Every so often, you'll find a game with one aspect that leaves the rest of the game begind. Jak and Daxter, the series by Naughty Dog, introduced a Grand Theft Auto-like world in their second Jak and Daxter title, simply named Jak 2. The game mixed the free-roaming vehicular exploration with the racing circuits familiar from the first J&D title. In the third title, creatively dubbed Jak 3, vehicular exploration took on a whole new role in the game. Rather than just exploring the inside of the city, Jak 3 required you to use vehicles to traverse a massive desert. Unlike Jak 2, in Jak 3 vehicles came with onboard weapon systems which proved to be useful when navigating the treacherous desert.

Jak X: Combat Racing is an extension of the vehicle system from Jak 3. While players can expect to return to the Jak and Daxter world one more time with the single player mode, the real beauty of Jak X is the online play. The game shown at E3 demonstrated four game modes. The modes consisted of circuit, artifact hunt, deathmatch, and a ?boost? race.

Many functions of the game are common to the circuit, artifact hunt, and deathmatch modes of the game. Yellow boxes unlock weapons and Green boxes restored a damaged vehicle to full health. Blue Capsules fill up the boost gauge, similar to previous Jak and Daxter titles. However the player can also fill the boost gauge by power sliding through corners or catching massive air time off of a jump.

Each vehicle also has distinct characteristics in several different areas. Some of the areas are handling, acceleration, weight, ease to powerslide, and jump. Some cars are very easy to get turned sideways into a slide while others require to already be using the boost before entering the slide. For example, one vehicle is the the Mongoose. The Mongoose is probably a poor choice for the beginner player for several reasons. While the Mongoose has excellent handling and good acceleration, it is not the fastest car of the bunch, nor the toughest, and the power slide requires using the boost to get the slide going. However, skilled players behind the wheel of the Mongoose will find its light weight is useful in maps without a race track, and it's excellent handling can wear down the distance to a faster car in a short amount of time.

The circuit race is instantly familiar and accessible to all players. Simply pick an avatar out of the many characters from the Jak and Daxter universe, pick a car, and then see who gets to the finish line first. The circuit race receives a nice jolt from the vehicular slaughter as even good players can find themselves at the mercy of the homing rockets. Cars with high top speeds or acceleration are best suited to the circuit race.

The artifact hunt is lifted almost exactly from Jak 3. Artifacts spawn at random points and the players race to see who can get to the artifact first. While weapons can make a difference in the fight, the player who makes the best use of the boost is more likely to come away the victor. Cars with good handling and acceleration are wise choices for artifact hunts.

Deathmatch mode should be familiar to any and all players of Unreal. Hop into a car and hold down the fire button till the other player dies. Jak X doesn't really add anything hasn't been done to the Deathmatch, but the mode will no doubt be one of the most popular online modes. Cars with heavy armor are smart choices for the new player, while experienced players will probably choose acceleration or maneuverability.

The boost race is the most unique mode shown. The boost race took place on a circuit race map and the point is not to kill the other player or get the most laps, but use the boost function. Scattered along the course are floating artifacts. Using the boost when passing these artifacts causes the artifacts to lock onto the engine of the car. While the artifact is attached to the back of the car the player has unlimited boost. As the player ignites the boost the artifact is charged up. Upon reaching 100% charge, the artifacts shoot away from the vehicle and then act as a homing missile. The catch is that the boosted artifacts only home in on other players who are ALSO using the boost function. So the race becomes a careful coordination of grabbing the artifact, then laying on and off the boost as required to keep from being shot down by somebody in the rear view mirror.

Jak X is a fully online enabled title for the Playstation2, although a single player mode is available. Those playing on the E3 floor got to test their skills up against Naughty Dog and SCEA reps, both on the floor, and over the internet from reps at Sony's LA development house. Players also got to test their skills against each other in a daily competition for Naughty Dog gear. (and for the record, both T-shirts do fit.) For those not wishing to play on the Internet, single player with bots was enabled as well, although the bots appeared to be stuck in godlike mode.

Jak X came across as a title that focuses on just having a good time and being accessible even to new players. Gamenikki will follow this title, so keep looking for the full review of this title.