A great Jedi experience that should not be missed!
User Rating: 9 | Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast PC
Star Wars games have been going down the tubes and I blame all those stupid flying games. In Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast you play as a Jedi in both single player and multiplayer game modes. It is a lot like the old Dark Forces games, but with new features and greatly improved praphics. In the single player perspective you play as Mercenary (and former Jedi) Kyle Katarn. For the first 2 or 3 levels you carry out special assignments given to you by the Rebel leader. Your mercenary compaion Jan is killed by a sith on one of your assignments. You, Kyle, seek out revenge of your best friend's death by going back to the Valley of the Jedi, where a lot of force power generates and was once a battleground of the Jedi to protect the Valley. Kyle is the only one alive who knows the location of the Valley. You then seek your lightsaber from the Jedi Academy. You present yourself to Master Luke Skywalker (just to let you know it's 7 years after the Return of the Jedi movie) to request your lightsaber back. But Luke won't let you have your lightsaber until you train enough to be able to use it properly. This is when you get your force powers such as force push, pull, jump, and speed. Other force powers become available to you as you progress through the game and you become a little more powerful with each passing level. Jedi Outcast uses lightsaber slashing and dueling, as well as some FPS action. The lightsaber battles are pretty innovative (knowing that this was before KOTOR). You have three different lightsaber styles to master and there are different moves that you must learn. The multiplayer is probably the only reason to get the game. While the single player is pretty good, it won't satisfy even the most dedicated Star Wars fans. Dueling computers is not exactly fun so you get to test out your skills against other players in the multiplayer. People get butthurt if you kill them if their lightsaber is not out or if they are chatting (but I do it anyway). Some servers even let you use cheats, and there is one multiplayer-only cheat that lets you use a double sided lightsaber. Not many servers let you use cheats though. Dueling is pretty fun but it can be a pain if you can't learn how to kill people fast enough. Losing a duel is very aggrovating, but sometimes it's the fun you got out of it that counts. Overall the game is a good Jedi experience and should definently be checked out (the game probably costs around $10 now anyway). Gameplay - 9 - The FPS is here so those of you who like that will have it, then there's the lightsaber battles which are pretty cool. You feel really powerful though against people who just have guns (deflecting every laser and cutting their arms off while only losing 1 health). The saber battles are alirght in single player but the multiplayer is where the game really shines. Graphics - 8 - Seem very dated for some reason and the volumetric shadows aren't as great as they could be. Sound - 9 - The lightsaber sounds are very well done and sound like the authentic thing. The force powers sound pretty generic and aren't that great but they serve a good purpose. The music is classic but needs to be turned off after a good hour in a muliplayer server (I listen to Episode III music while I play). Value - 8 - Single player lasts but isn't too special. Multiplayer is great but can get old after you play in ffa_bespin for too long. There are many different mulitplayer modes: FFA, Team FFA, Holocron, Team Holocron, Capture the Flag (Team), and Duel. Tilt - 10 - A great Jedi experience. Overall -=9.0=- A great game but some minor flaws might push you away from the game. Other wise it's a great Jedi experience that should not be missed! 
