Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

"Giving us the best of Outcast, minus the story"

The Dark Forces series has been one of the better series set in the Star Wars universe. With each incarnation, the main character Kyle Katarn learns the ways of the Force and at the same time, struggles between the light and dark side of the Force. In March of 2002, Raven released Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. It was the most fully realized Star Wars game ever, with heavy emphasis on Force powers and lightsaber combat. This won it praise from gamers everywhere. Jedi Academy is not a new incarnation, but rather a continuation of what made Outcast so wonderful.

Graphics
The graphics of this game are pretty much what they were in Outcast. I believe the game is using the Quake II engine, and it's really starting to show its age. Even with all textures, filtering and effects on maximum, the game is not going to compare to any of the other FPS's of this year. That said, the graphics are not bad either, and a decent computer should have no trouble with performance even with all the effects turned on.

Sound
One of the best things about Star Wars games is the musical accompaniment. Like Outcast, the game features the music of John Williams' pieces from the original trilogy. It is unfortunate that there is none of the themes from the newer films, because it could've added some variety to the otherwise predictable music. The voice acting in this game is atrocious compared to that of Outcast. Everything is way overdone, and disappointingly stilted.

Control
The control is very good and I have no complaints. It is very customizable which is good, especially for left-handers like myself who like to use the numeric keypad.

Gameplay
Here is where Academy really shines. This time around, the game starts you off with a lightsaber on the very first level, letting you skip some of the tediousness of first person shooter aspect of the game. This game lets you do practically anything with a lightsaber, including, but not limited to, anything. Whether it be flipping over an enemy and striking them while upside down, to running up walls, to throwing your lightsaber, the shear variety of moves is amazing. The game also adds a new element to gameplay by letting the player master either a single, double, or dual lightsaber(s). Each of these saber styles is complete with their own set of techniques, which adds tremendously to the replay value. Also, the Force moves in the game cannot be overlooked, as they are extremely cool and effective. You can achieve mastery of saber throwing, learn to pull weapons right out of enemy hands, choke enemies and throw them off ledges...the sky's the limit! This is truly the reason to own Jedi Academy, because it lets you experience what a Jedi Knight is all about.

Story
I won't go too much into the details of the story, except to say that it is really nothing more than a weak continuation of Outcast, only in an episodic format that allows the player to complete missions in the order of their choosing. I consider this to be the weakest part of Academy, but it can be overlooked if only because of how fun the gameplay is.

With the ability to play online in multiplayer arenas, as well as the countless cheats that this game has to offer, it has succeeded in giving us one of the best elements of Outcast - the lightsaber combat - but at the expense of another great element of Outcast - the story. All in all I'd say this game is worth picking up for the combat mechanics alone.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 12/12/03