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Rating:  -
Kyle Katarn was once a Jedi Knight. He once helped the fledgling New Republic in its strugle against the Empire. Until Drommund Kaas, when he confronted the darkness in himself, and gave in to it. So he gave up his lightsaber to Luke Skywalker, swearing never to touch the Force again. He went back to working as a New Republic mercenary alongside Jan Ors, the only other person in the galaxy who knew the location of the fabled Valley of the Jedi, and the incalculable power it contained. He might have lived the rest of his life that way, with only his blaster, his wits, and Jan, the woman he loved, to count on.
Until they took one mission that ended all that.
They met Desann, a powerful Dark Jedi, and his apprentice Tavion. They, along with Admiral Galak Fyyar, an Imperial scientist, are trying to find a way to artificially infuse the Force into living subjects, to mass-produce their own army of Dark Jedi. Needless to say, they succeed...and it's all Kyle's fault. So what's a former Jedi to do?
Simple. Take back your Force abilities, reclaim your lightsaber, and go hunting.
This game did a great job of improving on the combat and Force powers of the original JEDI KNIGHT. Your Force abilities are taken directly from the movies, with none of the showy powers you saw in the original. You end up with eight in all; four neutral, two light, and two dark, but they're selected for you automatically. You can't upgrade them as freely as you could before. The lightsaber combat is vastly improved; they used motion-capture to animate Kyle and his enemies, and it shows. Even the lightsabers themselves look better, like they were taken directly from the movies.
The enemies are just what you'd want in a STAR WARS game. They basically fall into three categories; Imperials, bounty hunters, and the Reborn. The Imperials range from stormtroopers (killing them NEVER gets old), officers, droids, and engineers. The bounty hunters are from four different races; Rodians, Grans, Trandoshans, and Weequay, and they're pretty much interchangable. But the Reborn...oh boy, are THEY a challenge.
The Reborn are the result of Admiral Fyyar's experiements in artificially stimulating midichlorian production. They're all Dark Jedi, and they're all insane from the process. You'll want to pay attention to what color they're wearing when you fight them; orange and blue aren't so bad, green is tougher, but red and black? Be ready for a FIGHT. And that's not even counting the Shadowtroopers...
The 'boss' enemies are nicely varied as well. Reelo Baruk, the criminal connection, is nothing. Admiral Fyyar, with his shielded power armor, is like a walking tank. Tavion and Desann are VERY crafty; those two are the toughest enemies in the game.
Fortunately, you won't be completely alone. Jan Ors fights alongside you briefly, as do Republic soldiers and fellow Jedi Knights. Raven Software even had the brilliant idea of bringing in Lando Calrissian (voiced by Billy Dee Williams HIMSELF!) and Luke Skywalker to back you up. In fact, fighting alongside Luke is one of the game's high points; the two of you are squaring off against both stormtroopers and Reborn in one area. My only complaint is that it was over WAY too soon.
The locales are just as eclectic as you'd expect from a STAR WARS game, or movie, for that matter. You go from an abandoned Imperial listening post, to a crystal mine under Imperial control, to Nar Shaddaa, Bespin, an asteroid base, an Imperial Star Destroyer, even Yavin 4, home of the Jedi Academy itself. And every location find new ways to challenge you, no matter what powers or weapons you have at the time.
But once again, it's the story that pulls you in more than anything else. The continuing story of what happens to the New Republic after the movies is compelling enough -- I think we all wonder what happened after RETURN OF THE JEDI -- but framing it around the events of Kyle Katarn's life puts YOU right there in the middle of it all. Kyle's a fascinating character, make no mistake -- kind of like a hybrid of Luke and Han Solo -- but YOU'RE the one directing the action. YOU'RE slugging it out with stormtroopers. YOU'RE slinging a lightsaber against Dark Jedi.
YOU'RE a Jedi Knight.
And that's the best selling point I can think of.
Rating: -
Graphically, this game is a work of art. The shiny surfaces, glowing lightsabers, and vibrant colors make this a winner.
As far as gameplay those, you can even forget the graphics! This gameplay is so good, you could play it with terrible graphics, and still have an aweseome time!
The score by John Williams is another highlight. The music enhances the tension, action, and drama of this game.
Overall, this is the best star wars game i have ever purchased or played.
Rating: -
(...)
This was the 2nd game I purchased for my Macs, and it's the only one I still play. It really is that good. The story is original and well executed, the voice actors are excellent, and the gameplay is fun. The graphics may not be state of the art these days, but they are subtle and more believable when compared to many of today's games which rely overmuch on special lighting effects. Some of the puzzles are frustrating but once learned you find they are really quite easy. The jumping puzzles and chasms can result in deadly falls, but hey, who said the galaxy was a safe place? Hone your force jumping skills. And your other Force powers. You'll need them.
The cinematics are well done and really carry the story forward as they segue you into the next level. The John Williams score is used effectively. If you like being immersed in the Star Wars universe, this game is for you.
The game is based on the Quake 3 Arena engine, so it plays really smoothly on any new hardware. Even older iBooks like the G3 I had perform well enough to play Jedi Outcast. On my PowerBook, the game flies. The multiplayer game is good, with the standards Capture The Flag and other team play, but it really shines in Jedi Duel, where the fights are one on one, with the winner remaining to fight the next player on the server. This is pure Star Wars light saber dueling and it takes skill and finesse to be a good duelist (if one doesn't use cheats, that is).
I wish LucasArts would release more games like Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. Jedi Academy was good, but was more like an expansion to Jedi Outcast. Jedi Academy did pick up at the end though, and the Dark Side ending leaves plenty of room for a new Jedi Knight game with Kyle Katarn hunting down his wayward apprentice.
Rating:  -
If you love watching Jedi battles then pick this one up its great however in the first few levels you dont get lightsabers you get them a bit later and Ill tell you this is one really long game good story you get to fight along side with lukeskywalker or Lando.Not to mention the force powers from lightning to lightsaber throw mindtrick push and more so you can think of multiple ways for taking out your enemys
The multiplayer is very fun tons of games and levels and gamemodes pick from tons of charecters and pick what color you want your lightsaber to be.Playing Capture the flag with lightsabers is alot of fun
So if you own a Computer,PS2,Gamecube,or an Xbox and you like lightsabers then order this game right now
Rating: -
...and three years later I buy the game.
Wow! Awesome! I can't believe it runs so well after the three years of its release! Everything looks and feels great on my XP. This is one of the only games I have purchased and and not had to return due to the CD being messed up or some corrupted file. So... I'm happy!
I thought no one would play the multi player anymore but there seem to always be games going on. Yep, this is a game I would suggest to any gamer.
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