Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

Nick wields his sabre again as Raven strike back in this sequel.

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When Jedi Outcast was released to considerable critical and financial acclaim early last year, it seemed inevitable that Raven and LucasArts would reprise their partnership and generate a hasty sequel. What remained to be seen, however, was how Raven would deal with the problems highlighted by many reviewers of the original game - a lacklustre beginning, maze-like level design and puzzles which simply obstructed the combat driven core of the game. It is a pleasure, however, to say that Raven have improved on all of these areas, and although there are still some flaws here and there, overall Jedi Academy is a superior game to Outcast.

The protagonist is a young student at the Jedi Academy on Yavin, Jaden, and the game begins with the player's customisation of Jaden himself. Players can be male or female of a number of species familiar in the Star Wars universe, including Rodians, Twi'leks and several others less well known. After nursing disappointment at the lack of any saber-wielding Wookies or Mon Calamari and choosing a Mace Windu style purple saber, I embarked on the quest to become a Jedi.

Jedi Academy is structured differently from previous Jedi Knight outings. With a few exceptions at key points in the story, levels are selected under the guise of missions to be accomplished by the aspiring padawans. This lends some element of freedom to proceedings, and although most of the missions will have to be done at some point anyway, the choice is always welcome. There are several different tiers of missions, between which are key story-progressing levels accompanied by a significant increase in the players basic force abilities. Each accomplished mission also grants the player one additional point to spend on a power of his/her choice - bringing back the original Jedi Knight's force power selection to a limited degree. Unlike that game, however, both light and dark side powers are available at all times, and it's just as well since most of the fun powers are dark side anyway.

The force powers themselves remain largely unchanged from the original Jedi Outcast, and represent probably the least changed aspect of the game as a whole. The force power system worked well in the original, and Raven have wisely decided to leave it alone. The light sabre system, however, has received significant additions and alterations. From the selection of hilt and blade colour, to the eventual choice of dual or double bladed sabres, the light sabre system seems much improved. There are additional moves as well, from combined force/sabre moves like the force pull-impale, to pure bladework with individual moves depending on the choice of sabre. Jaden is also more agile than previous Jedi, being able to leap from walls, attack straight from a knock down and possessing all manner of acrobatic specials.

What remains slightly troubling about the sabre combat in Jedi Academy is that despite the best efforts of Raven, it still retains an element of randomness. Light sabre fights should exude finesse and grace - those in Jedi Academy clearly do not. Looking back at my review of Jedi Outcast, I was full of praise for the sabre combat, but time and playing games such as KOTOR have changed my mind somewhat. Although not a fair comparison (being completely different game types), the faux real-time combat in KOTOR gave the sense of precision that Academy is so conspicuously lacking. KOTOR sabre fights were extremely well choreographed, giving an overall feel of skill and poise. Academy, being an action game, cannot choreograph the fights nearly as well, and sometimes sabre combat resembles nothing more than the ecstasy crazed, eccentrically dressed, flailing machinations of two blind fencers. This is made worse by other factors. The new sabre styles (dual and double bladed) rob the combat of whatever subtlety it might have had. Combat becomes too fast, and winning simply a matter of healing, using force speed and diving in.

Thankfully, one area where Raven have really improved since the last incarnation is level design. Levels are generally shorter and more focused, there are fewer obtuse switch puzzles, and I almost never got lost. The architecture in game is also more interesting, and there are some truly awesome moments, such as walking out into the enormous arena directly preceding the final battle. There are also some truly diverting and unusual missions. One sees Jaden battle Boba Fett (I thought he was dead, but I'm sure some Star Wars universe fans will correct me) constantly throughout an entire level as he attempts to blow up an arms cache being sought by the remnant. Another involves no combat whatsoever and requires Jaden to negotiate a crash site, avoiding sand worms and scavenging parts for his ship. A personal favourite was the level that requires Jaden to keep one step ahead of an enormous invulnerable rancor, as it eats the inhabitants of the level and smashes everything in its path. Raven show an imagination in level design that few companies have - kudos to the improvement the designers have shown. Other levels require Jaden to take to a vehicle or mount. Ton-ton's are mounted on Hoth as Jaden explores echo base, and speed bikes and AT-STs are used at various points. The controls for these sections are a little shaky, but the sections are fun and don't last too long.

Jedi Academy is a well worked and thoughtful sequel, and Raven have taken care to address the issues raised by Outcast. As a result Academy should appeal to those who found the original enjoyable, and possibly also to those who did not have the patience to persevere with its faults. While it is a shame that the sabre combat did not more closely resemble the imagined reality, I am conscious of the difficulties Raven must have faced replicating the fluidity of sabre combat while allowing the player significant control. Otherwise, Academy is a fine sequel that should appeal to most FPS or action game aficionados, but of course particularly to the Star Wars fans out there.

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By Nick McCrea