Return to the ways of the force as Kyle Katarn once again in this installment of the Jedi Knight/Dark Forces series.
Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast's gameplay is probably some of the best of any FPS/Action-Adventure game from it's time. You won't have your force powers or your lightsaber right off the bat though. In fact, you'll have to slug your way the game's first few levels with just your guns and your wits to solve puzzles, crack imperial code, and fight wave after wave of stormtroopers and other imperial uglies. After a couple of hours and a disturbing discovery or two, you'll be on your way to Jedi status once again. Some of the games puzzles can be quite challenging and not always obvious right off the bat. This offers a great deal of challenge to the game, but at times it can be very frustrating. The real gem of the gameplay is the lightsaber combat. It's as simple as clicking the left mouse button while holding down the direction you want to swing it. It works so seamlessly and you'll often find yourself reveling in your hard earned victories over other saber-wielding foes.
Graphically, the game looks fantastic. Although some of the enviroments are massive, they aren't quite as detailed as one would expect. There do seem to be a few rare graphical glitches with the textures on character models and shadows, but these don't occur often enough to be really noticable. For instance, you may see a shadow along the wall across the room thinking it is an unexpecting foe about to meet his make, but upon further investigation, you'll realize it was just your own... no where near you or where you're standing. The lighting (aside from the player's shadow) as a whole however, is great. Also, the lightsabers, both Kyle's and his foe's look amazing. There's nothing more visually satisfying in this game than seeing a flurry of red and blue twirling about the characters and then seeing one fall to the ground in a slow-motion death (and possibly with a few less limbs if you choose to play with dismemberment on). In some situations, you'll even see rain hit your saber, flash and fizz right off. It's the small details such as this that make Jedi Knight 2 such a feast for the eyes.
As with the graphics, the sound is right on par. Most of the music is taken from the movies (conducted by John Williams) and the voice acting is superb. You'll even see some cameos by characters from the movies. Namely Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrission (who is voiced in-game by Billy Dee-Williams himself). The ambience of the game really shows off the skill of the foley artists. From the hum of an idle lightsaber, to the clash and stormtoopers piling up as you cut them to the ground. Everything in the game sounds authentic.
Once the single player portion is completed, you can always try a harder dificulty, or jump into the game's addictive multiplayer. Multiplayer has your standard modes such as deathmatch, capture the flag and the like. Lightsabers and forcepowers are available right off the bat, so just like in the single player mode, you'll often find yourself running around (saber in hand) looking for a fight as opposed to gunning down your adversaries. Unless you come across a rocket launcher or a sniper rifle, you won't have much of a practical use for your fire arms aside from a few exceptional situations.
Overall, Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast should not be passed up. This game is great. Despite the first few missions being...well, forceless, it more than makes up for it later on. Multiplayer will provide some lasting value to the game long after you've beaten it. The single player campaign alone will take the average player around 10-15 hours to complete (depending on the difficulty) the first time through, and even if you can't find a game online for multiplayer, you can always set up a game with bots and duke it out. At the price Jedi Knight 2 is at and for all the value you can get from it, you shouldn't pass it up. The force is definately strong with this title.