Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

"If you didn't own it, and didn't want to buy it, you wouldn't be here"

Introduction
Welcome to Jedi Knight, the sequel to Star Wars: Dark Forces. Not much of a fan when it came to the original, this game intrigued me simply because it was not a basic shooter. With the new addition of Force and the Lightsaber, the game takes a lot more skill than just aiming and clicking. You have to time things right, control your speed, and use the right Force Power when needed. So, let’s begin this.

Story 9/10
You once again play as Kyle Katarn, an ex-imperial who quit the academy after learning from Rebel Jan Ors, that his father was killed in an Imperial raid. Wanting to exact vengeance on the man who killed his father, Kyle meets the droid 8t88, who betrays him for Jerec, a Dark Jedi, who killed Kyle’s father. After escaping death, Kyle learns that Jerec is searching for the legendary Valley of the Jedi, where the souls of a thousand Jedi Knights are stored. If Jerec and his Dark Jedi tap into that power, they’ll be more powerful than the Emperor himself. Morgan Katarn, Kyle’s father, was the man who discovered the Valley, and the only one to know of its location. To protect the Valley and avenge his father, Kyle must take on the ancient ways of the Jedi, and save the galaxy from the 7 Dark Jedi bent on destroying it.

GamePlay 9/10
The gameplay was great. Although you don’t move as smoothly as in Dark Forces, the rest makes up for it. With some new actions to memorize, the game can be pretty hard, even on Easy. When you get to level 4, however, everything changes…to make it even harder. You have a lot more keys to memorize, with the great addition of the Force Powers. Force had to be the best addition to Jedi Knight, with which you can handle new abilities. Force Speed, the ability to run really fast. Force Jump, the ability to jump really high. Force Pull, the well-known ability to pull objects to you from far away, such as health packets and weapons. Force Sight, the ability to have infrared vision and see those who are invisible. Halfway through the game, you will have to choose one of two paths, which will determine your ending and the force powers you can have.
The Light Path: Force Healing, the ability to heal wounds. Force Persuasion, the ability to become invisible and sneak past your enemies undetected. Force Blinding, the ability to blind your opponents, giving you a chance to hide, or get behind and surprise them. Force Absorb, the ability to take in Dark Force and convert it to mana. And Force Protection, the ability to create a powerful shield, which cannot be purged for a limited time.
The Dark Path: Force Throw, the ability to barrage your opponents with various junk. Force Grip, Vader’s power to choke your opponents until death. Force Lightning, the ability the Emperor used on Luke in Return of the Jedi. Force Destruction, a large ball of power which will cause lots of damage, and propel things around it. And Force Deadly Sight, which will burn anything you look at.
Add this, plus the new saber moves, and you get something WAY better than Dark Forces. With the addition of multiplayer, the game is almost excellent. You can manage your own force powers, lightsaber color, and skin for each of your multiplayer characters, used to play through IP, or on MSN Gaming Zone.

Graphics 8/10
Pretty good for the time period, although a little boxy like. The game cutscenes were all acted, and are all excellent. I can never really say much about graphics…

Sound 9/10
GREAT, realistic sound effects, plus music from the original Star Wars movies. Each fitting the mood of each level and situation. If many enemies are chasing you, the music will usually change into a fast paced chase tune. Brilliant.

Replay Value: High
Wanting to find all the secrets, the difficulties, and the Force kept me coming back. Also, the add-on amateur levels you can download are almost a must if you play on the Zone. They are simply put in the Episodes folder, and you can play them. For a good variety, go to www.massassi.net. The variety is vast, and all excellent.

To buy or to rent
Have you even read the review?! BUY BUY BUY!!!!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 08/20/01, Updated 08/20/01