PSP Review: Daxter
As a long-time fan of Naughty Dog, I expect only the highest quality and entertainment from games stamped with the infamous red and white paw. The Jak and Daxter series managed to pull at my heartstrings and win me over—from its charming yet ungrounded first installment to its dramatic and challenging sequel, thrilling end of the trilogy, and silly but wild combat racing extra, I find myself returning time and time again to each moment in the Jak and Daxter legacy. So when it came to the orange, lovable ottsel’s solo debut on the PSP, I wanted the fur to fly in glorious, chafing puffs. But Daxter wasn’t developed by Naughty Dog, and although the voices and many of the characters are the same, the end product by Ready at Dawn didn’t exactly captivate me.
What You’ll Like
Behind the Fuzzball
The game fills in the two-year gap between the duo’s rough landing in the future to the sidekick’s heroic but belated rescue of his yellow and green-haired partner Jak, held prisoner and lab rat in Baron Praxis’ palace. Daxter joins an outdated but still kickin’ exterminator service run by Osmo and his radical dude of son, Ximon. The sinister Kaedin means to stamp out the bug-killing threat, but Daxter’s fight against the alleged competition reveals a dark conspiracy that connects with the larger story of Jak II. The PSP game allows you to crawl, whack, and slide your way to heroism … all while tackling those hard-to-reach places. Bug nests. I’m talking about bug nests.
Whip those snakes good, Ind—I mean, Daxter.
Blue Eco … or Red Eco?
Controlling the little orange fuzzball involves more than just cuteness and sassy one-liners. After all, Daxter’s been known to pack the heat before. The game doesn’t give you many weapons, but it does turn a limited offense into a versatile arsenal; each upgrade comes equipped with a multitude of uses alongside Daxter’s kung-fu action. When he’s not frying bugs with fancy gadgets, Daxter’s reenacting famous movies in hilarious and addictive mini-games while he counts sheep.
What You Won’t Like
Rapid Backfire
Once fingers hit buttons, it’s clear there’s something odd about the latest adventure in Jak and Daxter’s new world—and it isn’t the rotten stench of bug guts on a cold morning. Daxter feels like it would better serve as a series of sidequests in a main installment than it would as its own entity. It’s strange that, for a game labeled “Greatest Hits,” most of the actual gameplay would be so often devoid of music.
However, the score and length are the least of the game’s problems. While Daxter kicks off to an impressive start, filling the player with nostalgia for Jak II‘s environments while presenting the story from a fresh but familiar perspective, the game suffers from sloppy plotting. The majority of the game is spent running errands and squashing bugs to help save Osmo’s business, but only the last fourth or so of the game focuses on the real objective: rescuing Jak. The final sections of the game, in which Daxter must infiltrate the Baron’s palace and defeat Kaedin, are jammed with too much story in order to catch up with the events of Jak II, and the gameplay becomes drawn out and packed with repetition in the process.
Jet-packing ottsels? What's next, talking bug lords?
Mission Possibly Ridiculous
The quality of the dialogue slips later in the game, as well. There were actually times when I was cringing, remembering with longing when the Jak and Daxter stories were always well-crafted when dealing with characters and dialogue alike … or at least pleasantly awkward.
Recommendation:
Though a bit on the short side and definitely lacking in the end, Daxter doesn’t wholly disappoint. While not nearly as thrilling or smartly paced as its brethren, the game provides plenty of entertaining sequences and it makes well-rounded use of the otherwise limited weapon upgrades Daxter receives. Not to mention the final boss showdown proves that even itty-bitty ottsels can dish out the pain whoop-ass style. Forget six-feet tall, roguish heroes. I’ll take their devilishly handsome, tail-sporting pals. 6/10
Jak's chatty sidekick finally gets his moment in the sun.
