Facebook – Top 100 FAVORITE Video Games: 56

56: Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II (PC)
Developer: LucasArts
Year: 1997

 

John Flowers, don’t kill me.

I love this game. I really do. I know, I know, its in the back 50 titles and that’s a dirty shame. Its great fun and even its expansion pack is really fun. Sue me. But rather than say I love it, let me prove to you that this game is one that has a place in my heart, won’t you? This sequel to a game so old its pixel/sprite-based rather than filled with polygons is a damn fine entry into a damn fine series of games, all falling under a franchise of games that is hit-or-miss for the most part. And even though its at #56 on this list, don’t let that keep you from reading on, sir. Let me explain my love.

The first Dark Forces game was just an excuse to shoot at Storm Troopers in a Doom-style setting. It DID have a plot, yes, but it was lacking in any real depth or interesting narrative choices. Jedi Knight, on the other hand, took the same style of gameplay and introduced a story in which Kyle becomes a Jedi. A friggin’ Jedi. After discovering  his father was one, Kyle sets out to stop a new Empire from taking form under Jerec, a blind dark Jedi intent on discovering the location of – and powers residing within – the Valley of the Jedi. Kyle must learn the ways of the Force if he’s to overcome this, all the while he must learn about his love for Jan, his cohort in his recent activities. The plot is thin, here in this paragraph’s interpretation, but its shockingly interesting and full of cool Star Wars universe tidbits. Understanding more about the Jedi Knights and their ancient lore (which is canon, by the way) is awesome, too.

But no one comes to this game to understand the story. No, they come because its an FPS with a fucking lightsaber. Gun battles are all great and good, but the use of Force powers and a laser sword make those “random, clumsy” weapons rather… “uncivilized” so to speak. The worlds that inhabit the gameplay of Jedi Knight fit so well within the Star Wars universe, too, not counting the simple things like Storm Troopers and the like. Each level is huge and provides for a great amount of action, saber or no. And this game throws every kind of asshole the Star Wars universe has at the player. As such, level exploration, while fantastic, is second-seat to combat mechanics which utilize the lightsaber and force powers well, keeping you from simply running through the levels with ease, cutting every thing in your path in half. This is especially true in regards to the games (sparse, thankfully) lightsaber battles. I say “thankfully” (in parentheses) not because they suck – they are difficult, however – but because they are awesome and unique. One of the things this game has over follow-ups like Force Unleashed is that the time for lightsaber battles is only for big moments, not random boss fights.

The graphics, too, were stellar for their time. While muddy and ugly, now, the jump from pixel-shooter to full 3D, polygon FPS-blast-fest was incredible. Few games did this well, at least within the confines of a few years from each other (Doom 2-to-Doom 3 for example was awesome looking, but over a decade in the making). As stated, the levels are huge and well constructed to look like Star Wars locations. Star Destroyers look like Star Destroyers, cantinas look like cantinas, etc. And the music helps present these world perfectly, too, offering classic SW tracks over the battles and levels, intermingled with new cues to help run the narrative forward the whole game. And the enemies that populate the worlds are great, too, leaping up in graphical presentation since Dark Forces; Storm Troopers were first seen in 3D here, and being able to cut their arms off was awesome and something missed from further, better looking games since (although SW:TFU2 promises limb removal!). But, one thing this game makes the mistake of doing is creating a Water Temple level before Ocarina of Time could do it. No one wants to move water levels up and down to solve puzzles. Anyone saying they do is a liar. And going to hell.

All in all, Star Wars: Jedi Knight (….Dark Forces 2) offers everything a fan of Star Wars could want in a game. While some would argue – fairly – that the game is influential enough to be higher up this list, the fact remains that it has beat out tons of other games that other might say are even better yet. The fact remains that this is a brutal, fast-paced action shooter with inspired design choices and great fun to be had. There was even multiplayer, but everyone wanted to be Jedi Boba Fett so it got old fast. So, John, when you see this, I hope you don’t judge me too harshly (even though this post is, admittedly, poorly written – not that I’m saying the others are any better, really). Just trust that the game is great fun and I recognize it for what it is: not as timeless as other, greater games.

 

Classic Moment: “MINE TOO!”

No, seriously, the cut scenes in this game are hilarious and poorly acted. They looked great, considering, but were overly ridiculous and amusing to watch, overall. They DO, however, keep the game down in my opinion. Even in the first Resident Evil game, I don’t think live-action cut scenes belong in video games. You can argue that it helped make the game feel like a part of the Star Wars universe, and you’d be wrong. Dead wrong.

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Added February 15, 2017
I am not certain that this game would be on my list if I was to make a new one, today. Honestly, I don’t remember it very well at this point and what I do remember isn’t very well regarded.
This game ain’t no System Shock 2, is what I’m sayin’.