Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast

Rating:
Summary: Very Good!
Review: This is the best Star Wars game I have played. Except for a few missteps with level design and puzzles, this game is very engrossing. The main story is about a jedi who has to rediscover his powers in order to deal with a dark jedi who is trying to take over the galaxy (I think). It's a rather cliche tale, but one that works well in the Star Wars universe created in this game.

Gameplay: I'll say this upfront--if this game did not include such excellent lightsabre combat and force powers, it would be a very average first-person shooter. However, since the jedi abilities and signature weapon are showcased prominently throughout most of the game, Jedi Outcast stands above most games I've played. Unlike the recent Star Wars movies (episodes I and II), where the lightsabre battles are great but there are not enough of them to save the movies from their mediocre scripts, Jedi Outcast really lives up to its goal of making the player feel like a jedi. You'll have to get through the first five levels of the game in which you won't have your sabre or the force powers. However, levels 6-24 are all about mastering the force and elegantly dismembering your opponents with some truly gorgeous swordplay. I am not a big fan of shooter games, but I found this one fairly easy to learn. There are a good variety of weapons, from laser rifles to bombs. Nonetheless, you will probably be using the lightsabre most of the time, since it is so versatile. The sword fights look very authentic and true to the Star Wars films. You can switch between stances (strong, medium, or fast), deflect laser fire, throw your sabre, and use it in conjunction with force powers (like force grip and force push). Even though you will probably find yourself frantically clicking the mouse and various keyboard bottons hoping that you can out-fence other jedi, the sabre fighting never looks awkward or mechanical, since the game finesses the motion of the lightsabre to make attacks look elegantly lethal. I didn't intend to go on for so long about just the lightsabre aspect of the game, but I found this part to be very well implemented and entertaining all the way to the end. The force powers are also well done, but you'll probably find yourself using only a few of the 8 available on a regular basis. My favorites were force heal and force grip, but there are others like force speed, jump, pull, push, lightning, and mind trick.

In addition to the lightsabres and force powers, the game includes a host of friendly and hostile individuals and creatures, including hordes of stormtroopers, a few species of aliens, a few dozen dark jedi (the best opponents), and a few familiar faces like Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian. Generally well-done cut-scenes help advance the plot between levels. Level design is good overall, but this game includes more than its fair share of places where you can get stuck looking for passages, switches, keys, and other things. There are a lot of jumping sequences, several of which are tough. I only had to use a walkthrough guide once to find a passageway in one of the early levels. However, in 45 hours of total gameplay, I spent at least 4-5 of those hours trying to figure out where various passages, doors, and switches were. This will be frustrating to many gamers and is the main reason I can't give this game 5 stars. Technically, the game is very stable, and I didn't experience a single crash or bug (which seems rare for games nowadays).

Graphics: This is a very beautiful game. Outdoor scenary is especially convincing, as is combat (particularly lightsabre duels). Characters move realistically during the game, but they appear much stiffer and unpersuasive during cut-scenes. The game looks like an authentic Star Wars world.

Sound: No problems here. All weapons sound like you would expect, from the sonic whiz of laser fire to the low humming of a lightsabre. Ambience noises are appropriate where they appear, and the voice acting is good. The familiar movie music greatly contributes to the Star Wars feel of the game.

Overall, this game is a very good buy, especially at the current price. It's engrossing, stable, and straightforward regarding controls. Again, some people will be put off by some of the more tedious find-the-switch-door-passage-key-jump sequences which are generously sprinkled throughout the game. However, if you can get pass these annoyances, Jedi Outcast is a real treat for Star Wars fans and others alike.

Rating: 4.5 (out of 5 stars)

Rating:
Summary: Good Game
Review: I have this game and I like it. there are some areas that are harder to get through then others. The only thing I don't like is if you have this game for gamecube the controls are a little hard to get use to at first.

Rating:
Summary: Masterpiece!
Review: This is a truly awesome game. It has a strong story that slowly unravels during the course of the game. It has decent graphics, and its strongest aspect is: its gameplay. Once you get you lightsaber, the game really picks up. Being able to weild a saber and slash, hack, and totally destroy enemies, as well as the ability of deflecting enemy fire is non-stop fun. But I can assure you that you will get lost a LOT. Although this game is mostly action, there is a lot of exploring as well. The levels are very large and complex. Many times you will have to explore for a long time until finally finding a secret passage in the roof and stuff like that. Overall, it's a truly spectacular game that has good graphics, awesome gameplay, a deep story, and beware: it's very addicting!

Rating:
Summary: the way lightsaber combat was always supposed to be...
Review: I got Dark Forces back in 1995 and I actually just got this three days ago for $10 at WalMart (Bluelight Special! :-) I find the overall gameplay really similar to Jedi Knight except that the graphics are gorgeous, unlike the (...)-ugly Jedi Knight engine, and it is a lot harder. And I mean that. I'm playing it on normal and I'm getting killed so much its shocking me. I mean, I don't even die this much in Half-Life (another hard shooter). Especially the first Nar Shaddaa level they have these Rodian snipers that rarely miss and can vaporize you like Star Trek phasers (sucky).
Gameplay is fast and furious, and unlike Dark Forces and Jedi Knight, the shootouts with stormtroopers actually looks, sounds, feels like the movies, tension and all, and this game actually has hit locations (yes!). The lightsaber looks awesome, and you can actually carve stuff in the walls (sweeeeet).
The other thing I didn't like is that some of the force powers sucked, force jump looked cool in 3rd person but was less powerful than Jedi Knight, and Force Speed looked AWESOME with enemies around (memories of The Matrix), but otherwise it didn't seem to do much, cause you stay the same speed and everything (everyone) else slows down around you. Also Kyle's death scream is atrocious, specially since I die so much. Just terrible. So just, don't die. For me.

Pros:
-kickass lightsaber combat obliterates saber combat in the original Jedi Knight, THIS IS WHAT IT WAS MEANT TO BE LIKE FOLKS (using the dismemberment cheat "devmapall", "g_SaberRealisticCombat 1" makes it even funner!)
-body hit locations (fun fun motherf*cker)
-combat looks and sounds just like the movies unlike Jedi Knight
-sweet force powers, choke is awesome, pushing and pulling people is a BLAST, and force jump is actually used w/ the main jump key finally

Cons:
-pathetic storyline (original JK's was much better)
-the corniest Star Wars villian ever (he's a dinosaur for god's sake, and a purple one at that)
-seems too short and had too few overall locations in the game
-no force pulling weapons?!?!

AWESOME GAME, CAN'T WAIT TO PLAY JEDI ACADEMY

Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT!!!
Review: Jedi Knight:Jedi Outcast was really a fun game to play. I picked it up from the library and enjoyed playing it for the two weeks I had it. It was much better than Jedi Knight:Dark Forces 2; you get lots of cool weapons and the graphics are great. In this game Kyle Katarn is trying to stop fallen Jedi Desann who has found the Valley of the Jedi and is trying to empower others with the Force.