Reviews / previews
LucasArts awesome Dark Forces series continues with Star Wars Jedi Outcast: Jedi Knight II. In the latest first-person-shooter/third-person-lightsaber-combat title, youll again play as fallen Jedi Kyle Katarnbut now his Force powers are fully developed. Based on a modified version of the Quake III engine, Jedi Outcast will sport immense levels, intense action, and incredible detailsuch as the glowing red trail your lightsaber leaves as you cut into a wall.
In the E3 demo, LucasArts showed a huge lightsaber battle between numerous Jedi in the docking bay of a space station, which had Kyle taking out tons of Stormtroopers in a variety of nasty wayssevering limbs with lightsabers, wielding incredible Force powers, and spraying blaster fire. Glorious lighting effects filled the screen at every moment, creating an eerie beauty to the battles. If you ever wondered what happens when good Jedi go bad, youll get to find out with Jedi Outcast.-- 0 / GamePro
Its a few years after the destruction of the second Death Star, and the New Republic is starting to take shape. Of course, in fine Star Wars fashion, a new threat is approaching to terrorize the galaxy, and who better to fight this new phantom menace than a failed Jedi Knight? A refreshing return to the days of good Star Wars movies, Jedi Knight II will engage you in a battle to preserve freedom and justice in the shadow of the fallen Empire.
When we last left Kyle Katarn, he had almost been seduced by the Dark Side of the Force and was busy saving the galaxy. Now, years later, he has given up on the Force and its temptations, and has gone back to his smugglers ways. Over the course of the game, Kyle will go from rusty former Jedi to a true Jedi Knight as he battles the forces of the Empire. You will have to lead Kyle through levels ranging from Yavin and Cloud City to new locales from the Star Wars Expanded Universe on his quest to reclaim his Jedi skills and protect the New Republic.
LucasArts has wisely employed the services of Raven Software to make sure the Quake III Team Arena engine screams. The early preview version moved smoothly from first- to third-person whenever you equipped a lightsaber, and the Jedi melee battles will make any real Star Wars fan squeal with joy. There will even be a sense of character development as Kyle relearns his old Force powers and tightens his lightsaber technique over the course of the game. Gamers starving for some old-school Star Wars action will want to remain mindful of Jedi Knight II.-- Death Star Destroyer / GamePro
As youre reading this, Jedi Knight II should be close to release, if not out already. The preview version looked tight with massive levels and beautiful graphics that really made you feel like the star of your own Star Wars side story.
Youll play as Kyle Katarn, a fallen Jedi and the hero of the first Jedi Knight. The controls in the early build felt just like what youd expect from a Star Wars game: Blaster rifles and Wookie bowcasters looked, sounded, and fired the way they do in the movies and lightsaber duels were every bit as intense and deadly. Even the Force powers felt great, and they added a lot to the game. Plus, there was a noticeable difference in gameplay once Kyle started to relearn his old Jedi skills.
Its still too early to say for sure, but Jedi Knight II could be the rare Star Wars game that does justice to the franchise. Heres hoping that Raven and LucasArts can keep things on track; if they do, they could be looking at something huge.-- Death Star Destroyer / GamePro
Bucking recent trends in Star Wars gaming, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is good. Really good. Its a balance of license and gameplay that brings honor to the Star Wars name and real Jedi action to your PC.
Jedi Outcast has one of the tightest stories of any FPS today. You are Kyle Katarn, the hero (and villain) of the original Jedi Knight and a mercenary for the New Republic. The game takes place years after Return of the Jedi, so only remnants of the Empire remain. After checking out an Imperial Remnant base with your partner Jan, you get embroiled into a deep plot filled with intrigue, loss, and betrayal, and along the way, you regain your lost Jedi powers.
Adding Jedi powers to an already-great FPS engine is a stroke of genius. Imagine if in Quake III (the game engine on which Jedi Outcast is based) you could hit a button and yank your opponents weapon out of their hands, or wave a hand and throw five enemies against the nearest wall. Imagine cornering an enemy and lifting them with the Force, then choking them like Darth Vader. Then theres the lightsaber battlesoh, the lightsaber battleswhich will have true Star Wars fans drooling on their keyboards and cackling with delight. You havent done it all until youve fought two saber-wielding evil Jedi and defeated one with sheer skill before choking the other to death with the Force. Unbelievable. And surprise! It all controls rather well with only the chaos of the lightsaber duels to detract from a feeling of total control.
Visually, Jedi Outcast looks amazing. Everything is as Star Wars as it should be; droids shamble and shine, stormtroopers flip and dance when they get shot, and blasters spurt color-coded beams across the battlefield. Youll recognize TIE fighters in their hangar and grin with satisfaction as a realistic-looking Lando Calrissian greets you from his prison cell. Only little flaws hurt the graphics, such as the fact that blaster bolts dont light up dark areas and tiny visible seams in textures make the characters look just a little abnormal. Other than those tiny nit-picks, though, the game is simply gorgeous.
Playing Jedi Outcast is a pleasure in and of itself. Raven has displayed great creativity in this title, especially in level layout and puzzles. The Force powers gave the developers a lot of leeway in what they could do with puzzles, and by and large, the challenges youll face are more than your average push-box-jump-over-chasm FPS puzzles. Theres a lot of find-key-find-lock stuff going on, but thats done very well. Jaded gamers will find exception, however, with many of the obstacles in the game. Jump puzzles, when they occur, are often frustrating in execution, and clichs like running through the air ducts and the now-ubiquitous stealth level are disappointing after playing through a few hours of ingenuity.
Of course, Jedi Outcasts sound is perfect, but, with this being a Star Wars game, you knew that already. The real star of this game is the gameplay, which alternates between great and brilliant. No matter what planet youre from, thats gotta rock.-- Darth Destroyer / GamePro
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