Star Wars: Dark Forces

The Good
As a game, "Dark Forces" was one of Lucasarts' first titles for the PSOne, and provided a solid translation of the PC title. It retained the gameplay, the graphics, the secrets, and the storyline which made the title so popular, and actually handled itself well.

The game managed to work well with the PSOne controller. Kyle Katarn was easy to control, and the game flowed at an acceptable framerate. What made the game so interesting was the numerous "Star Wars" gadgets at your command. Everything from Stormtrooper rifles to thermal detonators were at your disposal, and it was necessary to fight against the various aliens (as well as a clash against Boba Fett) and the Empire's secret Dark Troopers.

The sound effects were also lifted directly from the movies, and if you knew where to find them, the programmers snuck in a few amusing in-jokes.

The Bad
There were a few things that definitely detracted from the overall experience, however. The music is ugly. Weak, tinny MIDI versions of popular "Star Wars" themes were painful to the ears, especially when games of the time such as Nintendo 64's "Shadows of the Empire" provided better sound samples (even when that game used tiny samples of themes).

Load times were an absolute bear, leading into long waits when loading the game or going between levels.

Cut-scenes were equally as bad. They looked painfully outdated then at the time of its release, and look no better now. The graphics haven't aged as well, either. The characters are blocky and pixelated with stiff animation. But without a shadow of a doubt, they are still easily recognizable.

And while it was simply the design of the game, in comparison to "Doom", "Dark Forces" was simply a game that screamed for multi-player play. But that's not the port's fault.

The Bottom Line
"Dark Forces" the game was always "Doom" done "Star Wars" style. The PSOne has a commendable port of "Doom", so it's only fitting that "Dark Forces" would appear shortly after.

The PSOne version was an earnest attempt to bring this title home, especially since "Dark Forces II" never graced the console scene. The game had its share of problems then, but it remains a fun game. That in itself is a testament to its overall solid design.

It's a fun game, though it has a few hang-ups that show its age, especially in regards to how far the FPS genre has come in the last few years.

A good game for classic game fans, or "Star Wars" enthusiasts.

The Good
I'll kick this review off by saying that I'm a huge Star Wars fan. I've seen all six movies (and enjoyed them all, even the prequels) and I also yearly visit the FACTS comic, horror and sci-fi convention (a huge chunk of the fair is exclusively dedicated to all things Star Wars). So yeah, I'm quite a Star Wars nerd! Last Monday was also official Star Wars Day and to celebrate this event, I decided to replay one of the first great Star Wars games!

Star Wars Dark Forces takes place between episodes IV and V and focuses on Kyle Katarn, a former Imperial officer who now works as a mercenary for the Rebels. After successfully aiding in the destruction of the first Death Star, he embarks on his most dangerous mission yet, as he faces off against the Empire's newest and deadliest weapon: the Dark Troopers! These super-powered Stormtroopers, capable of destroying an entire Rebel base in mere minutes, are being massively produced in an unknown Imperial base and it's up to Kyle to find out where that is and thwart the Empire's plans.

Dark Forces is a first-person shooter, playing very similar to DOOM and other FPS games at the time. So you can expect huge, varied levels, filled with tons of enemies and secret areas. Locations you'll visit include the city-planet Coruscant, a Star Destroyer and Jabba the Hutt's personal spacecraft. Every level feels unique in many aspects. Some levels are very industrial, with lots of machinery, conveyor belts and computer terminals. Other levels feel more like caves and caverns, filled with carnivorous critters. In every level of the game you have a set of objectives to complete such as obtaining documents, planting explosives or rescuing a certain character. After all objectives are completed, you can move on to the next level.

The levels themselves not only feel very different from one another but they are also very nicely detailed. The detention center level (mission 6) for example, starts off at the outskirts of the prison and then goes on through various floors, every floor hosting a specific department (entrance, prison cells, command center, even the garbage compactor). Most of Dark Forces' levels are very fun to walk and shoot through and as I already mentioned, they're full of secret areas so that really encourages some deep exploration.

As for the graphics, since the game was released in 1995, you can expect a lot of sprites but you can see some 3D models (the ships in Couruscant, for instance are fully animated and in full 3D). The game's house-made Jedi engine also features floors-over-floors (a neat, new feature back in those days) and can show huge environments without hurting the frame rate. All these bells and whistles sometimes make me believe that the game uses an early version of the famous Build engine (the engine used in Duke Nukem 3D). And since that engine is so awesome, that definitely is a good sign!

Your weapons include a blaster, stormtrooper machine gun, grenades, mines and even a Mortar cannon. You also get a few gadgets such as night vision goggles, ice skates and a gas mask. Every weapon and item serves its own purpose. Some weapons are useful up close, while others are more effective from a distance. All weapons feel very satisfying to use and the blaster weapons gunshot sound effects are identical to those in the films! Ammo is plentifully available throughout the levels and trust me, you'll need everything you can find if you want to even the odds against what the Empire will be throwing at you in this game. You'll encounter regular Stormtroopers, Imperial officers, various types of droids and of course the aforementioned Dark Troopers! Some enemies are mere cannon fodder, but others will put your skills to the test!

Music and sound effects are virtually all borrowed from the original trilogy. The music tracks are MIDI remakes from John Williams' soundtrack and the musical score changes depending on the situation you find yourself into. During quiet moments, the music will be slow and brooding, while during firefights the music gets very epic and orchestra like. The sound effects include the aforementioned famous blaster sounds and the Imperial forces shouting things like "halt" or "you're not authorized in this area" in their typical stormtrooper voices. The authentic music and sound effects, added with the weapons, enemies and well-designed levels all help in giving the game a true Star Wars atmosphere.

The Bad
You can't save while playing through a level. So if you start a level, you better damn sure finish it if you don't want to start all over again. You have a limited number of lives (more can be found in secret areas) and if you die, you respawn at a checkpoint close to where you went out for the count. But if you lose all lives, you have to start the mission all over again. For me, it isn't a real issue since it adds to the challenge and thrill, but just remember this when you're going into this game.

Some levels have tenacious platform sections. The game's first person perspective makes it quite difficult to make certain jumps without falling to your death on the first try. I wished that the developers added an optional third person mode, that would have made these jumps significantly easier.

The Bottom Line
Overall, Star Wars Dark Forces is a very enjoyable and engaging shooter that I can warmly recommend to Star Wars and FPS fans alike. Hell, I would even say that non Star Wars fans should also play this game, as its gameplay is good enough without the Star Wars setting added to it. Anyway, thank you for reading this review and I'll see you all again in a galaxy far, far away!

The Good
Until I played Dark Forces, I was never much of a FPS fan. While I did reckonize the innovativeness of such games as Doom and Wolfenstein, I was never really able to get "into" them because no matter how fun they were at first, after several levels of running around cramp dark corridors blowing away wave after wave of enemies it started to seem a bit pointless. However Dark Forces was a large exception, not only was it fun, but it somehow managed to pull me in, in a way Doom never could.

Perhaps the main reason for this was that this game had a point which was greater than simply "kill everything in sight". Each level was mission-based and followed a general trend rather than random key-hunting and button-pushing. Sure, key-hunting and button-pushing were part of the gameplay, but you always got the feeling that your actions had a higher purpose than "proceed to the next area". Each level proceeded logically from the previous level, and you got the feeling your were going through an evolving story rather than being sent from one random killing field to the next. The game had an actual overarching plot which was revealed to you via mission briefings and a few animated cutscenes. Although certainly not pulitzer winning material the storyline and cutscenes which revealed it were pretty good in a comic book sort of way. The plot built up quite nicely starting with the prologue raid on an Imperial base and culminating in a final attack against the Dark Trooper-infested Arc Hammer.

As far as I know, Dark Forces was the very first First Person Shooter with a personality. Enemies shouted a variety of challenges at you such as "Stop Rebel scum" or "Set blasters on full". Your character Kyle Katarn would make the occasional quip, but most of the in-game dialogue was supplied by your partner, Jan Orz, who would make a variety of amusing comments about your situation over your comm-link, and helped to alleviate the usual FPS feeling of claustraphobic loneliness.

I really enjoyed the Star Wars theme used throughout the game. Although I wasn't a big fan at the time, I did reckonize the characters and somehow got more satisfaction blowing away the Imperial Stormtroopers and hostile aliens than I did killing the faceless monsters of many other FPS.

Each of the different levels had a distinct look and feel which made them unique to each other, ranging from Imperial installations, sewers, a mining facility, an Ice planet, and even the Empire's heavily defended capital city. The length of the game was also "just right". Although there were only 14 levels, each level was well crafted, with almost no repetition or feelings of tediousness. Also, although there are some puzzles which may get you stuck for a while, I found nothing overtly unfair and was able to complete the game by myself without needing to refer to a walkthrough.

Gameplay was also quite fun. Graphically the game was amazing, with very colorful textures and enemies and considerably less pixelation than Doom. Dark Forces also featured the ability to look up and down as well as jumping and ducking, which added new elements to the gameplay. Weapons and enemies followed the Star Wars theme quite nicely (especially the blaster bolts, which traveled across the screen in quick streaks true to the movies), and while many of the weapons seemed to have been invented specifically for this game they do fit in with the general space opera feeling. Most of the enemies can be reckonized from the Star Wars movies, ranging from Stormtroopers and attack probes to the boss-like Dark Trooper battle droids around which the game's story revolved. Not to mention a special guest appearance and boss battle with bounty hunter Boba Fett.

The Bad
Not much, really. It's true the game didn't have any multiplayer support (which was a big point of complaint) but personally I didn't even have a modem at the time, so the single player game was all I was concerned about, and the single player game was damn good.

It's also true the game wouldn't allow you to save in-game, but instead automatically saved your status after the completion of each mission. While this may be another point of complaint for some people, I actually think it was a good idea. It helped the level designers maintain control of the tension within the levels, and none of the levels were too long or difficult that they couldn't be finished in one sitting (although many were quite large and complex and might need a few goes to get through). There was also an "extra life" system so that even if you did die in a level you wouldn't have to start all the way back at the beginning.

The Bottom Line
Lucasarts is famous for releasing quality games. Whether it be their Star Wars flight simulators or their quirky adventure games, they seem to be able to give a game a special "personality" that makes it stand out. It's nice to see that they've managed to do this with their first foray into the FPS market as well.

The Good
Released during LucasArts heyday in the mid-nineties when they were on a role in the adventure genre with the SCUMM based games, and the Star Wars brand was at its pre-prequel resurgent height, Dark Forces provides Star Wars with its own quality FPS as much as X-Wing gave it a quality space-flight sim.

The story is set during the classic era, intertwined around the events of the films with the first mission being to steal the plans of the first Death Star. This places you in amongst the classic scenario of fighting against Stormtroopers in typical Imperial garrisons, creating the atmosphere with well-drawn sprites and the iconic sound effects. You are cast as Kyle Katarn an ex-Stormtrooper turned Rebel Agent, whose hard boiled attitude is obviously a tribute to Han Solo. In this the plotting is quite poor, as the developers obviously couldn't think of a decent main character so resorted to the loveable rogue stereotype, much like the later Dash Rendar, it wouldn't be until the later games that Kyle really comes into his own. Here he is a thin character sent on missions by the Rebel Alliance to 'investigate' an Imperial project to create 'Dark Troopers', a new kind of super Stormtrooper. Of course this FPS is very much of it's time and investigating generally involves progressing through a linear level shooting anything that moves and picking up key cards and weapons and despatching such a number of Imperial troops that Kyle Katarn can easily be a one man army. That LucasArts actually tried to conceive a plot to this is a credit, compared to games such as Duke Nukem, Dark Forces features cut-scenes that progress the story and give you a sense that you're somehow contributing to it.

The game engine is good for it's time, the graphics are clean and sharp with levels well thought out and the Stormtroopers have the classic poor shooting skills. The controls are intuitive and allow for looking up and down making the game world deeper, though you hardly have to for game play.

The Bad
Any negative criticism of the game really depends on what you might be expecting to get out of it. The game is very much an FPS both in game play and plot line, which has you facing an ever increasing number of enemies of ever increasing toughness, dressed up in a plot to make it believable, though the actual plot of the Dark Troopers is hardly believable, but this is Star Wars. All this plays out in the typical check point level format, picking up a vast array of weapons generally based on those seen in the films, and health packs, a-la Doom et al. It's a shame that so many of the FPS clichés made it into the game, but then it is a product of it's time.

If you're looking to relive parts from the films or see any hints of the main characters, you'll be disappointed though as aside from appearances of Darth Vader in the cut-scenes the game lives pretty much in it's own world. None of the classic Star Wars locales are given for exploration, although some of the levels are made to be familiar to them.

The game doesn't have the re-playability of its sibling space flight sim games and could have opted to place you in the role of an anonymous rebel agent as in X-Wing, allowing for branching missions and creating a plot more around you, but that really wasn't the mode for FPS at the time, only really System Shock was getting near that style of play.

The Bottom Line
Overall the game is a great way to live out Star Wars fantasies and place yourself in the action, nicely framed in the Star Wars universe. What it lacks in original game play it makes up for in polish and plot, making it a thoroughly engaging experience, that if worth playing for all Star Wars fans, if they can get it to run on modern systems. More importantly as it was made and set before the Star Wars universe exploded after the prequels came out, it retains the innocent charm of the original trilogy.

The Good
Star Wars: Dark Forces is one of the most interesting FPS games of the mid 1990s that I’ve played. Released in 1995, it is not simple enough to be classified as a DOOM clone, yet it is not quite as fully realized as Half Life. It is also the first FPS set in the Star Wars universe.

The timeline of the games story takes place before and during the Original Trilogy. You play as Kyle Katarn, a former imperial officer who is recruited by Jan Ors to work for the Rebel Alliance after he discovers that the Empire is responsible for the death of his parents.

Kyle’s first job for the Alliance is given by Mon Mothma who asks him to retrieve the plans for the Death Star – which leads into the events of the first film (now retconned- see Rogue One).

After the Death Star’s destruction, the Empire begins planning its retaliation against the Rebels with General Rom Mohc leading the creation of the Dark Trooper project- which aims to create a new army of Storm Troopers armed with exoskeletons.

Kyle is once again summoned by Mothma, and this time to investigate an attack by the newly discovered Dark Troopers. At his request, Kyle is reunited with Jan and it is their investigation into the origin of the Dark Troopers that forms the basis of the games plot.

For an FPS that was released in a time when games in the genre were referred to as DOOM clones, Dark Forces has a number of elements that place it several steps ahead of its contemporaries.

For one thing, it makes excellent use of the Star Wars universe to tell the story which is done via cutscenes, in game dialogue, and mission briefings. What results is this feels like a complete story and not just a collection of levels with a Star Wars themed tacked on.

Now that I’ve mentioned the existence of the mission briefings, I should point out that the game has objectives for each mission that Kyle must fulfill in order to complete them, and sometimes they involve puzzles for him to solve – rather than just grabbing a blue or red key to unlock a door.

Another thing worth noting is that the game makes extensive of the IMUSE music engine which allows for the games music to change on cue and play suitably familiar Star Wars themes based on what the player is doing. For instance towards the end of the final mission, players can hear the same dramatic melody that was used in the first film when the Death Star was about to explode.

Dark Forces runs on the Jedi Engine, which while still being a 2.5D engine- has a number of notable advantages over the DOOM engine. The most notable of these is the ability to layer rooms on top of each other to create multi-level floors which allows for really intricate exploration. Other features include the ability to jump and look up/down.

The Bad
Just about the games only weakness is that sometimes it does not properly notify you if you’ve found an important item that needs to be used. I found this to to be particularly egregious in the snow level which takes place later on in the game. That and the engine looks best when handling levels that only take place indoors. In outdoor areas – not so much, particularly in situations where you have to aim up and down which results in the graphics appearing warped. This is an issue owing to the 2.5D limits of the engine which uses y-shearing to facilitate looking up and down.

The plot itself while engaging, does feel a tad underdeveloped especially with comparison to the games sequels and other games made by LucasArts in the 90s. It doesn’t detract much from the experience but it does leave one with a sense of wanting more.

The Bottom Line
Overall, Star Wars: Dark Forces is a highly enjoyable game in the Star Wars canon that offers plenty more than the standard DOOM clones of the time. Whether you’re a fan of Star Wars or classic FPS games- Star Wars: Dark Forces is a fun ride and a compelling reminder of how good Star Wars is when done right.

The Good
I had played other FPS games of the time, but "Dark Forces", like many other reviewers here, was the first I played to completion. The storyline was exciting- keeping me guessing about what was happening next, and where I might be going. The enemies, from stormtroopers to bounty hunters, offered variety in attacks and tactics, and the graphical engine for the time was outstanding- easily surpassing the other non-true 3D engines that were being produced. Dark Forces came alive with dynamic lighting and rooms that served purposes. I will never forget the various guard rooms I encountered, the pumping stations, control rooms... and once even the head, where stormtroopers and a few seedy types were making use of the urinals.

The Bad
My only complaint about this game isn't really a complaint- just that it didn't include some of the cool places I was hoping to see, like the interior of a sandcrawler, or moving AT-AT walkers. The lack of multiplayer support did not bother me at all. Today, my grumbles include the lack of SVGA (the Mac version had that), and a poor control interface. But those are to be expected.

The Bottom Line
I would recommend this game to everyone- even modern players, even though this game is now nearly 10 years old as of the writing of this review. It set a new standard for FPS excellence in level design, balance, color and art. Truly the best early first-person shooter to be released.

The Good
Inspired by fan-created Star Wars content for the Doom games, LucasArts embarked to create their first FPS to capitalize on the eternally-popular movie property. While video game/movie tie-ins were typically brain dead cash-ins, Dark Forces aspired to, and succeeded in being, a rich and immersive gaming experience in the Star Wars universe.

While the mechanics work very much like any of the so-called "Doom clones" that were ubiquitous in the day, Dark Forces added some exciting features that weren't commonplace: cinematic expositions, mission briefings, a sidekick, puzzles, non-player characters and timed sequences all enhanced what was already a gaming experience that surpassed the run-of-the-mill shooter.

From the very first mission, wherein you as protagonist Kyle Katarn must infiltrate an Imperial base and steal the plans for the Death Star for the Rebel Alliance, the game makes you a key player in the unfolding of the Star Wars saga. The plot convincingly weaves in and out of the main trilogy's story line and explains how the player is an essential part in the unfolding of well-known events.

This preceding your visit to the Imperial City, your showdown with iconic bounty hunter Boba Fett, and your imprisonment by Jabba the Hutt, Dark Forces almost more adequately serves as an engrossing follow-up to the original trilogy than George Lucas' own.

The Bad
Some sequences in the game prove to be immensely challenging to the point of frustrating. Jumping puzzles frequently result in instant death, and because the game's save system only provides one profile save slot, you may find that you've saved at the wrong opportunity. Some of the bosses prove insanely hard to defeat, as well.

Although immersive beyond many of its peers, Dark Forces could have benefited greatly from the use of more, and more interactive, NPCs. Most dialog is carried out one way, or via cinematic sequences. In one mission, Kyle Katarn must visit the Imperial City, which is apparently populated exclusively by himself and Boba Fett, where even some static or non-interactive NPCs would have added to the credibility. Character interaction and player-character choices are incredibly limited, usually resulting in death or mission failure if the wrong decision is made.

Lastly, although above-par for the time, some of the graphics are a bit choppy. The grimy feeling is well in-keeping with the visual feel of the Star Wars trilogy, but some of the aesthetic choices for sprites are downright hideous.

The Bottom Line
Inasmuch as "Doom-clones" go, you can't get much better than this.

Inasmuch as Star Wars franchise games go, you can't get much better than this.

Dark Forces still holds up as one of the best DOS games to play even in a day where it has been visually surpassed.

The Good
First off, let me say that I played Jedi Knight BEFORE I even looked at Dark Forces. But even after playing the sequel, I still enjoy playing the original.

The gameplay is quite simple. You play the role of Kyle Katarn, a mercenary-for-hire agent employed by the Rebel Alliance. Your first mission is the theft of the Death Star schematics (Kyle says in the game "Much too easy", and even of the difficult settings, the first mission is indeed a cakewalk). After this mission you embark on a series of missions revolving around a new breed of weapon that the Empire is developing called the "Dark Trooper". So you play through detailed levels trying to find out what is happening.

The graphics are very good considered the year it was released. The blasters look real, and the game has that Empire "Sterile" look to it, although that doesn't really work in the outdoor levels. The movement on my P233 is ultra-fluid, even with all the music, SFX's, and graphical detail cranked to full, so it is very immersing.

The sound is superb. Come on, it's Star Wars! John Williams infamous music is playing in the background, and sampling the sounds of the blaster shots give the game that "Star Wars" feel to it.

The control is good, especially the keyboard, when it setup for your tastes (more on that later)

The computer AI is okay, but fighting the Dark Troopers themselves can be very discouraging. They are tough on any level of difficulty.

The Bad
The control setup for the keyboard is extremely frustrating, mainly due to the fact that the setup is done OUTSIDE the game environment. For example, if you have the "Fire" key mapped to the "G" key, and you find that that isn't working well for you (let's face it: ANYONE who maps the "Fire" key to "G" has NEVER played a 1st person shooter before grin), you need to exit the game, run the setup program, change the key, save the settings, and restart the game. Come on LucasArts, even id could do on-the-fly keyboard mapping, and that was in Wolfenstein 3D.

The cutscenes were animated (much like the cutscenes in X-Wing). I find they were poorly animated, and the voice-over were sub-par. The voice-overs in-game were much better.


The Bottom Line
Despite all its drawbacks, You have to give LucasArts credit for its accomplishment on its very first 3D shooter. They managed to make a convincing environment to play make-believe in, even though it is rough around the edges. A great game all-around.

The Good
Dark Forces was and is a classic. Taking the role of mercenary Kyle Katarn, the players engage in fourteen levels of Imperial slaughtering. On top of that, there is thought required; some of the puzzles are tricky. On top of THAT, there are some really cool effects in this game: a Death Star hologram rotates in place; TIE fighters launch and land in the Super Star Destroyer Executor's bay; spotlights pan the rooftops of Coruscant as you try to reach the Imperial Security building. Incredibly details for something so old.

The Bad
It's age has shown, however. LucasArts has refused to release the source code, which would allow a 3D-accelerated version to be created by users. Stuck in 320 x 200 mode for PC users, the game does become badly pixelated. Macintosh users are better off; they get to play Dark Forces in 640 x 480 glory.

The Bottom Line
The staying power of this old game lies not only with the wonderfully crafted universe LucasArts created for us. Rather, hundreds of user-made levels have propagated the Internet and our hard drives, ranging from the epitome of laziness known as "Mines" to the glory and wonder known as "Condition Red," "Mt Kurek," and "Dark Tide." While the Dark Forces community has shrank in size, it still lives at www.df-21.net where forums are still active and downloads are still available. Few games have had such a lasting, creative community. In this old engine, users have created effects to rival the newest of games. So, even if you're bored with the originals, don't throw that CD...check out what others have done.

You just may decide that Dark Forces is, just maybe, the greatest game of all time.

The Good
This was an early, and extremely good, clone of 'Doom'. It was single-player only, and there was no light sabre, but the 'Star Wars' setting, effective, semi-animated 'X-Wing'-style cutscenes made up for that, as did the great levels designs and attractive graphics. Rather like the later 'Build' engine, as used in 'Duke Nukem 3D', this game allowed you to look up and down, and also allowed multi-levelled environments. The levels themselves were nicely-designed (a dash through a docking tunnel sticks in the memory, as does a level set partially within one of the 'blockade runners' from the beginning of 'Star Wars IV'), and were larger and more complex than those of Doom. It's overshadowed now by the superior sequel, but is still good fun, and available as part of a Lucasarts compilation of classics.

The Bad
It wasn't perfect, though. One level in particular had an off-puttingly hard set of puzzles, and the fact that you could not save a game until the end of an episode made some of the harder bits (in particular, the last episode) drag on too long. After a while it suffered from the same problem as other FPS games - the endless corridors and similar environments seemed to blur together in the mind, leaving less of an impact than they should have. The contemporary Playstation version was awful, but that's something else.

The Bottom Line
A fun, early 'Star Wars'-based FPS - with probots!

The Good
Now, my friends, this is a prime example of how to make a so-called "clone", but make it really good. Dark Forces is easy to criticize because of it looks and/or plays "like" Doom. These people haven't played this game enough. First of all, DF has a story, and a moderately well written one at that. It's fleshed out by well done cut-scenes and the occasional in game commentary. the levels are quite well designed, atmospheric, and continually interesting. Each level provides different challenges and obstacles to overcome. The graphics, while using the same basic engine Doom did, are far from "Doom-esque", which utilized a palette of browns and grays. The textures are very good and make you feel like you're in a Star Wars movie. The enemies, while not really clever, do react to more than your presense, such as sound. They also look good, and although the animation could've use a few more frames, they are otherwise quite crisp. The sound is also well done. While you have your generic "zot" from the blasters, there are also interesting sounds following in the wake of the unique weapons. Some enemies make idle sounds as well, such as the probe droids.

The Bad
The best I could think of was that it gets rather difficult towards the end, a problem compounded by the appearance of an extremely powerful enemy. Also, the levels confused me here and there. The map was a nice feature, but I still got lost occasionally.

The Bottom Line
A very good game. If you like Star Wars or FPS games, it should definately be in your collection. And even if you only casually play games, it's still very much worth your time.

The Good
This is a First-Person Shooter of the oldest age, yet it was solid enough to spawn the trilogy that was just getting better and better. I remember first time I played this game, I merely enjoyed first couple of levels and then tossed the game away when it came to those swamp stuff and such, guess I was under impression of games like Doom and such, didn't even stop to consider that LucasArts is smarter than to make that sort of crappish deja-vu with monsters and such. They just added various creatures from Star Wars universe to break away a bit from all the vast Stormtroopers you get to meet across the game.

The story itself isn't that bad, and it especially sounds good if you read the prologue in the manuals, and get to know the infamous Kyle Kattarn we all know from numerous sequels to this game which started it all. The only thing this game missed from its universe was the Jedi powers, but adding those would be too much, since Kyle was just a mercenary at the time. Jedi Knight takes good care of continuation to that matter. It was also the first such game where enemy actually communicated with you, even through the insults. There was no just yiking and groaning like in Id's games, but some cool Stormtrooper's yells like "Stop Rebel scum!", or "Surrender immediately!". None which had any meaning, 'cos they'd shoot you on sight anyway, but it was a neat boost for the atmosphere.

Levels are very rich and vary constantly so you can admire the scenery all the time, and occasional cinematics are just as cool, especially with Darth Vader in them. It's a great miss he wasn't in Jedi Knight though, when cinematics were made with live-actors and were really dazzling.

The Bad
I was quite unfair first time I played this game, but hey, I was only fifteen back then. It wasn't until 21st century that I bought this game, and played it fully around the time second Star Wars movie was in the theaters. Amazing as it may seem, I enjoyed it at that time as much as I would some recently released game with cutting-edge technology.

The Bottom Line
Star Wars universe is rich. The reason we like it's movies because they are rare (what, 5-6 altogether thus far) and hence they are done with utmost level of details, there are no SW series of all kinds like there are ST ones. However, on games' account, Star Wars franchise is rich and prosper and it entangled almost every genre it could, except the pure adventure (real pity, though), and these games amass almost all the time. Why do people like them? Sometimes they just create a feeling of being in the movies facing Lord Vader himself, sometimes it's just a part of the franchise, so why not getting it, and sometimes, just sometimes, the game becomes something else than the big whoop and actually presents itself two steps ahead of the others. Star Wars: Dark Forces is on of those SW titles, that breaks the mold of just being a part of the well known franchise, and becomes something more.

The Good
Dark Forces was the first fps that made sense to me. I wondered why demons would just hang around in dark corners and why Nazi’s let their castles get so run down, but Dark Forces had a pretty strong internal logic. Dark Forces fit pretty well into the Star Wars universe. Touches of back story, such as finding the Death Star plans (and cool hologram) were fun, and the game’s story seemed plausible. Some major characters from Star Wars were here and only Boba Fett seemed forced into the story.

There was also a nice selection of weapons ranging from the trusty Bryar Pistol, to the fast but wildly inaccurate Stormtrooper rifle, to the Trandoshan ion cannon (I recognize that some of the names are wrong- sheesh!). Levels were mostly good. I hated the look of the sewage level but really liked the Ice planet. AI was non-existent (just like in the movies) but enemies covered a wide variety of Aliens and Imperials.

Sound and music were great. I recognize the music was midi, but it was good midi and fit the tone of the levels. Sound effects were great! I loved shooting the weapons and listening to their unique “zaps” and it rocked hearing Imps shout “Stop Rebel scum!”

The Bad
No in-game save and poor graphics. Now a note about the graphics, they were decent when I originally played the game, but upon replaying the game recently, I had great trouble suspending my disbelief. It was hard to identify a small cluster of gray pixels as being a turret, except when said turret lit me up.

Other than that (I'm yadda yadda yaddaing my usual rant about cliches in first person shooters), Dark Forces was and is a great game.

The Bottom Line
Duh, it's the classic Star Wars first person shooter. No big surprises here.

The Good
I will be brief and simple...

Before:

• Find the exit and kill anything that threatens you.

After:

-Star Wars! Find the Death Star plans, fight with Boba Fett, kill Stormtroopers, feel the TIE flying over your head.

-3D objects: Holograms, mouse droids, TIEs etc.

-Jump, Crouch, Look up/down, get inventory items.

-Scenario: Briefings and missions that advance the general story.

-Realism: Where you are is a Rebel base, now a Star Destroyer, now Jabba's ship. 'Gain access to the control room, turn the power on and find the bridge controls to rotate it and move to the other part of the base'.

-Cutscenes. Hand drawn and 3D.

The Bad
Brief again:

-Maybe I'd like a normal save system? But ok, it was a deliberate challenge for the players.

-The Look Up/Down algorithms distort the view. Not very helpful.

-No multiplayer

The Bottom Line
Put Doom next to Pacman, now put Dark Forces next to Doom... the difference is even bigger! Lucasarts just found what the FPS of that time lacked: realism and plot, and set in a preexisting franchise.

What else to say? Yet another classic :)

The Good
Although the graphics aren't amazing (compared to now), this game exceeds some of 2002 games out there. The levels are simply greatly made. They all have secret areas , and tasks that are very different, along with enemies to support the greatness (is that a word?). Each task is unique, and are all fun to complete. All of the worlds you play in will keep you playing.

The Bad
Some tasks (missions) get hard, and take a long time to figure out.

The Bottom Line
Although the gfx aren't very impressive, I still say that SWDF is a fun FPS to play, and deserves a high rating.

My Rating : ( 4 / 5 )