Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Mysteries of the Sith

The Good
Take the average JK review, and stick it in here. The levels are pretty much the same in ingenuity, playability, and engagement. The new weapons are nifty, but nothing really world-changing. That's probably why it's just an add-on and not a sequel. But what really stands out is the multiplayer capability of MotS. I played it extensively on the MSN Gaming Zone. There are so many different aspects and areas of the game which make multiplayer games continually engaging. Like using the force? Try playing a Full Force game, or just a simple Jedi Personality game. But first you have to choose what powers you want. Like big guns? Play Soldiers. Sniping? Then you have Scouts. It makes many great "arenas" of skill which players can aspire to. Sadly, the MotS heyday on the Zone has passed, and the sun is setting.

The Bad
It's Jedi Knight. The "Greatest Game of All Time". What's not to like?

The Bottom Line
More JK excellence.

The Good
My biggest complaint about "Jedi Knight" was the lack of seedy, underworld missions and commando-type operations. Playing Mara Jade, you get to go back into the dark belly of the underworld of Star Wars. In addition, MOTS introduced tons of fun new items and enemies, including the fearsome battle with a Rancor itself, complete with the proper music playing at the proper times. Other operations opened up new elements of the Star Wars universe. Kyle Katarn's early mission into the Imperial Asteroid Ships was certainly original, and Mara Jade's journey through the Sith Temple is downright creepy. MOTS also included some graphical enhancements like multi-colored lighting.

The Bad
Mysterious of the Sith was very hard. I don't count that necessarily as a fault, but some people might. Damaging Kyle Katarn's character wasn't very good, and neither was the ending (didn't Yoda say that once you start down the dark path, forever will it dominate your destiny?). Finally, the cinematics in this game were miserable. Although the engine can cut the gameplay okay, the cinematics were terrible compared to the real-life FMV from "Jedi Knight". True, they got away with a lot more in this one (such as Mara Jade crashing through the skylight), but that's not much of a justification for the "Wing Commander" crowd like myself.

The Bottom Line
An excellent expansion brought to us from the same people who created the excellent "Outlaws: Fistful of Missions" for "Outlaws". Highly recommended to any aspiring Jedi.

The Good
It's Star Wars. The new weapons are cool. (Especially the stormtrooper rifle scope!!!!). Some new force powers like far sight and chain lightning to name a few are a solid addition to the arensal of force powers.

The Bad
One of the new weapons is one of the most horrible weapons I have ever seen. It is the corbonite ray (or something like that). It is this dinky gun that shoots a stream of gas 2 inches. If you keep the gas hitting an enemy, he will eventually be frozen in carbonite. The award for the worst force power goes to ........... force saber throw. It goes so slow, that you will likely be shot by the time it hits an enemy and it takes up a ton of force energy. Finally, the same old awful lightsaber moves are back. One last thing, the story stinks. After going through the most agonizingly difficult game, your are "treated" to an awful cutscene. The cutscenes are game engine quality, so don't except anything great.

The Bottom Line
If you liked Jedi Knight, you should get this.