Sony has done an excellent job in taking classic PlayStation 2 titles and re-mastering them for the PlayStation 3.  We’ve already been treated to a handful of gems like Ico, Sly Cooper and God of War – all franchises that made the PS2 a consistent best seller for years but neither of those licenses had the ‘woulda shoulda’ vibe to it like the Jak and Daxter games.  Naughty Dog came out of the gate with the first game called Jak and Daxter The Precusor Legacy – it had a silent hero full of platforming prowess in Jak, a witty wise-cracking side-kick in Daxter and a world full of non-playable characters straight out of a Saturday morning cartoon!

The first Jak and Daxter game was silly and fun – completely colorful and lush in its environment.  Jak II (the sequel) took things darker – adding ‘Dark Eco’ and villains filled with greed and treachery.  Jak II added ships and technology and other stuff that just seemed to get in the way of what we loved from the original game.  Thankfully, the developers Naughty Dog, heard our complaints and made the third game, Jak 3, more user friendly and fun then the second – however never regaining the momentum it had in the first game.  Jak 3 became more about guns and weapons and not so much about good old-fashion platforming fun and therefore lost most of its steam along the way.  A few games on Sony’s portable systems managed to keep the flames burning but by this time Ratchet & Clank hailed as the king of platforming on any Sony device.

With all that said – the Jak and Daxter HD Collection for the PS3 is a valuable asset to your collection.  You get two great games and one pretty decent game as part of the trilogy.  On the upside all three games tie into the same story and won’t take long to play through them and add a good amount of Trophies to your collection.  On the downside – there’s so many fantastic ‘next gen’ games out there to play – will hardcore gamers want to revisit the past?  We think ‘The Precursor Legacy’ is worth the price of admission alone – however it should be noted that Sony has made these games available through their online store individually…… so many options – it’s a good time to be a gamer, indeed.

The Jak and Daxter HD Collection is available now on the PlayStation 3 will all three games on one single disc ($39.99) or via the PlayStation store ($14.99 each) – we’ve provided gameplay from each of the titles with running commentary to help you decide if that Dark Eco is worth a trip down memory lane or not.

Related Videos:
Jak and Daxter [Commentary 01] The Precursor Legacy PS3 HD
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pG5ni-tDRPQ

Jak and Daxter [Commentary 02] Jak II PS3 HD Collection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SepZHjs1cO4

Jak and Daxter [Commentary 03] Jak 3 PS3 HD Collection
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ADiJDr2ITQ

Jak and Daxter Official HD Collection Trailer PS3
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtHwt7shGPk