The lack of any sort of map or compass-like device makes every level a tedious exercise in backtracking. Often times the level was so repetitive that I couldn't tell if I was re-treading the same terrain or if I had found something new. I spent a lot of time wandering around, looking desperately for something new. The level design is so poor in this game that I don't think there was a single mission I played where I didn't get lost. While some newer worlds are introduced later in the game they are just as dull as Hoth and Tatooine.
Enough already! Why do writers, movie makers and game makers feel the need to continue including these planets in everything that is created? Part of what made games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic so interesting is that the makers of the game actually had imagination enough to come up with new and interesting planets.
That is why the Luke is hidden on Tatooine and that's why the rebels hide out on Hoth. The whole purpose of the planets is that they are remote and nearly barren. I can accept Hoth and Tatooine's inclusion in the original movie trilogy. Jedi Academy takes place on the same vanilla, boring planets that keep popping up in every Star Wars book, game and movie. As you can see that didn't work out so well, so instead I present you with something more closely resembling a novella. After playing the game for a few days I became enraged that I had spent $50 on this and decided to write a brief article highlighting some of the problems that I had with a game. For Christmas I decided to spend some of my Christmas money on this game as I'd been looking forward to it for months.