PixlBit

Yeah... I just recently found this game at a local Gamestop (after years of searching for a good deal) and I was disappointed. It's so slowwwwwwwww. And you can't understate that install/save file creation time. I mean, good god, did that take a long time.

Honestly, I started it and was so bored after about an hour of "gameplay" that I never went back. I was really looking forward to it since it was announced, so needless to say, it was a huge bummer.

Welcome back, man! It's like you never left.

Oh, bummer, sounds like it must be a bug as I didn't have any problems there. The part I got stuck on was more of an informational issue. Something I had to do that the game didn't explicitly detail. Also happened much later in the game that there.

Which part? Haven't really gotten stuck on anything outside of one small part. Wondering if it's the same.

To give you some insight - the review copies for the game went out on Friday, meaning that the media only had a few days to play the game through and to write up their review. As a result, I think they all took the critical path through the game and didn't expend much time enjoying the ambiance and all the quests.

I'm about 15 hours in and there's still no end in sight. I've completed all of the side quests thus far and I just surpassed the section with the underpants gnomes. It's been an absolute joy thus far, and aside from some minor hiccups with the frame rate after a new area loads, it's been a perfect South Park experience.

I feel like the series hopped on the "sandbox" bandwagon that GTA 3 had started and created something of a clone using the characters from the first game. Missions were often on completely opposite sides of that map, which made doing the simplest things aggravating.

The vehicle controls were poor, the AI was bad, and generally speaking, I didn't find the tasks to be fun. Furthermore, they gave the characters this new edgy baditude (particularly Jak) that made them intolerable to me. Instead of iterating on the concepts in the first game, they basically threw everything out of the window (except the name of the series) and started from scratch. Had they just improved what they dished up the first time around, which is more what they went for in 3, they would've had something more timeless on their hands.

Anyway, this is just my opinion. They aren't even that company any more anyway. I doubt we'll see another Jak game from them directly, because I think they're intent on blurring the lines between movies and games, which they can't really do with their older franchises. I've enjoyed Uncharted for what it is, but I don't know if it'll hold up for me for a fifth game. Things have already worn a bit thin with their current formula, so I'm not sure I'll be onboard for Uncharted 4 either.

Jak and Daxter, the original, was a competent and largely enjoyable platformer. On the short end and glitchy, but I had fun with it. Jak II is utter garbage. I mean, that game is just awful. I forced myself through it for the HD Collection review, but it was pratically torture. Jak III is alright. It's not great, but it's not bad either. It's just kind of there for me. PSP titles weren't done by Naughty Dog, but neither were particularly good.

I think I can say with confidence that Jak & Daxter (the original) is the only title outside of the Uncharted games that I've truly enjoyed from Naughty Dog.

It's nothing against them, I'm just not a huge fan of their work outside of Uncharted. The Jak and Crash series are passable, though they've got some real duds, and I really didn't like The Last of Us at all.

Despite its criticisms, I still think the Uncharted series is great and I love it for the same reason I love Indiana Jones. If Amy Hennig is the reason Uncharted is what it is, I'm not sure I'll be back for anything Naughty Dog is dishing up.

Happy Birthday, sir! I got you a (picture of a) present

Naughty Dog has good games that aren't Uncharted? /trollface