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Great sequel to Jedi Knight

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 15 / 21
Date: January 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Jedi Outcast is the latest in the series of Star Wars 1st-person shooter games starring Kyle Katarn. Outcast picks up years after Katarn's climactic victory over the dark Jedi Lord Jerec at the Valey of the Jedi at the end of "Jedi Knight" (or JK). Still working alongside the lovely Jan Ors, Kyle serves the "New Republic', sweeping the galaxy of the "Remnant" - isolated pockets of Imperials. Fearing the lure of the dark side of the Force, Katarn abandoned his jedi powers, surrendering his lightsaber to Luke Skywalker. When a routine mission to infiltrate a Remnant stronghold reveals the Remnant's interest in the Jedi Valley, Kyle and Jan soon find themselves facing new armies of Dark Jedi led by the mysterious Galak Fyyar, and a rogue Jedi named Desann. The new game will have Katarn visit locations memorable to SW fans - including Cloud City from "Empire" and the Jedi Academy, located in the old "hidden" rebel base on Yavin-4 strikingly faithful to the very first movie. Though a lapsed Jedi in the first few missions, Katarn is forced to return to the force, reacquiring his old Jedi powers and a few new ones. Unfortunately, there's an army of evil Jedi called "reborn" who aren't above fighting dirty - in large numbers or even in lightsaber-resistant armor. You've got the old weapons and a few new ones as well (which can be a hassle - I get killed often just trying to get to my blaster, and getting past thermal grenades, trip-mines, rocket launchers, etc..; you even have to cycle through weapons that you've run out of ammo for.) To assist or advise him, Kyle will turn to his good friends, Lando Calrissian and Luke Skywalker.

Outcast is obviously a more intense and graphically attractive game than JK, but it's not quite the leap past that game that JK was over the original Dark Forces.

Animation is much smoother - making for spectacular lightsaber duels (also, the new power of "saber-throw" adds to the excitement). Even on medium difficulty, the game is much harder than JK - the puzzles far less intuitive, the opposition seldom less than virtually-overwhelming and the coordination required is much more demanding - suffice it to say that this is a game in which precise use of "force-jump" will determine whether you'll finish a level in a night or a week. Though using the same "Quake III Arena" game-engine that made "Star Trek: Elite Force" (EF) a hit, Outcast has better graphics and solidly deals with one of the biggest complaints against EF - length (I finished EF in about a week; Outcast required something like a month). Outcast also requires more intelligent gameplay than the Trek game which seldom went beyond frag-fests (shoot all the bad guys you can find) and otherwise simplistic problem solving (navigate a maze, throw the switch on any control panel, and run for the exit). In Outcast you'll have to learn to decide between fighting and sneaking using "Jedi Mind Trick. You'll also have to worry about those around you - allies, jedi-trainees and even the occasional droid. (in some spots, you'll even be able to drive droids around like R/C cars, handy for operating in areas made hazardous by toxic waste or too-many stormtroopers.) AI is improved over Trek:EF, with fast-moving troopers confounding the side-step/strafe maneuver that worked so well in that other game. Even the sound is improved: while the authenticity of the sound effects and John Williams's score made JK the game to beat in '97, clever game-coding actually ties music selections to the level of action in the game.

So why is this game - a clear improvement over a Trek game from 2000 - not a clear winner over an even older SW game? Outcast's flaws break down to the unimaginative and unoriginal story and often uninspired level-design. The plot - hardcore remnants of the Empire teaming up with dark jedis - wasn't all that original when Tim Zahn used it in his novels (and that was nearly ten years ago!). As for the levels - most of them are unstructured and not very well thought out, lacking JK's sense of a clear and achievable goals. The mission goals are also far too simplistic (you are told straight out to explore remnant bases and ships and destroy remnant forces) - about what you'd expect from 3rd-party software you'll download on the internet. The first two levels are entirely unnecessary, and the game doesn't begin to come alive until the tail-end of level three. Also, the game leans too heavily on how well you coordinate things you can do easily in real life (like jumping or climbing), severely testing your resolve to stay out of "cheat mode".

Performance: I ran this game with no problems on my P4 2Ghz 512mb system, using a GeForce3 card and WinXP. Be aware that not all OpenGL cards are supported (I had to ditch my old Savage4 card). I also relied heavily on Belkin's Nostromo N.50 speedpad.

In short, though not quite a stellar leap over "Jedi Knight", "Jedi Outcast" is still impressive, most impressive.

The Force is with this Masterpiece!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: November 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

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.

The Force is strong in this box.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: April 23, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This one hits the marks in all respects, it's a kick-... FPS that revels in the Star Wars universe. Lucasarts themselves have not been immune to releasing SW products who's raison d'etre is simply to promote the francise. No one is coasting with this baby, however. It would stand alone as a classic PC shooter even if it was called 'Crazy Joe's Space Brigade'.

Once again we follow the exploits of Kyle Katarn, who has turned his back on the Force after the harrowing events of Dark Forces II. While investigating for the Alliance under the aspices of Mon Mothma, he and ...-kicking side-kick Jan Orrs get wrapped up in the obligatry complicated plot of universal domination plans of Imperial Remnants. The plot alone could carry the player along for the ride. A few familiar faces pop up as well, including Jedi Academy Master Luke Skywalker and that old scoundrel Lando Calrission, voiced by Billy Dee Williams himself. Unfortunately Mark Hamill does not reprise his role, so one of the niggling things about JKII is the schoolyard wiener vocal performance of Skywalker.

As expected, the graphics are highly polished, with sharp textures and lots of environmental flourishes and special effects. Sound is also handled with atmospheric aplomb. But the real twist that sets this game apart are the force powers and light-sabre duels, both dramatically changing the pace of the game and lending a true unique Star Wars feel to things when they appear. The game also has a great pace, eschewing the "make the first level ridiculously easy and the rest excrutiatingly hard" idoicy that has plagued recent FPS level design. The game slowly ratchets up the enemy count as you gain familiarity with new weapons found so that you never feel too overwhelmed. You'll probably just stick with the lightsaber outside of any sniping needs tho...the LS combined with Force powers is definitely the most fun way to progress through the game once they become available. A lot of people seem to be complaining about the amount of puzzles in the game, but for me this just adds to it's greatness. There really aren't a lot of them, they make a nice change of pace from slaughtering hoardes of oncoming baddies, and they're all logically designed and fun to solve.

Even to users numbed by the oversatuation of Star Wars games, this is a keeper. Buy it now, Yoda says so.

Jedi Knight Fans Unite

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: July 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast overall is a mind-blowing experience which will go above and beyond expectations which you may have set for it. The reason why this game didn't score a 5 in my book, probably would be because after finishing the single player mode - the game may leave you wanting more. This flaw didn't bother me much at all, because the multiplayer mode for this game is fantastic.

PROS:
- GREAT Multiplayer -(there is nothing like getting out your lightsaber and taking out your anger on helpless enemies by tearing them to bits, online against many players)
- The Force (powers) -The force powers used in this game add a special touch to the gameplay in single and even multiplayer modes.
- Overall good effects/graphics -in my opinion these graphics are good, although they still could be better
- Storyline/Plot -I know some gamers who played this game didn't like this feature, I personally though felt Jedi Outcast had a strong and interesting story behind it.
- An Array of Weapons + Who could forget, A LIGHTSABER!

CONS
- Movie/Video Clips -The video clips in between the game weren't great, I felt the first Jedi Knight game utilized this feature better (w/ using live actors)
- Single Player Mode -I know many people may disagree, but I felt the single player mode could of been a little better. I'm not saying that it was bad (acutally I'm saying the opposite of that), but its not perfect. But really - what game is perfect?
Someup:
LucasArts and Raven Studios overall have done a terrific job on, not a perfect, but solid and fun Star Wars Game.

Worthy of the title "STAR WARS"

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 14
Date: April 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

To begin, let me simply say that the very best time to purchase a computer game (any computer game) is when the price has gone down to $20.00. For instance, when HALF-LIFE 2 has gone down to that price, I will purchase it, play it, and have just as much fun as the the people who bought on the day it was released. No, I'll have even more fun than they did, because I will have paid $30.00 less.

So, if you're smart and you have waited until now to purchase JEDI OUTCAST, then wait no more. The price is down and the game is every bit as awesome now as when it was first released! It has the best storyline of any Star Wars game I have yet played, and as good as even a couple of the movies (I will not mention which ones). Perhaps my favorite part about this game were the conversations you hear the stormtroopers engaged in. They are quite humorous and realistic. They sound as if they were written by someone who has actually served in the military (particularly in an enlisted status).

The lightsaber fights are always fun as are the use of force powers. JEDI OUTCAST has the best re-playability of any computer game I've ever played.

I highly recommend it.

The Best of Times, the Worst of Times

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: November 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Jedi Knight II underscores just how rich the technological and graphical capabilities of top-of-the-line PC games are while also calling attention to how unimaginative many game designers have become.

The game is a major success, but I think some designers will continue to learn the wrong lessons from that success. It's a success because the game's graphical engine creates a remarkably engaging sense of being a part of the Star Wars universe--something that many of us crave. It uses music and visuals perfectly to this end. The core storyline is engaging enough: Kyle Katarn is a likeable, believable protagonist, and the game makes use of other Star Wars story elements very well. So on one hand, the game works very hard to achieve immersion.

On the other hand, the game's level design makes it almost impossible to achieve immersion. When travelling through a level, you are not Kyle Katarn: you're just a guy sitting in front of your terminal trying to figure out what the game designer wants you to do next. Puzzles are not intuitive, and the solution is usually a rigid, artificial and sometimes nonsensical sequence of actions. You have to run a gauntlet of enemies who have somehow positioned themselves in places that your own character could not get to--in many cases, places which are actively impossible for any living creature to have travelled to given the design of the level. At one point, you have to protect a droid from a host of enemies while also disarming trip mines. You can push the droid back using your Force powers, but only so far: push him back far enough and he spontaneously explodes. Why? Because the designer wants you to beat the level the way he wants you to beat it.

It doesn't have to be this way. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault has demonstrated that an FPS can have good, immersive level design without having to resort to this kind of straightjacket.

JK2's multiplayer is decent enough, but it becomes boring fairly quickly. When force powers are enabled, the game is dominated by the boring over-use of force push and force choke. When weapons other than lightsabers are enabled, snipers and explosive weapons rule the day, but in no more interesting a fashion than any other multiplayer FPS on the market.

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.

best first person star wars shooter...could be better

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: April 03, 2002
Author: Amazon User

You've got to play it simply for the fact it's Star Wars. The story line is immersing, and the light saber battling functions are awesome. The levels are bigger and better than in the first Jedi Knight, much more detalied. Lucas Arts took care to add a lot of little goodies like funny banter between stormtroopers, sniper rifle mode, and new force powers like the Jedi Mind trick. Memorable charcters appear for the first time in this verson, unlike in past games where the story lines have focused soley on non-movie characters. But this time around we see Mon Mothma, Lando Calrissian, and Luke Skywalker.

What's bad? Well, I probably wouldn't feel this way had I not just finished playing Medal Of Honor: Allied Assault, which I feel is the best first person shooter to date. So I couldn't help comparing the two games. Seeing what the developers were able to do with MOHAA I couldn't help but feel the graphics in Jedi Outcast are a little underdeveloped and blocky. The cut scenes were pretty uncinematic as well. The enemy AI is not what Lucas Arts had promised, though it has it's moments. Could have be a lot better. And my biggest gripe with the game is that it's HARD!! I finally gave up and downloaded a walkthrough and cheats from the net. I found many people on message boards who were having the exact same problmes--in the same areas--as me. When you get to the level with the mine cars you'll know what I'm talking about.

But in the end it is Star Wars, and shooting stormtroopers and Rodians will make anyone's day a whole lot brighter. Worth the money, but be prepared to be a little frustrated at first.

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.

AWESOME GAME!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 15
Date: July 04, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have played this game many times, and I just love it! Of course, I have only played the PC version, but I heard this Mac OS X version will be even better! You are given an arsenal of blasters, laser rifles, grenade launchers, and of course, your ol' reliable lightsaber. A variety of force powers are presented, such as pushing away enemies with the flick of the wrist, lightning that comes from your fingertips, "force choking", and of course, jedi mind tricks! (messing with people's minds is fun, remember?!) Many familiar areas from the Star Wars universe are scattered throughout the game, and there are hundreds of stormtroopers, Imperial officers, and Sith Lords (just to name a few) that are just asking for a lightsaber whuppin'! The only reason why I gave this game a four-star rating was because of some difficulties like cheap deaths and some hard-to-do techniques with your lightsaber, but that is the only thing! (and it only relates to my skill at games, anyway) When this game is released, BUY IT! It's the coolest Star Wars action/shooter experience!

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