We know that Naughty Dog can do wonders with the Playstation 2, and in fact Jak is a beautiful, technically impressive game. In the previous game, the graphics engine had to render a vast tropical landscape, enriched by strong visual effects. This time, the engine renders an enormous, gloomy, sci-fi world; Haven city reminds the city of Blade Runner mixed with the decay of the slums of a South American megalopolis. Like the preceding game, Jak II never puts the player in front of loading screens; data is streamed off the disk continuously, and the final result is even more impressive this time around, because the difference in textures, details, and lightning between outdoor and indoor environments is striking. The sensation of realism that the complete absence of loading times can give when you jump into a rebels’ hideout to escape from the red guards of Baron Praxis is strong, and we must just hope that more and more games in the future will be able to do the same. Anyhow, occasionally, tiny loading times can occur, but they are cleverly hidden: for example, when traveling from a vast outdoor area to a vast indoor area, there are often doors that take about two-three seconds to open – but since these are often huge metal doors operated by rotating gears, it all seems perfectly natural. Visual effects abound in every area of the game, and lighting is even more powerful than in the preceding installment – the night and day cycle, while not as romantic as in the hot tropical island of Jak & Daxter, is a sight to behold.

Character models are detailed and much more refined than those seen in the first installment – they look more polished, more solid, and they are built with a higher number of polygons. Animations are perfect, fluid, and particular care was used also for hands, that, looking back at the preceding game, were probably the less convincing element in the expressiveness of the characters. And if both Jak and Daxter models are rich of details, even secondary characters and generic enemies like the red guards look gorgeous.

Jak II is one of those rare games where finding a single flaw in the graphics department is a hard picky task. Anyhow, it must be mentioned that the game suffers from occasional slowdowns and some minor camera issues typical of most 3D games, which can be easily solved moving the camera with the right analog stick.

Just to make the game even more visually impressive, Jak II supports 16:9 TVs and 480p progressive scan mode – perfection is the right word here.

Sound effects support the action brilliantly, and come out crisp and clear, especially if you are lucky enough to have a Dolby Pro Logic II sound system in your house; the game offers an enormous collection of sounds, that go from gunfire and explosions, to more subtle ambient sounds and to the sound of Jak's steps changing according to the surface he's walking on.

Voice acting is good, with a cast of professional actors that make everything sound like a good cartoon. But like it happens in many good cartoons, the tones of some characters, also because of predictable and uninspired dialogues, are not always convincing, and arrive to the point of becoming annoying when it comes to Jak's pathetic, constant "I'm a tough guy who seeks only vengeance" tone. Daxter is the star, in terms of voice acting, with funny and not so funny lines that try to contrast the style of his macabre psychotic friend.

The soundtrack is good, with some beautiful tunes that fit the apocalyptic sci-fi atmosphere of the game well. Many of these tunes are actually a bit too frequent and easily become repetitive, but they never arrive to point of becoming annoying. As you would expect in a game like Jak II, the music changes dynamically according to the on screen action, becoming more hectic during fights and car chases.

With more than 20 hours of varied gameplay, Jak II is a bigger game than Jak & Daxter. The driving and “crime-simulator” sections in Haven City will attract many player and will frustrate others, but the missions, the introduction of weapons, the rich assortment of mini-games, assure a long dose of pure gaming fun. If you like to collect everything – this will let you unlock also a few must-have extras, like the possibility to turn off Jak’s horrendous green pointed beard - and complete all side missions, expect to play with Jak II for more than 30 hours.