– Spoiler review –

Following up on successful games is never an easy feat (like moderately unsuccessful sequels Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike and The Force Unleashed II anyone?), especially if the previous game was Jedi Outcast. While Raven Software had set the bar pretty high with its first game in the Jedi Knight series, instead of trying to emulate it, they set out to change expectations with their sequel. Thus we were blessed with a little diddy called Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy, a game that expands on Jedi Outcast in numerous meaningful and critical ways and falls short in only a handful of categories. Continue reading “Video Game Review: Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy” →

Three months after Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II released, its expansion was ready for fan’s attention. Mysteries of the Sith continued Kyle Katarn’s adventures, but with a little twist: the game was primarily played through the eyes of the Legends/EU starlet, Mara Jade. Set just 5 years after Dark Forces II, MotS finds Mara under the tutelage of Katarn, who disappears while on a mission to Dromund Kaas (something The Old Republic fans know a little about). With some slight graphical improvements, new multiplayer modes/maps, a wider array of Force powers, and some killer final levels, it’s hard to argue against purchasing Mysteries of the Sith, especially if you enjoyed Dark Forces II. Continue reading “Video Game Review: Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith” →

The First Person Shooter (FPS) had just gained momentum in 1993 with the release of Doom. Many games attempted to emulate it and were quickly labeled as ‘Doom-clones.’ But as much as LucasArts wanted to make a FPS like Doom, they also wanted to make additions to stand out. Thus, in 1995, came Star Wars: Dark Forces. The game added (what was revolutionary at the time) the ability to look up, down, duck, jump, swim, and it also contained levels with multiple floors. All the above was thanks to LucasArts creating the Jedi engine basically from reverse engineering the Doom engine. In 1995, all those new features made Dark Forces a good game. In late 2012/early 2013, it’s goodwill from said features has pretty much worn out. Continue reading “Video Game Review: Star Wars: Dark Forces” →