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Platform: Xbox Genre: Action/Shooter Publisher: LucasArts Developer: Raven/Vicarious Visions ESRB: T (Teen) Released: Q4 2003
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Jedi Knight: Jedi AcademyScore: 7.9 / 10 |
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Pros: - Proves again that Jedi kick butt - Good control - Online play - A continuation of the Jedi Knight timeline - Make your own Jedi
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Cons: - Kyle Katarn is relegated to cameo status - Being a Jedi makes things quite easy
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Related Links: Review: Jedi Knight - Outcast (XB) Review: Max Payne 2 - The Fall of Max Payne (XB) Review: Star Wars - Knights of the Old Republic (XB)
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"Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy has a very solid online component with a fair single-player experience..."
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On your way to Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy to learn the ways of the Force, your transport is shot down and ready answers as to why (and who) are in short supply. You just know something rotten is afoot, but what? Eventually, it falls to you to save the galaxy from a nefarious threat – like it usually does.
The “You” in this case is a padawan learner of your making. As you start a new game you have to create a character. It’s not the same as outfitting a character in an RPG (like say, Knights of the Old Republic) – creating a new character is simple: choose a species, head, torso, legs, and color. And because a Jedi is incomplete without a lightsaber, you also get to choose your hilt and saber color. That’s where the customization ends – at least until you start building up your Force powers during the course of the game.
Unlike Outcast, the previous Jedi Knight game on Xbox, you start with Jedi powers. Although Jedi Academy (JA) has a first-person shooter heritage, I spent only a handful of minutes looking down the barrel of a blaster. There are times when you have to use one of the many guns included in JA, but for the majority of the time you’ll be in third person mode with your lightsaber at the ready. You’ll also quickly discover why Jedi earned the reputation of being such bad-asses… defenders of peace and justice throughout the galaxy, whatever. In short, Jedi are nearly unstoppable. In the early going you might resort to gunplay – most of the familiar weapons return – because your powers aren’t quite up to speed. But after the first four missions, you’ll blow through the rest of the game with a combination of Force powers and your lightsaber. That’s not to say that it’s a cakewalk, it just seems a little routine. (Although fighting a Rancor is still cool.) Still there are a few additions to keep things lively, like double-bladed lightsabers and two-handed lightsabers. Each comes with their own set of fancy, acrobatic attacks to make full use of. You’ll also have to deal with lightsaber locking, too, which is not a side effect of Viagra as some have suggested. This happens more in the online realm though. (More about the online aspects later.) Thankfully, Vicarious Visions did a good job making the control comfortable so actually performing all those flips and slashes doesn’t pose a problem, particularly if you’ve had experience with Jedi Outcast. JA is a good-looking game. It may not be the most beautiful game ever, but it moves at a good clip and the lightsaber duels look very cool, especially when you’re on a roll. I do have a beef with environmental interaction, which reared its head in the opening level. At one point you can chop down a tree – but only that tree! (And do it carefully because it can fall on you.) As I progressed through the game I realized how limited the interaction is. In The Empire Strikes Back, as Vader fights Luke, he flings various objects and wall fixtures at the flailing Luke. Now, that would have been cool! But that’s more of a personal bias – most probably won’t even think about it.
After the single-player campaign has been won, complete with (cameo) help from Luke Skywalker, Kyle Katarn, and Chewbacca you can move to the online world where many hours will be spent. The classic modes are included: Free For All (Deathmatch), Duel, Team Free For All, and Capture the Flag. JA also throws a couple more modes into the mix: Siege and Power Duel. Siege presents defending and attacking teams. The attacking team has a set of objectives to complete in a time limit and the defending team… they defend. This mode sports a class mode very similar to the many different iterations of Team Fortress Classic on PC: Heavy Weapons, Scout, Tech, etc. The balance is good and works really well as a multiplayer game if you’ve got team players involved. Power Duel – no, not Jedi Power Battles – really tests your skills with the lightsaber. This is a two-on-one deathmatch that really pushes you and should be the true test of your Jedi ability. A few of the multiplayer maps could have used work (i.e. making them a little smaller) but for the most part they are of good size. Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy has a very solid online component with a fair single-player experience, which makes it a great buy for online gamers and Star Wars fans. Even though you’ll rip through the story, Jedi Academy still has enough fun to label it “Recommended”. - Omni (December 20, 2003)
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