Star Wars: Jedi Academy is a more than adequate action game, allowing those intimidated by KOTOR's d20 rules to experience an enjoyable tale of Jedi and Lightsabers.
More straightforward than its predecessor, Jedi Academy's modus operandi more often than not involves dropping your young Jedi recruit into a level filled with jumping puzzles, hit-the-switch exercises, and – most importantly – lots of disposable fodder for your lightsaber and Force powers. It gets mindless after a while to be sure, but the feeling you get jumping headlong into a throng of Stormtroopers, sending them flying over the edge of a balcony with force shock is well worth the price of admission.
Indeed, though the story is not as compelling, and the challenge not as deep, it's the fact that you are given a saber and force abilities early on that makes Jedi Academy more fun to play than its predecessor. No longer are you required to blast through tedious shooting galleries without your Jedi abilities – you get them from the outset. This doesn't mean there's nothing to work towards in Jedi Academy (your force abilities are always expanding, and later on you can learn different lightsaber disciplines), only that you have more fun in the process. The game has very few flaws, aside from the vehicle sections – these are so blatantly uncontrollable that they almost seem like glitches in the code.
Graphically, Jedi Academy is passable, though not nearly as impressive as other games on the PC/Xbox. It does look a great deal better on the PC, as is to be expected. Even so, given the fact that most of your time with Jedi Academy will be spent with a lightsaber, the controller works much better than the mouse/keyboard for slashing your way through Imperial hordes.
To improve replay value, both versions of the game include a fairly fleshed-out online component, though the most intriguing mode – Jedi duel – is very unbalanced from the inclusion of certain power moves. Regardless of if you like to play alone or with friends, Jedi Academy is an enjoyable gem of a game that accepts what it is, and doesn't try to become something epic. Bottom line: this is the closest you'll get to the excitement of being a Jedi in the heat of battle without landing in the hospital.
-George
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