Platform: PlayStation Portable (PSP)
Genre: Action Platform
Publisher: SCEA
Developer: Ready at Dawn
ETA: Spring 2006

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Daxter

Jason Rubin may have left and the rest of Naughty Dog may be hard at work on Jak X Combat Racing, but a new team called Ready at Dawn is hard at work on their spinoff Daxter, sure to be one of the first great platformers for the PSP. Taking place sometime between Jak 1 and 2 during the time when Jak is imprisoned leading up to Jak 2 - that is, before the series got all dark and brooding - you take control of that lovable little rodent Daxter, as he begins his first solo adventure as some kind of insect exterminator. Wielding a spray gun, he can use this to blast bugs or fire it downwards to propel him into the air. The platforming gameplay is pretty much the same as the PS2 Jak games, although there's no word on whether it will have the huge variety of mini-games. It's been confirmed that the PSP will link up to Jak X, so playing one game will unlock extra features in the other.

The game runs almost as smoothly as the PS2 games, and looks almost as nice as well. The only real potential problem lies not with the game, but with the PSP itself - its analog nub

makes for some very poor control, and the directional pad can only do so much for 3D games. Regardless, Ready at Dawn has everything in place in transferring one of Sony's greatest properties to the portable format. Daxter is due out in the Spring of 2006.

Kurt Kalata

(May 26, 2005)

Game Features:

- Daxter allows gamers to play from his animal perspective, chronicling his back-story during the two years spent alone in Haven City and answering the

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questions of how he managed to free Jak.

- A special “Animal” mode allows Daxter to climb walls and creep up on enemies. As Daxter is an ottsel and not a human, players will have a unique moveset with agile abilities, as Daxter can crawl on all fours, fit in small places and maneuver vehicles.
- One of the first games to offer Portable PlayStation and PlayStation 2 interoperability, game via USB connection. Gamers can use their Portable PlayStation to unlock drivers, vehicles and graphics for Jak X: Combat Racing or connect to their PS2 to open up secret features in Daxter.
- Daxter’s swatter and bug spray gun offers unique action mechanics across numerous seamless environments. Utilize the spray gun to hover around in the levels and add another dimension to classic platforming gameplay.
- The graphical style stays true to the Jak and Daxter universe, as players will get to explore locations unseen in Jak II and Jak 3™.
- Players can join Daxter inside his most secret dreams where he finally gets to act out his fantasies of becoming the hero he always has pretended to be. When he falls asleep on the job, players can enter his dreams in special bonus levels and see him act out his ego-driven fantasies showing off his unique attack mechanics.