byActiVision
“The Force is what gives a Jedi his power. It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.”
–Obi Wan Kenobi
Whether or not you’re a follower of crazy old Ben’s mantra, the force certainly has surrounded and penetrated the videogame industry for the past few years. Visit your local retailer and you will see that the shelves (and the bargain bins) are littered with Star Wars titles for every platform. Trouble is, most of them suck. There are, however, a few series that have become a reliable way for fanboys and girls to get their Star Wars fix. If you want to pilot the space craft you see in the films and take the Empire down old school, Rogue Squadron is your game. If you want to step into the role of a Jedi, face the Empire with a blaster and a lightsaber, walk on walls, leap into the air, and wield the force with style, then the Jedi Knight series is exactly what you are looking for.
For the first time in the series, Jedi Academy does not have you playing as Kyle Katarn, who has finally accepted his role as a Jedi Master. Instead you play the game as one of his students. This is a step in the right direction for two reasons. First, it eliminates the biggest complaint fans had with Jedi Outcast, which was that you had to spend some six levels playing the game without your lightsaber or force abilities. While this was necessary for the story that they were trying to tell, it was a real drag to play until you reconnected with the force. This time around you begin the game with your first level force powers, a lightsaber, and the blaster/explosive combo of your choice. Second, it allows for some creativity on your part as you are now able to create your own character. Before you begin the game you have to choose from a gallery of Star Wars rogues. You get to customize the species, sex, and look of your character, choose a hilt for your lightsaber, and the color of the blade. Enter the game as a rugged Rodian male (I always wondered what the hell Greedo was), decked out in neutral tones and a Windu-esque purple blade, or a sexy Twi’lek female in slave gear sporting the traditional blue saber. These are just a couple of possibilities.
The story has Tavion (the evil apprentice in Outcast has become the master in Academy) leading a dark force army in a crusade to siphon the energy of the force where it is the strongest and harvest it for her own sinister uses. Luke Skywalker and Katarn aren’t going to stand idly by, of course. They recruit the best and brightest of the Jedi Academy to help uncover and foil the plans of the dark army. A nice touch is that your character, Jaden, has been recruited because you are the only individual in history to have constructed your own lightsaber without having first been trained as a Jedi. In addition to lending an air of mystery to your origin, this also adds something new to the Star Wars legend, which is much appreciated by a fanboy like me.
The genius of Jedi Academy, however, is that the focus of the story quickly moves away from the minutia of the plot and the conspiracies of evil doers, allowing the character arc of the player to become the most important element of the game. This game is all about the choices you make, and it is a more enjoyable interactive experience because your choices carry weight. This time around, the force powers are divided into core powers, which are available from the start and increase autonomously as the game progresses, and powers that are chosen and increased at the discretion of the player before each new mission. But even if you play every level (again, your choice—you do not have to play all of them), you will not be able to max out all of your powers. Which powers you choose to wield, and how powerful you make them greatly affect how you behave in battle, as well as what kind of Jedi you will become. You will also have to choose at different points in the game which alternate fighting stance you will want to adopt (fast and furious like Yoda in Episode II, or stiff and strong like Vader in the original trilogy), and what kind of lightsaber(s) you use. These are choices you make once and have to live with. You don’t get them all, so choose wisely. Then, of course, there is the ultimate choice that every Jedi has to face: will you take the path of the light side, or will you give yourself over to hate and vengeance"
One more thing before I move on: the story plays out perfectly unbiased toward the gender of your character. I commend the people at Raven for recognizing the importance of the sophisticated, contemporary female gaming audience. This is something to note after many of us here at Gamesfirst! were appalled by the flagrant male bias presented in Tony Hawk’s Underground, despite the fact that you can choose to play as a female character. Shame on you Neversoft. May you suffer daily ritualistic self-flagellation to atone for your oversight.
Mechanically, Jedi Academy on the Xbox performs much like its predecessor, Jedi Outcast. It intertwines first and third-person gameplay, depending on the weapon you are using. When you are using one of the myriad blasters or explosive devices available in the game, it performs like an FPS. Unholster your lightsaber and the game immediately changes to third person. Your character is able to leap, flip, roll, cartwheel, run up or along walls, all while using his or her lightsaber. The Jedi Knight series remains the tour de force of awesome Jedi prowess. Nothing else comes close.
The controls are exactly the same, utilizing the right stick to move, the left to look, the triggers to attack, and so on. There are four hot buttons that can be attached to any weapon of force power easily and efficiently, even in the heat of battle.
In addition to the old standards—Force Pull, Push, Grip, Jump, Speed, Heal, Lighting, Jedi Mind Trick, and Lightsaber Throw—there are several new force powers. Force Sense allows the player to see enemies, friendly characters, items, and mission objectives more clearly, through walls, and the like. Sometimes it is necessary in solving your objectives. Other times it just provides handy clues about your surroundings. Force Drain allows you to siphon force power from your opponent. Force Protection acts as a shield. Force Absorb reduces the damage incurred by an opponent’s force powers. Dark Rage increases your speed and damage potential for a short period of time, but drastically drains your force power and health. Force powers are limited in use by a stamina meter, which replenishes over time. There are three levels of effectiveness of each power. Some powers are all but necessary, such as Force Heal. Others make your life much, much easier. You will learn to love Force Absorb after being pushed, pulled, shocked, and generally thrown around like a rag doll by multiple dark force attackers.
Of course, the most exciting addition to the battles is the new lightsaber sets. If you thought that the battles were exciting in Jedi Outcast, wait until you play Jedi Academy. You begin the game with a single, traditional lightsaber. Once you have mastered that, however, you can choose to use a Darth Maul-style staff, which is cool, or two independent lightsabers, which is very, very cool. Both offer all new attacks, defenses, and escapes. The over the head staff spin and the dual lightsaber hop-and-roll are my favorites. You can take on multiple opponents in all new ways. You can throw one lightsaber at an enemy far away, while simultaneously Force Pulling another enemy over to you and cutting him down with your second lightsaber, then reach over and catch the first blade on its return path. Of course, you can choose to continue the game with a single blade, although I can’t imagine why you would want to. I guess it would be kind of minimalist and Zen-like, and you would certainly earn your bragging rights after defeating multiple opponents who each have multiple blades.
As in the other games, you are required to pilot the occasional vehicle. The AT-ST makes a return appearance. Speeder Bikes and Taun Tauns are also available, from which you can joust with your lightsaber.
The multiplayer mode has been completely revamped. You can play against your friends locally using split screen or system link, with or without bots, or go online with Xbox Live. Multiplayer games include Duel, Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and Siege. Siege is a team objective game in which one team is given a set of tasks while the other team tries to thwart their efforts. Teams are made up of varied character types with different skill sets. Assault class characters are the grunts. Demolitions specialize in explosives. Scouts focus on sniping and espionage (the dark team’s scout set includes Boba Fett, whose jet pack is fully functional). There are, of course, Jedi as well. The objectives in Siege games are not skimpy, either. They are multi-tiered and multi-faceted. One game can last quite a while. The online interface is quick to set up and easy to use. I have encountered several games that suffered from lag, although that is expected from time to time. Most of my experiences have been favorable.
The graphics are far from the best that the Xbox has to offer. Overall the game performs solidly, and there are some absolutely gorgeous moments and nice details. However, when this game gets ugly, it gets really ugly. The textures are limited, things are rendered flatly, the frame rate drops fairly often. And what’s with the N64-style background fog" I thought we had moved on to beautifully rendered vistas and clear environments that seem to go on forever.
The sound is all that we have come to expect from Star Wars as a whole, from the music to the sound of a blaster shot, the hum of a lightsaber to the snorts and growls of a Taun Taun. The voice acting is well done, although I must say I prefer the voice of the female lead over the male. He just seems a little off for the aliens that you can choose from, which falls into the realm of personal vaguery, I know.
My complaints, other than the lackluster graphics, are mostly related to specific points in the game. Other than the AT-ST, the vehicles and mounts in Jedi Academy are handled very poorly. Jousting while riding a Taun Taun is tedious at best, and the speeder bike level is just plain terrible. At a time when speed is most important, the performance slows to a crawl, and your time spent on the bike becomes the navigation of glitches and foibles. And the level goes on forever. Of all the levels in the game, this one shouldn’t be the one that drags on. While I don’t mind the developers constructing a level around an undefeatable Rancor monster, their use of Boba Fett is an insult to my skills as a Jedi. He floats in and out of one level, launching devastating attacks, impervious to blaster, bomb, and lightsaber. He is not invincible; he’s just a guy with a jet pack and some nifty weapons.
One could also argue that the game could strike a better balance between telling the story and developing the player’s character arc. As I said before, the personal freedom given to the player to make choices for his or her character, including what missions to accept and in what order, makes for more dynamic and variable character development. On the other hand, it also makes for a more fragmented storyline. Aside from several key elements, much of the game falls into the really cool but meaningless action category. Jedi Outcast certainly placed more weight on its dramatic elements. I do not know exactly what needs to be done in order to make a more balanced game, but then I don’t have to. I just know that I am excited to see how they handle it in the next game of the series.
Each incarnation of the Jedi Knight series has been a solid progression from its predecessor. Jedi Academy has enabled the player to create their own character and guide him or her through the game as they see fit. It has cleared up nearly all of the foibles of Jedi Outcast. The level design is better, the ridiculous platform elements have been toned down, and you have a lightsaber at your side from the first moment on. The lightsaber battles are even more intricate and exciting this time around. All of the little references, in-jokes, cameos, and fan favorite moments we have come to expect are here. And not only did they take the series online, the multiplayer games are much tighter and more relevant to the type of gameplay offered in this series. This is quite simply one of the most sublime gaming experiences I have had all year. If hokey religions, ancient weapons, and a good blaster at your side are the stuff your dreams are made of, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy will be your game as well.