Jedi Knight - Jedi Academy Genre: First Person Action First, there was Star Wars: Dark Forces. Then there was Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight. Next, there was Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Eight years after the release of LucasArts' original first-person shooter set in the Star Wars universe, we have, without a doubt the best in the series, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy. To those who are new to the Dark Forces / Jedi Knight series, it was basically about a mercenary turned Jedi named Kyle Katarn. In Dark Forces, Kyle was hired by the Rebel Alliance to steal the plans for the giant space station the Death Star, and later thwarted the Empire's plan for a new and improved Dark Trooper. In Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, we learned that Kyle's father was once a Jedi, and was slain by a Dark Jedi by the name of Jerec (no Darth 'prefix' here). Jerec had uncovered the location of the secretive and powerful Valley of the Jedi, and to stop him, Kyle had to learn to use the Force and in the process, became a Jedi himself. In Jedi Outcast, Kyle's pilot and close friend, Jan, was abducted by another Dark Jedi, but again Kyle managed to save the day and rescue the damsel in distress. The Force Is Strong with This One In this latest instalment, Jedi Outcast, you no longer play the character of Kyle, but instead a new student in the ways of the Force. Jaden (who can be male or female, depending on the gender you choose at the start of the game), is a bright student of the Jedi Academy, and one of the few who are able to construct a lightsaber even before enrolling in the Academy. The game starts with Jaden en route to the Academy, but the transport ship was somehow shot down and crashed landed on a nearby planet. On this planet, Jaden uncovered a sinister plot by another Dark Jedi (don't they ever die out?) to resurrect the long dead Sith master Ragnos, and our young soon to be Jedi plans to stop it. Jedi Academy uses the same modified Quake III engine as Jedi Outcast, and thus, the game plays out just like its predecessor. Some elements have been improved however, for instance, you can customise Jaden's appearance, and best of all, the lightsaber you are going to use! This certainly wins hands down against using the blue coloured lightsaber in Jedi Outcast in the entire game, as you can now use the yellow, purple, and green coloured ones as well. However, there is no red coloured lightsaber to use, even if later you fell in to the dark side. Also, in Jedi Academy, you can now dual wield lightsabers or opt to go with the saber staff, such as the one used by Episode I's Darth Maul, although this privilege only comes in later in the game. For the first half of the game, you are entitled to carry only one lightsaber. Let Your Training Begins There are basically three phases of training, and in each phase, you will have to travel to several different planets in the galaxy to perform a mission. This is another point where the game differs from Jedi Outcast, where the game now allows you to choose your desired location, instead of forcing it on you. Each phase requires you to complete three out of five probable missions, and most of the missions are varied in nature. There are the typical rescue missions, infiltrate missions, and a host of other exciting missions. Although you are required to complete only three missions, the game also allows you to optionally complete the other two missions before moving on to the next phase, and it is very much recommended that you do so to fully enjoy the game. In total, including the main plot missions, there are about 20 missions in the game. Every time you complete a mission, you will earn a force point to invest in your arsenal of force powers. Speaking of which, the way force powers are invested in Jedi Academy have also improvised compared to Jedi Outcast. The force powers that you can use are more or less the same - There are the basic force powers, such as force push and pull, the light side force powers, such as heal and force resistance, and the dark side powers, such as force grip (Darth Vader’s favourite force power, no doubt) and force lightning. The same applies to their usage, but it is still fun to use them nonetheless, such as force pushing enemies over a ledge, so there is probably no need to change them anyway. Use the Force, Luke The way your force powers level up, however, have changed. Basic force powers, which include the lightsaber skills, now automatically level up each time you complete a training phase. You only need to invest your force points in either the light side powers or the dark side powers, and there is a maximum of 3 levels you can increase in each force power. Do not worry about investing too much in the dark side if you plan on playing the light side, however, as your choice of force powers have no significant impact on the game's storyline. Although there is a way for you to succumb to the dark side and have a totally different game ending, it has nothing to do with the way you invest your force points. Well, enough about force powers for now, and let us get back to the where we were. Naturally, after you complete each phase of training, you will advance in rank, and will proceed back to the main plot. You cannot choose from main plot missions, however, and you will have to play whatever missions the game throw at you, in a linear form. Once you complete all the main plot missions, you will resume your training, and another series of missions will be available for you to choose. Suffice to say, there is a series of plot missions at the beginning and ending of each training phase. The Dark Side The enemies you will face in Jedi Academy, however, is not much varied from what you had already encountered in Jedi Outcast. There are the usual Remnants of the Empire in the forms of inadequate storm troopers, the occasional bounty hunters, and some alien monsters - The game even has a couple of giant Rancors to boot! In the later stages, you will do battle with the dreaded Dark Jedis, lots and lots of them. To defeat your numerous enemies, aside from using your force powers and your trusty lightsaber, as usual there are the standard weapons array of blaster pistols, rocket launchers, sniper rifles, and thermal detonators. However, since you start the game with your lightsaber, you will rarely need to use all those weapons. After all, the lightsaber is a Jedi's best weapon, and it is without a doubt the highlight of the game. In fact, it is probably the main reason why one would play the game after all. The Jedi’s Most Prized Possession In Jedi Academy, the numbers of lightsaber combos that can be performed have been greatly increased. Basically there are the single lightsaber styles, the dual wield style, and the saber staff style. For each style, there is about an average of ten combos that can be performed. Some combos require the usage of force powers, and these are usually the best. A well timed combo attack can take out several enemies at once, without taking any damage yourself at all. To make things easier, Jedi Academy conveniently records all the combos you can perform in your data pad, together with the steps required to perform them. Your data pad is easily accessible at any point of time in the game, and besides containing information on combo moves, it also contains information regarding your mission objectives, your force powers and your weapons. In other words, you can consider your data pad as the Jedi Academy encyclopaedia. Besides force powers, weapons, and lightsabers, you can also enlist the aid of certain vehicles in the game in the effort to combat your enemy. Usually available when you need to cover a wide distance between your starting position and your goal, these vehicles actually provide support more in the form of a transport. For example there is a mission where you can ride a speeder bike and another where you can ride a Taun-taun (although not really a vehicle, but it acts as one). They are not really much of a help, however, but no doubt you will still ride them just for the fun of it. This & That The graphics in Jedi Academy is basically the same as Jedi Outcast, since they use the same engine after all. As such, they look a bit dated, but very much tolerable. The texture detail does not look as detailed as most of today's games and the environmental objects just do not really look alive. Bushes don't move when you walk into them, trees do not break when you shoot them (unless it's a scripted event), and the like. Also to note are the occasional clipping issues. Lightsabers still leave impressive scar marks on walls, however, and their glow now also enlightens an area instead of being just eye candy. Sound effects also are not much different, but that is not to say that it is bad. The sound effects in Jedi Outcast are already pretty good, so there is not much room to improve on it anyway. The music is taken from the Star Wars main theme, and variations of it. Voice acting is pretty much well done, just like most LucasArts’ games. Conclusion If you like Jedi Outcast, you will definitely like Jedi Academy. There are more of everything, and better, too. If you are a fan of Star Wars, then you may also want to play this game. The temptation of wielding a lightsaber is simply too great to resist. Well, this game allows you to do that, and much more. All in all, it is a pretty good fast paced action game. Rating Gameplay - 4 / 5 stars Graphics - 3 / 5 stars Sound - 3.5 / 5 stars Overall - 4 / 5 stars The Good Lots of different and colourful environments, force powers are implemented nicely and fun to use, and of course... The lightsabers! The Bad Graphics are a bit dated, and most of them are pretty obvious, especially the texture details. The Ugly No ugliness can be derived from this game in any form. It is a game with lots of multi coloured lightsabers after all.
i don't really like jedi knight, i prefer to play whole series, but it's been 8 years!!! i was 6 back then!!! also that and because i can't run full settings on my computer...
Good review. You improved a lot, young padawan The game is pretty good, even tho, as Lung says, the gfx are a bit old compared to the newest games. Also, I had the feeling this one was easier than previous episodes, but its just my opinion.
