Although almost every piece of media with a Star Wars name on it almost assuredly has an epic story, there have been few series in any of LucasArts Star Wars games that has given gamers the opportunity to experience the story as it unfolds then those starring one Kyle Katarn, first in Dark Forces and then in the Jedi Knight games. With the classic space opera as its backdrop, Katarn’s personal struggle against both the Empire and the Dark Side of the Force is a perfect mirror for the grandiose history that George Lucas began and countless books, student films and video games have expanded throughout the years.
By focusing heavily on the storyline when few games were (and integrating it into the gameplay with great success), the original Dark Forces (PC, PSone) was a refreshing wakeup call for those bored with the millions of Doom clones sweeping the gaming world between the PC version’s ‘95 release, and the PSone version’s ‘96 release. And although the game itself didn’t really offer too many new innovations (aside from being a playable, fun Star Wars title), it set the stage for what would be a grandiose character driven saga that has spanned 3 titles and a PC expansion pack thus far, and will continue with a fourth later this year. But what is it about each game that has made the series so worthwhile? Let’s take a look
Star Wars: Dark Forces
Admittedly, the PSone version of this game was a bit sloppy - it was just as LucasArts was coming into the console market, and was a virtually unchanged port of a nearly two-year-old game. (And we all saw the company’s continued “success” with Masters of Teras Kasi...whooboy.) But despite the framerate problems that the PSone version saw, it doesn’t change the fact that the gameplay and design was still good, solid fun - and it gave Star Wars fanboys, some of whom had been aching for the opportunity sine 1977, the chance to blast Stormtroopers a new one.
The story began parallel to that of the first film - Kyle Katarn, a former Imperial turned mercenary, has been hired by the Rebel Alliance to steal the plans of the Death Star, and while doing so, he discovers another sinister plot to unleash robotic stormtroopers known as DarkTroopers into combat for the Empire. From that point, he becomes an impromptu member of the Rebel Alliance as he quests to stop the mass-scale production and deployment of the DarkTroopers before the Alliance is wiped out. With great quality cutscenes sandwiched between missions, the game made it hard for you to ignore the story, but even more so because it was so brilliantly integrated into the gameplay.
Even after the initial thrill of tossing thermal detonators at Stormtroopers was gone, the experience was held together by solid level and puzzle design. The game took you all around the Star Wars universe and did so boldly, and although it did at times seem odd that a mercenary upon which the fate of the Alliance rested was running around looking for keys, the objectives were never as simple and straightforward as what the game’s peers on the market offered, which was a further relief.
Sadly, all good things that had to come to an end did, but not before a spectacular conclusion (and one of the best pre-Half-Life FPS boss fights in the genre’s history) that cemented Dark Forces as a fantastic licensed game and a generally fun FPS overall. But even it couldn’t prepare gamers for...
Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II/Mysteries of the Sith
Even if you’re PC is ancient (I was able to run it fine on a laptop with a 100 mHz processor,) this game is well worth the time and effort spent tracking it down. It won numerous game of the year awards, the mere mention of its name may cause PC gamers and Star Wars fans alike to tear up just slightly, and the outpouring of fan support for it has been tremendous - all for good reason. Combining a gripping story, a unique character progression level and some of the biggest, most well designed levels in the genre, Jedi Knight was also the first game that allowed gamers to fully play as a Jedi, either light or dark side. But the catch was this - instead of choosing through menus and experience, the game chose your path based on the actions you took and award you force powers based on which side you chose. If you went around butchering innocent civilians, the game would tip your affinity towards the dark side. However, if you were wary of the civilians, and used your powers for defense and healing, the game would turn you towards the light side. There’s one defining moment in the game that is a point of no return, and from there on out, the story and level progression differ slightly based on what path you chose.
But the story itself was a feat. Told through recorded full motion-video cutscenes (at a time when that was all the ridicule in the PC world), the story followed Kyle Katarn as, while tracking down Jerec, the dark Jedi responsible for his father’s death, he discovers his Jedi heritage and must use his powers to stop Jerec from tapping into an ancient source of power. But to do so was not an easy feat – the game opened with Katarn getting on the wrong side of a Hutt, and it only got worse from there, pitting the protagonist against six additional dark Jedi, thousands of stormtroopers and all the rest of the scum of the universe. Enormous and accurate level design made sure that the game was no slouch in length, and the fact that almost every level was ridden with secrets (including one easter-egg homage to LucasArts’ earlier Sam and Max Hit The Road) made exploring them that much more of a blast.
But in addition to a handsome assortment of weapons, the lightsaber combat was a blast (particularly the duels against the Dark Jedi), and while now the combat may feel a bit dated, then it was a tense affair, with the careful use of Force powers capable of tipping the balance in a heartbeat. Particularly in multiplayer, in which a few new powers were allowed to players, things got especially tense – an eight-player sabers-only deathmatch was, and still is one of the most fun offerings that online multiplayer can offer.
Investing the time to find this game is no waste of time – in addition to the hefty single player quest, people STILL play this game on multiplayer, six years after its release. Fans and developers alike ensured the game even further longevity, and the game’s expansion pack (Mysteries of the Sith) adds even more blissful levels, while sites like Massassi.net offer literally hundreds of user-designed single player and multiplayer maps, as well as various mods to turn your Jedi into a ninja, to reduce gravity, to add a grappling hook, and many others. These mods were, unfortunately, necessary to tide gamers over from the five year wait until the release of…
Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (PC/X-Box/GCN)
Technically, this would be Dark Forces III, but all semantics aside, it’s still a frighteningly valuable addition to the series. The first game of the series not to be developed by a LucasArts internal development house (Raven Software took the
honors), it was the biggest leap forward as well. Raven, whose previous software credits included the less-than-stellar Soldier of Fortune series as well as the superbly inventive Hexen/Heretic games, managed a delicate balance of the feel of classic Star Wars while updating the action into almost Matrix-like territory (I maintain that this and Max Payne are better Matrix games then the mindnumbing Enter The Matrix.), and they did it to great success.
The story picked up roughly from the end of Mysteries of the Sith, which found Kyle turning in his lightsaber and letting his force powers stagnate after turning to the Dark Side. And where the game begins, Kyle is an ordinary hero playing an ordinary first person shooter, still playing the role of mercenary for the New Republic. But while investigating (read: crushing) a remnant faction of the Empire, his long-
time partner Jan Ors is kidnapped by a group of dark Jedi who seek to control the universe by uniting all of the remnants of the Empire. In order to stop them and rescue Jan, he must slowly recover his force powers in several intriguing plot-twists. Forgive my overwhelming nostalgia, but part of what made this game great was the fact that, among almost all of the Star Wars games released last year, this was the only to tie into the ‘traditional’ universe, the one dealt with in the original three films. And like the sequel to Rogue Squadron on GCN two years ago, it was that very familiarity that really adds to the game - you’ll encounter familiar characters and locations, and, well, no Jar-Jar. Strange pattern, isn’t it?
Instead of optioning the duality of force powers, Katarn learned powers from both sides at the same time, which allowed for some excellent combination attacks. You could pick up a stormtrooper with force grip and chuck your saber at them just for giggles, push enemies off of particularly high ledges, or even pull them into a waiting lightsaber slash. While the
possibilities weren’t exactly limitless, there were plenty of them to discover as the game went on, and the mere presence of them turned the game from a standard FPS to a fantastic action title that deserved all the acclaim it got, both on PC and X-Box. (Sadly, the GCN port was handled with no great delicacy, and was plagued with bugs and slowdown.)
With three titles, an expansion pack and tons of fan support in the bag, where else can the series go but up?
Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (PC/X-Box)
It’s not Police Academy in space, as joked by many members of the gaming press when this game was announced at E3 of 2003, but in fact the next eagerly anticipated title in the most consistently pleasing series of all the Star Wars titles. Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy may be the biggest step forward that the series has ever taken, and from the looks of it, gamers will not be disappointed.
The story details have been kept fairly tightly under wraps, but the biggest detail is that the protagonist is not, as in the past three games, Kyle Katarn. As the title suggests, you’re a student at Luke Skywalker’s Jedi Academy (and it’s said that you’ll cross paths with both him and Katarn as the game progresses), but at the outset of the game, you’ll design your character from scratch, with over 2000 different options such as clothing, species and gender.
The game will follow a mostly non-linear structure – as a student of the Academy, you’re still mastering the force, and so you’ll have the opportunity to approach some missions out of sequence based on what powers you’ll have and what you think you’ll need. Missions include simple rescue types as well as more complex sabotage operations, and plenty more variety based on what kind of Jedi you choose to be. If you’re big on saber combat, you can focus on that and play more combat oriented missions; however, if you choose to focus on sneaky powers like Persuasion, then the levels can be played in that manner. Additionally, the game progression is said to change based on whether you choose the dark side or the light side of the Force, which should give the game plenty of replayability.
The folks at Raven have been hard at work since Jedi Outcast, working with the engine in order to tweak it extraordinarily. The result should be some awfully pretty graphics, and considering that these are early screens, we can’t complain. Further, the animations, a highlight of Outcast, are in top form – again. The new animations will allow full contact physics with the environment as well as other players, and one example Raven offers is the ability to run along a wall, Force-Jump off of it high into the air, then roll from the landing into a forward stab attack. The game will also allow players to choose a saber-staff a la Darth Maul, or fight with two separate lightsabers, both of which will allow you some extremely acrobatic moves.
The gameplay will also allow for a few new choices as well. It will be possible to use vehicles and animals to get around what appear to be some incredibly expansive levels ranging the Star Wars universe, from commandeered AT-STs to Tautauns. In addition, Raven is reportedly working on a Counterstrike-like multiplayer mode currently known as Siege, although the details are few and far between at this point.
Scheduled for a November drop-date, Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy should be one of the most enticing games in LucasArts’ lineup – and for good reason. The intense saber combat and force powers have already been proven by previous games in the series, and it can only possibly get better. Stay tuned for an updated preview.
