Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy Jewel Case Description:
Platform: WINDOWS 98/ME/2000/XP Publisher: LUCAS ARTS Packaging: JEWEL CASE Rating: TEEN Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy begins shortly after the conclusion of events in Star Wars: Jedi Outcast. Players create a Jedi apprentice character and join the Jedi Academy on Yavin 4 to learn the ways of the Force under the tutelage of Luke Skywalker and Kyle Katarn.While the young apprentice embarks on various missions to hone their skills and abilities a mysterious group is discovered creating havoc throughout the galaxy. Until order is restored the fate of the Jedi Academy and the future of the Star Wars galaxy itself hangs precariously in the balance. Jedi Academy is a dynamic single and multiplayer action experience featuring an all-new epic story. Explore a multitude of complex and richly detailed Star Wars environments including twice as many unique locales as those in Star Wars: Jedi Outcast players face a variety of powerful and insidious enemies. For the first time in a Jedi Knight series game Star Wars Jedi Academy allows players to create and customize their own characters by choosing various characteristics including species gender clothing and physical attributes such as hair and facial features. In addition players can create a custom lightsaber selecting from hilt and blade color. As apprentices progress in their training different lightsabers will become available such as the double-bladed lightsaber or dual lightsabers. FeaturesInteract with famous classic Star Wars locations and characters while facing the ultimate choice.. fight for good and freedom in the light side or follow the path of power and evil to the dark side. Players can create their own characters by defining various characteristics such as species gender clothing and physical attributes allowing for a more personal experience before entering the academy to learn the powers of the Force. Construct your own lightsaber from
- Amazon Sales Rank: #3307 in Video Games
- Brand: Lucas Arts
- Model: 23272955816
- Released on: 2005-07-11
- ESRB Rating: Teen
- Platforms: Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows XP
- Format: CD-ROM
- Dimensions: .40″ h x 4.00″ w x 4.00″ l, .35 pounds
Features
- First-person Star Wars action/adventure, with a story-based singled-player campaign and a variety of multiplayer combat modes
- Learn the ways of the Force from Master Luke Skywalker
- Customize your character by choosing species, gender, clothing, and physical attributes such as hair and facial features
- Create a custom lightsaber by choosing hilt design, blade color, and style: single, double, or dual sabers
- Unique level selection system allows players to choose their own path through the game
Customer Reviews:
Use the Force… really, put down the blaster and use the Force
I bought this game when it first came out. I thought it was an okay Star Wars FPS, but that some of the bosses were kind of hard to beat. Blasters and thermal detonators were iffy so I just flailed away with the lightsaber while mainly trying to run away. One of the big problems was that a regular mouse, even a wheel mouse did not have enough buttons to smoothly use the Force powers. It was similar to what I thought after seeing Episode IV and V: “What’s the big deal with the Jedi Force powers and those light sabers? They have to be pretty close to use them so what good are they in a large scale fight?”
After watching Episode II I replayed it, but this time with a Logitech mouse with a ton of extra controls on it. Whoa! BIG difference. Now instead of stabbing blindly at F-keys I could control the Force powers and deploy them quickly and accurately. Then it was more like “Whoa, if the Jedi Knights could do *this* no wonder people/aliens thought twice before messing with them!”.
At this point the game became interesting, especially after watching Episode III. Pay attention to what the enemy Force users and Kyle can do, because they will give you hints at what you can do. Note all the combo lightsaber attacks and their counters. At that point some enemies that were problems are no longer particularly significant.
Because you can select different Force powers as your character develops, it changes how you deal with each level and type of enemy. This means if you like the game you can keep replaying it and experimenting.
As far as good and bad Force powers go, note that Kyle says that it’s not so much which powers you select but how you use them (so ignore Luke I guess). For example Kyle uses Force Lightning a lot.
As I type this I’m wondering if it might be possible to play all or most of the upper levels without using weapons at all. I may have to give it a try.
If you think you might want to replay it, be sure to save some of the higher levels where you have to make decisions about selecting specialized Force powers so you don’t have replay the whole game if you don’t want to.
Unfortunately increasing the single player difficulty decreases the rate at which your Force powers charge and your maximum shield charge instead of adding more enemies, etc. However, at one of the higher levels you get to make the big decision and if you choose the Dark Side you get to fight twice as many enemies.
Then there is a second aspect to the game. Playing single player using the Force Powers shows why the Jedi were so powerful in the movies. But if you didn’t rely too much on Force Powers you now know how to fight with a light saber. Besides the basic moves, combo attacks, the counters there are also three combat styles and three diffent types of light sabers. This means there are a LOT of combinations. If you’ve learned those, go on-line and try your new skills against other Jedi Academy players. I haven’t looked recently so I don’t know how many servers and on-line players are out there (due to the game’s age).
It’s an old game so it’s hardware requirements are not too demanding compared to 2006 titles. But in my opinion the game play and chance to play as a Jedi Knight make it a fun game even today. For ten bucks I think it’s a deal.
I like it. I like it a lot.
I’ll keep this simple. Some of my favorite things about Jedi Academy:
1. Lightsaber combat! It’s fun, fast, and intense, and you get a high degree of control over the saber. It’s a blast against both gun and saber-weilding enemies. The dramatic saber/force power duels with dark jedi are the highlight of the game.
2. I like the power of creativity the game gives you. If you want to try something, it will probably work. You can pull weapons out of the hands of your enemies or push them off cliffs. You can use the vader-style grip to pick up enemies and choke them, or throw them off cliffs, or through windows, or hold them over a fire and let them roast, or throw your saber at them while they are suspended in the air, or simply beat them senseless against the walls. Stealth is a viable option, if you want to use it. If someone fires a rocket at you, you can dodge it, or use the force to send it right back at them.
3. There is a strong modding community. There are gigabytes and gigabytes of extra maps, missions, player models, and weapons available for download. Jedi Academy helps by being very mod-compatible, and the result is a lot of extra replay value.
4. The missions are nicely done, and have a pretty good variety of objectives and environments.
Some things I didn’t like as much:
1. The storyline is pretty weak.
2. Except for the very last mission, there is no real lightside/darkside choice, and no real consequence for using the powers of the dark side.
3. Some of the vehicle code seems a bit unpolished.
4. There are other weapons besides lightsabers, but they are rarely useful except for taking out the rare enemy you can’t get to with a lightsaber. They’re generally well done, but they feel somewhat extraneous (in almost all situations). Fortunately, you generally have the option of simply ignoring them and sticking with the lightsaber.
5. The lightsaber occasionally feels a bit underpowered. Against more powerful enemies, it may take several clean cuts through their body before they actually die, which is a bit annoying. 3rd party mods are available that fix this though.
Overall, highly recommended.
A game for the Jedi in all of us
This is my first Star Wars game I’ve played as a Jedi and it was the most fun I’ve had in a pc game. The only trouble I had was in getting used to using my keyboard and mouse to move my player around (only the first few tries). There aren’t many choices of species but, the choice of sabers and colors make up for that.
The beginning is nice and easy so you can get used to using your force abilities. As you progress you get stronger and faster as well as bigger challenges. I really got into this game and came to like the characters alot. You get to travel all over the place and fight with a nice selection of weapons. The Wookie Bowcaster is my favorite!
The imagery is very good. Planets, creatures, and bad guys/gals were done very well. The cut scenes are fun to watch because they tie in with the whole story line. I especially loved the fight scenes with the Sith. The slow motion effects during these battles were awesome.
Overall, I had a great time playing this game. Some parts were easy while others were alittle bit of a challenge. Take your time and “use the force” to guide you. You will have so much fun and probably laugh at what those Stormtroopers have to say! Enjoy!
