Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

"A great sequel to the Jedi Knight Series"

Overview: Jedi Academy takes over where Kyle Katarn left off in Jedi Knight 2, your character is Jaden Korr, a Jedi in training apprenticed to Kyle Katarn. You can customize your character to be male or female and there are a variety of species to choose from and a multitude of lightsaber combinations. You start out doing missions for the Jedi trying to stop the Cult of Ragnos which is a group of dark Jedi attempting to siphon enough Force energy to resurrect the Sith lord Marka Ragnos. Later in the game you may choose to either stay on the path of the light and help the Jedi, or turn to the darkside and take matters into your own hands.

Gameplay 9 out of 10:

The controls may be a bit difficult to those new to the Jedi Knight series but are fairly easy to master. The game is played in first person view unless you are wielding a lightsaber in which case the game will go into a third-person viewpoint. Lightsaber combat is very satisfying and makes up for everything Jedi Knight 2 lacked. The other weapons are pretty much the same assortment from the last game, but you spend most time wielding a lightsaber anyway. Also upgraded from the last game the ability to have dual and double bladed sabers. Force powers are also very similar to the last game, but still come in handy.

Graphics/Sound 7.5 out of 10:

This is really the only area the game falls short, the graphics are nothing special, but not necessarily bad. What disapointed me however was that even if you made your character and alien he/she still spoke like a human speaking English, and we know from the Knights of the Old Republic games that it is not that difficult to put alien languages and subtitles in a game. Other voices were done fairly well, although I really didnt like the voice they used for Luke.

Multiplayer 9 out of 10:

The multiplayer is very well done. You can choose to play against other people via 2 controllers or Xbox Live, or you can play against bots with varying skill depending on how much of a challenge you want. You can again customize your character with different force powers, skins, and lightsaber(s)There are a few different multiplayer modes such as duel, power duel, capture the flag, free for all, and team free for all. The only downside of bots is that you cannot pick what character skin the bots will be but it's not really a big deal. Xbox live offers some other modes of play as well.

Replay Value 9 out of 10:

Good replay value due to the fact that you can choose light or dark and there is a large amount of character options. It would still be enjoyable even the second or third time around.

The bottom line:

This is a great game for most gamers and a must have for Star Wars fans, despite a couple downfalls it is definately worth renting.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/19/05