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Amazing use of the Star Wars license.
Graphics
Graphically, Jedi Academy is a mixed bag. The environments are quite vast, but look kind of bland, with very little in the way of distinguishing features. The character models look solid, if unspectacular. The only real downfall for them lies in the generic lip movement for them, which sees their entire mouth just go up and down, instead of their mouths having realistic movement. Looking past the barren locales and basic lip synch, one will find a game with many neat
little graphical touches thrown in that add a very distinct mood to the game. The most astonishing one comes in the form of being able to visually alter locations with your light saber. You can slash your light saber at things, or just move it around a bit and burn little shapes and marks in the environment. While they don’t stick around for too long, they are awesome to see and add a little more fun to the game as well. The second little touch comes in the form of the colour of your light saber showing on the environments, which adds a surprising bit of realism to a game that could easily get away with not having any. On top of that, it’s a nice-looking effect as well.
Sound
Aurally, Jedi Academy great, yet could be better. The familiar Star Wars theme music that is known and loved around the globe is in it, and used well. Other Star Wars music is featured throughout the game, and helps add a sense of importance to the game, on top of being used to enhance the mood of a given area. The sound effects in the game are a bit of a letdown though. While the light saber sound effect is wonderful, the rest of the sound effects, such as those for shots fired from weapons, are a bit bland and don’t really get across the damage done by the weapon, or the impact of the blast. Beyond that, thevoice over cast does a fantastic job with their roles, and having both a male and female voice actor for Jaden was a nice touch. Much to my surprise, Mark Hammill doesn’t voice Luke Skywalker in this game, but the actor who is used does a fantastic job at replicating Hammill’s voice, so Luke sounds as you would expect him to.
Gameplay
You’ll be making use of these gameplay styles as Jaden Karr, a Jedi in training, and the only one in history to have the skills necessary to assemble his own light saber without training. You can customize his or her appearance, albeit in a limited capacity, so you can put a little bit of yourself in the character, visually. I went with a black-clad, blonde haired, male Jaden, although making one that looked like an alien crossed my mind for a bit as well. You can also customize your light saber, picking from an assortment of colors for it and some handles as well.
The core gameplay revolves around you completing missions in order to learn the ways of Jedi. Throughout the game, you will learn new skills and combat tactics to help you overcome the odds and defeat the evil foes that lurk the terrain. What’s nice about this game is that you can learn skills from both the light and dark sides of the force, which gives you quite a bit of variety in terms of fighting skill.
Story
You’re in training with Rosh, someone who is just a bit too overzealous in his desire to be a Jedi, and who seems to be awe-struck by everything and everyone he sees. You’re trained by master Kyle Katarn, and your training is overseen by none other than Luke Skywalker himself, very cool indeed.
Summary
In the end, Jedi Academy succeeds far more than it fails, delivering two well-done gameplay styles in one game, and doing them better than some games dedicated to just one of them. The plot is involving, with some nice twists and turns that keep the characters fresh, and the game is just a joy to play. There are some things that are a bit rough around the edges, like the lip synching and the bland terrain, but the game succeeds where it counts the most, and effectively negates the problem areas of the game when you are in the heat of battle. Jedi Academy is a must for those who love the Star Wars franchise or for those looking for something that blends first and third person gameplay into a very rewarding game. JP
Publisher: Lucasarts
Developer: Vicarious Visions
UK Release: 21/11/03 |
Nifty lightsaber moves.
Rewarding storyline. |
| Slightly lacking graphics. |
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