I have finally reached the end of the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series. This is tied with Dark Forces II as my favorite of the series.
The story of Jedi Academy is very simple, but provides the player with the opportunity to create their own Jedi OC. The options are fairly limited, but there is some variety in species and clothing, which is unexpected for a game of this type. Of course you get to create your own lightsaber as well. The game does away with the following Kyle Katarn from level to level in favor of giving the player the role of a Jedi student. The overall plot is actually quite fun involving a Sith/Dark Jedi cult attempting to revive a Sith to take over the galaxy. It can be very cheesy, but that only adds to the space adventure romp.
Gameplay has been changed quite dramatically. For the moment to moment gameplay, things feel much more refined than in Jedi Outcast: aiming is less wonky and hit detection feels better. Now you start with a lightsaber, so there are really only a handful of moments in which you will pull out a blaster or explosives. The saber combat has been expanded, with more moves and different saber types. I can confidently say that I understand why this game's lightsaber combat is so revered, and with the lightsaber enemies becoming extremely common (multiple per level), you get ample opportunity to get into intense duels. That being said, where Jedi Outcast ended up being quite challenging even on the Jedi/Normal difficulty, Jedi Outcast seems to have had its difficulty reduced. I found myself very rarely dying or even being worried about my health, whereas previous games had me constantly on edge or even stuck at points.
The structure is quite interesting, gone are the long sequential levels of the previous four games. Instead you are given batches of missions that can be completed in any order, each being 10-15 minutes in length on average. From the galaxy map you get to pick a location and get a small text description and briefing from other characters. Mission objectives have great variety from a short item collection mission, to deactivating bombs, to a prison escape. All of this reinforces the idea of being a Jedi asked to solve the problems of local governments and the New Republic. The shortening of the missions also means that there are more or less no puzzles and no down-time, you are always moving forward. This can also contribute to the game feeling a bit easy and even mindless at times. In some ways I liked not getting stuck looking for a tiny hole to progress through, but in other ways it lead to a bit of monotony.
If you have to play one Dark Forces/Jedi Knight game, I would probably recommend this one. The saber combat has not been matched by any other star wars game to date.
The story of Jedi Academy is very simple, but provides the player with the opportunity to create their own Jedi OC. The options are fairly limited, but there is some variety in species and clothing, which is unexpected for a game of this type. Of course you get to create your own lightsaber as well. The game does away with the following Kyle Katarn from level to level in favor of giving the player the role of a Jedi student. The overall plot is actually quite fun involving a Sith/Dark Jedi cult attempting to revive a Sith to take over the galaxy. It can be very cheesy, but that only adds to the space adventure romp.
Gameplay has been changed quite dramatically. For the moment to moment gameplay, things feel much more refined than in Jedi Outcast: aiming is less wonky and hit detection feels better. Now you start with a lightsaber, so there are really only a handful of moments in which you will pull out a blaster or explosives. The saber combat has been expanded, with more moves and different saber types. I can confidently say that I understand why this game's lightsaber combat is so revered, and with the lightsaber enemies becoming extremely common (multiple per level), you get ample opportunity to get into intense duels. That being said, where Jedi Outcast ended up being quite challenging even on the Jedi/Normal difficulty, Jedi Outcast seems to have had its difficulty reduced. I found myself very rarely dying or even being worried about my health, whereas previous games had me constantly on edge or even stuck at points.
The structure is quite interesting, gone are the long sequential levels of the previous four games. Instead you are given batches of missions that can be completed in any order, each being 10-15 minutes in length on average. From the galaxy map you get to pick a location and get a small text description and briefing from other characters. Mission objectives have great variety from a short item collection mission, to deactivating bombs, to a prison escape. All of this reinforces the idea of being a Jedi asked to solve the problems of local governments and the New Republic. The shortening of the missions also means that there are more or less no puzzles and no down-time, you are always moving forward. This can also contribute to the game feeling a bit easy and even mindless at times. In some ways I liked not getting stuck looking for a tiny hole to progress through, but in other ways it lead to a bit of monotony.
If you have to play one Dark Forces/Jedi Knight game, I would probably recommend this one. The saber combat has not been matched by any other star wars game to date.