Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
The force is strong in this one...
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, a great company there was. Mighty was it, and full of talent. Churned out classic after classic, it did. But arrogant in its success did it become – and arrogance leads to complacency, complacency leads to carelessness, carelessness leads to mediocrity. Fell from the Light side did they…
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Thus goes the story of Lucasarts. They were a company at the height of their powers right when I began to venture into PC gaming. I had simply never played games like Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max, or Monkey Island before. I was awestruck. The company produced world-class games, and that was without even using the ace up its sleeve – the Star Wars licence. X-wing was a revelation, Tie-Fighter a joy, and Dark Forces was immensely enjoyable. When Jedi Knight was released, expectations were understandably high, and were fulfilled to a large extent. Throughout, Lucasarts displayed a deftness of touch that was extraordinary when handling the lucrative but extremely delicate licence.
Somewhere, around the time shortly after the release of Jedi Knight, they seemed to lose the Midas touch. I should say at this point that I do feel that many were extremely harsh on games like Rebellion (Supremacy in the US – or was it the other way round?) and Force Commander. They were not by any means bad games. But what is undoubtedly true is that if you look at the output of Lucasarts across the board – from the Star Wars games to the later instalments of adventure series Monkey Island – you can see a discernible drop in overall quality. To stop the rot, Lucasarts took the decision to relinquish development of certain key titles to outside expertise, a sign perhaps of an inward acknowledgment that the company was sacrificing quality for quantity. X-Wing Alliance was the first game bearing the fruit of this decision. Jedi Knight II is the second. Created by Raven Software, using Id’s Quake III team arena engine, it’s a bit of a belter.
So if you’ll excuse my lengthy preliminary preamble (I do so like the sound of my own keyboard), I’ll get on with the serious business of reviewing this game.
First impressions of the game are solid, if not spectacular. The presentation is reminiscent of the original JK, with similar (ish) title screens and set-up menu’s, so aficionados should feel right at home. Upon beginning a new game, the first thing you’ll probably notice is that Raven has done away with JK I’s method of cinematic cutscenes in favour of the in vogue in-game engine variety. Personally, I thought this was a pity, as I liked the original’s cutscenes, which featured some good acting and high production values. I understand the developers wanting to retain continuity in game, but I didn’t like the cutscenes as much this time around. It’s a minor personal gripe, however, and shouldn’t put you off in the slightest. They’re still pretty darn good, and tell the story nicely.
Comments
I've seen a lot of people complain about the cut scenes. Can I just say I'm a fan of the game engine cut scene I liked them here and in RtCW. It gives a much better sense of continuity. The rest of this review I pretty much agree with whole heartedly.<br>
THIS BE A GREAT SP GAME AND JUST AS GOOD IN MULTIPLAYER. LIFE ALTERING
It's a shame LucasArts don't make great games internally any more. From what I hear, their best people left because they wanted more independence. It sure would be nice to see another X-Wing game though, using all the power of the GeForce 3...
This game only comes alive once you get the force powers and your glowing sword of justice. It's just a shame that there's no Force Find The Way Out power.
I'm suprised that there have not been more negative reviews out there - despite the fact that I loved the game and gave it a good score, if I'm being objective then I must admit there is plenty to critisize - the stupidly difficult first Nar Shadaar level being a case in point...I think this game shows why a 12 month development time is too short. Overall though, I felt the good parts of the game were such fun that a high score was justified...anyone disagree?
yeah, i'll agree with you nick that there is quite a bit to criticize in this game. it starts very badly and i thought only till nar shadaa did it pick up. from then on in it was patchy to say the least. the annoying thing was that as dull as it could get, when it was fun it did it in spades. i spent my time playing the game equally cursing and admiring the game. ultimately, i think it was an opportunity missed, but it has probably done the job for lucasarts.
AN AMZING GAME WITH THE BEST GRAPHICS IN THE WORLD.I ALSO LIKE IT WHEN THE ENIMIES MAKE MISTAKES.
This game is awesome... one of my favorite aspects is raven's command console... from it, you can spawn npc's such as dark jedi, light jedi, and fight with them! One time, i had so many luke skywalkers, shadow troops and desanns that i thought i was in the movie trailer for episode 2.. really... the immense battle scene between 20 jedi is beautiful... and whats even better is that you can bind the spawn commands to keys on the keyboard so u can spawn at will without typing in the console! I also cant beleive raven snuck that dismemberment cheat past lucasarts...its so awesome ! i love chopping of heads, arms, legs and bodies with the dismemberment cheat, which makes the lightsabre sooo realistic. However, a word of caution: before you start to mass spawn jedis in level, just be warned... unless u got a fast computer with losts of memory and a decent video card... well, u can guess what will happen
How do you access raven's command console? And also how do you spawn all the reborn, shadowtroopers, skywalkers, etc.? Any reply would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
hej vad det spelet är bra
Is there any good RPG games for the ps2 that are Star Wars? It seems that all the good games are for xbox and pc and I have a ps2!