Jak X: Combat Racing

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Jak X: Combat Racing

Developer(s)	Naughty Dog
Publisher(s)	SCEA
Picture format	480i, 480p (SDTV)
Release date(s)	^NA October 18, 2005 ^PAL November 4, 2005
Genre(s)	Vehicular combat
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: T (Teen) PEGI: 12+ OFLC: PG
Platform(s)	PlayStation 2
Media	DVD-ROM
Input	DualShock 2, PlayStation 2 Headset

Jak X: Combat Racing (Known as Jak X in Australia, South Africa and the UK), is a video game developed by Naughty Dog, and was released in October 2005 for the PlayStation 2 (see 2005 in video gaming). It is a spinoff from the Jak and Daxter series.

It is a Combat-Racing game that models itself after the driving mechanics of Jak 3.

1 Story
2 Characters
- 2.1 Recurring characters
- 2.2 New characters
3 Unlockables
- 3.1 Unlockable Characters
- 3.2 Unlockable Vehicles
4 Gameplay
5 Soundtracks
6 Public reaction
7 References
8 External Links

[edit] Story

Taking place one year after Jak 3, Haven City has been steadily rebuilt after the defeat of the Dark Maker menace. Combat Racing became a sport over time in the dangerous Kras City. Jak, Daxter, Ashelin, Keira, Samos and Torn receive an invite to the reading of Krew's (one of the villains of Jak II) last will, as does his daughter, Rayn. After offering a toast, Krew reveals in a recording that everyone present has been poisoned.

Krew gives an ultimatum: the only way to obtain the antidote is for everyone to race for him at the next Kras City Championship. Forced into the race of their lives, Jak and his friends take to the treacherous terrain and dangerous locales of Kras City, against the best and meanest drivers in the world.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

As Jak and friends progress through each race, they find that another crime syndicate led by the mysterious Mizo has it in for Jak. Eventually it is revealed that Krew and Mizo made a deal before the events of Jak 3: both gangs were to make their own racing teams and the loser of the Kras City Championship will submit, making the winner the sole crime family in Jak's world.

Before the final race, Jak and his team learn from Blitz on TV that a mysterious new driver has entered for the Mizo team. When Jak starts the final grand prix, he realizes that this driver is none other than Blitz himself. After Jak beats the race, Blitz storms over to Rayn, yelling that they cheated. Blitz takes off his toupee and reveals himself to be none other than Mizo. He steals the antidote for the poison and drives off, but Jak manages to shoot him down and take it back. Back at the lounge, Rayn thanks her friends for their help, and Samos compliments Keira on her driving. As Rayn walks away, Daxter realizes she left behind Krew's video diary. Jak and the gang find out that Rayn knew about the poison even before the reading of the will, and was following her father's instructions by making sure that she wasn't poisoned so that their family could be the top crime family in Kras City. As Rayn drives away, she tells some people over the phone to spare Jak and his crew. The entire game ends with Keira finally kissing Jak.

[edit] Characters

[edit] Recurring characters

Jak - Tougher than ever, Jak is out to win the championship, and do it his way.

Daxter - Daxter is still as crazy as he ever was, and is none too happy about having to race for his life. Unlock by buying him for 50000 Precursor Orbs in secrets.

Keira - The team mechanic, who harbors all-too-obvious romantic feelings for Jak.

Samos - A sage who advises Jak. He absolutely forbids Keira from racing. Keira's father.

Torn - He isn't too happy about the situation that they're in, and sometimes gets a bit testy.

Ashelin - She gets a crash with Rayn in the beginning, and there always seems to be a little tension between the two.

Krew - Even in death, he is still as malicious as ever, poisoning Jak and the gang in order to get them to race for him.

Pecker - He is now the new co-host of the racing tournament. Eventually unlocked as a playable character.

Sig - He comes to Kras City in order to help his friends win the tournament. Unlocked during first cup.

Kleiver - He's come back in order to prove that he can beat Jak on the track, Dax commenting that that was so last adventure (Jak 3). Unlocked during the second cup.

[edit] New characters

Rayn - Krew's daughter. Rayn appears to be nothing like her father... especially where weight is concerned. Unlocked in the third cup.

Razer - A thick-German-accented member of the Mizo Team. Razer constantly taunts and threatens Jak. Also unlocked in third cup.

G.T. Blitz - The host of the Kras City racing show. Blitz seems to come in at the worst time and with the worst news whenever our heroes don't need it.

UR-86 - A Krimzon death-bot working for Razer that looks deadly and races deadly. Unlocked in the first cup.

Mizo - The mysterious crime lord who is determined to wipe out Jak and his team so that he will be the #1 crime boss in the world.

[edit] Unlockables

[edit] Unlockable Characters

Kaeden: The main antagonist of Daxter, and Kor's right-hand Metal Head. He is one of four unlockable characters obtained by linking the PSP game "Daxter" with Jak X.

Osmo: The owner of the last remaining exterminator service in Haven City, and Ximon's father. He is the one who takes Daxter in after Jak's capture, and provides him with employment. He is one of four unlockable characters obtained by linking the PSP game "Daxter" with Jak X.

Taryn: The exterminator who provides Daxter with his spraygun mods in the PSP game Daxter. She is one of four unlockable characters obtained by linking the PSP game "Daxter" with Jak X.

Ximon: Osmo's son, and an excellent driver. He talks with a typical surfer-dude accent. He is one of four unlockable characters obtained by linking the PSP game "Daxter" with Jak X.

Ratchet: The protagonist of the noted shooter series "Ratchet & Clank", which some consider to be a rival series to Jak & Daxter. Ratchet is obtainable if you have a "Ratchet: Deadlocked" (Ratchet: Gladiator in Europe) saved on your PS2's memory card.

Jak (Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy): The original Jak. Scan your memory card with data from Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy on it to unlock.

Jak (Jak II): Jak from Jak II. Scan your memory card with data from Jak II to unlock.

Jak (Jak 3): The final Jak character. Scan your memory card with data from Jak 3 on it to unlock.

[edit] Unlockable Vehicles

Daxtermobile: A vehicle themed around Daxter. Unlocked by linking the PSP game "Daxter" with Jak X.

[edit] Gameplay

[edit] New features

Multiplayer and Online modes.
2 players on multiplayer, 6 online.
24 racing tracks, 7 combat arenas, 12 event types.
Fully customizable vehicles that also receive progressive damage.
Connects with the Daxter PSP game for unlockable extras in the game.
Additional extras can be unlocked with save files from Ratchet: Deadlocked, Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Legacy, Jak II, and Jak 3.

[edit] Recurring features

Mission based gameplay.

[edit] Autosave Memory Card glitch

Jak X also features a programming glitch which could potentially effect a PS2 Memory Card. Sometimes after a race the Autosave feature will continue to blink for a much longer duration than usual which is the first sign of the glitch. Sometimes the game will no longer load and must be reset while at other times the game will continue to run as normal.

This glitch can potentially corrupt your Jak X save data, causing the game to no longer recognize the data at all. The only solution is to delete the data in the PS2 System Browser and restart the game from scratch. In rare cases this glitch can completely corrupt the memory card, occupying space which cannot be deleted. You also may not be able to load the memory card in the browser, therefore you cannot delete the Jak X memory.

One workaround is to take out the memory card when you see this glitch, and disable the autosave. Then, save Jak X: Combat Racing manually by putting the memory card back in, going to the menu, pressing PROFILE, selecting "save profile", and choose which space to save in. Afterwards, if you continue playing, take the memory card out.

[edit] Soundtracks

Intro Music:

Queens of the Stone Age - You Think I Ain't Worth a Dollar But I Feel Like a Millionaire

Queens of the Stone Age - A Song for the Dead

Most tracks were written by Billy Howerdel of A Perfect Circle, which can be recognized as being the dark ambient and guitar driven tracks in the game^[1]