Star Wars: Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast

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.