Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II

I thought the original "Dark Forces" was good, but "Jedi Knight" blows it away. Quite simply, it's the best 1st-person action game EVER created (or at least, that I've had the good fortune of playing 8-} )

The graphics are excellent, the cutscenes are fun, and being able to choose the Path you follow is great. If you've only gone the Path of the Light Side, or the Path of the Dark Side, then RUN and get your CD-ROM and play again, going the other way... the cutscenes are different after your choice, and both endings are excellent.

For 1997, the graphics are great, never did I think once about them having awful graphics as a kid. After playing games like Knights of the Old Republic, I realize that it isn't the best, but the story line is great.

The use of blue screen was wonderful, the acting was good and you couldn't wait to get through a level to be rewarded with a short movie to add to the story each time you finished.

Challenging but fun, Dark Forces II has a great plot.

Taking place several years after the events in Return of the Jedi, it begins as Kyle looks for new information of his father's death from a droid named 8t88 ('88' for short). Kyle is informed by 88 that his father was killed by a Dark Jedi named Jerec. 88 tries to kill Kyle but he escapes from a gun to the head and chases 88 for a stolen data disk meant only for Kyle from his father. Afterwards, he recovers a lightsaber from his father's workshop, compelling him on a journey to confront his father's murderers and to discover his own latent Force abilities. While on this journey, Kyle learns that seven Dark Jedi (Yun, Pic, Gorc, Boc, Maw, Sariss, and Jerec, the leader), his father's killers, are intent on finding the Valley of the Jedi, a focal point for Jedi power in the universe.

Kyle starts the game with no knowledge of the Force. As the player progresses through the game, Kyle gains Jedi abilities, known as "Force Powers". These powers fall in three general categories: Neutral, Light, and Dark. The game awards one "Force point" upon the completion of each level, and an additional point if the player finds all of the secret areas. These skill points can be allocated towards any Force power, boosting that power's effects.

Jedi Knight is noted for the ethical decisions integrated into the game play. Kyle is a neutral character for most of the game, neither fully Light nor Dark. Actions against unarmed civilians throughout the game, as well as what Force powers a player chooses throughout the game, will sway Kyle towards the Light or the Dark sides. Eventually, the character Kyle must choose between Light and Dark; how he chooses depends on the player's actions throughout the game. A "Force meter" displays Kyle's progress towards either side during breaks in the action.

The game is incredible, wonderful plot and character development. Jason Court really brings Kyle to life, showing his instability and how he isn't always sure, but keeps him cool and collected, making Kyle a memorable character and bringing the whole game together with his acting.

All in all, this game is very good, I'm surprised after 8 years of playing this game, I can still find entertainment and enjoyment from it. With a wonderful ending that really brings it all home, what isn't to like about it?

A Jedi "knight" may not crave those things, but many young computer gamers do.

So, am I going to review a computer game? Not precisely. Rather the culmination of visual media that was injected into this particular title, and how it resonates with people.

The cut scenes for this computer title were interesting. The were in the spirit of the films, but also were dumbed down a shade for a teen to twenty-something audience. Which is odd, since a lot of the players were also in their thirties and forties when this title was released. So, was there another marketing agenda operating here? Quite probably.

The game itself regards gun for hire Kyle Katarn who stared in the previous title "Dark Forces". There you essentially played a DOOM clone with Star Wars trappings. The experience was a very fun one, if somewhat vanilla flavored due to the limits of PC technology at the time. Dark Forces 2; Jedi Knight, as can be expected, continues mister Katarn's tale into the days of when the Alliance is doing some house cleaning with the remnants of the Galactic Empire.

The cutscenes are geared to bring to life some of the spirit of adventure from which the films this game is based on draw. But they falter some with some over the top acting, and of course the production values are regrettably low for a Star Wars title. Actors are costumed, then shot against Blue Screen with computer generated sets to make up the rest.

I remember the loads of debates going on about the title, and specifically why it was that the cut scenes weren't living up to cinematic expectations of the Dark Forces gaming community. Well, simply put, they are films aimed at older children, but children nonetheless. Ergo the acting and everything else is what it is. This being the case, and the unreasonable demographic analysis of the computer game market at the time, the mass hard core audience that has supported the title faithfully were let down some by unnatural and low age thesping.

All in all the staging for the small video vignettes were quite spartan. Whether this was meant to offset the gaming experience or it was due to technological limitations of encoding video at the time, I'm not certain. But the video sequences, in my not so humble opinion, could have been a bit more. The title itself was, for a time, PCGamers all time best game ever out of a list of top 100 games. DF2 was given the best finishing coat at the time, but a little more would not have hurt.

As for the game itself, it was very robust and playable. It told another Star Wars saga with some interesting twists, and carried with it a very spiritual theme. The big rival at the time was ID softwares Quake-2 (which I also bought and played), but at the time I preferred the Star Wars setting to some over the top gore-filled game whose pedigree included titles like DOOM and Quake.

Jedi Knight was a watershed moment. It took gaming seriously, and added a character whose force-felt allegiances and leanings were pretty ambiguous. Me? I loved the game for the pure size and scope of the single player game. And spent more than my unhealthy share of hours in various multiplayer games on the old dialup MS Gaming Zone.

Jedi Knight didn't spearhead video and film scenes included with games, but the title and company showed how they can better accentuate and highlight salient and important dramatic points in a gaming like context.

The graphics are a little dated, but if you're a die hard SW fan, then maybe give this a whirl on your CD drive.

Even 3 years after it's release, this is still my favorite first person game and my favorite Star Wars game. Nothing else has captured the feel of being a lightsaber-wielding Jedi in the Star Wars universe as well as this game has. While the engine is a little dated, most people will find the graphics still look good (in 1024X768 mode) and the gameplay is very well done. Numerous add-ons and skin packs greatly enhance the fun of gameplay.

One of the biggest complaints about the game is the limited multi-player options. The only kind of multi-player game seems to be a deathmatch where players try to kill each other the most number of times. While that is fun for a while, it quickly gets dull.

The only other problem I have is that the cut-scene videos in the single player game could have been made better. The soundtrack seems to be a second or two off with the lips of the actors and the acting in general is very amateur. At the time the game was made, however, video game cut-scenes were still fairly new and not perfected yet, so I let some of these faults slide.

Overall, the game is excellent and I highly recommend this title to any Star Wars fan. I just wish a sequel would come out with an updated game engine.

It's really very simple. If you in any way, shape or form enjoy Star Wars, then you will love this video game. From the very beginning, you become caught up with a quest to become a Jedi Knight. Your actions determine whether you will pursue a good or evil path. The graphics are flawless, and there is nothing more exciting than a lightsaber duel with one or more of your friends.