Star Wars: Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast

aka: JKII
Moby ID: 6073
Windows Specs
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Description official descriptions

In Jedi Outcast, you once again play Kyle Katarn, star of LucasArts' Star Wars-inspired 1st-person shooters Star Wars: Dark Forces and Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II.

Kyle has retired from being a Jedi fearing consequences from the Dark Side of the Power found within himself during his chase of the foul Sith-Lord Jerec into the lost vale of the Jedi at the end of Dark Forces 2. Chronologically taking place after the second Star Wars Trilogy, you'll meet various well known people from the original Star Wars movies like Luke Skywalker himself and Lando Calrissian.

Also following the tradition of its predecessors, you explore the surroundings in the typical 3D environment and can use a lot of different weapons and gear from the Star Wars Universe, including the famous Jedi Weapon, the light saber.

Spellings

  • スター・ウォーズ ジェダイナイト2:ジェダイアウトキャスト - Japanese spelling
  • 杰迪武士2:杰迪放逐者 - Simplified Chinese spelling

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Credits (Windows version)

185 People (167 developers, 18 thanks) · View all

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 85% (based on 66 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.7 out of 5 (based on 147 ratings with 13 reviews)

Right now I feel like I could take on the whole Empire myself!

The Good
Having fended off the seduction of the Dark Side, Kyle Katarn has removed himself from the Force and entrusted his lightsaber to Luke Skywalker at the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. Now he and Jan are operatives for the New Republic, chasing down the Imperial Remnant. But Republic spies have intercepted a Remnant transmission about the Valley of the Jedi and Luke Skywalker has a rebellious student named Desann who has gone missing, might Kyle have to pick up a lightsaber once again?

Fans of the lightsaber/Force power action of Jedi Knight, won’t care for the early levels of Jedi Outcast. Graying Katarn, like Godfather III’s Michael Corleone, fears being pulled back into the Force. Still, these early levels show drastic improvement over Jedi Knight both in terms of graphics and gameplay. Gone are Jedi Knight’s obvious polygons, laser blasts knock enemies from their feet, environments are more interactive allowing you to take over laser cannons, command AT-STs, and use a capital ship’s guns against their TIE Fighters. Plus, these early levels are the only ones that can truly be called FPS. Once you regain your lightsaber, the game plays out in a frenetic third person perspective.

Unlike Jedi Knight’s use of secret areas to increase Force Powers, as you advance in Jedi Outcast you are given new Force Powers and improvements on preexisting ones. Each Force level has three ranks, Lightsaber throw begins a basic boomerang move, but as you increase in ability, you gain more control over where the lightsaber goes. Possible negatives to this include that you aren’t controlling your character and level design follows your advancement- meaning that if you suddenly advance in Force Jump or Speed, trust that you’ll need those powers to complete the level. As one who’s tasted both the dark and light side, Kyle is not restricted as to the Force Powers he receives.

Force Powers are better integrated too. Force Jump uses the jump button, no need to hit a function key for that one. Force Speed presents the accelerated motion of your character by slowing down the outside world. Stormtroopers stand like statues as lightsaber strikes them down. Even better, you can walk between laser blasts.

Lightsaber combat is the most improved aspect of the game, incorporating the acrobatic battles of the prequels. There are different fighting styles and plenty of opponents to duel against. Beware, these opponents also have the power of the Force and will use cunning tactics to defeat you.

I found myself very engrossed in the story. Unlike Dark Forces or Jedi Knight, I felt like I was actually in the Star Wars Universe. Environments are so realistic, several settings are familiar from the movies and the game makes excellent use of cameos. While Mark Hamill couldn’t voice Skywalker, the actor who does is very convincing. And you get to hang out with Lando! How cool is that!

The Bad
Is there anything I didn’t like about this game? Very little. Some of the jumping puzzles were annoying but I figured that’s what quicksave is for. The only level I disliked was the stealth level, but I was still amused at the Stormtroopers bragging about the size of the ships they'd been on. I just hope that the next game is even better.

The Bottom Line
Gaming excellence! Thank you Raven Software.

Windows · by Terrence Bosky (5397) · 2003

Very good, this game is. Play you must.

The Good
I can't help but say how happy I am that Raven developed JO. They really have captured the Star Wars style perfectly, like no other title has since the last in this series, Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. The characters, themes, artwork. Everything fits in with the world we have all come to enjoy for so many years now.

The lightsaber takes up most of my time, for obvious reasons. It's amazing to watch Kyle swing it around and see the sparks fly when it deflects blaster fire or marks the walls and floors. Combat itself against the many Sith in the game isn't all that difficult to master. You'll soon find yourself, like me, trying to re-create scenes from the movies with mates on the multiplayer maps.

Speaking of which, although the single player campaign is very rewarding, including a strong storyline which this series has become well known for, it's the multiplayer modes that gets the most attention. Raven has built upon their past titles (Soldier of Fortune, Elite Forces, etc.) to develop a wide range of play modes such as the usual deathmatch, team deathmatch and capture the flag. But what makes them more unique then other 1st person shooter is the use of the lightsaber to develop some amazing duels and battles. Sure, playing sniper with the Wookiee bowcaster is fun, but nothing is as good as playing 12 people in a rounded room, jumping around like Obi-Wan and Darth Maul in TPM !!

Did I mention that JO has plenty of options for the mod world? It really increases the lastability of the product when they ship development tools or at least allow for new maps and characters to easily be added to the existing software. Raven has done this here, so expect plenty of great ideas to roll in from the many mod makers out there.

The Bad
There isn't much to dislike about JO. Yeah, the cut-scenes may not be perfect, and at times the lightsaber cuts its way through Kyle, but they are very minor bugs that do not disturb the gameplay in any way.

I suppose some added new music here and there would have been nice, but you can't have everything.

The Bottom Line
Always two there are, no more, no less. A master and an apprentice. Welcome Raven with open arms, and hope that they stick around longer than Darth Maul. A classic title that returns the Star Wars PC community to high ground. Let's hope EPII does the same for the movie world.

Windows · by Kartanym (12418) · 2006

Starts slow but picks up after first few levels.

The Good
The best part of the game is definitely the light saber and the force powers. They are implemented much better than in the first game. By the last part you will pretty much forget about all the guns and just have fun finding new ways to take out the enemy. My favorite was the force jumping high and then force pulling the troopers up in the air. The game does a great job of making you feel like a Jedi Knight. The movement and third person camera is allot like Heretic 2 and makes controlling your character when using the light saber very easy.

The Bad
The two problems I had with the game was some of the level design(mainly the first few), and some of the puzzles. Without the force powers and light saber the game plays like a standard shooter in the first part with some average at best levels that you can wander around for awhile. I don't mind non-linear design but when your planted in a big level with no idea where to go and are forced to just guess where the panel or key you need is. It can get annoying at times. There were a few puzzles that were very annoying. In particular one with a moving pipe that can be almost impossible to figure out unless your in the right place at the right time.

The Bottom Line
Overall a very good shooter set in the Star Wars universe that enhances the standard gameplay with a very good implementation of the light saber and force powers. Some poor level design and annoying puzzles, but still a definite buy for any SW or FPS shooter fan.

Windows · by Jason Becker (4) · 2002

[ View all 13 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast appears in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die by General Editor Tony Mott.

Cutscenes

Many of the 'combat action' displayed in cutscenes (and at one point watching the young Jedi train), including a moment with Luke Skywalker, are not pre-determined and are done somewhat more randomly via the AIs. What this means is that no two cutscenes are alike... and even though you may have seen it before, it will probably happen differently the next time. This is notable because sometimes unintentionally humorous and anti-climatic results occur (aka the AI doing something stupid).

This excludes the pre-rendered video files (usually of spaceships and exterior views) used within the game.

Information also contributed by WildKard

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Related Sites +

  • Fight the Dark Side
    An Apple Games article (archived on the author's webpage) about the Macintosh version of Jedi Outcast, with commentary being provided by Aspyr Media President Michael Rogers (August, 2002).
  • Jedi Knight 2 files
    Almost all major Jedi Outcast maps, skins and mods can be found here including Jedi Academy files.
  • NZMac Review
    A (largely) unscored but positive review of the Macintosh version of the game by NZMac, a New Zealand Apple site (Jan. 01, 2003).

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 6073
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by Alexander Schaefer.

Macintosh added by Corn Popper. Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 added by Kam1Kaz3NL77. GameCube, Xbox added by Kartanym.

Additional contributors: Raphael, Unicorn Lynx, Solid Flamingo, naula, Zeppin, Rik Hideto, FatherJack.

Game added March 31, 2002. Last modified January 22, 2024.