A worthy expansion let down by some poor design choices.
Mysteries of the Sith is a decent expansion pack to one of the more memorable Jedi romps of yesteryear. Hopping into the game, you'll find it starts off in a similar vain to it's predecessor, before taking a turn for the weird, wonderful and occasionally confusing.
If reds and yellows were the colours for Jedi Knight, then purples are the new choice for this slightly shorter add-on. The designers updated the engine to support different colours of lights and really want you to know about it. The new lighting does make the game seem dark at times and there were plenty of times where I was forced into seeing the world through a green lens – or force seeing as a Jedi would say it. The sound has been sampled at a much lower rate meaning everything sounds low quality. It's very noticeable at first but with time you accept it and move on.
Kyle Katarn is back to ease you into the game. You're allowed to develop his powers but this is soon all made redundant when four levels in, you are given a new character to control for the rest of the campaign. Mara Jade controls in exactly the same way and the animations for her are the same as Kyle's - a missed opportunity, although I did find myself liking her the more I played. She is less gritty and has a stronger sense of humour than her mentor. She's likeable and it's a shame her character wasn't developed more.
The live action cut-scenes have been ditched in favour of using the in-game engine, resulting in the voice acting being stronger. I was honestly a little disappointed as this gave Jedi Knight a little more identity. I found the story non existent for the most part. Kyle Katarn deals with some crap, Mara Jade deals with some other crap and then Kyle goes missing. It was only in the last three missions that the storyline got remotely interesting and before you know it, the credits roll.
The usual action is back. Look for keys, slice pirates and aliens, solve an environmental puzzle, rinse and repeat. It starts to get old towards the end of the game. You will be battling Jedi far more often than Jedi Knight, especially towards the end. To help you there are plenty of force powers at your disposal. Shooting an orange ball from you chest is satisfying and using force grip on those pesky stormtroopers is always a pleasure. It's hard to use all of your force powers as your energy depletes pretty quickly. It's not also a case of using whatever you want in a set scenario. Using a repeater rifle is a lot quicker and easier than using a lightsaber in a room full of people with guns. It's a shame as the more mainstream weapons are less unique and make the action seem plain by comparison.
Level design is confusing at times. Switches are hidden within or next to walls meaning you can be hunting for things that were right where you needed them. One part of the game had me going all over the level only to find that I was meant to stay in the area I had opened up and make a turret shoot some exploding barrels. A fun puzzle I thought, but the designers could have made it clearer to me that I had to do something with the turret. The second half of the game only gets worse. A lot of the interiors look the same giving you a “have I already been here?” feeling. It's frustrating and zaps the enjoyment of a few of the later levels. MotS is not a long game but you won't feel ripped off at the price Steam are asking for. Multiplayer is redundant as the lobbies were emptier than a bottle of booze at an alcoholics anonymous meeting.
MotS is worth a play through if you enjoyed the original Jedi Knight. A lot of the problems from the original have unfortunately made it through to the expansion and some of those have been exasperated by poor design choices. When you do have an idea of where to go, MotS is great and has some neat ideas. I felt like I was going through a bag a jelly belly beans: some of the flavours were brilliant and others were not at all to my liking.
MotS looses some of what made Jedi Knight special because of a lack of story but hey, more Jedi Knight action is more Jedi Knight action. If that's what your after then MotS will satisfy your craving.