![]() Perhaps the best example of an intelligent camera to date is in Mario 64. ![]() While this tactic works and is quite useful it tends to make you realize you are playing a game. The most popular solution to camera problems is to simply make the offending object transparent. The view bounced around and had intermittent static much like an episode of cops, or even worse, the Blair Witch Project. One of my favorite examples is the “cameraman camera” in The Devil Inside where you could actually play the game from the view of a man running after you with a TV shoulder cam. Granted, cameras have been getting better in the past few years and we have seen some truly original uses of cameras. Naughty Dog has solved all these problems by actually making the camera a “character” in the game. It either caused you to fall into a pit, or get hit by an unseen monster, or get stuck on a wall. Anyone who has ever played a 3D adventure game probably has their own personal horror stories about how the camera ruined some part of their gaming experience. While Jak and Daxter may be gearing up to be the hottest PS2 seller of the Christmas season there is some underlying technology being used in this game that will rise above this title and hopefully influence the way all future 3D games are made. Assuming you can imagine such a world, now imagine it with no pop-up or fogging tricks. This allows for a real-time day/night cycle where the game world gradually changes in appearance based on the time of day an effect that must be seen to be believed. The levels in J&D are huge and the game engine is capable of rendering 10 million polygons per second with each polygon retaining distinctive detail information and lighting information based on the time of day. The power of the PS2 has never been so obviously exploited as it has with this game. The character graphics as well as the enormous 3D worlds are colorful and definitely show they are rooted in the Crash series. The characters are highly detailed and amazingly animated. Daxter is Jak’s sidekick, a creature like looks like a cross between a fox and a weasel. So who are Jak and Daxter? Jak is an Elf-like character with distinctive pointed ears and large eyes that look to be heavily influenced by Japanese animation. Offering a unique blend of adventure, exploration, and traditional platform action, this game is going to blend several genres to create a totally new gaming experience. Jak and Daxter is the amazing new creation from Naughty Dog and could become the new reigning king of the PS2 platform genre. If anything, the games actually got better with each reiteration.īack when the PS2 was first announced Naughty Dog jumped right onboard and declared that they would be doing something innovative for the new system and that it wouldn’t be another Crash game, although Crash 5 is due out this October for the PS2. Even more surprising was their subsequent release of several hit sequels that didn’t suck. Naughty Dog became an overnight sensation with their hit release of Crash Bandicoot for the original PlayStation.
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