Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II

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.

I first played this when it came out. It has aged quite well(searching for Star Wars on this very site, this came up before its sequel... which is not to say that the sequel isn't good, but this is the better of the two), and, quite honestly, it can be downright *criminally* entertaining. For extended periods of time. It's addictive, fun, and what it introduced when it came out is commendable. The game has you taking on the role of Kyle Katarn, known from the first Dark Forces game(which I, unfortunately, have yet to be able to play more than the demo of, and due to it being made for older systems, it's not as easily accessible, partially due to compatibility), a mercenary who finds himself the only real threat to the plans of a band of Dark Jedi, who seek the mystical and mythical Valley of the Jedi, a place of immense power. Jedi Knight can essentially be played as a First Person Shooter set in the Star Wars universe... you do, indeed, start out in a fashion similar to such. However, you will acquire a Lightsaber, and as you become more and more experienced in the ways of the Force, Force Powers will become available to you, making for what I can assure you is a *really* fun time. As the Trivia page truthfully puts forth, this features, and was the first game to feature, a *fully* functioning Lightsaber... you can not only use it as an offensive weapon, but you can also use it to deflect enemy laser fire(and block enemy sabers... hint hint). As if that, alone, wasn't enough(and didn't do enough by itself to place this at a level above and beyond the standard FPS, with respect to such)... the Force Powers... what can I say? It's like the people behind the game managed to somehow extract all the cool-ness of the Force use in the films, and injected so much into this that everyone playing gets a generous portion(without it taking over, or removing challenge from the game). They include the Neutral Powers of Force Jump, Force Pull(steal the Stormtroopers' rifles right from their hands, telekinetically!), the Light Side Powers of Force Heal, Force Persuasion(think the Mind Tricks of the movies), and, last but not least, the Dark Side powers of Force Throw(a more aggressive telekinetic ability... throw debris at your opponents(it could perhaps be argued that the debris could be more subtly integrated) and Force Grip("I find your lack of faith... disturbing."). At first, as they gradually become available to you, you will be able to choose powers from either side of the Force, as your path has yet to be completely decided(you're always able to choose Neutral Powers, and they are also the first ones you can get), but your actions(for example towards bystanders... do you make special efforts to keep them safe, or do you downright strike them down?) will ultimately decide your fate in the game... the Light Side or the Dark Side of the Force. There are regular FPS weapons, as well...the basic types of such are all there... and they're certainly also cool(Rail Detonator, anyone? And you get to use Chewie's Bowcaster, as well as the Stormtrooper Rifle). The freedom in the game, though not absolute, is impressive and helps(do you want to saber through the next room of enemies, use your Force Powers to either confuse or even destroy them, use your main arsenal... or a mix of the three?) the playing to be a worthwhile and memorable experience. The story is well-written and interesting, and it develops nicely throughout. The cut-scenes in-between levels are marvelously done. They're all live-action(not bad resolution, either), with CGI, and while the acting is perhaps not Oscar material, they are another high point of the game. They help tell aforementioned story, and really take you into it. The effects are nicely done, and I definitely applaud the different Lightsaber colors. Characters and such are well-done. The game plays like being in a Star Wars movie. The game-play is enormously entertaining, and has you running, jumping, fighting(by guns and/or Lightsaber) and, of course, puzzle-solving your way through the level. That begs a mention... the level design is great, and some of the areas are utterly *vast*. Whether you find them too big for your liking or not, it is impressive that they could muster that much(and some of the visuals, in the levels... *wow*, and not just for back then), and it fits with the Star Wars universe being massive. The AI is rather good. The multi-player is well-done, and the levels another portion of high quality(and the traps are gnarly), if there could perhaps have been more(but some of them are some of the coolest single player levels, which helps make up for it). Multiplayer only has two playing modes, standard Deathmatch and Capture the Flag. The personal customization for multi-player is a character creation system, which I'm not sure can be accessed inside a game... so you may have to disconnect from a game you're in if you want to change, but enabling you to make characters ensures that you don't have to spend time customizing in the heat of battle. The music is well-done, and never sounds out of place or takes away from the experience. The voice acting is good, and sound design is in general another area I can't complain about. Complain, I shall, unfortunately... the control of the Lightsaber could be better. The blows and slashes sometimes miss, even if you're so close to your opponent that your *breath* would hit him. Also, some of the Force Powers could be activated better, and both could be smoother(which is not to say they're downright bad). Still, these are minor shortcomings. This is definitely worth playing for fans of Star Wars, FPSs and Third Person action games. I recommend it to anyone who fits into one or more of those groups. And may the Force be with you. 8/10

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?

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.