Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

"A great action FPS made even better by the Star Wars name"

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a great FPS/action game that any Star Wars or FPS fan should consider. Like its predecessors (none of which I've played, by the way), it puts you in the life of a Jedi, and does an excellent job of making you feel like one.

Gameplay: 9/10

The gameplay of Jedi Academy is solid and fun. It would be much like other first-person shooters, save for the fact you're a Jedi. There are plenty of conventional weapons to choose from, like my favorite, the Blaster Rifle, the droid-busting DEMP 2 gun, the long-ranged Disruptor Rifle, or the insanely powerful Concussion Rifle. You can choose to bring two of these weapons along on your missions, along with an explosive; the selection increases as you beat missions. However, your main weapon will probably be your trusty Lightsaber. Elegant and powerful, the Lightsaber can kill virtually anything, at the cost of being close-ranged. (unless you throw it; more on that later) It's also the only way to fight Dark Jedi in the later parts of the game. You can also use it to block and later deflect projectiles, making it a very useful item. Your main character has apparently built his/her own Lightsaber, so at the beginning of the game you get to choose its hilt design and blade color, a very cool feature indeed. As you progress, you can eventually choose a second style for your Lightsaber. Besides the default Medium style, you can choose Fast (perfect for taking out weak enemies while moving) or Strong (easily crushed enemy Jedi's defense with powerful but slow blows). Even later, you can make a bigger change. You can choose to learn the third Lightsaber style, wield a doubled-bladed saber (like Darth Maul in Episode 1) or dual sabers. These choices add variety to the game, and make it even more fun to use your Lightsaber.

The other addition being a Jedi makes to the game is that you can use the Force. The Force is a field of energy residing in all living things, for the uninitiated. As a Jedi, you can use its power with 10 different abilities. In total, there are 8 neutral Force abilities (though 2 of them are automatic), and 4 Light and Dark side ones. You'll probably use the neutral powers the most; they are used for solving puzzles, jumping higher, or throwing your Lightsaber (told you). The Light side powers employ around defense, healing, and trickery; Force Heal is an invaluable tool for staying alive while two other powers defend your from damage). The Dark side powers can be used to zap enemies with lightning (a la Emperor Palpatine in Return of the Jedi), grab and choke enemies (and even throw them off cliffs >=) ), drain enemy's force power, or trade your life force for extra power. The Force Powers help you feel like a real Jedi, and make the game much more fun. There's nothing more satisfying than using Force Grip to throw an enemy Jedi off a cliff!

The learning curve of the game is quite balanced. The game is set up like this: most missions are in 3 tiers of 5. Before attempting each, you choose your weaponry and a Force Power to learn or upgrade. After beating each tier, you do a longer mission before advancing to the next. The first tier missions are short and easy, putting you in simple levels with only weak enemies to fight. As you progress and get new Force Powers and Lightsaber abilities, the missions become longer and more dangerous. There are four difficulty levels to choose from, for those who found their first playthrough too easy. There are a few frustrating parts of the game you'll likely have to try numerous times, but luckily the game can be saved anywhere, and you can keep trying as many times as you need to. If things are really too hard, there are plenty of codes for Jedi Academy to make it easier or more fun.

Control: 10/10

For a game that primarily uses the keyboard, Jedi Academy is surprisingly easy to play. In the default setup, the mouse is used to aim, fire, and switch weapons, while the left side of the keyboard controls your movement and Force Powers. Once you get used to the controls they are quite easy to figure out, and if you don't like them you can always remap them.

Graphics: 10/10

The 3D graphics of Jedi Academy are quite good. The special effects and environments are quite detailed, as are the characters. There isn't much else to say, other than that you won't be disappointed by the graphics.

Sound: 8/10

Jedi Academy's sound is one of its weaker points. The music is mainly composed of various tracks from the movies or other games, but it probably won't get very repetitive anyway. All the dialogue in the game is spoken pretty well, except the small list of taunts enemies can recite, which can get pretty annoying if they go on for long enough. The special effects sounds are the game's best part. The various sounds of blasters and Lightsabers sound just like they did in the movies.

Story: 8/10

The storyline could have been more original, but Star Wars fans will still probably be interested. You play as Jaden, a Jedi student coming to Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy on Yavin. Typically, your ship crash lands, so you have to make your way through the jungle with your new friend Rosh. After you get to the Academy, you and Rosh partner up with the star of the previous Jedi Knight game, Kyle Katarn, as his apprentices. As the game goes on, you must track down the leader of a Sith cult who seeks to destroy the Jedi. Like I said, it could have been more original, but you probably won't care too much.

Replay Value: 8/10

Like almost all games, Jedi Academy loses much of its fun after you beat it for the first time. You may still want to play through it again, on a different difficulty or to try making different choices in the game. It should keep your well-occupied for several weeks.

Rent/Buy: Buy

I don't even know if you can rent computer games, so if you think it's the game for you, you have no choice but to buy Jedi Academy. You won't be disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/28/04