Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier

Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier has an interesting mix of platforms, action, flight levels and customization. It's not the best High Impact's game but it's still very suitable for fans of the series.

It's not the new Jak game most fans were waiting for, but as a surrogate portable platformer, it will do in a pinch. But you better like flying. And eco.

Jak and Daxter are finally back, but the quality of the gameplay in The Lost Frontier isn’t quite up there with the games on the PlayStation 2. The game tries to hide this by swapping different styles of gameplay very often, but this only ensures that the platforming isn’t getting the attention it deserves. However, the presentation is of high quality and it lifts this game above the average.

Jak & Daxter are back on another great adventure. An adventure that should have stuck with the fighting and platforming that defines Jak & Daxter, instead of all the unnecessary extra gameplay elements. Not the great comeback we had hoped it to be.

It is a good game for the fans and is fun while it lasts, just not as much as it could.

You often die for reasons beyond your control. [Issue#91, p.126]

Classic “retro” playability comes with new PSP adventures of Jak and Daxter. We’ve seen them in better fig but still it is a good choice for your handheld. [Issue#187]

Some of the gameplay feels a bit archaic, and there's some unneeded filler here and there, but those looking for a quality portable platforming action title should be satisfied with Jak & Daxter's latest adventure.

This Playstation Portable game is more a throwback to the original games with a few new twists and turns, only not as solid.

While the new flying sections are fine and the characters and cutscenes are good, the game is beset with targeting and camera angle problems, which simply make it feel old. The problems detract greatly from what might have been an engaging addition to Daxter and Jak's adventures.

With the two crucial pillars of an action-adventure game’s quality being story and gameplay, some games in this category make up for their shortcomings in one department by excelling in the other - The Lost Frontier isn’t anything of such sort, as a shortage of interesting characters stumbles over an average gameplay design that’s difficult for the player to even interact with.

The first portable game in the Jak & Daxter-series is a well done game with a lot of different elements. For the younger player this could be a must-buy, but older gamers may find it a bit too easy.

Fans of the series will no doubt relish the opportunity to spend some more time with the duo, and even those not so enamoured with them will still find something to enjoy – that is if they are able to put up with its shortcomings.

The biggest drawback of Jak and Daxter: The Lost Frontier is not so much its boring, monotonous design as the overall lack of ideas. High Impact Games made a game “with cute little animals” instead of an epic adventure. It’s certainly playable, but it won’t make your heart skip a beat.

J&D feels too safe, too 2001, and I couldn’t help but feel that my time would be better spent elsewhere.

Stick with bigger bro. [Jan 2010, p.114]

It looks nice but plays a shockingly average platform game. [Issue#187, p.78]

While Insomniac have embraced their PS2 series, retaining what made those games so enjoyable while bulding upon them twofold, Jak and Daxter have been left to suffer on the PSP. With so many great PSP games this Christmas, it’s hard to recommend this.

Sadly, due to the lack of a compelling narrative, the frustratingly boring gameplay, and the poor camera, Lost Frontier becomes a forgettable experience almost immediately after playing it.

I don't think it's awful -- I just think I experienced the entirety of what fun the game has to offer in just a couple of hours, and then repeated this until the credits rolled.

A not very dynamic comeback for Sony's other platforming duo in this repetitive and flawed adventure.