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Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast Impressions

I just finished Jedi Knight 2, and although Splash will be doing a more detailed review soon, it was good enough to offer a quick precis. JK2 was farmed out to Ravensoft (Soldier of Fortune, Elite Force) by Lucasarts, and like Elite Force uses a modified version of the Quake 3 engine. Raven must be getting fairly familiar with the engine by now, and it shows.

Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast

The feel of the game is rock solid, as you would expect from the Q3 code, and looks great. The cleverly implemented Force powers work better than any of the previous Star Wars titles, and wielding a lightsabre has never been so good. There is just enough automatic response - such as the parrying of enemy lasers which happens without player input - to make the sabre fighting both believable and fun. You will need to master the use of all the Force powers in concert with lightsabre attack and defence if you are to overcome the multitude of force-sensitive opponents, but take my tip and concentrate on push and jump.

The story is decent and contains some surprising cameos which you will have to play the game to see. It was inevitably linear though, and the engine driven cutscenes were disappointingly amateur at times. If you have ever played Quake 3, you will also notice some familiar looking textures ripped straight from Quake levels. I don’t know why that was necessary as the rest of the artwork is of an equally high standard. The Yavin swamp levels particularly were atmospheric and lush, and contained lots of nice touches. The rain hitting, fizzling, and steaming off the lightsabre beam was just one of them. Getting to hijack an AT walker wasn’t bad either.

Where JK2 really shines is in multiplayer. Dualing lightsabres and combating light side with dark side abilities is the most fun I have had in a first person shooter for a long time. You can control your character in first or third person views, but the game automatically switches to third person when you activate your lightsabre (though you can switch back if you choose). This is a good idea as dueling in first person will cost you your head quickly against someone who knows what they are doing. Just beware of high levels if you are fighting against dark side players - grip is deadly, and they will lift and drag you over a precipice before dropping you to your doom. Mind you, if you land a successful push, they will suffer a similar fate. In the event of a stalemate, do what I do - hit Mind Trick (which makes you invisible) and run. Oh, and don’t neglect other weapons. The rocket launcher is as devastating to a jedi as anyone else. Unless he times things well and Force pushes it right back at you, but it’s best not to think too much about that.

JK2 is a solid game. If you aren’t interested in the single player game - which I enjoyed enough to play all the way through (with the help of one or two *cough* walkthroughs) - you will have a hoot with the multiplayer, which includes Capture The Flag scenarios as well as the usual team and death match modes. I’ll be hanging on to my copy, if only to boot up and power into after watching Episode Two next month.

  posted by monty · at 6:44 pm · filed under First Impressions