Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

"The force is with this one"

Introduction-
This is the last in the Jedi knight series and the sequel to Jedi Outcast. You start as a Padawan learner who has built his/her lightsabre which makes a change from other titles where you have to earn your sabre such as Star wars Knights of the old republic.. The game sends you on missions for the new republic, old faces include Chewbacca Kyle Katarn from the other dark forces titles and the Jedi master Luke Skywalker, the missions vary from rescue missions to covert assault missions to familiar locations like Tatooine and Coruscant to new places like Taspir and Vjun.

Gameplay-
The game is a fun game to play as you take part in the fighting unlike KOTOR, their are many force powers light and dark for you to choose, you get a force point after every mission to upgrade your powers. You get to choose your species and look for your character and his sabre colour and hilt style.
The game has many difficulty levels so anyone can play and the controls don't take long to master. Multiplayer is where this game shines though with many maps set across the star wars galaxy and bots who look like old characters and new ones are there to fight. You can create a custom character in multiplayer or use a premade character from the SW universe. Online play certainly helps this game as you can be a sith taking out Jedi over the other side of the world, this adds makes it worth keeping hold of

Story-
This is a standard good guy game where you go around being a Jedi, keeping the peace, defeating greater evil and solving crimes. The plot starts off as missions until a threat is discovered and you are sent on missions to uncover the evildoers. You can choose the light or dark side at one point towards the end of the game and that determines the ending. It is a well thought out plot that is involving and keeps you wanting to play more and complete more levels.

Graphics/Sound-
The graphics are fairly standard for a game of this type but do not show off the full potential of the Xbox however at times they are good. Blaster sounds are there and it wouldn't be a star wars game without the hum of a lightsabre, which look as they do in the latest movies.
The background music is definitely from star wars with the imperial march in there setting a deep and evil mood and lighter sounds to portray a calm and tranquil part of the game.

Play Time/Replayability-
The game on padawan difficulty would take you a few full days of playing to complete but the harder difficulties could take some time.
There is tons of replayability as you can be male or female and many different species as well as the light and dark endings so you could replay the game many times.

Final Recommendation-
This is a good game that blends first person shooting with 3rd person lightsabre action, the storyline is compelling and multiplayer is the best aspect of this game.
I recommend buying this for the multiplayer if you have live, and if you don't the bots are hard on Jedi master difficulty. The single player storyline is good but typical of a sw game. Around this is a good game that is worth buying. The force is definitely with this one.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/05/04, Updated 06/12/04