Jak II

 Review

Common Sense Media says

Beautiful but dark futuristic fantasy world.
greenON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
yellowPAUSE: Know your child; some content
may not be right for some kids.
redOFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
not for kidsNOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age.

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Quality
 
Sometimes media can be age appropriate but a real waste of time. Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

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Parents say

Kids say

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that though there is nothing explicit in this game (no blood and guts, etc.), the dark mood marks this for mature players. The music is somber, the hero is damaged, and he can draw darkness out of enemies to use as a weapon.

  • Adolescent stuff, like name-calling and toilet humor sprinkled throughout.
  • No blood, but plenty of shooting (threats include impaling, electrocution and burning in lava). Dark atmosphere permeates the game.
  • Voluptuous vixens throughout, but nothing explicit.

What's it about?

In this sequel, players wander through a beautifully drawn -- but dark -- futuristic fortress city, including what's outside the walls and what's underground. Though your original motivations have more to do with revenge against the city's scheming dictator, eventually you get swept up with the resistance movement.

Your missions include restoring water to a neglected part of the city, or patrolling the forest for stubborn mutants in league with the dictator. JAK II incorporates a wide range of gameplay, borrowing from some of the most popular games in the market. Standard jumping- and shooting-based missions are interspersed with opportunities to race and even grind on a hoverboard, for example.


Is it any good?

 

The dark atmosphere is lightened by comical characters who appear during interludes, such as a parrot translator who takes humorous liberties with his interpretations, and Daxter is back and ever-present as your sassy sidekick.

The game is sprawling with 60-plus missions to complete, and completing them can be a time-consuming chore. Some missions must be executed with absolute perfection or repeated (with escalating frustration each time). All in all, this is a demanding game, but players will delight in exploring the massive fantasy world created here.


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What families can talk about

Families can talk about Hak's ability to use enemies' darkness as a weapon: What happens when we are forced to combat a lot of negative forces? Is it logical that we would internalize some of this negativity? This may lead to a fruitful discussion about ways to deal with outside influences.


This review was written by Kate Pavao
Adult
April 9, 2008
 
10 or 11+
Very fun, VERY HARD. The girls in the games arent wearing the cleanest clothes, but nothing like Britney Spears. Jake does go to a bar to get an assignment but no drinking. When they go to the bar the bartender tells Daxter to be quiet and he looks at her breasts.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Fun, but COME ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This game is not violent at all for teens and is appropriate for ages 8 and up. I mean CSM rated it "pause for 13+"! Come, on!

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Jak II is easily one of the best games on the Playstation 2 (at least in my opinion). It's colorful, graphically stunning, long, challenging, engaging, and fun. The story continues from The Precursor Legacy with Jak and Co. warped 200 years (I think) into the future, and having to deal with the tyrannical leader of Haven City. Jak has become embodied with the "evil magic" of the world, Dark Eco, and can utilize these powers against the bad guys. The story is definitely more mature than before, and also more engaging, with plenty of good twists to keep things interesting. The game plays out like GTA, where you wonder a large city (sometimes a little too large) and get missions from different characters. The game will last you quite a bit longer than most other games today, typically at 15 to 18 hours, and it's challenging. Very challenging. I would recommend only teens and veteran gamers for that reason alone. There are a few moral debunks, such as language (even though ESRB says otherwise, it's actually a little worse than in Jak 3) and a few immodestly dressed women, not to mention the (blood-free) violence, but mature pre-teens and teens should be fine.

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Teen, 17 years old
February 1, 2009
 
My favourite PS2 Game Ever!!
I agree with the other dude. This Game has Amazing graphics and is Probably one of the best PS2 games out there. The story line is amazing, the 'missions' are crazy fun, and its really entertaining. I must admit, there are some freaking hard missions. Let me remind you, this game will be just as good for a guy as for a girl. I am a girl I thought it was bad a**. Not the old shoot shoot bang bang junk like Medal of Honor and Bad Company and other games like that. Its way better than the first game 'Jak and Daxter'. You have to play it. This game is totally age apropriate except for the guns which aren't really a bad issue. Killer Game!

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Teen, 17 years old
April 9, 2008
 
a must play game
this game is a kick a** game if i say so myself so what if you hit people this is an excellent game

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Teen, 14 years old
April 9, 2008
 
the best jak and daxter so far!
i think this game is great for 11+

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Kid, 12 years old
September 3, 2009
 
guns. ships. dark eco=fun!!!
This game is a very awesome game that makes you love the jak games.

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Adult
April 9, 2008
 
Fun
This game is very fun, but it is also hard. It is fun to steal cars and drive over the bad guys!

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Teen, 15 years old
November 21, 2011
 
This is a great game for tweens+
I thought this game was awesome! Jak has a temper, but the game has good messages overall. It is a third person shooter, and you can go around randomly taking everyone out. However, this isn't the goal of the game, and it doesn't really go along with Jak's character. I beat this game, then started a new one because I loved it so much!

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This review was written by Kate Pavao
Platforms:PlayStation 2
Available online?Not available online
Genre:Role Playing
Developer:Naughty Dog
Release date:November 5, 2003
Price:$39.99
ESRB rating:T

This review was written by Kate Pavao

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About our rating system
ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age.
PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids.
OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age.
Learning ratings
BEST: Really engaging, great learning approach.
GOOD: Pretty engaging, good learning approach.
FAIR: Somewhat engaging, OK learning approach.
NOT FOR LEARNING: Not recommended for learning.

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