List of Games You've Beaten 2025

[Signalstar]

Just Finished: Jak II (PS+ Premium)

Wow, I really wish someone had warned me about this game beforehand. What a massive step down from the first game. I had no idea this game was so notoriously difficult. I played the first game and thought it was good, fun, and inventive. This game is such a drastic shift in tone, gameplay, and fun factor. The first game drew inspiration from Super Mario 64 with its open exploration hub game world that allowed you to tackle certain stages in your own order and even skip the ones you don't like. Jak II takes inspiration from GTA III instead. Naughty Dog seemed so insecure with this one. They try to make the game gritty and edgy. This is the worst example of early 2000s edginess that I can think of. Jak speaks in this one, he should have stayed a silent character, they gave the personality of a sneaker that stepped in dog shit. He is not a likable character and has nothing interesting to say. This game's open world design is seriously flawed. It even encourage you steal vehicles like they steal cars in GTA. The most important part of having an open world game is that the open world should be fun to traverse and explore. This game fails on both counts. There is nothing interested in this convoluted city and just getting from point A to point B is a massive miserable chore. The game could have used a wayfinder, fast travel, and and waypoints. The vehicles take damage too easily. You can easily set off alarms just by running into the guards. Who the fuck makes a game that is so focused on shooting but don't allow any way to aim? There is no auto aim or way to free aim. You just point at what you want to shoot at and pray it hits the target. This is influence from Ratchet and Clank, but that game is so much smoother combining platforming with third person shooting. Then there are all the bull shit missions. I found a YouTube video that listed the 10 hardest missions in the game and everyone of them is one that I remembered giving me way too much trouble. You are forced to play through every mission whether you like it or not. The checkpoint placement is the worst I have ever experienced, forcing you to replay tedious sections over and over. There is no way to heal yourself other than depending on infrequent health pickups. So many BS deaths. Did they even playtest this game? It took me 30 hours to beat this game, twice as long as the first game. The biggest shame is that there is obviously a good game buried underneath this. It's flaws are so obvious and easily rectified. The unforgivable sin is that they did nothing to address these issues across numerous re-releases. When you finish a game you should feel happy, a little sad, and a sense of accomplishment. All I felt was relieved I never have to play this stupid game again. I always knew Ratchet was the better PlayStation action platformer, and this game just confirmed it. This is by far the worst game Naughty Dog ever made. 

Score: 5/10

Full Completed 2025 List:

• Pokemon Trading Card Game (GB - NSO)
• Super Mario Land (GB - NSO)
• Resistance: Burning Skies (Vita)
• Remnant: From the Ashes (PS4)
• Ratchet & Clank: Going Commando HD (PS+ Premium)
• Batman: Arkham Origins (PS+ Premium)
• Balatro (PS5) 
• inFamous First Light (PS4)
• Jeanne D'Arc (PS5)
• A Way Out (PS4)
• Devil May Cry 2 HD (PS+ Premium)
• Siren: Blood Curse (PS+ Premium)
• Gears of War: Reloaded (PS5)
• Jak II (PS+ Premium)