Fact: Some Jedi fear the dark side.
The dark side fears Kyle Katarn.
Good day.
Star Wars: Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight has a very long title and has got to be one of
the best first person shooters of the late 90s.
Hell, I personally would count it as one of the best first person shooters of all time,
and it is in my top ten favorite games.
Jedi Knight is a game that is complete, there are some games that have good gameplay, but
bad story, or the reverse can be true where the story is really well written, but the
game play is lacking.
Here, every aspect of the game is just amazing.
The game uses live action cutscenes that have both great visual effects and pretty bloody
good acting as well.
And the graphics for the game itself were for the time nothing short of amazing.
This game uses the Sith engine - the power to use open GL is insignificant next to the
power of the Force.
The levels are now huge, sprawling and above all open, no more are you confined to bland
repetitive corridors.
Really, the levels are just amazing and there's just so much to do in them, you never really
just walk from point A to point B; rather you have to do something kind of crazy.
For example, to get up here you have climb up these ramps and jump on the box all the
way up this shaft.
The gameplay for Jedi Knight is nicely varied, you don't just gun down waves and waves of
troops rather you have to really think about how to keep progressing as the game never
makes it obvious as to where you are supposed to go.
The shooting for the game is quite good as well, it's fast paced and fluid, so you have
a great many guns to choose from, and it's bloody hard; even on normal you are going
to be dying a lot.
And then we get into one of the greatest elements to the game: the light saber.
This is really what elevated this game to greatness.
The fact that you can use a light saber and the combat with it is quite fun, the controls
are spot on and you can really feel like a Jedi while wielding it.
That's not all, either.
The dueling is great, it actually feels like a legitimate lightsaber duel.
And then there are the Force powers and these work quite well and are all very satisfying.
As should come as no surprise I highly recommend Jedi Knight, its story, gameplay, graphics,
and music all culminate to create a game that stands with the greats of first person shooting
and so this is Jon wishing you good Jedi Knight 2, good Jedi Acadamy, or whatever makes you
happy.