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The Action Vault at IGN has posted a preview of the upcoming Star Wars-based action game Jedi Knight III: Jedi Academy, the fourth game in the Dark Forces series. The preview discusses many of the new features the game introduces, including its nonlinear "missions" progression system, weapons, multiplayer modes, and more. Here's a snippit from the article:

As you might expect, Jedi Academy will include a number of familiar characters and locations. We caught a glimpse of Chewbacca fighting at your side in one of the missions, and the planets of Tatooine and Hoth were named. The lizard-like tauntauns native to the latter's windswept ice fields will be available as mounts in some of the multiplayer scenarios. You'll also be able to take control of an unspecified number of vehicles; one stated explicitly was the All Terrain Scout Transport walker, or AT-ST. Multiplayer aficionados will be able to partake in deathmatch, duel and a siege mode in which two teams, Imperial and Rebel, will have conflicting objectives. It appears the game will support up to 16 players. We might expect the Quake III engine to support as many as 64, but the developers seem to be emphasizing quality over quantity.

While a Mac version has not yet been announced, the game runs on the already Mac-available Quake III: Arena engine, and because game publisher Aspyr Media has already released the game's predecessor, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, a port seems entirely possible. Stay tuned to IMG as we keep you posted.

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Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy

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