceeds, they find that Eco, the energy that does everything from growing things to giving the characters strength, is in extremely short supply. By traveling to strange locales on the ground (like lava-filled caves) and in the air (where you participate in dogfights with sky pirates), the pair work together to remedy the dire situation. They even travel to other planets in their quest to find Eco. At one point, Jak takes Dark Eco which turns him evil.

Is it any good?

Is it any good?
 

Although it's somewhat repetitive, the best portion of the game happens in the air during dogfights in planes. There, you don't deal with the same confounding issues you deal with on the ground in this platformer. You can unlock as many as five planes and customize them with weaponry as well.

This could have been a worthy addition to the Jak & Daxter series. Unfortunately, the game doesn’t feel finished. The camera sometimes doesn’t work, yielding a skewed vision of this world, and sadly prohibiting visual clarity in game play. And the necessary feel for 3-D in this semi-realistic world isn’t there. When you jump from area to area, there’s no feel of depth. So, for instance, you fall, die with a gasp, and have to start again. Plus, the Dark Daxter levels suffer from inane dialog which is supposed to be humorous but is not.  Dark Daxter isn't evil; he's just boring. That’s too bad because there’s steampunk-like flight on crazy airborne vehicles, the thrilling change to an evil, fanged Jak after he takes Dark Eco, and a variety of sci-fi weapons to explore. If they had spent more time on the game, this frontier wouldn’t have been so lost.

Game themes & details

Game Details
Available on: PSP
Not available online
Genre: Action/Adventure
Developer: Sony Computer Entertainment
Released on: November 4, 2009
Price: 29.99
ESRB Rating: E10+ for Comic Mischief, Fantasy Violence, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes
Screenshots
This review was written by Harold Goldberg
 
 

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ON: Content is appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child, some content may not be right for some kids
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