 | |||
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Jedi Academy Review September 29, 2003 Brett Todd |
|
 |
|
| |
Summary: Brett got some quality time with a quality Star Wars product. Meaning, it had nothing to do with George Lucas' latest efforts. Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy: Too Many Colons is everything that was good about Jedi Outcast, and none of the suck. With a rather open approach to missions, Jedi powers from the word go and famous locations to explore... what more could you ask?
 Overview | Page:: ( 1 / 5 ) |
Lock, stock, and stormtrooper
Ever since the release of the original Dark Forces way back in 1995, gamers have been looking for a title where they could step into Luke Skywalker's funky black togs from opening cinematics to closing credits. They never quite got it, as both of the two follow-ups began as standard shooters. Both Jedi Knight and Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast didn't really get going until the lightsabers went kashoom and Kyle Katarn gained the ability to Force Push stormtroopers off ledges.
[image]
| <% print_image("01"); %> | <% print_image("02"); %> | <% print_image("03"); %> |
That isn't a worry anymore. Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy finally lets players wield a lightsaber from the get-go and take part in every step of Jedi training from neophyte to padawan to knight. Raven Entertainment has provided nothing short of a Jedi training simulation, using the post-Return of the Jedi setting of Luke Skywalker's school on Yavin IV as a backdrop. For the first time, we get to see what it would be like to begin life as a Jedi, complete with training, do-gooder missions scattered across the galaxy, and the usual mysterious evil threatening to bring back the Empire, lock, stock, and stormtrooper.
Jedi in a kilt
Although the storyline is prominent throughout the missions, one of the real pluses of Jedi Academy is a freeform attitude towards telling this tale. You take on the role of Jaden Korr, a training-wheels Jedi with great promise who's somehow been able to craft his own lightsaber without guidance. This protagonist is customizable as well, the gender-neutral name allowing the player to set up Jaden as either male or female. A number of different Star Wars races are also featured as character model options, most notably the Rodians (think Greedo) and the Twi'Leks (one served as Jabba the Hutt's major domo in Return of the Jedi). Even wardrobe is adjustable. You can dress your lead in everything from Han Solo-style togs to a groovy kilt-like number.
[image]
| <% print_image("04"); %> | <% print_image("05"); %> | <% print_image("06"); %> |
This easygoing nature is also reflected in character advancement. As in Jedi Knight, you gain points that can be used towards specific Force skills like Mind Trick, Heal, Lightning, and the Vader favorite, Grip. They are divided into Light and Dark groupings, although you can freely pick and choose which to specialize in. Luke and Kyle Katarn (back here as your mentor) emphasize early on that it's not the power, it's how you use it. They're none too picky about how you use it, either, as you can blitz through missions like death incarnate killing civilians and droids without losing a hand or getting whiny like Hayden Christiansen--though you do have to make some choices at the end of the game affecting the conclusion. Saber combat is incredibly smooth, featuring lots of acrobatic moves like running up walls along with the ability to specialize in dueling with two sabers or even the double-bladed weapon popularized by Darth Maul.
SIDEBAR: Is LucasArts taking note of how people get excited about games set during the original trilogy, yet do nothing but yawn through prequel games? Nothing about the current trilogy is capturing the imaginations of gamers, although next-year's Republic Commando might turn some heads.
| Gameplay | Page:: ( 2 / 5 ) |
Ride my Tauntaun
Mission structure is similarly open. While there is an overarching plot about the Sith-like Cult of Ragnos' efforts to gather the Force from famous locales, Raven doesn't drive the player towards the inevitable showdown. Instead, the primary focus is on life as a newbie Jedi. There are core missions that must be completed in order to push forward the story, but there are also plenty of assignments that either aren't related to the mysterious sect, or have only a tenuous connection to it. Your adventures typically don't have to be completed in any specific order, either, so you generally have at least a few from which to choose.
[image]
| <% print_image("07"); %> | <% print_image("08"); %> | <% print_image("09"); %> |
Objectives are nicely varied. You try to rescue freighter passengers from a hostile planet filled with sandworms, spring hostages from a Hutt crimelord's Rancor-equipped prison, recover a droid from a Jawa sandcrawler on Tatooine, track smugglers in Mos Eisley alongside Chewbacca, look into what the Imperial Remnant is doing on Hoth, defuse bombs at a power station on Bakura, and so on. There isn't much of the tiresome find-key nonsense on display in Jedi Outcast, and level design is a lot cleaner even though there are too many locked doors with which to contend. Actions are also diverse. There's a saber battle atop a hijacked tram, a speeder bike race where you can use your lightsaber to take out the competition, a moment where you ride a Tauntaun with the jerky "1980 special effects" movements seen in The Empire Strikes Back, assault an Imperial base with the aid of Wedge Antilles, and so on.
The Let's Go guide to Coruscant
Missions also form sort of a travelogue that takes you to well-known spots from the Star Wars movies and novels. Fans of the franchise who haven't been turned off all things Lucas by the last two movies will take note of lots of hot spots, including the medical chamber in Echo Base where Luke recovered from the wampa attack, the Emperor's stronghold planet of Byss, and even Darth Vader's sanctuary. Overall, the entire game feels very true to the original Star Wars trilogy. In many, many ways, it's a better experience for a diehard Star Wars fan than either The Phantom Menace or Attack of the Clones. (The Joy Luck Club is more Star Wars Episode 1 or 2…-ed.)
[image]
| <% print_image("10"); %> | <% print_image("11"); %> | <% print_image("12"); %> |
Graphics bring these locations to life in acceptable fashion, though the age of the Quake III engine is beginning to become an issue. Raven has also overhauled the engine so that it's capable of greater things than ever before. But while this is generally a good move, the boosted technology has increased the system requirements by a considerable amount. So while the game may look quite a bit better than Jedi Outcast, it demands a lot more horsepower. You need much more than the minimum system requirements to see this one in its full glory. Audio doesn't present any system difficulties, of course, although the voice-acting quality is merely average. Mark Hamill continues to be a no-show, a real oddity considering that Hamill seems to have plenty of time to voice Batman cartoons, and the last game allowed Billy Dee Williams to reprise his role as Lando Calrissian.
SIDEBAR: Star Wars novels are now about as incomprehensible as Star Trek ones, and damn near as numerous. They've come down a long way from the Timothy Zahn trilogy of a decade ago (which still holds up to re-reading, at least for me). (Not that there’s any point in reading anything but Timothy Zahn when it comes to Star Wars -ed.)
| Hard Knocks | Page:: ( 3 / 5 ) |
Dumb stormtroopers
The only possible grievance is the ease of your adventures, at least on the default difficulty setting. Having access to major Force powers like Push, Pull, and Heal from almost the very beginning of the game gives you the ability to tear through the early challenges without even taxing those midi-chlorians. It's a lot of fun to slaughter crowds of stormtroopers and mercenaries and Reborn Jedi like some sort of Skywalker-approved killing machine, although this means that you can finish the game in 12 hours. Things get more difficult in the later stages of the game, and you can always crank up the difficulty if enemies die a little too easy for your liking, though it still has to be said that this is one of the easiest action games to hit the PC in some time.
[image]
| <% print_image("13"); %> | <% print_image("14"); %> | <% print_image("15"); %> |
Even the enemy AI seems to have been dumbed down. Where stormtroopers in Jedi Outcast would backpedal so fast that they seemed to be moonwalking, here they generally stand their ground and blaze away at you until you run up and saber off one of their extremities. Foes do utilize cover pretty well, however, and sometimes know when to run, leading to some Keystone Kops-like moments where you have to chase a baddie around stacks of crates. Still, the opposition seems more lifelike than it did in Jedi Outcast. Getting rid of those slip-sliding-away stormtroopers is most welcome, even if that means they're generally just standing around waiting to be vivisected. Not all enemies are stupid, though. Reborn Jedi are quite cunning and can provide some challenges if you don't take them seriously, and cloaked Imperial soldiers are good for a few surprises. And at least there is a nice variety of bad guys to slice apart, from snowtroopers to various alien mercenaries to one interesting guest villain.
Lights, camera, action
One more potential sore point is the camera angle. Where Dark Forces, Jedi Knight, and Jedi Outcast were all first-person shooters first and foremost, Jedi Academy is really a third-person action-adventure. The camera locks into third-person mode whenever you activate the lightsaber, which proved a considerable annoyance for yours truly early on as I'm one of those weirdoes who stays in first-person even during saber duels. There is an option to click into first-person whenever you have your blade tucked away, but for whatever reason I couldn't get this function to work. The camera did snap into first-person whenever I drew a blaster or explosive, though that was such a rare occurrence that it hardly mattered. In fairness, I've never played a smoother third-person action game. Transitions were seamless for the most part and I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of times that I had my view obscured during a battle.
[image]
| <% print_image("16"); %> | <% print_image("17"); %> | <% print_image("18"); %> |
Multiplayer is cause for a bit of concern as well, as the game seems to be having some server issues with lag at the moment. Raven has, however, really gone all out at providing some new game options. Adding to the already outstanding variety of the four classic modes--Free For All, Team Free For All, Duel, and Capture the Flag--is team-based Siege and the two-on-one Power Duel. Siege is already proving really popular online, with its six classes (although everyone wants to be a Jedi), and Power Duel provides an interesting slant on Duel by forcing two average Jedi to work together to defeat a powerful single Jedi enemy.
SIDEBAR: Anyone remember the old Star Wars: Jedi Arena game released for the Atari 2600 after Return of the Jedi hit theaters? It was nothing more than two colored sticks bashing together, yet just the thought of it gives me a rush of nostalgia.
| Ballistics Report | Page:: ( 4 / 5 ) |
Pros
I find your lack of faith disturbing
We finally get to play a Jedi from first to last in a game, Force choke and all
En garde
Lightsaber combat has never been so satisfyingly realized
Atmospheric action
Missions play out like a travelogue of the Star Wars universe, ranging from well-known movie hotspots like Hoth to lesser-known novel settings like Bakura and Byss
Dueling under siege
Siege and Power Duel multiplayer modes feature both great team-based play and classic lightsaber combat with a two-on-one twist
[image]
| <% print_image("19"); %> | <% print_image("20"); %> | <% print_image("21"); %> |
Cons
Short stories
Many missions are positively tiny, which is doubly bad here because there aren't that many of them, and the first two-thirds of them are rather easy
Third-person panic
Although Jedi Academy is being billed as a first-person shooter, it's more of a third-person action-adventure
[image]
| <% print_image("22"); %> | <% print_image("23"); %> | <% print_image("24"); %> |
SIDEBAR: Jedi Academy got me so into lightsaber dueling that I had to load up my Phantom Menace DVD and check out the closing duel of the fates battle again.
| Final Verdict | Page:: ( 5 / 5 ) |