Jak X: Combat Racing

 PlayStation 2
User Score
8.0

Generally favorable reviews- based on 125 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 89 out of 125
  2. Mixed: 24 out of 125
  3. Negative: 12 out of 125
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  1. Rayman
    Jan 9, 2013
    9
    Naughty Dog made the same thing, that they made with Crash Bandicoot: the fourth game is a racing game. Jak X isn't as good as CTR, but it is still a fun game. It has the best story of racing games history. I give minus for repetitious and AI. It is stupid, that the other racers always comes to the finish within 15 seconds after you. But for a spin-off it is a good game.
  2. RedRyan18
    May 22, 2014
    7
    Jak X isn't a bad game by any means, it's just not as good as the previous three installments. It's actually often very clever and funny. I just wish the game didn't involve racing or a plot involving poison.
  3. DarkEnergon
    Nov 19, 2011
    10
    In the same way Crash Team Racing (the fourth Crash Bandicoot Game) was a stellar spin-off competitive racer, Jak X (the fourth Jak & Daxter Game) wraps up Naughty Dog's share of J+D with true skill that only they have ever managed (how many spin-offs are ever as good as the original games? Until Naughty Dog came around, none). The racing is fast and intense, the number of vehicles andIn the same way Crash Team Racing (the fourth Crash Bandicoot Game) was a stellar spin-off competitive racer, Jak X (the fourth Jak & Daxter Game) wraps up Naughty Dog's share of J+D with true skill that only they have ever managed (how many spin-offs are ever as good as the original games? Until Naughty Dog came around, none). The racing is fast and intense, the number of vehicles and customisation options rival those of real racing sims and the actual "combat" side of the racing is brilliantly intuitive and very reminiscent of CTR, which is definitely a good thing, the most notable similarity is the upgrading of weapons through collecting dark eco (much like CTR did with Whumpa Fruit). As far as the story goes, its a let down coming straight out of the J+D trilogy, but it suits the subject matter well and brings back all of the characters and locations we know and love from the original titles, as well as much appreciated nods to previous events from said titles. A brilliant game that fans of the originals and newbies alike will love and a smashing send-off for Naughty Dog, we miss you D':… Expand
  4. PeteW
    May 4, 2009
    9
    Naughtydog once again extend their series with a fan-satisfying, explosive racing game. Although with much more competition than CTR had to deal with in the combat racing genre, it manages to equal the service to the series and genuinely fun gameplay that CTR achieved. It may not break any ground, but it sure does entertain.
  5. KendylKlownfish
    Apr 29, 2011
    6
    Poorly mimmicks kart racing games before it, but adds a lot of maturity. Pros: Fantastic graphics; lengthy single-player mode; variety of combat options; online mode. Cons: Awkward controls; lacks originality; was Jak X: Combat Racing really necessary?
  6. PlamenD.
    Oct 17, 2005
    10
    Perfect game!!
  7. DannyG.
    Nov 4, 2005
    10
    This game is the BOMB and anyone else who thinks it sucks think twice!!
  8. RyanM.
    Nov 6, 2005
    8
    Jak X is a good game, with solid racing. The story felt shoved in, clearly, as if the developers were forming the story just to make things considerably more interesting. Compared the the intricacy of the previous entries when dealing with the story this one lacks. But the gameplay is what matters most, and Jak X is wicked fun. the controls are sensitive, and people unfamiliar with theJak X is a good game, with solid racing. The story felt shoved in, clearly, as if the developers were forming the story just to make things considerably more interesting. Compared the the intricacy of the previous entries when dealing with the story this one lacks. But the gameplay is what matters most, and Jak X is wicked fun. the controls are sensitive, and people unfamiliar with the kart racing genre or just starting off with this game, they will have hard time getting the powersliding down, which is nearly ineffective once "mastered." Overall Crash Team Racing, naughty dog's last racing game, was far superior, in production values, controls and gameplay. Jak X is short, sweet, and leaves you admiring the fact that naughty dog went out of the way to offer something new...whether we wanted it or not.… Expand
  9. VincentK.
    May 22, 2006
    8
    Racing plus combat equals a great game.
  10. ImmaGamer
    Mar 25, 2011
    7
    I have to admit, I did play this for a while and I liked it then I did realize it was a cheap spin-off. Its great for real racers, but I liked the platformer Jaks.
  11. RenegadeNorman
    Nov 16, 2011
    6
    This game is really more for either racing fans who loved the racing parts of the Jak series, or people who like filler, because that's all this game really is: useless filler. The races and other racing challenges get extremely annoying at times. I only rated this game a 6 because it had its moments at times.
  12. JimCorbett
    Dec 3, 2011
    0
    I have always told myself that no game deserves a 0. But this game....this game deserves a 0. How can you get to the good aspects of a game when it constantly freezes and corrupts your saved data? Thus causing you to lose everything you have done in it and start anew. Sure the game may be worth a 6 or 7 if this bug never occurred but how can you get to that gameplay if you can't even loadI have always told myself that no game deserves a 0. But this game....this game deserves a 0. How can you get to the good aspects of a game when it constantly freezes and corrupts your saved data? Thus causing you to lose everything you have done in it and start anew. Sure the game may be worth a 6 or 7 if this bug never occurred but how can you get to that gameplay if you can't even load a **** race? You can't. And this game deserves to be down there with Duke Nukem Forever and the other pieces of trash developers have pushed out to us.… Expand
  13. DerekH.
    Dec 4, 2005
    3
    I don't know why Naughty Dog has not learned from there other bogus cart racing game, but they released this "game", another embarrassment, i just hope that Jak doesn't fall the way of Crash.
  14. SlyEnemy
    Aug 20, 2008
    3
    This is the most frustrating game I've ever played in my life. It's not that it's an entirely bad game, I can see where the fun is, it's just smothered with idiotic design flaws, cheating AI and infuriatingly long tracks/elastic band racing/finish-line wipe-outs. It boils my blood! Thank God GamesTM actually saw through it.
  15. J.H.
    Oct 29, 2005
    4
    Not very good for a naughty dog cart game pick up crash tag team racing instead.
  16. Ian277
    Feb 9, 2011
    6
    well first of all this is not a jak game!!! it is ok but it just doesn't cut it as jak. after the great jak 3 i was disapointed with this one. it is a fun racer/action but if you like jak this isn't for you. it's for racing game fans. so a 6 is fitting because it was fun but it didn't cut it.
  17. DudeFromIceland
    Feb 5, 2018
    8
    I just repurchased this game on the PSN store for my PS4 and I absolutely love it! Unless you own a Switch and can play Mario Kart 8, there really is no kart racer for PS4 players to enjoy that's actually quite good (that I know of). This game certainly fills that void but I wish there was an online component. Such a shame that wasn't included for the PS4 release.

    The racing is fun. the    I just repurchased this game on the PSN store for my PS4 and I absolutely love it! Unless you own a Switch and can play Mario Kart 8, there really is no kart racer for PS4 players to enjoy that's actually quite good (that I know of). This game certainly fills that void but I wish there was an online component. Such a shame that wasn't included for the PS4 release.

    The racing is fun. the tracks are all varied and different but I wish there were a few more power ups to pick up but that's just a small gripe of mine. I've not had any problems with the PS4 port, just some frame drop issues when there is a lot of chaos but it's only happened like twice in the 6 - 8 hours I've played so far.    … Expand
  18. MoneyMaker101
    Feb 14, 2015
    10
    One of the best games I have ever played!It's incredibly fun,lots of cool tracks,guns...Characters are really funny and the plot is good.This is a racing game and I like it a lot!!!
  19. LatinCritic13
    Jul 14, 2020
    6
    Jak X: Combat Racing is not what people expect after buying it. Sadly, it’s only a racing game, not a platformer.
  20. LeoConker
    Jul 3, 2016
    8
    Jak X is a interesting racing game mixed with shooting and also it has dialogue during the race. The negatives of the game are the auto-save bug that corrupts your memory card while the game saves. In order to prevent it you need to be on main menu, then remove the memory card, the game will tell you that the auto save is off. You can now play single player without damaging your card andJak X is a interesting racing game mixed with shooting and also it has dialogue during the race. The negatives of the game are the auto-save bug that corrupts your memory card while the game saves. In order to prevent it you need to be on main menu, then remove the memory card, the game will tell you that the auto save is off. You can now play single player without damaging your card and to save the game you need to be on the main menu check profile. Finally insert memory card and save it then remove it if you want to play again.

    Cons: Auto-Save bug,
    glitches while racing,
    and cars roll over like a dice sometimes.
    Pros: Graphics are solid 60 frames per second,
    story is average because is about being poisoned and racing
    but some characters have their unique personality.
    Racing is fast paced, unpredictable and fun,
    their is also pure combat arenas, collect artifact and more.
    You can unlock arenas, tracks, characters, accessories,
    vehicles, awesome 2-player exhibition mode and it had online play. So overall the game is great if you disable the auto save everytime you play.    … Expand
  21. XxJoseManuelxX
    Sep 3, 2016
    8
    Jak X: Combat Racing is a racing combat game video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment.

    + Good Story For a Racing Game
    + Fun Gameplay
    + Variety Modes
    + Customization
    - Frustrating Sometimes
  22. sebastianali
    Feb 10, 2020
    7
    Naughty Dog intento hacer lo mismo que con su otra franquicia, Crash Bandicoot y en parte esa decisión le salio medio regulon comparándola con CTR. Si bien me gusto bastante el juego con cosas como la personalización de los autos, los gráficos increíbles para la época (de hecho, gráficamente es el mejor de la saga), la velocidad en las carreras y muchas cosas para comprar en la tienda,Naughty Dog intento hacer lo mismo que con su otra franquicia, Crash Bandicoot y en parte esa decisión le salio medio regulon comparándola con CTR. Si bien me gusto bastante el juego con cosas como la personalización de los autos, los gráficos increíbles para la época (de hecho, gráficamente es el mejor de la saga), la velocidad en las carreras y muchas cosas para comprar en la tienda, tiene problemas bastante importantes que evitan mas nota. Al principio del juego no hay mucha estrategia, ya que las carreras se pueden ganar simplemente spameando el boton r1 para tirar todas las armas hacia adelante, y después mejorando los autos no se nota mucha diferencia, de hecho, como este juego tiene rubberbanding resulta peor el mejorarlos. La curva de dificultad a veces se dispara y sumado a los controles que son mucho mas robustos y "realistas" a comparación de CTR, dejan un mal sabor de boca ya que las carreras se convierten en tener suerte. Un ejercicio de repetición que frustra a la larga. Tampoco tiene multijugador a pantalla dividida de a 4 jugadores, cosa que es una vergüenza. Es un juego bastante entretenido, pero que pudo dar mucho mas de si.… Expand
  23. Dante2010
    Jul 2, 2020
    9
    A truly fun game, to really enjoy it one must first play the trilogy to understand the characters to get the most out of the game.
    An outstanding OST as well, really atmosphere fitting, at times it hypes you up at intense situations and challenges, I still listen to the OST to this day.
    If you find someone to play multiplayer, you will not realize it has been 7 hours since you started    A truly fun game, to really enjoy it one must first play the trilogy to understand the characters to get the most out of the game.
    An outstanding OST as well, really atmosphere fitting, at times it hypes you up at intense situations and challenges, I still listen to the OST to this day.
    If you find someone to play multiplayer, you will not realize it has been 7 hours since you started playing.
    I personally was not a big fan of racing or car related games, but this one won me over, it's not your usual racing or your usual cars, lots of action, different strategies and tactics.
    Just wish this game had more secrets and collectibles to offer like CTR.    … Expand
  24. Tromble
    Jun 29, 2021
    5
    Jak X: Combat Racing is okay. It abandons the strengths of the Jak and Daxter franchise and instead focuses on racing an element that has been notoriously weak in previous titles.

    I would not recommend Jak X: Combat Racing
  25. EvilPlayer
    Jul 10, 2022
    9
    I don't like racing, but this game was good. I thought that this is another Jak game with broken things, but I didn't see them. It was some fun. And I can't not to say about music. Music is the best part of the game. It's so powerful and atmosphere. A pair of racing were very hard, but I completed the game despite to have fire in my ass just like in previous Jak games)
  26. The_D4RknesS
    Jul 17, 2023
    0
    The game is amazing but it has a bug that f#cks your memorycard leaving it all corrupted
  27. aaronnmp96
    Jan 31, 2023
    8
    Unexpectedly I liked it a lot, it's a classic racing game like Mario Kart, very enjoyable

Awards & Rankings

70
#70 Best PS2 Game of 2005
50
#50 Most Discussed PS2 Game of 2005

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 46 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 30 out of 46
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 46
  3. Negative: 1 out of 46
  1. PSM Magazine
    70
    It's been too long since we had a great vehicular combat game, and Jak X delivers some rollicking good multiplayer fun. It just lacks the flair needed to make it a must-buy. [Dec 2005, p.101]
  2. GameZone
    85
    The gameplay variety wasn't always necessary but is a welcome change for the genre – a few more changes with the inevitable Jak X sequel and they could form a new sub-genre.
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  3. IGN
    80
    A healthy collection of on and offline modes and a very satisfying story build real value for the title, but the actual play can sometimes feel a bit lifeless and often suffers from spontaneous swings.
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