After perfecting how to stream in a world full of platforms, smooth animation and intricate moving parts in the original Jak & Daxter, Naughty Dog upended their own rule book and decided to go open-world. They note in their 30th Anniversary compendium that they'd had their heads down the entire time until this point, but when GTA III came out, they - quite rightly - "Looked up." As such, Jak II took the titular mute hero, gave him a gruff voice and a laser-blaster, then sent him off on a revenge mission to kill the evil Baron Praxis. It's not the story that'll keep you immersed in Jak's world though, it's the absolutely perfect mix of gameplay styles. You'll go from cruising around the streets in a hovercar to completing some Crash-like platforming sections, shooting up a bunch of bad guys, meeting new characters and then hopping on your hoverboard to kickflip your way back home. GTA might have invented the open-world genre, but Jak II expanded on all its potential in a pure gameplay sense - alongside making it fit perfectly into the overall Jak & Daxter mould.
