Some of the best reflections I've seen on the PlayStation are to be found on the floors in Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles. Some of the graphic effects in this one are pretty sweet. You start in the same place as Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (well, the game and the movie...) above Naboo on a Trade Federation ship. As we all know, they don't take things peacefully, so you start off right in the action as you exit the conference room. Now, while SWEI: Jedi Power Battles begins the same way as SWEI: The Phantom Menace, its graphical style and complete look are handled much better this time around. PLUS, you can play two players, which is a lot better than constantly getting separated from a CPU-controlled partner. The scenes are very rich and detailed, and there's a surprising amount of 'deformable' elements in the environment. So, unless you're in some sort of a hurry, take some time and bash a few computer consoles as you progress. Not only is it fun to watch your Jedi wreak havoc, but you get points for it, too.

You're in a fast-paced quest to take back the Theed palace. Well, not an extremely fast pace... in fact, when you clear an area, you can take a breather without any obvious penalty. But, there are a lot of enemies in some locations. Some are tougher than others, so you'll have to keep your wits about you. (Or, you could simply run and jump past them all until you get to a point that you have to kill the enemies around you to progress. At that point, just run away so they all group up together, then turn around and charge them waving your light saber. For that matter, when there are that many droids around, simply blocking is bound to bounce their shots into other droids or themselves.) There are lots of power-ups along the way, which you can use to your advantage, and you also have the (really cool) ability to smash several different types of parts of the ship as you progress. Most video screens and control panels are destructible. The bosses are, for the most part, 'method' bosses, but then that's true for most games... One of the coolest things you can do is deflect shots fired at you and (if you're lucky) take out enemies with them. Sometimes this works better than others, but when it works right, it's unbelievably cool... Jedi Power Battles is a fun game, perfect for playing with your diehard arcade/adventure friend, but less perfect for playing alone.

Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles offers two difficulty settings: Easy and Jedi. The thing to remember here is that Jedi is not easy. Quite frankly, Easy is a nice level to start off on, then try Jedi when you're doing better. (Or, when no one else can see...) The main thing to remember is that you can only save the game after completing a level so,

A) always save after completing a level,
B) be careful as you progress, and
C) ALWAYS save after completing a level.

At any rate, the game is easier with two players, since there’s the same number of enemies either way. This is especially true of the boss stages. The bosses may be bigger, but they have to deal with two targets. If you are looking for a game that you can sit down and play through real quick, and then move on to another, keep moving. If, however, you like a game that is a bit challenging and could at least devour an entire weekend (sans sleep), then check out Jedi Power Battles. You'll be glad you did.

Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles doesn't break any new ground technically, but it is a nicely put together package; good graphics and sound, nice gameplay, and hours of action (more, if you play alone). If you're a Star Wars fan and you like Action/Adventure Platform games, then you may enjoy Star Wars Episode I: Jedi Power Battles. If you are a Star Wars fanatic, you may be a bit bothered by the fact that a light saber doesn't always slice through an opponent on the first try, but then again, that might just be getting picky. The levels are fairly well balanced and the bosses can be tricky, although there's a lot of times that simply 'hauling a$$' will get you quickly unscathed to the end of an area. Oh, well... I guess the programmers weren't expecting that.