Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles

"Should be called "Jedi Jumping Battles"!"

I'm an avid Star Wars fan, so I was excited when I picked up Jedi Powers battles. In retrospect, I dont regret my decision, but I personally think that the Star Wars flight sims(like Rogue Squadron) were far superior games.

Controls 8/10
The controls were pretty good although they took alot of time to master. The ''lock-on'' button is a nice feature but only when you're facing one droid, mercenary, etc. The laser-block feature was a life-saver on countless occasions. Just like in the movie, you can take out multiple targets just by correctly timing your ''laser-block''.

Graphics 7/10
I'm giving alot of credit to the playstation. I played JPB on a playstation2. For a 32-bit(I think) system game, I was pretty impressed. Although the game looked too dark on alot of stages.

Gameplay 5/10
This score was being kind. The ''5'' represents the gameplay of the Jedi more than the game itself. Like EVERYBODY, I found this game very difficult. It reminded me of every Mega Man game I've ever played. The problem is that they gave you a severely handicapped Jedi for a very tuff game. After the first level, most enemies(droids, Tuskans, etc.) take at least three hits to kill. . . with a light-saber. This puts you at a HUGE disadvantage thoughout the game, especially when you're surrounded and are forced to run around and hope they'll shoot each other. The droids and mercenaries can block your light-saber and actually throw combos and the occasional ''spin-kick''! The fact that you have to recharge your force with power-ups is ridiculous. In future titles like this, they should take a page from Jedi Starfighter and have your force recharge itself over time. The camera angles always seemed to work against you as well. The camera would zoom out or in at completely bad times, making jumping infuriating. Concerning jumping, it's all you do through most levels. You'll lose more lives from jumping than fighting Darth Maul himself. Trust me. And I did lose a number of lives through game ''glitches'', like falling ''through'' a wall to my death.

Story 10/10
Only because it's Star Wars.

Difficulty 7/10
I played this game solo and got the challenge of all challenges. You should definitely play with a friend. I only gave it a seven because the difficulty is not balanced. Every boss up until Darth Maul himself went down fairly easily. But getting to those bosses was tuff to say the least. Pretty much like a Mega Man game.

Replayability 7/10
The difficulty of the game and the limitations of all the Jedi will wear out this game's welcome fast. The secrets are the saving grace. This difficulty and game limitations took alot of the joy out of actually finishing the game.

Overall 7/10
A decent game with some definite conceptual and technical flaws. Definitely rent this game first and always play with a friend. Play alone at your own risk.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/04/02, Updated 04/04/02