Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

"A great Star Wars shooter"

Dark Forces II:Jedi Knight is the wonderful sequel to Dark Forces. Dark Forces was wonderful because it was such as novel idea; wouldn’t you like a first-person shooter in the Star Wars universe? Because of that, Dark Forces succeeded. However, some complained that they wanted to be a Jedi, not just some Rebel agent. Others wanted multiplayer. Yet more said that it was just Doom, Star Wars style. All of these complaints are annihilated in Jedi Knight(JK from now on).

In JK, you control Kyle Katarn, prior stormtrooper-turned Rebel agent. Before, In Dark Forces, Kyle had foiled the Empire’s evil plans for a new, almost-unstoppable mechanical “Dark Troopers.” A few years later, his father is murdered by a sadistic Dark Jedi Master, Jerec, and his Dark Jedi sidekicks. Also, Kyle’s father had the location of the secret “Planet of the Jedi” on a datadisc that Jerec also stole; if Jerec could reach this planet, then his power would be unstoppable, and a new era of darkness would come over the universe. Obviously, Kyle has to stop that. But he’s got some new skills up his sleeve to defeat Jerec.

One innovative aspect of JK is how you become a Jedi Knight throughout levels of the game; after each level, you’ll gain “force stars.” You’ll get some for completing the level, and then more for find secret area and stashes of ammo and health. You can then put those stars into different force skills. Additionally, you’ll decide whether to save the universe with the light side of the force, or defeat Jerec and take the Planet of the Jedi for yourself with the dark side. Original, huh?

The graphics are pretty good; they’re not the best, but they’re still nice. The detail in characters is nice though, as you’ll see characters from the Star Wars movies in JK. Also nice are the weapons; again, you’ll recognize them from the Star Wars movies. The graphics, while not JK’s strongpoint, are functional and good.

The sound are very nice. The sounds and music are straight from the movies, which is, of course, a very good thing. So, the sounds and music are of the highest quality. One thing I do have reason to complain about it the voice acting during the cutscenes. I think the Lucasarts perhaps pulled a few people off the street and shoved them into costumes, then forced the words out of their mouths. The acting is pretty dang corny.

Gameplay is pretty good; I recommend using a joystick, mouse, and keyboard in concert to control. All of the levels are different, from a city to an old reservoir. Helping differentiate JK from Quake is having both 3rd and 1st person perspectives. While the 1st person view is much more practical, having a 3rd is a nice addition. The gameplay in JK is fast and furious, and you’ll have quite a bit of fun with the single-player levels.

The multiplayer adds on quite a bit. Lightsaber battling is the most fun for me; who wouldn’t want to spar with a friend three hundred miles away with swords of light? There are quite a few other multiplayer modes, too. Adding on is the “clans”; you can join a group of players, as the group setup is very fervent for JK at the Microsoft Gaming Zone.

This game is a great deal. Being a bargain bin title, you can find JK for cheap. If you do, I highly recommend buying it. This is a game you don’t want to miss.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/26/00, Updated 11/08/01