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Running up the walls......enough said.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 82 / 88
Date: April 26, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First a small gripe: I truly wish LucasArts would release more Star Wars games like "Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast". Due to the lack of recent releases, I fear they've sold out to console game systems like Dreamcast and Playstation. My hope is they will return to the PC market and start churning out more games like this, which, well, kicked the Tabasco sauce out of any console Star Wars game in recent memory.

Simply put, the game is awesome. It's the first Star Wars game where the lightsaber is truly the most powerful weapon, provided its mixed with a few good force powers. Without a doubt the original JK and "Mysteries of the Sith" are both five star games, but the lightsabers were weak at best and downright useless at worst, except for the few times you had to use them to defeat other saber wielding opponents. I mean, in the original JK you had to face your enemy dead on to block a projectile. You couldn't throw your saber, couldn't jump three feet without pushing two buttons at once, and the moves you had.....slash, slash, buck-up, slash. That's pretty much it. In "Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast" you utilize more of the Episode I fighting style. In other words, you're flying all over the place (flipping, rolling, jumping 30 yards sideways, running up the walls) and not just standing there hoping your enemy will come close enough to hit. By the end of the game you have some truly impression abilities. You can throw your saber at will, throw your enemies at will, and jump 40 feet in the air at will. The gameplay is the best I've seen in a long time - great replay value.

I know some reviewers have complained about the difficulty level, and they're absolutely correct to complain. Even on easy the game is anything but. It's not just difficult puzzles or levels, either. Some places are difficult to get past just because of the enemies. On top of that the game does have it's fair share of frustrating puzzles. To solve these you can either buy the strategy guide (I wouldn't suggest spending the money, unless you want multiplayer tips) or search for an online walkthrough. There are plenty of them out there. That's what I did on more than one occasion, and that alleviated some of the frustration. Still, it took me two weeks to beat, playing on average an hour a day. The difficulty makes it fun, though, in a way, since the game's not over before you've even taken the shrink wrap off the box.

All in all, a must for fans of the original JK and first-person shooters in general. A definite Game of the Year contender.

The Saga Continues

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 27 / 40
Date: July 11, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Kyle Katarn quickly became my favorite character in the gaming world. In "Dark Forces", the first of the series, you really only begin to learn the basic brute skills of fighting. You also learn several mind skills, not powers, but necessary exercises to prepare you for the coming hazards in the next challenge. "Dark forces II: Jedi Knight", brought in a new level of graphics and a whole bunch of new worlds to explore. Jedi force powers make dog meat out of the villains. A new darkness arises, and Kyle Katarn destroys one Dark Jedi at a time, until he finally bring's a new balance to the force. Also you learn the tragic and mystical nature of Kyle's past. In "Mysteries of the Syth", you meet a new character named Mara Jade, Kyle Katarns Apprentice in training. What seperates this game from the others in skill, is the awesome long-distance sniper scope attatched to your quick fire storm pistol...
This new addition to the series, Outcast, will develope Kyle's skills. With Familiar, and new world's and the ability to ride the line, using both light and dark skills, it will no doubt be a blast from the old briar pistol. But, will the graphics surpass Alice? I personally shout out the challenge to the design crew. (The five stars were given only in hope!) It was reported at several websites that the critical viewers were stunned with the new graphics that they saw at Lucas Art's game display expo. They say it stole the show, even though there were higher anticipated games on display. It's a great sign. ~SAOS~

The Force is Strong with This One

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 26 / 30
Date: April 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

First the initial parameters:

1. I am a huge fan of JK1 (so this review may be biased)
2. Running on GeForce2Go Dell laptop
3. Running Windows XP

Pros:

1. Runs right out of the box on my GeForce2Go laptop.
2. The game's graphics- especially the environments are wonderful. Very immersive vistas. I could almost feel the wind.
3. Force powers are much better than original JK1 by deepening its impact. E.g 1st stage of lightsaber throw is simple throw in direction of view. 2nd stage is a steerable lightsaber. 3rd stage of throw is autohoming lightsaber. As you mature in your Force abilities you will be able to do better things with them, not just more of the same as in JK1.
4. Lightsaber fighting system is the most advanced of any so far (compared to JK1, Jedi Power Battles, Phantom Menace, Obiwan). 3 types of fighting styles- from quick and weak to slow and powerful. You learn these during the course of the game (or you can use them immediately in multiplayer mode.)
5. Level designs are excellent. Very 3 dimensional interconnected spaces- providing more than 1 order to solve a problem.
6. Haven't gone thru the whole game yet, but plot line seems pretty compeling.
7. At 1280x1024 frame rates are very high.

Cons:
1. Initial part of the game is a not very different from a standard Quake or Elite Force game, but level designs in JK2 are better.

2. The incessant jumping and puzzle solving starts to get a little dull, if not annoying. The scene with the stompers in Galaxy Quest comes to mind a lot: "why would anyone put these in a starship?!?!"

awesome, wonderful -- and with a light saber too!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 11
Date: December 05, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Dark Forces was my favorite first-person shooter (FPS) for a long time. I still play it occasionally, and was upset about LucasArts not porting the first Jedi Knight game to Mac. My bitterness is at an end however, having longed for, rushed-to-buy and now completed Jedi Knight II -- a terrific game with loads of great weapons and Force powers. I haven't played the multiplayer game yet, but here is my evaluation of single player mode:

Good things: (1) First and foremost, as with Dark Forces, there is an actual STORY with mission objectives that tie in to a larger purpose. Unlike most FPS's, where you just kill everything in sight and push whatever buttons present themselves, there is a plot here that makes sense. (2) The settings are terrific -- 24 levels that take place on ships, planets, city streets, the Jedi Academy, swamps and more -- filled with lovely graphics and extraordinary detail. (3) Humor. One reason I can't wait to play again is that I was so anxious to get through the game the first time that I sometimes didn't wait to hear the often funny conversations between Storm Troopers or their dressing down by officers. (4) The weapons and tools are great, with primary and secondary functions that have you changing tactics just for the joy of trying different modes of attack. Seeker drones and assault sentries are fun to use, but they are nothing compared to the great Force powers, which have three levels of power that are upped as you make progress through the levels -- Force Push, Pull, Grip, Lightning, Speed and Mind Trick are a blast to use, and add dimension to your strategy. The light sabre is great fun and you can become as adept as you want to with the magnificent number of moves and saber styles available. (5) Many of the same bad guys as in Dark Forces, but in better graphics and with more challenging moves. Great new villains include the camouflaged Swamp Troopers and Admiral Fyyar. (6) The ability to choose between first- or third-person perspective is awesome. (7) The game is very stable. Running on a PowerMac G4, I never had one crash. (8) The cut scenes added dimension and moved the story along, and they integrated seamlessly with gameplay. (9) John Williams music makes you feel like you're in the Star Wars universe, and sounds in general are used to good effect. (10) Billy Dee Williams voicing Lando Calrissian! (11) Enemy death throes.

Bad things: (1) Unlike Dark Forces, there is no map function, and I found I really missed that. Levels are sometimes HUGE, and I'd have liked to have had some reference. (2) The secret areas were not very exciting, usually just containing a few supplies. (3) Sometimes voices were garbled or masked by the music and there was no way to hear what Kyle was muttering to himself or repeat what message had come over an intercom, for example. Unlike cutscene dialogues they were not subtitled. (4) The climactic battle with Evil Lord Dessan was less interesting than an earlier encounter with Fyyar. (5) I found it was difficult to maneuver when I used Force Speed.

But these are minor quibbles. The game is wonderful. I'm ecstatic that it was ported to Macintosh. I've made it through one time and look forward to playing it again. And again .... and again ....

Better than the prequels themselves

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 18 / 24
Date: December 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Whats this? LucasArts releasing an excellent Star Wars game? Why yes it is! A great action-adventure game!

Jedi Outcast takes place about 10ish years after Return of the Jedi. Kyle is a ex-jedi, a mercinary who travels the universe trying to make a living doing jobs for the New Republic. One day, he is sent, along with his partner Jan Ors to a moon where it is believed that leftover imperials are hiding out. There he will discover a secret that will change his life forever.

Jedi Outcast begins as a 1rst person shooter, with Kyle (your charachter, duh) running around imperial bases for the first 5 levels shooting countless imperial stormtroopers with his trusty blaster rifle. This is the games only bad point. For the first 5 levels you have no lightsaber, only a few weapons and no force powers. Unlike most video games, the first few levels of Jedi Outcast do a fairly poor job of sucking you into the game. There are almost no really exciting moments for the first 5 levels (With the exception of your first encounter with the games super cool bad guy at the end of level 5). Just non stop shooting and a few really difficult puzzles. After you get your lightsaber however, things really start to take off and they dont stop.

The gameplay in Jedi outcast is virtually perfect, jumping is easily accomplished, shooting with weapons is easy to do, and most important, the lightsaber controls are flawless. Its easy to pick up how to do complex moves with a bare minimum of practice.

The highlight of Jedi outcast is of course the lightsaber combat. After getting all the fighting styles (Fast, medium, strong) and mastering them, you will be a virtually unstopable fighting machine, redifining the term "Jedi Master" with little effort and some skill, you can hack off arms, hands, heads, torsos, legs and feet. If lightsaber combat isint your thing, you can always use the amazingly sweet force powers. Hate a certian stormtrooper? Activate force speed and zoom behind him, pick him up in force grip and toss him off a catwalk to his death. All within a few seconds. Later in the game, you get to fight alongside allies, such as, believe it or not, Lando Calrissian (cool, Billy De Williams nailed the voice acting) and even Luke skywalker! (Sadly this part is only for about a minute). You will need all the help you can get, taking on literally thousands of stormtroopers (One thing about the stormtroopers, for the first time ever, you actually feel sorry for them when you carve them up or toss them off a ledge to thier deaths), Rodians, weequays, frustratingly annoying Grans, Dark Jedi soldiers, and the games super cool main villian,(who sounds like James Earl Jones in a way). Another cool feature of Jedi Outcast is the voice acting. Along with the excellent sound effects, you might find yourself sneaking through an air vent and hear a stormtrooper talking about how hard it is to see out of this (Bad word) helmet. Or another time, you might hear one telling a friend that he took on 2 jedi at once and how easy they are to beat, seconds before you come in and tear them to shreds.

Replay value for Jedi Outcast is literally off the charts. Since thier is very little scripting among the bad guys, they fight differently every time, making it super fun to go through a level dozens of times. Although I dont have internet connection, multiplayer is a really fun time, even with the Bots. One of my favorite parts of the game is the cheats. You get your standard god mode, all weapons, all force powers, etc. But a new addition is the ability to spawn NPCs(NonPlayerCharachters) into the game. Want to see if you can take on 50 stormtroopers, 20 reborns, or 10 of the main villian? Its possible. Want to spawn 10 landos and 30 lukes to help you through a level? How about spawning an army of jedi and watch them hack through enimies as they follow you through a level?

Overall, Jedi outcast is a very well done game. It starts off slow at first, but it almost never lets down.

The good:
Superb graphics and gameplay
fun cheat codes (Especially the NPC spawn)
Excelent level design (for the most part)
good story
wickidly cool main bad guy
Extremly cool lightsaber combat
More fun than a barrel of Womp Rats

The bad:
You actually feel sorry for the stormtroopers as you slice them to pices
some frustrating puzzles
the game is boring untill you get your lightsaber

The bad:

The grans
the stuck point on level 2 (hint, shoot something explosive through something)

Summary: It starts off slow, but once it starts, it dosent let up. A absoloute must buy

You want a worthy adversary? I'll GIVE you a worthy adversary...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 16
Date: January 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

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.

The next big thing

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 19
Date: March 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Take a trip back to 1997. Yes, that was many years ago but during that time we were graced with games like Quake 2 and the original Quake taking over the online world with its online Quakeworld feature. Sure those games were fun to play online, but there was one game that stood out from the crowd: Jedi Knight.

Even though JK wasn't as popular online as the Quake or Unreal series, its 21 level single player gameplay was and still is revolutionary. Like in Jedi Knight 2, you took control of Kyle Katarn on his quest to find and defeat 7 Dark Jedi and basically help save the world on a quest to avenge your father's death.

With the original story already explained (if you dont have JK, buy it as well) this one looks to be shaping up to be even bigger than the original. Powered by the Quake III Team Arena engine, developers Raven Software and Lucasarts have crafted up an EXTREMLY slick game.

Take a look at the screenshots and trailers at fansites like http://www.jediknightii.net and you will know what I mean. Best of all, since it has a Quake III engine, online play is guaranteed a low lag, fun experience. Oh and don't forget.. Raven Software as one of the best companies in the world, you are guaranteed nothing less than high quality. Highly recommended game for all ages and fans of the movies.

Still the best Star Wars game out there

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 13
Date: March 09, 2005
Author: Amazon User

To date, I've played almost all of the Star Wars games released- starting way, way back at the black & white DOS game where your primary (and only) goal is to center your crosshairs on a weaving TIE fighter and blow it up with a push of the fire button. I'm a former flight sim fanatic (not so much now, due to the sad state of the genre), a current RPG fanatic, and I absolutely detest FPS games. This is largely due to the fact I get splattered whenever I join a deathmatch, but is also because these games generally lack even a remote semblance of a storyline and characterization.

Having said that, and keeping in mind that I've also played the excellent X-Wing, TIE Fighter, X vs. TIE, X-Wing Alliance, Knights of the Old Republic, &c (I could go on for quite a while with this) one must add extra weight to the fact that I really like Jedi Outcast. And yes, I am aware that it's a shooter. So the big question, of course, is why?

First and foremost, this FPS actually has a plot and characters. Not only that, but it has GOOD plot and characters- so much so that they have actually been inducted into Star Wars canon.* This is an honor no other Star Wars game has yet been able to claim. In fact, the storyline is so good that you will hardly notice that you're not really seeing any new kinds of enemies (stormtroopers and other Imperial slime are still the general fare).

The sound and look is superbly done. Voice acting is top notch, and instead of having full motion video cutscenes with horrible dubbing (as in the first Jedi Knight) they've used the game engine to fill in the blanks. And yes, it actually looks quite good- even compared to current games. Great attention to detail is a key factor in the presentation- when you walk into a cantina, you'll hear the familiar music from the Mos Eisley Cantina in Episode IV. The locations are varied and magnificent, with some taken from the movies (e.g. Cloud City on Bespin) and others from the expanded universe (e.g. Nar Shaddaa).

Now, though I'm a lousy FPS player, I still know enough to say that the weapons are very cool. There's the standard rocket launcher, sniper rifle, close-range grease gun, and default pistol. All have very unique looks and effects, and strengths and weaknesses. Most have an alternate fire mode, which can add interesting functionality (e.g. laser tripwires on mines).

And then, of course, we have the lightsaber and the Force. I cannot overstate how cool these are, and it's impossible to really describe it here. All I can say is that you've really got to play it, and that if you get good with both, two things will happen: you won't use your guns anymore, and you'll really feel like a Jedi master.

The level design is excellent, with puzzles that make you feel smart when you figure them out, but also don't take a total genius to solve. As with the other Jedi Knight, there are secret areas that hold extra power-ups that can seriously aid in your cause. There's also many interesting objectives that require unique interaction with the environment. For example, you'll at one point have the chance to commandeer an AT-ST and run amok through the jungles of Yavin 4, blowing up stormtroopers as you go. How cool is that?

Though I don't use multiplayer mode often (yes, I like this game, but I still get wasted in deathmatches) I have seen enough of it to say that it's comparable to any other FPS out there. There's no vehicles in multiplay, but who needs those when you have the Force? You can challenge others to one-on-one saber duels, play Star Wars-imbued variants of familiar games like capture the flag, and snipe honorlessly at passing Jedi from a balcony.

Given its long, excellent campaign and flawless presentation, Jedi Outcast comes with the highest recommendation. Even if you're not a Star Wars fan, its compelling story and great arsenal of weapons will appeal to the FPS fanatic. Jedi Outcast is also one heck of a deal now, and still looks great despite its age. Go, and may the Force be with you!

*Specifically, Kyle Katarn is universally recognized as the guy who stole the plans for the first Death Star.

To the guy who hates jedi knight

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 22
Date: January 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

You have the magazine with the review, that automatically makes you an authority on games? Sure, the Quake III engine is far from perfect, but when did games become only about the graphics? It's all about story, characters and GAMEPLAY!!! Graphics are secondary, they should only be used to enhance gameplay.

I, for one am looking forward to the release of Jedi Outcast. I hope it's as good as Jedi Knight. If it is, we've got another hit on our hands.

Should be 4.5, greatest star wars game ever

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 14
Date: April 15, 2002
Author: Amazon User

... After the first few levels. once you become a Jedi, however, this becomes one of the most engrossing experiences ever. Clever Force and lightsaber controls make becoming a Jedi master simple, and completely entertaining. I have no hesitation in recommending this to fans and newbies alike, as well as veterans and people well versed in the Star Wars galaxy. It doesn't disappoint, I'd love to give some bad scenes and great scenes away, but that would ruin most of the surprises late in the game. One thing I can tell you, they got Billy Dee Williams to reprise his role of Lando Calirissian, and he performs it at top notch, becoming possibly the best voice actor in computer games history.

The game has long load times for levels (but once the level is loaded, it's not a hassle. There are tons of stormtroopers in the early levels, making them somewhat difficult (but once you have a lightsaber, no worries). And the animations for cutscenes is very low-par. But the voice acting and sound easily make up for that.

Highly recommended entertainment.

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