Steam Community :: Video :: Star Wars Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight PC Game Review

Store Page

STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

All Discussions Screenshots Broadcasts Videos News Guides Reviews

STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II > Videos > Stoked Matty's Videos

Star Wars Dark Forces 2: Jedi Knight PC Game Review | Second Wind Old PC Gaming Reviews

STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

View all videos

Award

Title

Description

Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight PC Review. Wherein Kyle Katarn realises he can use the the Force. The first couple of levels of Star Wars Dark Forces II are essentially the same run-and-gun gameplay as the first Dark Forces. But after the third or so level, Kyle Katarn returns to his home planet of Sulon. Turns out his old man was pally with a Jedi Knight and had been keeping hold of his old lightsaber. He gifts this lightsaber to Kyle and tells him to “use it for good”.

Kyle then starts to develop Jedi knight powers. Yeah, the Jedi Knight PC game is an early part of the EU and it’s never been explicitly explained how the Force works, but I’m pretty sure it’s a bit more complex than “have lightsaber, will travel”. I mean, there’s not even any midichlorians.

Dark Forces II Jedi Knight is set in the wake of the destruction of the second Death Star and pits Kyle against the Dark Jedi, a sect of evil Jedi knight equivalents who formed in the power vacuum left after the death of the Emperor. The leader of The Dark Jedi, Jerec, is looking for the Valley of the Jedi, a place of unimaginable power. A place that Kyle’s dad used to have a map to.

In customary fashion, Kyle travels from planet to planet, tracking down Jerec and his Dark Jedi, occasionally fighting one of them as an end-of-level boss, along the way becoming the titular Jedi Knight. Each Dark Jedi in the PC game has a different fighting style and while you might try and listen to the voiceover telling you their strengths and weaknesses, the easiest method is just to strafe around them whacking them with your lightsaber.

Like Dark Forces before it, Dark Forces 2 Jedi Knight features huge levels, again with no clear level design. You’ll be flapping about with no real sense of direction, and will more often than not stumble upon the right way to go, thinking you’re off-piste.

Guns from the first PC game are present and a few extra ones to boot, complete with alt-fire modes. The game massively changes on that third level though, with the lightsaber and force powers taking centre stage. For the first time we’re offered a light or a dark path, each with their own power sets and even a branching story.

One thing that this Star Wars PC game is well-remembered for is the cutscenes. There was a period in the 90s where game devs thought live-action FMV was a good idea. It’s dodgy now but LucasArts were trying to make Jedi Knight feel like a real episode in the Star Wars saga. Good on them for trying.

Jedi Knight is a decent sequel to Dark Forces, but in my opinion is more of a stepping stone to a better era of games. As with all games on Second Wind, this is available to purchase on GOG
and Steam, links below. Stay tuned for a review of Jedi Knight’s “Mysteries of the Sith" and the best Star Wars PC game ever - Jedi Knight 2.

https://www.gog.com/game/star_wars_jedi_knight_dark_forces_ii
http://steamproxy.com/steamstore/app/32380/

www.twitter.com/thegameshowuk
www.instagram.com/thegameshowuk
www.facebook.com/thegameshowuk
www.thegameshow.co.uk

------------------------------------------------------------
"Decay" by Midwest Collective is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
https://midwestcollective.bandcamp.com/album/odyssey

Save Cancel

6	Unique Visitors
0	Current Favorites