Kyle Katarn returns to the Force, but he's not quite as exciting this time around.
During the height of LucasArts’ popularity, the company released arguably its best Star Wars title ever: Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. Throwing the already popular Dark Forces series into a brand-new, fully 3D world and infusing the player with the ability to use force powers, Jedi Knight received massive acclaim from gamers. When LucasArts announced that Raven Software, developer of the controversial first person shooter Soldier of Fortune, was in charge of developing a sequel to Jedi Knight, not everyone was in joyous celebration -- and now having put the final game through its paces -- some were on the right track.
In Jedi Knight II, our hero Kyle Katarn has relinquished his lightsaber and Force powers to Luke Skywalker. Not wanting to have anything to do with the Force again, Kyle continues doing freelance work for the Republic. During a seemingly ordinary mission, Kyle and companion Jan Ors stumble onto a plan to use a rare material resistant to lightsabers against the Republic’s famed Jedi. Jan is killed during the mission, pushing Kyle to his emotional limits. Kyle heads to the Valley of the Jedi in hopes of infusing himself with the Force and chasing after Jan’s assassins.
Raven Software is known for their slick artistic and technical presentation and in Jedi Knight II, the developer doesn’t disappoint. Thanks in part to id Software’s Quake III: Arena engine, the unique Star Wars universe can be explored in more vivid detail than ever before. Sadly, during my entire adventure with Kyle, I never felt like Raven Software really took advantage of the universe they had at hand. The Quake III: Arena engine allows nearly limitless possibilities with the environments it can produce, but many times Jedi Knight II rubbed off a feeling that the popularity of the previous Jedi Knight kept the designers from completely expressing themselves, instead trying to please gamers with the familiar.
You will need a decent machine to pump everything Jedi Knight II has to offer at maximum detail, but nothing too taxing for the average PC gamer. Bumping down the detail a notch or too doesn’t change the game’s look noticeably and it significantly helps the frame rate. I also ran into a strange problem where after Quick Loading, the game’s frame rate would dip into the teens. For whatever reason, exiting into the menu screen and waiting a few moments would bring the frame rate back up to speed. Hopefully this will be solved in a future patch; it became very annoying to deal with the entire game.
The most intriguing aspects of Jedi Knight were the use of the lightsaber as a primary weapon and the influence the Force powers had on the gameplay. In the sequel, Raven Software has done a little tweaking to the system, both good and bad. Let us start with what went right: the lightsaber. What could have been a weapon very clunky to control has been made into completely the opposite. The lightsaber has been designed so beginners can whack away at the attack key and perform kick ass moves without a second thought, while more advanced gamers can take advantage of the various moves that have been programmed in. Most of the moves are impossible to utilize on their own, though – but they look damn cool when you accidentally pull them off in battle. In fact, the lightsaber is so much fun that, save for a few sniper shots, I never even used the rest of the weapons after acquiring it.
Used in combination with the lightsaber, the Force powers only help to sweeten the deal. It is unfortunate, however, that Raven Software has toned down the influence gamers have. For example, in Jedi Knight you chose which powers you wanted to have upgraded and whether your powers would be from the good or bad side of the Force. There is no such option in Jedi Knight II. Instead, each level automatically upgrades random Force powers and grants new ones. Kyle essentially has every possible Force power possible at maximum power by the end of the game. Fortunately, the Force powers way too much fun to use in combat, so this problem slipped to the back of my mind during play. The glee I felt while Force Jumping 50 feet and then Force Pulling a group of Stormtroopers into the air with me, only to land safely while the Stormtroopers crack their skulls against the ground was indescribable. Or how about Force Gripping a lieutenant and smashing his body against a wall until he drops a supply key?
Before heading into heavy combat, make sure to arrange a control setting that allows you easy access to using the Force; not only does it make fighting fun, but a heck of a lot easier (the initial control setting isn’t the most friendly).
You can probably tell that using the Force and lightsaber really make the game. Well, try to imagine pushing through the game for a couple of hours without any of that at your disposal. For the first few levels, none of that is at Kyle’s fingertips. Upon starting Jedi Knight II, it feels like a horribly generic first person shooter in the Star Wars universe. It isn’t until the aforementioned items come into play that the joy that made Jedi Knight so enjoyable starts coming out. Jedi Knight II would have heavily benefited from cutting the time it takes to receive the Force and lightsaber in half. Once that occurs, the rest of Jedi Knight II oozes excellence – until the last level. It would spoil the story to talk about it too much, but needless to say, it takes place in a swampy area and made me want to turn off the game.
After plowing through the single player adventure, bounds of fun await Jedis in the multiplayer segments. The inclusion of the lightsaber and Force powers are what make Jedi Knight II’s multiplayer an altogether new experience. Learning to use the Force to make an open striking opportunity is incredible with a competent other player. For the most part, though, straying away from matches where more than a dozen people are involved is a smart idea. With the Force flying every which way, it becomes too tough to concentrate on fighting.
Jedi Knight II is nowhere near the classic status of the original. It tries hard, though. At times, you can see that Raven Software was on the right track. There is plenty of fun to be found in the game’s quest, but in the end, it ends up being rather standard Raven Software fare – polished and fun, but misses its complete potential.
