Sony's Jak and Daxter is undoubtedly one of the best games from the early days of the PlayStation 2. The action platformer, while not especially innovative, still filled a very important niche in the console's lineup and was generally a well-designed, fun-to-play game. There was nothing particularly wrong with it, but that didn't stop the developers from completely tearing it apart for the sequel. Not content with simply making another cutesy mascot platformer, the folks at Naughty Dog have taken a number of cues from some of the most influential games of the past few years, namely Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Grand Theft Auto. Their attempt at genre fusion, the tersely titled Jak II, is an entirely different type of action game that is surprisingly better than the sum of its parts.

Eschewing the tropical paradise vibe of the first game, Jak II takes place in a gritty, grimy, almost Bladerunner-esque future. Jak and company have been sucked through a warp portal into the future, and find themselves embroiled in a battle between dictator Baron Praxis and the strange beasts known as the Metalheads for control of Haven City. Our hero has been imprisoned for two years, undergoing a torturous regiment of Dark Eco injections as part of the Baron's plans to counter the Metalhead threat. The game begins with wise-cracking sidekick Daxter rescuing Jak from the Baron's clutches. No longer a lovable mute, Jak is now a battle-hardened badass with a mouth that would embarrass his mother. (Oh, and he's got the requisite gen-X goatee.) Daxter is... well, he's the same old Daxter: loud-mouthed, quick-tempered, and annoying.

The presentation in Jak II is top-notch all the way, with a story that unfolds through impressively-animated real-time cinematics. The voice acting won't win any awards, but it's solid nonetheless (and features the talents of the great Phil LaMarr). Like the first game, the comedy bits in Jak II are a hit-or-miss affair (mostly miss), and provide only a minimum amount of guffaws throughout the game. The storyline and overall feel of the game are much darker than before, which clearly shows how pervasive the influence of Grand Theft Auto and its ilk has been. But even with the new "mature" angle, the story is still very basic and very derivative and probably won't make much of an impact on you. Still, you're probably not playing a platform game for its deep, engrossing storyline, and in all fairness the stuff in Jak II is simply par for the course in this genre.

In light of its new-found dystopian style, the biggest departure in Jak II is its overall game design. The original was noteworthy for providing a huge inter-connected world that avoided the centralized warp-zone hub that characterizes so many platformer games. Building on that open framework, the developers have tightly integrated elements of car-jacking, racing, skateboarding and general mayhem into their previously kid-safe universe. Jak II's Haven City is a sprawling metropolis full of people who can be beaten up and vehicles which can or "jacked" at any time. Causing too much trouble will cause the Baron's Krimson Guards to come after you with a vengeance. Does all this sound familiar? Of course it does. Naughty Dog has shamelessly based Jak II on the GTA paradigm, and in the process has transformed it from a platform game into a fully-fledged adventure.

Jak II uses the Grand Theft Auto branching mission structure, which turns out to be a welcome change that brings a refreshing degree of non-linearity to the genre. Instead of plowing through one objective after the next, you're free to pick and choose from a variety of missions at any time. Visiting the hideouts of various characters (denoted by GTA-style icons on your mini-map) will allow you to watch a cutscene and receive instructions about a particular mission. You'll be performing a variety of actions, from transporting cargo to rescuing allies to all-out assaults on the Baron's strongholds. And should you attempt a mission and fail you're always free to come back to it later. Scattered about the city are kiosks that provide side missions, which usually take the form of an egg hunt or checkpoint race. Doing these is entirely optional, but the precursor orbs they earn you are used to unlock secret options.

You start out in the slums of Haven City, which serves as a centralized hub for your adventure. Of course, calling it a "hub" is very misleading, since the interior of Haven City alone is as large and fully-realized as the whole of most other games. The world of Jak II is BIG, and easily holds its own against the best and brightest virtual worlds (like Liberty City). Further areas of the city are opened up as you clear objectives, though most of the main missions take place outside the city walls. These outlying areas are where Jak II most resembles a traditional platforming game, as they are self-contained worlds where you run, jump, smack baddies and collect power-ups. Aside from the enormous city, your stomping grounds include sewers, swamps, forests fortresses, mining strips and pumping stations, which all told offer you a very diverse set of environments in which to play.

The streets of the city are clogged with people, guards and Zoomer traffic. Each of these airborne vehicles can be jacked and taken for a spin at any time. A variety of models are available, from fast crotch-rockets that explode at the drop of a hat, to lumbering landspeeder-lookalikes that can take quite a beating. You can even steal the patrol cars from Krimson Guards, though this will usually get you killed rather quickly. The vehicles are very useful for getting around the city and are downright essential for a large number of missions. In an obvious nod to Tony Hawk' Pro Skater, Jak can even zip around on a hovering skateboard and perform jumps, flips and grinds. It seems a little weird at first, until you start ripping through the beautifully organic "skateparks" that Naughty Dog has built. The hoverboard even finds some use in a few checkpoint missions that prevent you from going the distance with your zoomer. It ends up being quite the cool little gameplay addition.

As if all that weren't enough, even more play mechanics find their way into Jak II. The first is the addition of guns, which allow Jak to attack multiple foes from a distance. The enemies he'll face are tougher and much more diverse than they were previously, so the firepower certainly comes in handy for dealing with them. Four varieties become available at certain points throughout the adventure, some of which can be fitted with ammunition and rate-of-fire upgrades. They are easy to use and are tightly integrated into the game, dispelling any notion that they are simply a tacked-on afterthought. Thanks to his Dark Eco treatment, Jak can morph into a more powerful beast-like version of himself once his Dark Eco meter is maxed out. While in Dark mode, Jak can attack multiple foes and perform more powerful attacks. The effect is brief though, so it's best saved for tougher situations. Luckily you can refill your meter by collecting the Dark Eco orbs that enemies leave behind.

Naughty Dog has implemented a host of features that really push the genre in new directions, but none is as welcome as the elimination of item collecting. Jak's missions involve racing, transporting personnel, stealing things, fighting bad guys and helping allies, but not once will you be jerked with the old "Collect 90 whiz-bangs" objective. Each of the main missions is carefully tied into the story of the game, while side missions earn you bonus goodies. There are optional items you can collect if you want to, but these simply unlock extra options within the game. Precursor orbs open up secret options (like a character art scrapbook or "Big Head" mode), while Metalhead skull orbs allow you to open up more of Jak's dark powers. Neither of these are required, but they are nice little side-adventures intended to provide a little more play value for thorough players. Either way, it's nice to see Naughty Dog acknowledge that collecting random items is a thing of the past.

All of the new gameplay additions are easy to get the hang of, thanks to the spot-on control that Naughty Dog is known for. Controlling Jak is intuitive and fun, and he always seems to do exactly what you want him to. Whether you're spin-kicking bad guys, driving an ally to safety or grinding a ledge on your hoverboard, Jak's actions are always tight and responsive. Controlling the speedier zoomers is a bit of a challenge at first, especially when trying to complete some of the checkpoint and time-sensitive missions. But with a little practice the vehicle control becomes second nature, even during the high-speed racing missions. The camera, while extremely polished in the first game, is a little less so in Jak II and has a tendency to "snag" on corners and jutting objects. Perhaps this is just a by-product of the increased environmental detail, but you'll still have to manage the camera more than you ever did in Jak and Daxter.

Despite the occasional camera hiccup, Jak II is an amazing piece of software that sports some incredibly beautiful visuals. Haven City and its adjacent areas are expertly-designed and lovingly constructed from a bewildering amount of polygonal material. The world of Jak II is alive with minute detail, such as neon-lit billboards, broken windows, crumbling facades and palm trees that sway in the wind. Like the original, the texturing, lighting and special effects are all very detailed and extremely attractive. The day-night cycle returns in Jak II, and the difference in lighting conditions has a dramatic effect on the tone of the game and how some missions play out (for instance, it's easier to see oncoming traffic in the daytime). The main characters are also extremely detailed, especially during the real-time cutscenes. Despite the enormous amount of scenery, there are absolutely no load screens in the game as Naughty Dog has once again cleverly disguised the games' loading events.

The visual style retains the cartoony look of the first game, but supplements it with a striking industrial world design and a seedier overall feel. This aesthetic is exemplified by the character Torn; he sports the long ears and squat body of the games' semi-human characters, but is "hardened" by his facial tatoos and the shotel he wields. It sounds like an odd combination (I'd best describe it as "edgy-cute"), but Naughty Dog pulls it off relatively well here. Overall this game is a feast for the eyes, and shows just how much power remains in that old PS2 body. The only complaint I can muster concerns the frame rate, which is unfortunately less than steady. Jak and Daxter had its fair share of frame skips, but it happens with much more regularity in the sequel. The engine is admittedly working much harder, but the inconsistent frame rate does knock a few points off an otherwise highly polished title.

Jak II sounds fantastic thanks to competent acting, interactive music and Dolby Pro Logic II support. The afore-mentioned acting is earns a "good-not-great" designation, but there are generally some decent performances to enjoy. Sound effects are very representative of what is intended: dialogue and radio chatter is crisp and clear, while gun blasts and explosions are deep and loud. The music recedes nicely into the background and sports a nice level of interactivity. Certain actions, like jumping on a zoomer or pulling out a gun, will trigger more tracks in the arrangement to layer in, adding subtle audio accompaniment to your actions. And while I would rather see Dolby Digital 5.1 or DTS audio in all of my next-generation video games, the Dolby Pro Logic II encoding in Jak II does offer some nice directional sound and deep bass. If you've got the necessary hardware, make sure to check it out.

Complaints about the game are few, but worth discussing. First off, the game auto-saves, so if you find yourself wanting to quit a mission after it's begun you're out of luck. While most missions are generally well-designed, a few may leave you scratching your head until it's raw and bloody. The difficulty has been ramped up significantly, which isn't necessarily a drawback, but it bears mentioning. Coupled with some touchy controls on the zoomers and loads of traffic, completing some of the timed missions becomes very frustrating. The hoverboard mechanics become very touchy when attempting to grind a ledge, which becomes a major pain when tackling missions that require lots of grinding. And lastly, it's disappointing to see that Jak can still be injured just by touching a guard. With so many forward-thinking design elements, it's disappointing to see this outdated and frustrating mechanic play such a big role in the game. Let's get rid of that next time, Naughty Dog.

Jak II is not only a great game, it's one of the best sequels ever to come along in the gaming world. It takes the basic concepts from Jak and Daxter and runs completely rampant with new ideas, resulting in a hybrid game that is both familiar and fresh at the same time. Jak II is much more an action-adventure title than a standard platformer, presenting players with a fully-realized virtual world chock full of fun and challenging things to do. The influence of Grand Theft Auto is evident in everything from the storyline to the mission mechanics, but Naughty Dog's bold fusion of the action, adventure, racing, shooting and platforming genres has yielded a game unlike most others. It may not be the most original game you'll play this year, but its finely-tuned play mechanics and seriously fun gameplay will certainly provide you with hours of enjoyment.