Jedi Power Battles was a strangely difficult game to review. Dale and I on some level enjoyed the game, but you must wonder if our patience wouldn't have ran out a lot quicker if we weren't professionally obligated to play it. All the major problems that Dale mentioned in his review are very accurate and very serious. The controls are spotty, the camera doesn't always pan properly, and the games jumping obstacles can be maddeningly difficult.
Yet, by sticking with the game, I was able to appreciate some of its better qualities like the massive stages and consistently smooth animation. Other gameplay features like deflecting laser blasts with lightsabers and co-piloting vehicles (like a tank where one person handles the controls while the other mans with the gun turret) with a buddy seemed to interject genuine moments of excitement.
When all is said and done, passing through the Jedi Power Battles difficult stages proved to be extremely rewarding and I found myself mildly addicted to the game. I can't guarantee that everyone will feel the same way upon playing it and I'm sure many players will not feel the need to have to tolerate all the glaring problems that plague the title. With that said, though, entertaining two-player cooperative games are rare these days and Jedi Battles get a very marginal recommendation from me for delivering an decently fun experience that required some serious teamwork on the part of Dale and myself.
Disclaimer: This review is based on the PlayStation version of the game.
Somewhere between all the gaming, Chi some how managed to finish high school and get into the New York Institute of Technology. At the same time, Chi also interned at Virtual Frontiers, an Internet software consultancy where he learned the ways of HTML. Soon after acquiring his BFA, Chi went on to become the lead Web designer of the Anti-Defamation League. During his tenure there, Chi was instrumental in redesigning and relaunching the non-profit organization's Web site.
Today, Chi is the webmaster of the American Red Cross in Greater New York and somehow managed to work through the tragic events of September 11th without losing his sanity. Chi considers GameCritics.com his life's work and continues to be amazed that the web site is still standing after the recent dotcom fallout. It is his dream that GameCritics.com will accomplish two things: 1) Redefine the grammar of videogames much the same way French film critic Andre Bazin did for the art of cinema and 2) bring game criticism to the forefront of mainstream culture much the same way Siskel & Ebert did for film criticism.
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