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PALGN has posted an interview conducted with Naughty Dog's co-president, Evan Wells, regarding Uncharted: Drake's Fortune for the PlayStation 3. It covers the added difficulties the company faced in developing the title (as well as switching from PlayStation 2 to PlayStation 3 hardware), why ND decided to leave out any multiplayer options, the game's AI and use of the Sixaxis controller as well as a slew of other details.

Toward the end of the interview Wells also comments on the company's loss of the Crash Bandicoot franchise (apparently seeing other developers work on CB is "a little bit like watching your daughter do porn" - and yes that's a direct quote) and the possibility of crafting another Jak and Daxter title. Hit the jump for an excerpt or go straight to the interview at the link.

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This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Brian Mohr.

Spin-off games from popular franchises are pervasive in the gaming market, but they are a risky venture as they tend to either be hit or miss. Nintendo demonstrated the success of such an idea by taking the popular platforming hero, Mario, to the race track in Mario Kart. Naughty Dog is trying to do the same with their popular franchise Jak & Daxter with the new racing title Jak X Combat Racing.

The game itself is strictly a racing title in the Jak & Daxter world, but it does follow a modestly interesting storyline as our friends and other familiar characters including Keira, Ashelin, Samos and Torn come to the reading of Krew’s will, a recently deceased gang leader from Jak II. Here the hologram of the deceased offers a toast to all of our friends and after they drink, they find out that Krew laced the wine with a slow-acting poison. You and the rest of your friends must win the Kras City Grand Championship to get the antidote.

 

Graphically, the game is very impressive particularly when you or enemies are blown to pieces. Cars break apart in different ways every time across the track and wheels fly everywhere, just as you’d expect. It’s quite reminiscent of Burnout 3. The background graphics and tracks are also well done as you’ll drive through waterfalls and over jumps amongst other things; all of these elements look very good. The missiles and weapons are done well too and the vehicles are finely detailed. Throughout the race you’ll notice that your dune buggy does bounce appropriately in situations and even Daxter jumps around on the car.

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This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content. It was written by Jarrett Conaway.

The Precursor Legacy may be over but that doesn’t mean Naughty Dog is done with the Jak & Daxter series. The newest addition to the franchise, Jak X: Combat Racing takes our heroes to Kras City where an unfortunate turn of events forces them to enter a ride or die racing tournament.

Jak X combines the strongest elements from games like Twisted Metal, Destruction Derby and Crash Team Racing. There’s an adventure mode with a fully involved story line, complete with forty five minutes of cut scenes using in game animations. Adventure mode has over one-hundred events that can be played both in single player and online. Tracks come in traditional linear style and open arenas, many of which will be from recognizable locations from the series. There are four types of eco based power-ups that players gain by driving over. Blue is turbo. Red is offensive including missiles, machine guns, honing electrical attacks, etc. Yellow ecos are defensive such as oil slicks. Green is health. In addition to adventure mode, there are multiplayer deathmatches and special events modes like Capture the Flag.

There are over a dozen drivers from the Jak & Daxter universe including some new faces. Vehicles come in an assortment of colorful names like bobcat, tiger, mongoose, and wombat. They have a range of sizes and each car is fully customizable. Players can modify the sides, hood, trunk, rims, exhaust, and more. The paint job can be changed to a variety of swatches or you can use the RGB option to get exactly that tint of cotton candy pink you always dreamed of. But be forewarned, your vehicle is also full destructible.

Jak X also features interconnectivity with the PSP’s “Daxter”, a  new solo 3D platformer for the trash talking sidekick. There will be two levels of unlockables. The first is an immediate reward of new racers from the Daxter game. The second comes when you beat Daxter. There will also be special features unlocked within the Daxter game.

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