What is Star Wars: Jedi Knight II ?

Ever since we saw Sir Alec Guinness subtly wave his hand and utter, “These aren’t the droids you’re looking for,” before going into a Mos Eisley bar and slicing up some intergalactic scum, we’ve been longing to whip out a lightsaber and unleash the power of the Force upon our foes, imaginary or otherwise. With Aspyr’s port of this LucasArts game, we finally get the chance.

You play ex-Jedi and mercenary-with-aheart Kyle Katarn, who gets tangled up with some nasty Dark Jedi and has to relearn his . Force powers in order to kick ass.

It takes a little while to actually get to do the cool jedi stuff (telepathy, telekinesis— all your favorite jedi mind tricks), which is the most satisfying part of the game, but it’s well worth the wait. The first two missions (each taking about an hour of play) are standard— you run around and shoot everything while solving little puzzles, which is fun enough in itself, thanks to the simple satisfaction of playing in the Star Wars universe. But it’s only later in

and a lightsaber, that the real joy and adrenaline begin to flow. Sure, you can opt to play in the usual way, blasting a myriad of aliens and Troopers with an arsenal of quite gratifying guns (all with alternate fire options) and have a swell time, but your lightsaber is essential for fighting the evil jedi you come across, and with its defensive and missile (controlled throwing) capabilities, it will eventually become your most useful weapon.

The graphics (driven by the Quake HI: Arena engine) are great, but it’s those familiar Star Wars sounds and orchestral music that immerse you fully. Turn up the volume as you tangle with a leaping, lightsaber-wlelding Dark jedi, the music dramatically rising as you watch him expire in a 360-degree slow-motion pan worthy of the cinema. Great stuff!

Besides the running around, slashing, and shooting behavior, in the course of the game you get to drive an imperial ATST walker (stepping on Storm Troopers), drive remotely controlled droids (into Storm Troopers, just to annoy them), unleash little flying baseball-shaped drones to injure and distract your foes, and use a ton of alternate weapons and inventory items.

With its well-made environments, rich multiplayer mode, and great graphics, sound, and action, this game is the best Star Wars experience since the original film.

Imlay, Chris. (February 2003). Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast. MacAddict. (pg. 37).

Download Star Wars: Jedi Knight II for Mac

Architecture

IBM PowerPC

Compatibility notes

Emulating this? It could probably run under: SheepShaver