Others say...

"Crap crap crap story, no FPS elements, a few good levels."
Man, this one was definatly rushed. It is packed with a crappy story, create a Jedi, but they all look pretty gay in the end unless you are an Alien Chick.
Basically you set out to become a great Jedi in a few short missions. The game makes no attempt at making things realistic on that front.
Another thing I don't like is the story. It really doesn't seem that involved, plus there are a million guest apparences from Luke Skywalker (which was fine) to Boba Fett, who I could have swore died on Tatooween, unless you count that gay short story where he is saved by the mummy man, gets a heart and attends a wedding...
Of course Lando and Chewy have to make an apperence too, it's as if the Universe is really really small. If you want the original star wars cast, then make a freaking game about them for crying out loud, don't wreck an already dull story by trying to past them into random situations!!!
Why do the freaking models always show there teeth anyhow?
Thankfully some of the levels are a blast to go through, and there are even a few new enemies which make matters better, but then...

...there is the fact that this game is bent on the Light Saber and the Light Saber only! For some reason, I don't find guns useful AT ALL like I did in Dark Forces 2 and Jedi Outcast, that aspect alone really ruined this addition to the series hard core, now I fear that all the other sequals will be Saber Sentric, and we won't have a Star Wars FPS at all, except for maybe those Campain Death Match games, which just ain't the same. :(

"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.

"A Fun Game."
I thought this game was fun. I just thought it was a good RPG. I loved that you could customize your character and weapons and that you could decide what side of the force you joined at the end of the game. All in all... A fun game.

"A Fun Game"
I ordered this game hoping it would be as fun as Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast, and it was better! Good graphics, good sound, everything was great!

"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.