Star Wars: Dark Forces

aka: Star Wars: Dark Forces (Classic, 1995)
Moby ID: 500

DOS version

Doom-clones hyped up... not because of Doom

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 :)

by Boston Low (85) on May 9, 2005

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