Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

"Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is the best game in the series! The Force is definitely with it!"

LucasArts has released many Star Wars games in the past, including the quite popular Jedi Knight series, which began with the release of Dark Forces. The latest installment in the series, Jedi Academy, is well worth every penny you pay for it! This game, in my opinion, is better than Jedi Outcast by far, because there is much more NPCs to spawn, much more fun missions to play, etc. But I'll tell you more in the actual review.

Gameplay - 10/10

The gameplay of this game is a masterpiece. It plays just like Jedi Outcast does. Basically, you run around and can move up and down, turn left and right, and you run about the levels, killing any enemies that you encounter. You use weapons from the movie, such as the E11-Blaster Rifle, and the Wookiee Bowcaster. Those weapons are pretty fun to use for sure. You can also use a lightsaber and you even start out with it, rather than having to work your up through several missions like you did in Jedi Outcast to get it. The lightsaber is my favorite part of the gameplay, next to spawning NPCs. The NPC spawning is easily my favorite part of the game, next to the awesome Single Player. You can use cheats on the game and spawn enemies such as Stormtroopers, Reborn, and even Cultists! Also, your lightsaber comes in a wide vareity of colors. For example, you can have all the ones that are included in the movies, which are, namely, blue, green, and red. However, you can also have an orange and a yellow-colored lightsaber! You can also switch styles on your lightsaber between blue (light), yellow (medium), and purple (heavy), just like you could in Jedi Outcast! Also, the multiplayer is quite good as well, and better than the one in Jedi Outcast, in my opinion, but I'll get to that later on in the review.

Graphics - 8/10

The graphics are nothing spectacular, but they are actually quite good. However, there is some minor flaws in the graphics. For example, on all the cutscenes of the game, the characters' mouths don't move in proportion to what they're saying, which makes the graphics a little buggy, which is why I gave this section an 8 out of 10, rather than a 9 out of 10. The graphics in the levels are actually quite impressive, and the character designs are also done quite nicely. The lightsabers don't look quite like the ones in the movie, but they aren't the worst in the world, either. The graphics of the Force Powers are definitely not bad. Again, I've seen better graphics in a game, but I've seen much worse, too. The graphics are actually quite impressive to me, except for the few flaws I mentioned above. Overall, though, I give the graphics an easy 8 out of 10.

Sound/Audio - 9/10

The sound and audio in this game is superb, honestly. The sounds are pretty good, especially when using a lightsaber or a blaster, as the sounds of those two weapons are almost identical to the movie ones. However, some sounds are annoying and not so good, such as when you use the Force Power "Heal" or "Protect". Also, some other sounds in the game don't sound that good, such as when you press a switch to activate an elevator. Overall, though, the sound is nothing stupid, and is pretty good, I think. As far as the music comes, this is why this section gets a 9 out of 10, rather than an 8 or a 7 out of 10. The music is excellent. Period. There is tons of music from the actual movies, which makes for even more exciting gameplay while you play the game. Heck, if it were not for the music in this game, I don't think I'd like it near about as much as I do now. In my opinion, music is what makes a game and this game has extraordinary music. The music, like I said, is from the movies, which always makes Star Wars games good. An overall 9 out of 10, without a doubt. The only reason this section got that low of a score was because of the sometimes annoying sounds the Force Powers and other things make.

Difficulty - 9/10

The difficulty of the game is actually a lot, especially on the Jedi Knight and Jedi Master difficulties. It took me a long time to beat Jedi Master, and the main reason I beat it (Yes, I humbled my pride to say this) was because I had Grip and kept choking the Sith and then hitting them when they were off guard. That right there should give you a clue of how hard the game is on those two difficulties, especially Jedi Master. The difficulty of the game, overall, if you don't cheat like I did, is very much there. For another example, when you fight Alora and Tavion, those two Sith Lords are insanely difficult, especially Alora. You hardly have a chance to attack without being damaged a ton. The difficulty on Jedi Knight and Jedi Master gets you very good at the game, though, and a game that has challenge is always good, in my opinion.

Story - 6/10

In all honesty, the story is the only real flaw of this game. Outcast had a much better story, I'd say. The story is this in a nutshell: You are a man from Coruscant who has done something that the Jedi consider impossible: constructed a lightsaber without any formal Jedi training. That to me is just lame. It is not impossible to create a lightsaber without training from a Jedi Master. I mean, how hard can it be? You just place a crystal in a hilt. Anyway, onto the next part of the story. As Jaden, you are en route to Luke Skywalker's Jedi Academy on Yavin IV to train in the ways of the Jedi and learn how to use the Force. On your way to Yavin IV, you meet Rosh Penin, who will become your rival in the game. The ship you are on, called the Yavin Runner II, gets hit by a scepter from Tavion and crashlands on Yavin IV. Shortly after, you begin your training as a Jedi and are trained by Jedi Master Kyle Katarn, and Jedi Master Luke Skywalker. During your training, you find out that the scepter that shot your ship early in the game is indeed a scepter that is capable of draining the Force from different planets, and can be released to resurrect a dead Sith Lord. This Sith Lord is Marka Ragnos, and Tavion wishes to resurrect him for revenge on the Jedi. You are to stop Ragnos and bring peace to the galaxy. However, both the light side and dark side of the Force will be open to you, so you can choose your path, whether to conquer the galaxy, or to save it.

Multiplayer - 8/10

The multiplayer is not that bad if you can find players that aren't n00bish, and that are pretty good. The multiplayer is exactly like the one on Jedi Outcast, but there are much more characters to choose from, more lightsabers and hilts for the lightsabers. You can also fight against AI Bots, which makes you get some skill by practicing against the ones on Jedi Master. The human opponents are fun to play, too. Overall, not bad. An easy 8 out of 10 if you can find games without n00bs.

Replay Value - 10/10

The replay value of the game is quite good, especially when you spawn NPCs and use cheats. That is by far my favorite part of the game, next to the Single Player of the game. Also, the multiplayer adds a bit to the replay value, but the cheats overall are my favorite part of the game, and in my opinion, is what really adds to the replay value. If you can find a non-n00b game on multiplayer, that's when the game gives even better replay value. I beat Single Player tons of times and I think it is very fun, indeed. The replay value is excellent when you combine all this.

Overall - 10/10

The sound of the game is alright, but it's not the best. The music is excellent, though, as I stated above. The gameplay is also VERY good and excessively fun and excessively addicting. The gameplay is very fun, especially with lightsaber and cheats. The multiplayer is also decent when you can find a non-n00b game, as I mentioned above. The story was alright, but it was not as good as the one in Outcast, in my opinion, and it doesn't add to the game much for me. The story really only gets good in the late parts of the game. Other than that, it's pretty much garbage. The difficulty of the game was pretty hard on Jedi Knight and Jedi Master, but fairly easy on all the others. The game is an overall 10 out of 10, especially when you combine the Single Player and the use of cheats and NPC spawns. LucasArts did an excellent job on this one! Quite possibly, this game could be the best one in the series!

Buy or Rent

Rent the game first on the Xbox, as you can't rent it on the PC. I always suggest renting games before you buy them, but if you wish to buy it, it is a rare game, but eBay should have it. If not, check your local video game store, but note that Wal-Mart almost never has it. Still, I suggest you rent first, unless you liked Outcast.

And that's the end of the review. I hope you enjoyed this review, and I hope it gave who was wanting to try it an opinion on whether or not they should get it.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/19/05