Even now that Jedi Academy has been released, Jedi Outcast remains the best in series; its presentation and gameplay were not surpassed by Academy. Though it has a few minor flaws. It is easily reccomendable to anyone interested in action games or games set in the Star Wars universe. The gameplay in Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is the best in series. The ranged weapons in the game are a bit lacking in terms of realism, as the laser beams travel slowly enough to dodge and for all the other advanced technologies, some of the guns are woefully inaccurate. Despite the bland realism of these weapons, they do all have a unique feature, such as the disruptor rifle (like a sniper rifle), and the Fleschette Gun, which launches flaming or exploding scraps of metal at your opponents. However, only the first couple of hours in the game necessitate the use of ranged weapons, after which point, you gain access to a lightsaber. This is where the game goes from good to great, after all saber combat is at the core of the Jedi Knight series. Saber combat is very well implemented, and a large variety of attacks and styles can be executed while wielding a saber. The only drawback to saber combat is the minor lack of precision. Sometimes it is difficult to hit a particular enemy because the saber doesn't move in exactly the right way. However, for the most part the system works great and after a few hours, you'll be hacking away happily at storm troopers and Jedi. The level design in the game is thorough and well done, with only a couple of repetitive schemes. It should be noted that some of the puzzles can become extremely frustrating; if you miss a very small detail you can often spend an hour or more trying to figure out what you missed. You will definetly want to have a walkthrough handy for this game, and it is very disappointing that some of the puzzles were designed so arbitrarily that you must be "lucky" enough to discover where they are. In one instance, there is a small pipe you have to jump in from a caltwalk. You have no way of knowing the pipe is there, so it doesn't really make sense that the developers would put such a design in their level. Some of the jedi battle locations were extremely epic, most notably, the first, which occurs in a massive wind tunnel which abounds with opportunities to fall to your death. However, most of the battles occur in uninteresting locations, even bland rooms, which is easy to overlook, though the setting of such battles can add a great epic sense to the game. The game is very challenging, especially on the higher difficulty levels. Enemies will call for help, take cover, and even flee if you kill their buddies. Be sure you save often, as the autosave system is horrible (sometimes requiring you to replay from the beginning of a two hour level) but this is offset by the very user friendly quicksave system. The graphics in Jedi Outcast were for the time very well done. Though the technology naturally shows its age now, the artistic design is still often very clever and highly varied. The game really utilizes many features of the Quake III engine to present locales from dingy cantinas, to sterile star destroyers, and even foggy swamps. There are a lot of strange issues with shadows, oftentimes they become jarringly disfigured, and some people may wish to switch them off altogether. The sound in the game is very good, from the solid voice acting (did you know that the same guy who did Mario's voice in Super Mario 64 has a role in this game?) to the buzz of the lightsaber, to the sizzle of raindrops as they evaporate as they hit your saber. The music is pulled straight from the soundtrack of the movies, but is very appropriate for a game like this. In addition, it fades in and out very precisely when in and out of combat. At this point in time, this game is a tremendous value, costing less than 10 dollars for about 20 hours worth of gameplay. The multiplayer is very good too, though not as exciting as siege mode from Jedi Academy. The storyline is good; simple and engrossing, and the game has a darker feel than its sequel Jedi Academy. If you are looking for a satisfying, fun, and exciting action game for cheap (check ebay) you will be thoroughly satisfied by Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast.
Other Helpful Reviews for Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Jedi Outcast is a sequel to Dark Forces II. You reassume the role of Kyle Katarn, the mercenary working for the New Republic. Briefly, the story goes like this, Kyle and Jan Ors go on a mission to investigate an aband... Read Full Review
Don't let the title confuse you (Jedi Knight 2 is really Dark Forces 3). The character is the same, and the story follows a general continuity seen in the previous titles. You play Kyle Katarn, and in the first game (D... Read Full Review
