Jak X: Combat Racing
Jak X: Combat Racing | ||
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Composer(s)
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Series | Jak and Daxter | |
Platform(s) | ||
Release | ||
Genre(s) | Vehicular combat | |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Jak X: Combat Racing (known as simply Jak X in PAL regions) is a 2005
The gameplay differs from previous installments in the series, focusing on
Gameplay
In Combat Racing, the player controls characters from the Jak and Daxter series, all of which race in customizable dune buggy-style vehicles. The two main modes of play in the game are Adventure
Plot
A year after the Dark Maker ship has been destroyed in
During the gang's racing, Keira acts as their primary mechanic, eventually building faster new vehicles to aid Jak in his races. However, her true wish is to race alongside her friends but Samos forbids it due to the dangerous nature of the competition. Sig also appears to assist the crew, whereas Kleiver appears to challenge Jak with a friendly rivalry. Pecker manages to become a co-announcer working with TV personality and star GT Blitz. He also works as an investigative reporter for the shady goings-on in the syndicated racing event.
The main antagonists are members of a rival crime family to Krew's, led by the mysterious and unidentified boss, Mizo. Mizo's top henchmen, Cutter, Edje, and Shiv are Jak's main competition, but due to their failure to defeat Jak, Mizo's #2, Razer, a famous racer, comes back out of retirement. Finally another competitor enters for Mizo, an ex-Krimzon Guard robot known as UR-86. During the continuing competitions, stories of Blitz's father enter the mix as his father was a legendary racer for the Kras City Grand Championship, while Rayn continues to search through her father's video diaries searching for more information on Mizo and any information that may assist the team in defeating him. Animosity grows between Mizo's racers and Rayn and Jak and the gang as Jak continues to win races making Mizo more and more desperate.
As the final race approaches, GT Blitz enters as a mystery racer for Mizo's team. Keira finally jumps into the race as well. Jak completes and wins the Kras City Grand Championship. Blitz angrily storms over to Rayn claiming she cheated before revealing himself to be Mizo. After being subsequently exposed by Pecker, Mizo then steals the antidote and drives off with Jak in pursuit. Jak manages to damage Mizo's car enough that he ends up in a fiery crash. As Jak retrieves the antidote, Mizo mentions his father's "sick" love of racing and how his father's neglect to his family in the name of the sport caused his family to strive to own all of it, to the point that Mizo murdered his father. As Jak walks away, Mizo takes a shot at Jak by noting his habit of "Leaving people to die," referencing when Jak left Krew to die in Jak II and left a deceased Damas behind in Jak 3. Jak responds with "You get used to it," before Mizo's car explodes, killing him.
Jak and the team celebrate with drinks at a bar where Samos acknowledges Keira's good driving indicating that he has accepted that she has grown up. Rayn bids the team farewell, but leaves a figment of Krew's video diary which Daxter activates, presenting a hologram of Krew telling Rayn how to pour the wine to avoid being poisoned and outlining his plan for his family to become the top crime family in the region. This reveals Rayn to be even more rotten and manipulative than her father, and shows that she had been lying to and using the team the whole time. Rayn drives away calling her associates for a crime family meeting, claiming herself as the one in charge. She also tells her associates to spare Jak's team. Regardless, Jak and the team continue to celebrate, and Jak and Keira finally share a kiss at Daxter's encouragement to which he remarks, "Now that's what I call a photo finish!"
Development
Naughty Dog selected Jak X: Combat Racing as their next project whilst three fourths of the way through the development of Jak 3. The company wanted to expand on the vehicle aspects of Jak 3.[3]
Music
The soundtrack for the game was composed primarily by Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle, with assistance from members of various other bands, including The Crystal Method, Limp Bizkit, Tool, The Offspring, Faith No More, Nine Inch Nails and Queens of the Stone Age (who also have a song featured in the game's intro sequence).[4] The cutscene music was solely composed by Larry Hopkins.
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | 76/100[5] |
Publication | Score |
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Eurogamer | 7/10[6] |
GamePro | [7] |
GameSpot | 7.9/10[8] |
GameSpy | [9] |
IGN | 8/10[10] |
Jak X: Combat Racing received "generally favorable reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic.[5] GameSpot gave the game 7.9/10 praising the game's graphics and online multiplayer system while criticizing the game's difficulty in certain modes.[8] Eurogamer rated the title 7/10. They were impressed by the game's sensation of speed, the variety provided by the different modes and the online functionality but thought it suffered from the occasional difficulty spike and "loose, floaty handling" of the vehicles.[6] IGN thought that the game was "a nicely presented, well-rounded combat racer" which benefited from a strong storyline and multiple play modes which made it good value. It was given an 8/10 overall score.[10] It was later added to the Sony's Greatest Hits section.
References
- ^ a b "Hands on: Jak X Helps Plug a Hole in PS4's Library". 6 December 2017.
- ^ a b c "Jak X review: Jak X".
- ^ "GameSpy: Jak X: Combat Racing Dev Diary 2 - Page 1".
- ^ "Billy Howerdel discusses composing Jak X: Combat Racing's Soundtrack". BlabberMouth. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
- ^ a b Reed, Kristan (August 22, 2006). "Jak X: Combat Racing review". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
- ^ "Jak X: Combat Racing Review from GamePro".
- ^ CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
- ^ Williams, Bryn (October 19, 2005). "Jak X: Combat Racing (PS2)". GameSpy. IGN. Retrieved August 1, 2019.
- ^ Ziff Davis Media. Retrieved March 22, 2005.