Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Mysteries of the Sith

The Good
Takes Jedi Knight and runs with it. That's good for the most part, but this add-on also manages to cram some subtle yet pleasant additions. For starters the graphics are still jagged as hell, but this time they added some heavy lightning effects to compensate, and while still rather crappy, the graphics are a definitive improvement. Furthermore some of the new weapons are a welcome change like the addition of a sniper mode for the stormtrooper rifle (how the hell did they leave that one out on JK???) and a pretty worthless yet amusing on multiplayer carbonite weapon. The game also adds some interesting mechanics like levels that force you to depend solely on your lightsaber and the force, and other more Half-life like sequences (like a cool infiltration levels and one where you have to bust out of jail using pretty much zero weapons. Plus there are a slew of new multiplayer options and models, including a long-desired Darth Vader one, complete with cape and all!

And in a dead-on decision, the cutscenes are now engine-based, which saves us from the atrocious acting!

The Bad
It still has the main flaws found on JK, namely: crap graphics, lame light saber action, etc. etc. plus not all the additions are winners (lighsaber throw as a force power???) and the gameplay enhancements don't come without their price: difficulty. And LOTS of it. MOTS is Hard, REAL Hard. I just couldn't get through it without help and not to brag or anything, but I'm not exactly retarded. Really, it's HARD, the puzzles are obscure, the levels are still insanely confusing, and even the action has been made harder, with levels that have you rely solely on your lightsaber and your wits...

The Bottom Line
An enhanced version of Jedi Knight, and a harder one too!! This one not only requires plenty of fps prowess, but also a real-brain under the hood. Your Quake "mad skillz" alone won't cut it here.... Other than that, a slew of solid additions to a good game.

The Good
Mysteries of the Sith (MOTS) is an interesting add-on to Jedi Knight. You play first as Kyle Katarn, the hero from the first game, and after 4 levels, you start playing as Mara Jade, a character introduced in "Heir to the Empire" by Timothey Zahn (note to readers - Read the Book!)

Graphics are about the same as they were in Jedi Knight, with a few face-lifts in various areas. In the second level, you pick up a great little scope for your blaster rifle. I WISH that the scope was available in the original Jedi Knight! There is a certain satisfaction of being able to kill a Stormtrooper from a large distance with one shot. Holocams are another addition. Similar to the camera system in Duke Nukem 3D, you character can access the camera systems and see what other places of the level look like and for tactical reasons as well. Cutscenes are done using the ingame engine, not actors as in the original. Although a bit hokey, it does the job well.

The control is exactly as it was in Jedi Knight, along with with sound and gameplay

The Bad
It's hard. I mean, tear-out-your-hair-until-you're-bald hard. Lots of puzzles involving timing, and speed is a big factor. Be prepared to spend a lot of time going through a level to complete it (especially of level 3 ;)

The Bottom Line
Since it's basically an expansion to Jedi Knight, the chances that you'll like it if you HAVE Jedi Knight are pretty solid. Then again, if you didn't like Jedi Knight in the first place, would you buy the expasion? :)

But seriously, for those who have played through Jedi Knight, and are thirsting for more, MOTS is for you.

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.

The Good
I liked everything!!! The graphics, the sound, the 3D, everything!!! The storyline was really good in this one. It also introduced the only Star Wars character that made the conversion from a book into a video game, Mara Jade.

The Bad
The only thing that pulled Mysteries of the Sith down were the cutscenes. If the quality of the Jedi Knight cutscenes were in this, it would be the ultimate Star Wars 3D shooter!!!

The Bottom Line
Buy it!!! You need Jedi Knight though. If you don't have Jedi Knight, buy that too!!! Mysteries of the Sith would have been better with real actors in the cutscenes, though. I think I saw this for $20 somewhere....

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.