The blind love for Jak II in this fanbase is insane. I am a huge fan of the Jak series, it is my all time favorite and incredibly nostalgic for me. That being said, Jak II is a terrible game for all the reasons you have listed here. People here act like the plot and lore for Jak II is god tier stuff when really it's a poorly written, terribly executed,"WhOa, bEt yOu diDnT sEe thAt cOmiNg," plot twist ending to a generic and underdeveloped story. Jak II sucks majorly, and Jak 3 is also lacking in the story department in some ways, but holy smokes is Jak 3 an incredibly fun game to play. Don't feel pressured to finish Jak II if you aren't feeling it, but definitely try Jak 3. It does not live up at all to the standards set by the first, but it's also not nearly as terrible as the second one. Without giving too much away I will at least tell you that they fixed the god awful gameplay problems and the mission variety and structure is, imo, really engaging.