25 PlayStation Games You Must Play Before You're 25
9. Jak II: Renegade
What's your favourite Jak & Daxter game?
I'm going with this middle-child second entry, simply as I think the addition of guns, hoverboards and a GTA-style open-world was exactly what the franchise needed, despite its cutesy original already being an outstanding achievement.
Weirdly, you can see the open-world tendencies starting to emerge already in that first game, with its day/night cycle and scattered mission structure putting NPCs all around the starting island, but it was GTA III's influence that really injected Jak 2 with a renewed sense of purpose all-round.
Enjoyable platforming segments, tactile shooting, a huge array of transport options (including the option to Tony Hawk your way around the city's railings and aqueducts) and with the Naughty Dog seal of approval over the top - for the studio's pre-Uncharted output, it's one of the very best.