Jak 3

Like its predecessor, the gameplay of Jak 3 is a blend of platforming, racing, and gun combat. The player is led through the story as they complete missions, assigned by the various characters in the game. Missions can consist of anything from defeating particular enemies, reaching a specific location, or completing a puzzle. With the exception of timed or otherwise linear missions, the player is free to explore the massive game world as they see fit.

Secrets, made available as the player progresses and collects elusive Precursor orbs, can be purchased and toggled, allowing the player to access "cheats" such as upgraded weapons damage, weapon ammo, world mirroring, or invincibility.

Like its predecessors, Jak 3 takes place on an unnamed planet, in which the inhabitants live in a harsh landscape, contending with various threats, while worshipping an ancient race known as the Precursors. The game's story is set a year after the events of Jak II, and takes place across three major regions: Haven City, a sprawling metropolis which was the central locale in Jak II; the Wasteland, a large desert expanse; and Spargus City, a large settlement bordering the Wasteland and an ocean.

Spargus City and the Wasteland feature much of the bulk of the game's story, and much larger area compared to Haven City, which is not accessible to begin with until the player makes progress in the story. Haven City features a new layout since the last game in which a number of districts have been altered or are no longer accessible, while a few new areas have added in. Players will get the opportunity to move between Haven, Spargus City and the Wasteland to access missions in both regions.

Jak 3 was developed by Naughty Dog for the PlayStation 2. Bob Rafei was the game's art and animation director. Jak 3 was first revealed to be in the works by one of Super Play's writers on January 8, 2004. While browsing the Naughty Dog offices, he saw early work being done with desert environments.

It was first announced by Sony Computer Entertainment on February 24, 2004. On April 19, 2004, information was revealed about the plot and gameplay. The voice-acting was jointly recorded in the Los Angeles-based Pop Sound and the New York City-based Howard Schwartz Recording. It was released in North America on November 9, 2004, and in Europe on November 26, 2004.

Jak 3 received "generally positive reviews", according to review aggregator Metacritic. GameSpot gave it a score of 8.6/10, "Jak 3 is a game with exceptional production values and some of the nicest visuals on the PlayStation 2" and went on to praise the "Solid platforming action with even more weapons and abilities, tons of varied gameplay types, engrossing and well-told storyline, the trademark humor and plenty of unlockable secrets." Other praises have been given to the game for being reasonably easier in difficulty compared to its predecessor—which received common criticism for its insufficient number of checkpoints.

IGN wrote: "If you're looking for art and technical achievement, Jak has it…Jak is it. Characters animate so smoothly it actually makes playing other games painful. Painful, I say! 6/10.