I'm sorry, but this game is better than Jedi Academy

[Alcoholic]

Yes, this is my opinion and yes, I know Academy has way more features but hear me out. First of all, I like both games.
While I agree Academy has expanded on lightsabers and has way better combat, there are simply some things that I consider supperior in Outcast rather than Academy. Examples:

1) Inventory system
Why oh why did the devs remove the inventory system in Academy we had here? We could store health packs, nightvision goggles, batteries, binoculars and keys. I just don't get it why they didn't reuse this system in Academy since it would've fit very well in some segments. And while it is true that in Academy some Imperial Officers do drop security keys, sadly that is very rare.

2) Voice actors
There was absolutely no need to change voice actors for Stormtroopers, Officers and other Imperial enemies in Academy. They sound more realistic in Outcast and not to mention that there are more voice actors in Outcast than Academy, For example, there are two voice actors for stormtroopers that wield blasters, one for stormtrooper wielding a machine gun, one for a stormtrooper wielding a shotgun and one for stormtrooper wielding a rocket launcher.
In Academy, there are only two voice actors for stormtroopers; one voice actor for stormtrooper wielding a blaster, and stormtroopers that wield machine guns, shotguns and rocket launchers all share the other voice actor's lines. Even the new Jetpack stormtrooper also shares lines with stormtrooper wielding a blaster.

3) Story
Outcast has a better story for me and here's why: After the release of Jedi Outcast, the developers were making 2 new Jedi Knight games:
Star Wars: Jedi Knight III: Brink of Darkness and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.
Brink of Darkness was planned to end Kyle's story, but the game was cancelled shortly afterwards and all attention was turned to Jedi Academy. But sadly, even with all the attention turned to making Jedi Academy, the game was rushed. Academy was originally supposed to be a much larger and longer game. If the developers took their time while making it, imagine everything that we would've seen. But again, things turned out to be different. And while making Outcast, devs took their time with the story and it paid of greatly.

Personally, the only issue i have with Jedi Outcast is that dead bodies dissapear so quick. I know this is because of the performance but Academy fixed this by adding a command that didn't exist in Outcast which let us to decide how many seconds we want dead bodies to stay (I set the command so the bodies stay forever).

Tell me your opinions, I will gladly read them

[Shwarts]

jk2 1.02 MP > jk3 MP

[Youthful Idealism]

Interesting. I far prefer this game in every regard--PARTICULARLY the lightsaber combat. In this game, the lightsaber combat is a wonderfully delicate dance of managing your position relative to the enemy position at each part of your swing. It's delicious, and it ruined every other 3D game's melee combat for me. I haven't found a 3D game with melee combat remotely as interesting.

Jedi Academy lightsaber combat really felt like something optimized for console--you run up to the enemy and spam the buttons. The animations are way nicer, but there's not much actual game there. I far, far prefer this game's combat.

I also hated the Jedi Academy voice acting. It felt cheesy to me. I'm very sensitive to that.

[H3llBaron]

Originally posted by Zorga:

Yes, this is my opinion and yes, I know Academy has way more features but hear me out. First of all, I like both games.
While I agree Academy has expanded on lightsabers and has way better combat, there are simply some things that I consider supperior in Outcast rather than Academy. Examples:

1) Inventory system
Why oh why did the devs remove the inventory system in Academy we had here? We could store health packs, nightvision goggles, batteries, binoculars and keys. I just don't get it why they didn't reuse this system in Academy since it would've fit very well in some segments. And while it is true that in Academy some Imperial Officers do drop security keys, sadly that is very rare.

2) Voice actors
There was absolutely no need to change voice actors for Stormtroopers, Officers and other Imperial enemies in Academy. They sound more realistic in Outcast and not to mention that there are more voice actors in Outcast than Academy, For example, there are two voice actors for stormtroopers that wield blasters, one for stormtrooper wielding a machine gun, one for a stormtrooper wielding a shotgun and one for stormtrooper wielding a rocket launcher.
In Academy, there are only two voice actors for stormtroopers; one voice actor for stormtrooper wielding a blaster, and stormtroopers that wield machine guns, shotguns and rocket launchers all share the other voice actor's lines. Even the new Jetpack stormtrooper also shares lines with stormtrooper wielding a blaster.

3) Story
Outcast has a better story for me and here's why: After the release of Jedi Outcast, the developers were making 2 new Jedi Knight games:
Star Wars: Jedi Knight III: Brink of Darkness and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy.
Brink of Darkness was planned to end Kyle's story, but the game was cancelled shortly afterwards and all attention was turned to Jedi Academy. But sadly, even with all the attention turned to making Jedi Academy, the game was rushed. Academy was originally supposed to be a much larger and longer game. If the developers took their time while making it, imagine everything that we would've seen. But again, things turned out to be different. And while making Outcast, devs took their time with the story and it paid of greatly.

Personally, the only issue i have with Jedi Outcast is that dead bodies dissapear so quick. I know this is because of the performance but Academy fixed this by adding a command that didn't exist in Outcast which let us to decide how many seconds we want dead bodies to stay (I set the command so the bodies stay forever).

Tell me your opinions, I will gladly read them

I totally agree with you, JK2 is accurate, very complex, but in the same time very playable and replayble. Few titles like this, and after the spinoff Jedi Academy (because indeed it's a spinoff) Dark Forces III JK2 is the last true journey with Kyle Katarn.

[cyäegha]

the only thing JA really has over JO is the (however primitive) ragdolling and drawn decals on bodies, a feature which itself was a holdover from soldier of fortune II

otherwise JO had a much more cohesive and thought-out campaign with better level design and a more coherent art direction, which could be attributed to the smaller amount of distinct locations in the game

and JO's story, while not exactly gripping, high literature, was miles above the campy silliness that was JA; it didn't even revel in its own absurdity, instead trying (and failing) to play off things like rosh's betrayal as some kind of major turning point in the arcs of otherwise completely static, uninteresting characters
now, kyle might not be your everyday gatsby, but he at least undergoes some kind of character development and has things happen to him over the course of JO that make us invested in him
jaden, rosh and the gang have none of that

[3lives]

Originally posted by Youthful Idealism:

I haven't found a 3D game with melee combat remotely as interesting.

Die by the Sword. It's on GOG.
And Hellish Quart seems to go in a good direction.

[Youthful Idealism]

Originally posted by 3lives:

Originally posted by Youthful Idealism:

I haven't found a 3D game with melee combat remotely as interesting.

Die by the Sword. It's on GOG.
And Hellish Quart seems to go in a good direction.

I think I'd struggle to play Die by the sword. Hellish Quart is disqualified from my internal "3d game melee combat" competition because, while it's rendered in 3d, I'm fairly certain that the combat system is 2d under the hood.

[bullettrain101]

Jedi Outcast is one of if not my favorite game ever made, and I only got into Academy a few years ago. I loved it but basically everything you pointed out I agree with.

[jedley2002]

Lightsaber combat is way more clumsy in Outcast, especially when fighting blaster wielding enemies that run all over the place and seem to dodge your saber.

[Thermal Lance]

I'll have to disagree. The problem with outcast is that it takes way too long to give you a lightsaber. Which is what makes the game the most enjoyable.

I mean, guns are fine but something always felt off with the gunplay. Between very tight hitboxes and a very dodgy AI, it made for a very frustrating experience. I almost felt like most gunfights I won were more due to blind luck than skills.

That said, if we ignore these initial hours where you are forced into this problem, yes Outcast is better. (At least from a singleplayer perspective.)

[Vermillion ][]

Love both this games but Jedi Academy is slightly better for me. The story which fits any padawan, missions diversity, light staffs & dual wielding, engine improvements and so on.

[Relikk]

Single player in Jedi Outcast is way better than Jedi Academy, but Jedi Academy's multiplayer is better. It doesn't have that horrible "skatey" feeling that Jedi Outcast (and Academy's single player) has.

[Vermillion ][]

Multiplayer and a lot of other small improvements. As for the plot of a single campaign - it all the matter of perspective - I like both games.

[BleppyBoo]

I just like having a custom character

[Space_Void]

Frankly I always found the saber combat in JKO2 to be crisper than in JA. Better campaign etc. Cooler lead character. Jaiden is a dumb name (I'm sorry to all those named that but its a dumb name) and frankly I never liked the VA. Rosh is cancer end of story.

[superduper007]

Could not agree more with the OP.