As a sequel to one of my all-time favorite games... Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, I was really looking forward to Jedi Academy. However, this game was basically, in my opinion, just an attempt to capitalize on the Jedi Knight name. Don't get me wrong, it's a fun game with lots of improvements. But the single-player (and multiplayer, for that matter) replay value is completely missing. The game took roughly 11 hours for me to finish. ELEVEN HOURS... FOR FIFTY DOLLARS!! That ridiculous. They (Lucasarts) tried to pawn this off by saying that they "...wanted to make a game that would not be left unfinished...". Yeah, right. Absolutely no excuse for this. As for the multiplayer, you can do almost NO special tricks that can be done in the single player mode without using some of your Force reserves. For instance, with a lightsaber staff in single player, you can crouch+attack+walk forward... which will create a really cool (and really effective) twirling of the staff. And it's just a skill (which makes sense... you are, after all, a Jedi Knight!!). But in multiplayer, you have to spend Force reserves to pull this off. Again, that's just one example. There are many more. Now granted, even if I'd known of the down-falls of the game before purchasing it... I would have still bought it. I'm just a little miffed that Lucasarts didn't spend a little more time making the game longer (value is king now-a-days!). On the bright side, some of the moves and animations for the main character are just unbelievable. Really good job there. Now it's time to sit-n-wait for Knights of the Old Republic!! :-)
Other Helpful Reviews for Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
I liked this game alot. I found that the similiarites between JA and JK were everywhere. I like the engine, and the textures and shading are simply awe-inspiring. If you have never purchased a star-wars game, and this is... Read Full Review
Other than the new story and customization options, Academy features a few tweaks to the old Outcast engine. You can now ride certain animals and vehicles like a tauntaun or a speeder bike, but these never quite control ... Read Full Review
