At this point, it’s fairly clear the only thing I’m as obsessed with as I am video games is Star Wars. My current desktop background is a fan-created poster for Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope and the Despecialized Edition of the Original Trilogy is my favorite edition of the movies. However, you might be surprised at the number of Star Wars games I’ve missed. The first Star Wars game (brilliantly titled Star Wars) came out in 1983 and publishers been releasing games ever since, year after year. While I have missed a fair few of them, I did manage to hit some of the highlights of the series. Let’s Look At one of the best Star Wars games that lets you be a Jedi; Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast.

Still the only game where I can play as Trandoshan with a lightsaber and cut off Luke Skywalker's arm, so that's cool.

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast puts you in the boots of Kyle Katarn, an imperial officer turned rebel agent and later Jedi Knight. You head off to investigate the dregs of the Empire, scattered and weakened after Luke’s triumph against the Emperor and Darth Vader. After discovering how to infuse the Force into his followers, a Dark Jedi plans to revive the Empire. Kyle must take up his lightsaber again to defeat Desaan and his nefarious plans.

Why are the bad guys always reptile-y lookin'? Why couldn't he be a furry kitty or something? This is species-ist.

Jedi Outcast, built on the Quake 3 engine, drawing on its excellent shooting gameplay and movement mechanics. Kyle has real momentum as you run and jump around, which gives the combat a more realistic feel despite the lightsabers whirring about. All of your weapons feel responsive and punchy; each weapon has an alternate fire mode, adding versatility and expanding your options. With a large variety of guns, you can use different weapons for every type of situation. The Flachette gun, for instance, is really well suited for hallway combat, as its buckshot like fire fills a small space quickly. The E-11 Blaster Rifle’s secondary fire allows for extremely rapid fire, which makes it way easier to dispose of groups of clustered enemies.

Also worth noting is the excellent sound design in Jedi Outcast. Everything sounds just as it should. — Also worth noting is the excellent sound design in *Jedi Outcast*. Everything sounds just as it should.

Emulating the pure fictional awesomeness of Lightsaber usually feels like you’re wielding a wifflebat, but Jedi Outcast does a pretty good job. Your lightsaber is the most powerful weapon in your arsenal, by far. You can deflect blaster bolts, and cut through Stormtroopers like butter, nyooom-ing away the whole while. You feel like a real Jedi, powerful and deadly, but you’re never invincible using your lightsaber against the non-lightsaber equipped enemies. You can still get him from behind and any kind of explosive weapon will require some caution on your part. Like the Cantina scene in A New Hope, the game even lets you lop off an arm or two.

Or, with the help of a mod or two, even take off some noggins.

Along with a lightsaber, every Jedi worth their salt needs to have command of the force. You don’t get your force powers until a few missions into the game and you don’t start out with every power under the sun. But you get more powers as you play through the game, which communicates Kyle’s returning relationship with The Force with more grace than most games handle their narratives. Force powers feel about as awesome as they should. There’s something satisfying about using Force Choke to levitate and enemy then using Force Push to send them flying off the edge of Bespin’s famous cloud platforms.

Or failing Force Choke, you could always use Lightning. Kyle has spent some time with the Dark Side, so you have access to both kinds of powers.

Like the Star Wars movies, Jedi Outcast doesn’t skimp on exotic locales and new planets. The missions take you on an awesome tour of the galaxy, from the Outer Rim to Nar Shaada. Each level has its own unique design with different assets, architecture, and atmosphere. The swampy atmosphere and ancient stone of the Jedi Temple on Yavin 4 leaves you with a little history of the place, and the power of the Dark Side there. While they might look a bit dated, a lot of charm and clever work went into the environments of Jedi Outcast.

Think of Yavin as a slightly sunnier Dagobah, and you'll have the right idea.

However, while mission locations might be varied, the mission objectives are sadly lacking. Most of the mission objectives are just “find key, open door, end level”, which is disappointing given the richness of the universe. There could have been more interesting mission objectives revolving around light and dark side choices, instead of relying on the usual shooter fare.

While the stellar lightsaber combat makes Jedi Knight II stand out, it also makes all of your other weapons superfluous. Why snipe at an enemy when you can deflect all of their shots with your lightsaber and then lop off a leg when you’re close enough? You get the lightsaber after two missions, so maybe they started you out with a cap gun so you could appreciate the real thing a little more, but I’m not sure it worked out entirely. If there were more enemies that resisted the lightsaber more, combat might have been a little more complex.

This fight is not going to end will for these stormtroopers. It already went badly for a few of them.

The lightsaber v lightsaber combat has its own share of issues. You swing at each other, occasionally colliding and locking sabers. By mashing the left click button you can overpower your enemy and deal a large amount of damage to your opponent, often ending the battle. That part is pretty well designed, but the rest of the time they feel a little too easy to swing around. If your swings had more weight to them, then the lightsaber would feel less wooden. Of course, a solid melee combat system is one of the hardest things to design in games, as there are only a handful of good examples.

Most lightsaber fights devolve into frantic leaping around and mashing the attack button.

Worth Playing?

Yes.

It’s by no means a perfect picture, but Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is worth spending some time with. The melee system has issues, the guns can feel a bit superfluous, but this game does make you feel like a Jedi, which is hard to achieve.

If you want to be a Jedi, you should share this article. It’ll grant you force powers, for real.

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