Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2 caters to the farm boy in all of us by letting players grab a lightsaber and fight their way through the Star Wars universe from a first-person perspective. You slip into the boots of Jedi wannabe Kyle Katarn, guiding him through several adventures that should appeal to any Star Wars fan. (The two of you out there who don't care for Star Wars will just have to find another game to play.) Your Jedi powers grow as the game progresses, and players are free to commit acts that strengthen their ties to either the Dark or Light side of the Force. Once the commitment to good or evil is made, you lose all your Force powers from the opposing side but gain the ability to add more powerful tricks to your arsenal from the side you chose. All the neat stuff from the movies is there, like the Force pull that lets you disarm enemies, and Vader's sadistic favorite, the Force grip, for choking enemies from a distance. Other powers like Force jump give you greater mobility in the game, and all the Force powers add immensely to Jedi Knight's gameplay.
The included Mysteries of the Sith add-on picks up the adventure five years later. This time you get to play as both Kyle Katarn and Mara Jade, the female Jedi from Timothy Zahn's novel Heir to the Empire. This time around you must adhere to the Light side of the Force, but that doesn't make gameplay any less interesting. Success in these expansion missions require much more use of your Jedi powers than the original game, and actually having to think our way through problems in a first-person shooter (especially in the last few levels) was a refreshing change.
Graphically, both games hold up well. Resolution can be cranked up to 1,600 x 1,200 if your video card is up to task. Although the environments you move through lack detail the level design is so spectacular, we doubt you'll care. Few games offer environments this massive or varied, and the familiar Star Wars architecture lend a great deal of atmosphere to the game.
The movie tie-in also means that Jedi Knight has some of the best sound effects ever. From the hum of a lightsaber to the roar of a passing TIE bomber, everything is authentic and immediately recognizable. If you missed this game the first time around, don't make the same mistake with this bundle. --T. Byrl Baker
Pros:
- One word: lightsaber
- Massive environments with a familiar theme
- Ability to choose Light or Dark paths with specific powers (such as healing or lightning) for each
Cons: - Enemies aren't very intelligent
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