Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II

aka: Guerra nas Estrelas: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II: O Cavaleiro Jedi, Star Wars: Jedi Knight
Moby ID: 372
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Description official descriptions

Kyle Katarn, a former mercenary and now an ally of the rebels, discovers that he is in fact a Jedi, and is on a quest to find his lightsaber and learn the techniques of the Force. The evil Sith lord Jerec, who was responsible for the death of Kyle's father, is on a quest of his own, searching a mythical place called Valley of the Jedi, where his dark powers could be unleashed. Will Kyle be able to stop Jerec and become a true Jedi without falling to the dark side?

Star Wars: Jedi Knight - Dark Forces II is a sequel to Dark Forces. The game is set in the Star Wars universe and its events occur after those depicted in the movie Return of the Jedi (Episode VI). Primarily a first-person 3D shooter, the game also allows the player to switch to third-person perspective. Kyle can use blasters and rifles to take care of his enemies, and later in the game he will also be able to fight enemies with a lightsaber.

There are three kinds of Force powers Kyle may use in the game: light, dark and neutral. Light powers are mostly used for healing purposes; dark powers involve violent actions such as choking enemies or hurling objects at them; neutral powers enhance Kyle's speed and jumping ability. There are fourteen Force powers altogether; if the player chooses to develop only one type of powers throughout the game, a bonus power can be gained. Completing levels rewards the player with stars, which can be allocated to enhance the powers.

The game has a branching storyline with different endings, and the player's decisions can lead Kyle to the light as well as the dark side (for example, killing innocents will add "dark points" to Kyle's score). The game features video sequences with live actors as cutscenes.

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Credits (Windows version)

235 People (195 developers, 40 thanks) · View all

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[ full credits ]

Reviews

Critics

Average score: 88% (based on 33 ratings)

Players

Average score: 3.8 out of 5 (based on 140 ratings with 17 reviews)

Decent Follow-up to Dark Forces

The Good
Jedi Knight was more than eagerly anticipated by "Dark Forces" fans- I took the day off when it was released and ended up beating it in around 34 hours. The lightsaber action was new and very fun, and the levels were large and challenging. The true 3D engine was stable, and the introduction of FMV (done better than it was in "Rebel Assault II") was very cool.

The Bad
Unfortunately, Jedi Knight's art was sorely lacking I thought. Some of the levels are painfully bland, with repeating rock and concrete textures. The designers put in too much lighting as well, defeating the gritty, commando-style of the early levels and of "Dark Forces". Finally, though lightsaber combat was very cool, it was generally too rushed and frenzied to get any kind of cinematic experience out of it.

The Bottom Line
I actually didn't like this game as much as "Dark Forces". The bland levels really were the killer for me. I was hoping the sequel in the Dark Forces line would be "Stormtrooper" (kind of like "TIE Fighter" following "X-Wing"). But it's still a great action game with a good story, better than average full-motion video, and plenty of replay value online.

Windows · by Jason Musgrave (72) · 2003

Has it really been 5 years?

The Good
I was immediately impressed with Jedi Knight when the opening cut-scene led directly into the first level. Each level flowed into the next one and while the surrounding story was a little weak, I really enjoyed the intermeshing personal story set against the larger Doomsday scenario.

This game inspired a sense of wonder. Have you ever played a game and just stopped to look around? The levels are immense, complicated, and utilize John Williams' triumphant score. One of the best levels involves attempting to get to an escape pod as the ship you're in plummets downward.

Most of the same enemies are back from the original game- Stormtroopers, Gamorrean Guards, etc. There is also a cadre of evil Jedi which leads to impressive lightsaber duels. Fighting of foes with the lightsaber is incredibly satisfying and one of the best touches comes from deflecting laser blasts. At first you can only deflect a few shots, but eventually you can kill enemies with their own weapons.

Finally, this game was very challenging. Taking on a pack of Stormtroopers is easy, but an AT-ST? Two evil Jedi at once? Dodging a Tie Bomber? Thank you for including in-game saves!

The Bad
Graphics: Graphically this game was far ahead of its predecessor, textures and settings were great. I didn't really care for the character models though. The polygon structures used made the characters seem too distorted. This is mostly a quibble though, Blood which came out the same year had far worse graphics.

Force Powers: Okay, Force Powers work well in the game and look really cool, but I felt that the power-up system linked to finding secret areas diminished the Force. I mean Yoda never said, "Powerful Jedi Vader is. Found, he has, many secrets."

The Story: The awesome looking cut-scenes make up for the bad acting, but the story is pretty weak. I think a more dynamic implementation of the choice between Dark and Light would have improved the game. The branching storyline (more of a fork in the road) has little significance as far as gameplay.



The Bottom Line
Has a great personality and is fun at parties.

Windows · by Terrence Bosky (5397) · 2002

Best Star Wars game ever.

The Good
Sooo many things.. but the best is that the guy you're controlling, Kyle Katarn, is a Jedi. And what does that mean? Well, you can smite your foes with light saber, grip them with Force or just disarm them by grabbing their guns with Force. Not from the beginning though, where the game is just a typical 3D-shooter with fantastic score. Multiplayer is very well done, all the extra characters you can download.. Light saber duels rock!

The Bad
Jerec. He just hasn't got what it takes to be a Dark Jedi. But Maw was cool. Yeah, and no blood in this game.

The Bottom Line
When I got this game in my P133 three years ago I went nuts. First Dark Forces was nothing special. Just a Star Wars 3D-shooter. But this... to be a Jedi. To learn the way of Jedi. And Dark Side. It's just like in the movies. If you choose the Dark Side, you will quickly learn many destructive powers and become a strong Jedi, but in the end, you see where it leads. I almost felt pity for Katarn when I saw the Dark Side ending clip. Graphics are reasonable for todays standards and blah blah... for tech side. Multiplayer is great. After I had completed first level of the game, I went online and challenged some master Jedi. First, he killed me every time. By guns. So I proposed a light saber duel. He accepted. I pulled out my saber, and so did he. But when I was about to swing the first time, he jumped over me with force jump and hit me on back. Ouch.. But after you learn how to take advantage of the Force, you will succeed in scoring more and more kills. I have played only two multiplayers better than Jedi Knight, Diablo and Counter-Strike. And that is something.

Windows · by Lord Zimonov (8) · 2001

[ View all 17 player reviews ]

Trivia

1001 Video Games

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

Comic

A comic book version was based on the plot of Jedi Knight.

Cut content

An early version of Jedi Knight featured an extra weapon not included in the final game, the "Tusken Prod". Several magazines have printed screenshots featuring this weapon on sneak previews and scoops of the game, though it is unknown why the weapon never made it to the final game.

There was also a screenshots of a "speeder level" where Kyle Katarn got onto a large speeder and could fly it around. For whatever reason, the speeder was phased out of the final game, and its model is not used anywhere as furniture or as decoration in any level.

Development

  • According to early interviews before the game was released, all of the character models and art in "Jedi Knight" were created prior to any live-action filming. This is why the model of Kyle Katarn does not have a beard like the actor does, and why many other models don't match very well to their FMV counterparts.
  • According to some rumors at the time of development and release, LucasArts contacted Lucasfilm and George Lucas directly over the effects of a lightsaber when submerged in water.
  • According to the US PC Gamer issue of October 2001, Justin R. Chin stated in a interview that he would receive constant criticism of his game design during each project evaluation meeting. He chose to ignore most of the criticism and stick with his design.

German version

The predecessor Dark Forces of 1995 has been banned in Germany and may only be sold to adults. In order to avoid a similar ban for Jedi Knight, the German version of the game doesn't mention the subtitle Dark Forces II.

Inspiration

Justin R. Chin, like George Lucas, researched ancient Asian history and culture for inspiration. The arch-enemy, Jerec, is apparently blind. In some Japanese folklore and myths, blind warriors are oft-times the most deadly, because it is the weakest sense (in warrior theory).

Mods

As of 2007, this game still has a active fan group that modifies it. For example, there is a new mod for this game called Jedi Knight Enhanced, which updates all the games models to "Quake III era", making it more appealing. The mod can be found here and is about 40 megs big. Make sure you read the installation instructions carefully.

There is also an ongoing project, which updates all the original games textures, and it can be found here.

Music

The music heard in the game is taken directly from the original Star Wars trilogy film soundtracks, performed by London Symphony Orchestra. It's included on the game CDs as Red Book Audio which means that the game CDs can be listened to in an ordinary CD player (be sure to skip the first track, though!).

References

  • In level 5 there's a secret that lets you encounter Max (the rabbit from Sam & Max Hit the Road.) If you let him out of the house, he will go on a shooting spree killing everyone from civilians to stormtroopers.... to you. And with what appears to a remote control too!
  • On Level 9 (Fuel Station Launch) do a 180 spin while jumping from the platform onto the ship at the end of the level (you can't turn once you've landed on the ship). The retracting platform has the face of Max tiled on the edge facing you.

Awards

  • Computer Gaming World
    • March 1998 (Issue #164) - Game of the Year
    • February 2002 (Issue #211) – Introduced into the Hall of Fame
  • GameStar (Germany)
    • Issue 12/1999 - #41 in the "100 Most Important PC Games of the Nineties" ranking
  • PC Gamer
    • April 2000 - #7 in the "All-Time Top 50 Games" poll
    • April 2005 - #21 in the "50 Best Games of All Time" list
  • PC Player (Germany)
    • Issue 01/1998 - Best Action Game in 1997
  • Power Play
    • Issue 02/1998 – Best First-Person Shooter in 1997

Information also contributed by Adam Baratz, Alexander Schaefer, Emepol, Jason Musgrave, Kalirion, Mu77etOfDeath, naula, PCGamer77, Scott Monster, Simon Michelmore and Zovni

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Related Sites +

  • Jedi Knight Dot Com
    A general overview of the Star Wars universe, but also includes a section with all Star Wars games by Lucas Arts.
  • Jedi Knight Editing Hub
    Everything about editing the original Jedi Knight game.

Identifiers +

  • MobyGames ID: 372
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Contributors to this Entry

Game added by robotriot.

Additional contributors: MAT, Swordmaster, Unicorn Lynx, naula, Duduzets, Patrick Bregger, FatherJack.

Game added November 3, 1999. Last modified March 8, 2024.