Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

The player initially chooses the character's species and gender, and begins the game with a single lightsaber. Most of the game is divided into three batches of five missions each. Out of each batch, the player may skip one mission and do the other four in any order, or may do all five in any order. These batches of missions are preceded by a mandatory training course and connected by mandatory missions: Acts 1 and 2 are connected by missions set on Hoth while Acts 2 and 3 are connected by missions set in Bast castle on the planet V'jun. At the end of the Hoth missions, the player may chose a new single-bladed lightsaber fighting style, and at the end of the V'jun/Bast missions, the player is allowed access to dual-wielding or to a saber staff.[10] At the beginning of each optional mission, the player can choose one of their Force skills to upgrade. This will increase the impact of that Force power, thus making the character more powerful as the game progresses. This also encourages players to skip as few missions as possible.[11] The game also introduces player-controllable vehicles and a single vehicle-based level.[12] After the last batch of optional missions, there is a final string of missions which are mandatory, but which give the player a choice to turn to the Dark Side or not, and which feature important differences depending on which choice the player makes.

A multiplayer game where a flag carrier redirects a rocket using the Force

In multiplayer mode, one can play online or via a local area network (LAN) with other players, as well as computer-controlled bots. The player can create their avatar using a series of options, similar to the character creation in single-player. Alternatively the player can choose to play as one of almost all of the characters from Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy. Before a match begins, the server specifies the Force ranking to be used; this controls how many points the players have to invest in different Force powers. Players can then customize their powers for the match. The server can also disable normal weapons to create a lightsaber-only game. There are different multiplayer modes such as "Capture the flag", "Power Duel" and "Siege". Depending on the mode, players can play on their own or as part of a team. In comparison with the single-player gameplay, multiplayer requires a high level of skill and can have a steep learning curve, as stated by many. There are six multiplayer modes in total, but the most popular and most willingly modified is the "Free For All".[13][14]

Since 2011 the online community has started to slowly decline. As of May 2019, there were around 250 active players, with less than a third online at one time. A number of multiplayer modifications have been released, some of the most popular being Movie Battles II, JA+ and Lugormod.

After Jedi Outcast was completed, LucasArts immediately approached Raven Software to develop a sequel. Production began and Raven was given a one-year development cycle.[16] Like Jedi Outcast, Jedi Academy uses a heavily modified Quake III: Team Arena game engine, and the development team was made up of people who worked on Jedi Outcast, as well as Star Trek: Voyager – Elite Force.[17]

At the start of the game players choose the gender, alien race and clothing of their character.

An early decision made during development was whether or not to have Kyle Katarn as the playable character. This was due to the character already being a powerful Jedi Knight, and, as such, starting off with the Force skills would affect the gameplay.[16] To resolve this issue, Raven chose to make the playable character a student in the Jedi Academy. By using a completely new character, the developers were able to insert features that allowed the player to customize the character, including race and gender, as well as the lightsaber color, hilt and type. The Kyle Katarn character was then made an instructor in the academy so as to remain integral to the plot, to ensure Jedi Academy built upon the existing Jedi Knight series storyline.[16] Raven extended the customization further as the game progresses by allowing the player to choose specific Force powers to train upon completion of missions. This was done with the intention of giving freedom to choose the way and style the game is played.[18]

Another decision made early on was to include locations and aspects from the Star Wars movies. The designers wanted to use locations such as Tatooine and Hoth, as well as the Rancor creature.[16] To develop the map for Hoth, the designers obtained as much source material from The Empire Strikes Back as possible so to create an authentic reproduction. Level Designer Justin Negrete says that Hoth was one of the most challenging areas to design.[19] The general level design process started by planning out the level on paper. These ideas were then "fleshed out" to get the size and flow of the level. Once this had been done, features of the Quake III engine were used to add more detail such as lighting effects. The final stage of level design was adding aspects that improved the gameplay and fun of the level.[20]

The mission based format of Jedi Academy was used by Raven to reduce the linearity of the game, allowing the players to progress through levels mostly in the order they desire. The reduction in linearity was also achieved by requiring 80% of levels to be completed before the plot can move on.[10] Raven provided modding tools with Jedi Academy, but the company specified that such tools are unsupported by customer support, so to avoid receiving calls on the subject. Brett Tosti, a producer for LucasArts, stated that the customization of the player that is provided by the game out of the box will mean that people are less likely to need to create their own "skins".[18] Additional textures and skins nevertheless became popular leading Mike Gummelt, who designed the lightsaber combat system in Outcast and Academy, to declare "the community really owns the game now". The community's continued interest has led some more recent reviews to conclude that Jedi Academy has a lightsaber engine superior to those developed before or since.[21]

The game was published and distributed within North America by LucasArts. Activision took control of publishing and distributing the game in all other territories worldwide.[22] The game was released for Microsoft Windows and OS X (published by Aspyr) on September 17, 2003, and for Xbox (developed by Vicarious Visions) in November 2003, and received positive reviews.

In September 2009, the game was re-released with the other Star Wars: Jedi Knight games (Star Wars: Dark Forces, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith and Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast) through the digital distributor Steam and Direct2Drive.[23][24][25]

The original Xbox version of Jedi Academy was one of the six Star Wars titles made available on Xbox One via backward compatibility in April 2018.[26] On January 29, 2019, Major Nelson announced that Jedi Academy will be available as part of Xbox's Games with Gold program from February 16 to February 28.[27]

On September 19, 2019, it was announced that Jedi Academy would be rereleased on PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch in "early" 2020, to follow the rerelease of Jedi Outcast for the same platforms in December 2019.[6] On March 26, 2020, Jedi Academy was released on PlayStation 4 and the Nintendo Switch with updated controls for modern hardware and a fully functional multiplayer component directly mirroring the original's.[28]

Following Disney's decision to close LucasArts on April 3, 2013, the developers at Raven Software released the source code for the game on SourceForge under GNU GPL-2.0-only.[29][30] A few days after release, the source code disappeared from SourceForge without explanation. SourceForge later explained to media outlet Kotaku that Raven Software had requested its removal. Kotaku speculated this was due to the presence of licensed code, such as for the Bink Video format from Rad Game Tools, that was not intended to be made public.[31] Based on the source release from Raven, Jedi Academy is maintained by the JACoders group as OpenJK.[32]

Positive reviews praised the fact that, unlike in Dark Forces II and Jedi Outcast, players could use a lightsaber from the beginning. Game Over Online scored the game 92% and commented that "You start instantly with your lightsaber, rather than wading through six painfully bland FPS levels to get your lightsaber as you did in Jedi Outcast".[49] Critics lauded the lightsaber interface and player customization options. Ernie Halal of Gaming Age gave the game an A−, writing, "You choose not only the gender and race of your character, but also which powers and fighting styles to develop [...] Third person adventure games rarely offer that much customization."[50]

Critics noted that, despite its age, the Quake III engine was used well.[44] PC Gamer UK, who scored the game 70 out of 100, wrote "the engine, which although hardly groundbreaking any more, perfectly evokes the glow of the lightsaber and the grimy, metallic backgrounds of the films."[48] Some critics did, however, note that the engine was starting to look dated.[44][49][50]

The multiplayer, in particular the objective-based Siege mode, was well received.[42][46] The music,[48] sound effects[46] and voice acting[44] also received acclaim, although some critics found it odd that all aliens spoke English.[45][46]

The story and level design received mixed reactions. Some critics commended the levels as varied (both in terms of length and content). GameZone scored the game 9 out of 10, writing "Some are a fast blast that can be beat in ten or so minutes. Others [...] can take as long as hours [...] The change of pace is very refreshing."[44][50] The story was described as "great" by GameZone[45] and as "strong" by Gaming Age.[50] IGN's Steve Butts, however, disliked the plot, feeling that "Jedi Outcast was more satisfying in terms of involvement with the story. Jedi Academy dishes out more action sooner but fails to put it in as solid a context as the previous game."[46]

Game Over Online was critical of the mission structure, writing "This kind of free-form mission assignment [...] only serves to weaken the plotline. It also leads to a disjointedness to the missions [...] it seems more like roaming than any actual story advancement."[49] GameSpot's Craig Beers, however, praised the mission structure; "Jedi Academy does an excellent job of balancing its missions."[42] IGN also defended the system; "It's nice that the game offers a series of fairly short, relatively unconnected missions at the start. It's a great way to get your feet wet and ease you in to the environments and the saber fighting before the challenge level ramps up."[46]

The AI was criticized by PC Gamer UK as "laughable"; "Every encounter you have is filled with people too stupid to realise that running away or taking some sort of cover would be the best option. [Jedi Academy] requires little to no skill to play through."[48] This opinion was echoed by GameSpot: "Stormtroopers usually just stand there shooting away at you [...] Dark Jedi rush at you, even after watching four of their brethren plummet to a horrible death. Occasionally, you'll see an enemy accidentally commit suicide by falling off a cliff or falling into lava, enemies will not even dive for cover or try and throw it back if you throw an uncooked thermal detonator at them."[42]

Despite his criticism of the AI, GameSpot's Craig Beers scored the game 8.4 out of 10, writing "It manages to take all the fun parts from its predecessor and greatly expands them to create an engaging, new action game in its own right."[42] IGN's Steve Butts scored the game 8.8 out of 10, giving it an "Editor's Choice Award" and writing "If you like Star Wars and think flipping around chopping up Stormtroopers and flinging Dark Jedi off of conveniently placed precipices is fun, then this game is definitely for you."[46] Eurogamer's Kristan Reed was less impressed, scoring the game 7 out of 10, writing "The harsh reality is, for all the plentiful additions, there's much work to be done before LucasArts can boast it has created the ultimate Star Wars FPS. Sure, it's the best one yet, but with some often laughable AI and creaking tech underpinning it, the flaws are there for all to see."[38]

Kevin Gifford of 1Up.com scored the Xbox version a B−. He lauded the addition of Xbox Live support and the ability to use a lightsaber from the opening, two of biggest criticisms of Jedi Outcast. However, he called the graphics "worryingly out of date by current Xbox standards", saying that when playing in first-person mode "the game looks more like a two-year-old PC shooter than a modern Star Wars game." He concluded that "The Xbox Live games make Jedi Academy worth at least a rental to online players, but otherwise, this game's worth it to Star Wars fans only."[37] Eurogamer's Kristan Reed was also somewhat unimpressed, scoring the game 6 out of 10 and criticizing the controls; "In common with the PC version, you still find yourself going into battle and fumbling furiously through cyclical menus while numerous baddies are busy blasting seven shades out of you." She was also critical of the AI and the graphics, concluding that "It's good to see Live make the package this time around, but we're disappointed that after all these years LucasArts is still scratching around abusing the Star Wars brand in this way. There are some good ideas here that haven't been realised, and we're once again left waiting for the definitive Star Wars FPS to appear."[39]

IGN were more impressed, scoring the game 8 out of 10. Although they were critical of the graphics and frame rate and found the game to be inferior to Jedi Outcast, reviewer Steve Butts concluded, "For the 15 or so hours that it lasted, I enjoyed Jedi Academy."[47] GameSpot's Craig Beers scored the game 8.1 out of 10. He praised the mapping of the PC version's controls to the Xbox Controller and the implementation of Xbox Live, but like IGN, he was critical of the frame rates. He concluded that "The game may not look great, but it translates well to the Xbox--for those who would prefer to play it on a console. It even caters to those who aren't familiar with the Star Wars universe and just want pure action. In general, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is highly recommendable."[43] GameZone's Nick Valentino scored the game 8.2 out of 10 and was especially impressed with the use of Xbox live; "the biggest draw--and the one that has me playing this one very often--is the fact that the multiplayer modes can also be played online using the Xbox Live service. That's right, you read it correctly. You can duel against other Xbox gamers out there using any of the seven multiplayer modes and even talk trash using your Xbox Communicator. Here's your chance to see if you're truly good with the lightsaber."[45]