Gaming has progressively evolved over the years from days where I used to Dark Forces, admittedly my first shooter game, and in the SW Universe.  It followed my early experiences with what's now deemed the Original Trilogy, and arguably led to me buying Jedi Knight, the sequel to Dark Forces.  I also played its awkward yet interesting expansion pack, Mysteries of the Sith.  Kyle Katarn became a familiar character to me, and his backstory fills in when I listened to the audio versions of Dark Forces based on the serial comics and novelizations.  He was a base type for my own story series set in a different universe.

Early on it suffered a hodge podge of various science fiction incarnations, but soon it came into its own.  Jedi Knight's sequel, Jedi Outcast, I followed intently during its many months of development and when I finally got it, my computer at the time couldn't run it that well.  My computer went kaput a few years later and the new to my surprise was on par for the game.  I became instantly addicted after playing the first few levels as I have been amazed with the near life-like quality to the characters and their surroundings.  The one thing computer games haven't overcome totally is the daylight box ceiling effect and some video games still suffer that effect too.

In the post-millenium years, games on of all consoles have come a long way from their earlier incarnations.

Jedi Outcast is one such example as is the KotoR series, arguably my favorite game series in Star Wars, but my favorite squad based game to this day is Republic Commando.  I admit since encountering the Mandalorians in a more personable fashion in the KotoR series, I have been hooked, I wanted to know more, similiar to my thirst about Russian history. 

You get to see them at their peak, four thousand years before the fall of the Republic and the destruction of the ancient Jedi Order. 

Revan, Boss (aka 1138, 38, Eight, Chief), Kyle Katarn, Max Payne all became the man of the moment for me when I played as them.

My personal favorite to date remains Revan, only rivalled by Boss and the Exile to a lesser degree.

Kyle and Max tie in the sense of having a long history of losing more than they gained for the longest time, yet Kyle gets Jan in the end and in the regular ending, Max loses Mona, except in the special harder ending, she lives through the showdown with Vlad.

Vlad was likable in the first game, but he was absolute ass in the second, to think I risked my life for the guy that would later kill me.  Max was framed in the first game, and the insane path to proving his innocence only tallies hundreds of dead baddies.  Woden comes to the rescue in the end anyway in the first game, but the War of the Inner Circle proves fatal in the sequel.

Max Payne and Mona Sax rose to a different kind of prominence as lovers on opposite sides of the law.  Max and Mona if only I would say as I look back seeing Mona's last words of some damsel in distress I turned out to be.  Their brief romance is haunting and memorable, but I felt some small satisfaction that they had something together after all this bloodshed and misery.

Vlad goes down as one of the more despicable video game villains for me alongside Mengsk (Starcraft).

Anyway to all our beloved anti-heroes who become a different kind of man because of what they have done for more than just themselves.

"One's an anomaly, two's a trend." Many who have played through multiple game universes will recognize the saying especially from Republic Commando.  I have fought across countless worlds, faced down enemies familiar and alien, but somehow each comes to teach you something about yourself.  In the realm of RTS games, one learns the necessity of resources, the quality of stragety, the capacity of enemies, and most importantly using the battlefield to your forces' advantage constantly.

"Mind your surroundings." - Ducard/Ra's Al Ghul, Batman Begins

I also have a habit of quoting what I consider character insight.  Every battlefield requires a different kind of soldier, but the tactics are pure adaptation.  In RTS games, I learned to out-think and out-fight the enemy, because straightforward rushing is not always the solution.  The point in this is to remain open to innovation, but never reveal your hand, ever, its not the secret, rather the trick you use it for in the words of Borden from The Prestige. In FPS and driving/piloting games, one learns to be a marksman of the highest caliber as ammo is not limitless (unless you have the codes, though try doing without them at first) and the way you drive or fly affects the outcome too.  The point ultimately is to be talented in multiple professions be it command, driving, flying, or shooting as if to become the role necessary to complete the task at hand.

I achieved of a sort of gaming goal in having beaten by KOTOR games in the past few months. It was held back due to tech issues, namely graphics card stuff. At times I do despise computer limits, but its easily overcomed with time. I honestly felt more satisfied when I beat KOTOR as Revan then as the Exile. Revan felt more related to me as a person. You find yourself gifted in a certain capacity, you want to do things right, you have all these notions and plans that go awry. Events twist personal circumstances that you wrestle with, but he also signifies not so much, redemption per se, rather someone who sticks to their path. A path guided by accepting what they were and who they have become in life. The Exile, on the other hand, fills a similar role, except unlike Revan, the Exile's path is more a matter of resurrecting the Order or condemning it to its death. Revan sought to steel the Galaxy from a threat only he knew about personally, but in leading the Sith against the Republic, it created a backlash. A backlash that opened an opportunity to Malak to assume the throne, but even then Revan would travel the known worlds whilst pursued by various factions including the Sith. Ultimately all including Revan must come face to face with the truth about this enigmatic character that was once the leader of the Sith as we know them.

If one follows the canonical ending then Revan rejects a return to his former status and in a sense tries to redeem his old friend Malak. However, this will not happen, but Malak admits to his foolish play for power in allowing Revan's capture. Revan also gets the girl or rather the lady, Bastila, who admits to falling in love with him. (This follows my playing of Revan as a man).

I found myself in a way reliving my first foray into the SW Galaxy with the Original Trilogy. Revan like Vader was a powerful force user that while well intentioned came to become a Sith Lord, though quite in the same way as the others who followed, such as Malak and others. He was never truly one of them or of the Jedi. He had such a capacity to balance elements of both sides that has never been seen before in his lifetime.
Bastila was a Leia type character except empowered by the Force. Nobody could doubt her prowless with the blade or the Force. She was a full character, a mixture of vulernability and strength. Carth like Han had a shady past, disillusioned, loyal yet loner like.

The other fill a similar capacity to characters of the original movies. T3 (R2), HK-47 (C-3PO assassin/protocol), Ordo (Fett), Zaalbar (Chewie), Mission (Luke), rounding it out are Jolee and Juhani. For anyone that has played the game, each character comes in handy, more than tools, more than allies, for a leader needs soldiers, just as a man needs friends like family.

None can truly question the originality of the Revan concept as when it first came out none knew including you that of your past. You learned along the way though the visions along suggested something mysterious about how you could see those moments. It almost made sense with Bastila having a force bond with you, but it was more then that.

On par with the father revelation, Malak reveals your identity to you and the others present at the escape from the Leviathan. Carth naturally takes it hard, but comes around in realizing that you are not what you once were in the past. The past is the past, and now it is time to move along to the final showdown after completing the Star Map.

A serious historical flash comes from the Rakata as the Star Forge is their creation though its seems steep in the Dark Side. The fight to the final showdown after reaffirming your commitment to your path culminates to the redemption of Bastila and the admittance to the love she feels for you as Revan. The battle turns against the Sith in my version of events, and so as all who fought for the Light know Malak is beaten. The Republic survives, but its future remains as omnious as ever.

Revan's journey is not over, and soon he leaves all behind including his great love, Bastila, who grows overly concerned as he gone for years. The Exile, if like I did, followed the Light too, then she will be left with the unknowable fate for him as before. I also played the dark for the Exile more recently, which ultimately proved far trickier than being a straight ace light sider. I felt mental strain from being evil, it was not in my character, meaning me as a persn, but I did it. I as the future Sith Lord ruined the Restoration efforts across the visited worlds, not entirely on Nar Shaada. The game on both sides of the spectrum felt incomplete though the romance was easier to achieve as a male then a female. Not quite on par with the Revan-Bastila or Revan-Carth pairing, but the game was rushed so its limitations are acceptable as the first go-round was as challenging with quests that proved more tricky to accomplish despite the alignment though the Light sider version was easier in retrospect.

Revan and the Exile were flashpoints at pivotal moments in their lifetimes. Revan either as Jedi or Sith did so in full commitment to his agenda to steel the Known Worlds against an unseen threat that lied in wait in the Unknown Regions. The Exile returned to find the aftermath of the Jedi Civil War, only to find the Order gone, the Masters scattered, and worlds in need of a light to show the way. I playing light side consistently from KOTOR to Sith Lords felt compelled to be the light or rather do what needed to be done, not because it was right or wrong, merely because I took responsibility for those around me.

Life is much like that, either you take responsiblity or just drift along just filling the momentary wants and such. I don't pass judgment, but Yoda might say that you do...

I like like Qui-Gon Jinn promote a kind of pull to the Will of the Force. It is not about light or dark, but doing what needs to be done in terms of following the path you have chosen for yourself.