Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

"The only thing that makes this game stand out from the last one is the fact that Kyle Katarn doesn't star as the main character."

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (2004/Xbox)

Following in the footsteps of the ever popular Jedi Knights series, Jedi Academy allow you to take on the role of a new student at Luke Skywalker Jedi academy. So from that point on you will fight, force and sometimes think your was through the rest of this game.

Graphics 6/10

In the past, the graphical ability of the Jedi Knight Series has never been one the strongest points for the games, but in this case it's pretty much the same.
In the way of people in the game they do look well created. There is not too much texture to them though, but they do look like who they are meant to look like. Yet their movements are terrible, I've seen Luke Skywalker glide across a room after only taking four steps. And it's also one of those games where you can be pushed backwards and remain in standing position until you die. The scenery is also pretty much bland. It's all very flat and featureless. Really I've seen more texture in a piece of paper.
The only thing that brings this game up is it better than average frame rate and light sabre effects. Though in multi player combat, the fame rate is terrible. Okay it's not too bad with one player against bot's, but as soon as two human players go at it with light sabres, the frame rate is gone.

Sound 7/10

This game sound is really just standard. It's far from perfect, but it functions well and doesn't hinder the game, to much.
Every character in this game has a voice, at least the main characters do; prepare your self to hear the same screams of enemies over and over again when you are in combat. I may have been less critical of the sound of the game, but the fact that Mark Hamill doesn't even do the voice for Luke Skywalker really makes this game feel cheap.
Emotionless character voices aside, there are some up sides to the sound, like the sound of the light sabre duel. There is nothing more satisfying than hearing a light sabre cut through an opponent. Every piece of star wars technology also sounds just right, from hyper drives of a star ship, to the storm troopers blaster rifles.

Gameplay 6/10

Like most star wars games, Gameplay is highly important, more so than other games. This is because in these games if they don't get the controls just right it can make this game incredibly boring and terrible to play. Luckily they haven't done too much of a bad job on this one. Though I think the game would have been vastly improved if the developers had taken a page from the team ninja handbook on third person games. I'm not saying this game is bad, far from it, it's decent, but its easy difficulty is unbelievably. I completed the easy difficult in about 2 days, which is fair enough, but when I knock the game up to very hard and I complete it in the same amount of time, there is something seriously wrong.
On the up side they do try and vary the gameplay slightly as you go through it, not by much though, but its there. They have throw in a speeder bike level, where you basically race across large flat deserts with absolutely no detail what so ever. Though the speeder bike levels are as repetitive as the regular levels, just faster. If this games speeder bike is anything like other star wars speeder bike games then I have to wonder why they sold so well. Another major let down of the game is the poor A.I of the enemies. They have a bad habit of using predictably attack routes and hiding a lot. On one level I've had enemies running away from me, which is like having a big sign on their back saying kill me now. It's really pathetic.
I just realised that all I've done is bad mouth this game and you are probably wondering how it got a 6 out of 10 score. Well it's because of the light sabre combat, it's genuinely good. There are lots of different combinations you can try but in the end it's just button bashing. But this is one of those games where button bashing can look really good.

Story 4/10

We all like a good star wars story. You know the usual, light sabres, cheesy dialogue and ships lasers that never hit anything. You know the usual. Though how one game can have so many annoying characters in it is beyond me. Every single character in this game is one I wish I could just kill. Even your own character is either an all high and mighty Jedi or a irritating, greedy Sith. Now I know that's really what a Jedi and Sith are meant to be like, but it's the fact that this game is meant to give you more control over your character. In reality the only major choice you get to make is between the light and dark at a single point in the game.
Another character coming back is Kyle Katarn, I had hoped after the first two Jedi knight games he would of not of been in this one, unfortunately he shows up as your Jedi master trainer.
As for the story it's self, well like I said it's star wars. Jedi Vs Sith, Good Vs Evil. This games story adds nothing to the gaming experience.

Replay 7/10

Replay is one of the only things that can save this game. The multi player modes may have a terrible frame rate but they can still be enjoyed. You can play capture the flag, but it's best mode is bot matches, but after playing through the overly easy single player mode you can really enjoy a bit of bot combat.
Xbox live is also another good feature of this game, allowing for ten people to compete on line and against the rest of the world, or least the part of it stupid enough to actually own this game.

Overall 6/10

Not even the decent multiplayer can save this game really. Even though there is less of Kyle Katarn in the game. This is the kind of game that you rent for a night with friends and then return in the morning and let the memory of it slip from your mind.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/09/04