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Star Wars: Dark Forces (video game series)
Encyclopedia
Star Wars: Jedi Knight, originally known as Star Wars: Dark Forces, is a first-person shooter
video game series based on the fictional Star Wars
universe. The series primarily focuses on Kyle Katarn
, a character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe
. The series is published by LucasArts
.
The Jedi Knight series began in 1995 with the release of Star Wars: Dark Forces
for DOS
, Apple Macintosh, and the Sony
PlayStation
. This was followed in 1997 by Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
in which Katarn learns the ways of a Jedi
. LucasArts developed Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
as an expansion pack
for Dark Forces II, this time giving the player control of Mara Jade
as well as Katarn. In 2002, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
was added to the series. Jedi Outcast was developed by Raven Software
and is powered by the Quake III: Team Arena game engine
. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
followed in 2003, powered by the same game engine. Jedi Academy was the first game in the series where the player does not control Kyle Katarn at any point in the game, though he is featured prominently in the storyline.
The games in the Jedi Knight series have received generally favorable reviews. Multiple publications have commented on the quality of the series as a whole, with GameNOW
describing it as "consistently great." The use of the lightsaber
in the game, a prominent gameplay element, has received specific praise for its implementation in the series.
universe. The player takes control of Kyle Katarn
who begins the series as a rebel spy
and learns the way of The Force
to become a Jedi Master.
Before the events in Dark Forces, Katarn is a student learning the skills required to follow in his father's career of agricultural mechanics. While he is studying at an academy, he is told by officials that rebels have killed his parents. The pain from this causes him to enlist in the Imperial army
. Katarn meets Jan Ors, who is undercover as a double agent
and they become more closely acquainted. Ors uncovers the real information about Katarn's parents, from which Katarn learns that the Empire is actually to blame for his parents' deaths. Ors' cover is eventually blown, and she is taken prisoner. Katarn helps her escape, thus ending his career with the Empire. Katarn soon becomes a mercenary
, and due to his hatred for the Empire for killing his parents, he takes on jobs from the Rebel Alliance
.
Katarn recovers the plans to the Death Star
, a heavily armed space station
capable of destroying planets. The Rebel Alliance uses the plans to find a weakness in and then destroy the Death Star. Katarn then aids the Rebels in stopping the threat of the Imperial dark trooper project. Despite the successful missions on behalf of the Rebel Alliance, Katarn still does not join their cause. After the destruction of the second Death Star in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
, Katarn is informed of the exact details of his father's death. His father, Morgan Katarn, had discovered the location of "The Valley of the Jedi", a source of great Force power. A Dark Jedi
named Jerec who desires the power had murdered Katarn's father. Katarn travels to the Valley of the Jedi while learning to be a Jedi himself to confront Jerec and avenge his murdered father.
Katarn's encounter with Jerec causes him to distance himself from the Force and to return to mercenary missions with Jan Ors. In Jedi Outcast, Ors is captured by Desann, a former pupil of Luke Skywalker
who turned to evil. Katarn believes Desann to have killed Ors, and so he attempts to relearn the Force to be able to stop Desann. Ors' death is actually a ruse employed by Desann for the purpose of learning the location of the Valley of the Jedi. Desann, in league with the Imperial Remnant, uses the power of the valley to endow his troops with the power of the Force, which he then uses to attack the Jedi Academy. Katarn, upon learning the truth about Ors' "death," defeats Desann and discovers his true force-led path, becoming a tutor at the Academy. There, Katarn takes on two students: Jaden Korr and Rosh Penin.
In the next installment, Jedi Academy, the player takes the role of Jaden Korr, who is dispatched on various peace-keeping missions across the galaxy. He (or she; the player has the option to select Jaden's gender at the beginning of the game) eventually encounters a Sith
cult led by Tavion (a former apprentice of Kyle's nemesis Desann) who plans to restore the Sith to power by using the stolen Force energy to resurrect an ancient Sith Lord, Marka Ragnos. After learning that Rosh has betrayed the Jedi and joined Tavion, Jaden may either kill him and turn to the dark side
or let him live and stay on the light side.
In the first game, Dark Forces, the focus is on combat against various creatures and characters from the Star Wars universe, including environmental puzzles and hazards also, following a central storyline outlined in mission briefings and cut scenes. For combat, the player may use fists, explosive land mine
s and thermal detonators, as well as blasters and other ranged weapons, leaning more towards ranged combat. In Dark Forces II an option was added to give the player a third person view, with an option to automatically switch to third-person when the lightsaber is the selected weapon. Three types of Force powers are introduced in this game: Light powers provide non violent advantages, Dark powers provides violent ones, while Neutral ones enhance athletic abilities. The two endings focus on either the Light Side or the Dark Side. Unlike the predecessor, Mysteries of the Sith, has a single, morally positive course. The player progresses through the game in a linear fashion, and includes enemies featured in Dark Forces II as well as new monsters. The player has access to Force powers and to projectile weapons such as a blaster
or railgun
, and the lightsaber
. Jedi Outcasts gameplay is similar to that of its predecessors, with a couple of small additions such as access to gun turret
s, or use of combos unique to each of the three lightsaber styles in the game. The use of the Force powers is restricted by a "Force Meter", which depletes with use of powers. In Jedi Academy, the player may customize the lightsaber, and later in the game has the option of choosing dual sabers, or a "saber staff" similar to Darth Maul
's double ended lightsaber in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Instead of moving linearly from one level to the next, the player chooses from a selection of different missions. The game also introduces player-controllable vehicles and vehicle-based levels.
Starting with the second installment of Jedi Knight, a multiplayer mode is included, in which up to eight people to compete with each other on a local area network
and up to four people online. The player creates an avatar
within Jedi Knight and selects a ranking, where the higher ones have more Force powers available to use by the avatar. There are two types of game that can be played in Jedi Knight's multiplayer mode, capture the flag
and Jedi Training mode, similar to deathmatch
. Mysteries of the Sith includes fifteen multiplayer maps, four of which only allow players to battle with lightsabers, and a ranking system that tracks the player's experience. The multiplayer mode allows the use of pre-set characters featured in both Mysteries of the Sith and Dark Forces II, including characters from the Star Wars films, such as Luke Skywalker
, Darth Vader
and Boba Fett
.The capture the flag
multiplayer mode has been altered, by reducing the force powers of the player who is carrying the flag. Jedi Outcast features a set of multiplayer modes: in the PC
and Macintosh
versions, these can be played over LAN
or the Internet
, but is limited to two players on the console versions. There are a variety of game modes (examples are free-for-all
, team deathmatch and capture the flag
, Power Duel, Siege) which can be played with other players, bots
, or both. Jedi Academy introduces several multiplayer modifications, such as Movie Battles II
which allows players to take part in lightsaber duels that featured in the Star Wars films
. Movie Battles lets players choose different classes of character, ranging from Jedi Knight
to Wookiee
.
' soundtrack used in the Star Wars films. In Dark Forces the music was implemented using iMuse, software that alters the music depending on what is happening at that moment in the game. Lucasarts developed the Jedi game engine
to power Dark Forces, adding features to the first-person shooter genre that were uncommon at the time. These include multi-level floors, free look
and athletic abilities such as running, jumping, ducking and swimming. Original plans for the game had Luke Skywalker
as the main character, but due to the limitations this would impose on the story and gameplay, the developers designed a new character, Kyle Katarn. To accompany the Jedi Knight series, three novels written by William C. Dietz
were produced, which were adapted into audio dramatizations. Before the release of Dark Forces Chin had already planned out Katarn's role in Dark Forces II, indicating that Katarn would face a "big trial" in the game that would be a "rite of passage."
Justin Chin became project leader for Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, released on October 9, 1997. In Dark Forces II, the digital sound was replaced with CD audio
. Dark Forces II adds two "Jedi
" aspects to the series; the use of The Force and the lightsaber. The Force plays an integral role in how the player plays the game. The method of allocating credits to Force powers was designed with an RPG style in mind, allowing the player the choice of which powers to improve. Chin said in an early interview that progress in the game is based upon the abilities the player develops. A new game engine called Sith was developed for Dark Forces II, which uses both 3D graphics and sound. It is one of the early games to adopt the use of 3D graphics hardware acceleration using Microsoft
Direct3D
. Dark Forces II moved on from static images between levels to full motion video
cutscenes. The characters are represented by live actors while the backgrounds are pre-rendered graphics. The cutscenes included the first lightsaber footage filmed since Return of the Jedi in 1983. Dark Forces II also introduced multiplayer gaming to the series, allowing players to play online or over a local area network
. Multiplayer gaming has since remained a part of the series.
Nearly four years after the release of Dark Forces II, LucasArts announced at E3 2001 that they will be producing Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast for release in 2002. Unlike previous games in the series, Jedi Outcast was not developed in-house by LucasArts, but by Raven Software
instead. The subsequent success of Jedi Outcast caused LucasArts to decide to continue the partnership with the development of Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy a year later. "With the overwhelming success and critical acclaim of Star Wars: Jedi Outcast, continuing an alliance with Activision and Raven Software was a clear and very easy decision," said president of LucasArts, Simon Jeffery
. Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy are both powered by the Quake III: Team Arena game engine
with modifications for the use of a lightsaber and The Force.
Jedi Academy is the only game in the Jedi Knight series that does not give the player control of Kyle Katarn at any point in the game. Instead the focus is on Jaden Korr, a student learning the to be a Jedi under Katarn. The decision to make the change of characters was made by the developers for gameplay reasons.
as one of few Star Wars themed video game franchises that is of high quality on the PC platform. GamersMark.com called the series "rather entertaining." In 1995, Dark Forces became LucasArts' highest sell-in with more than 300,000 copies accounted for at launch. GameNOW
believes the series to be "consistently great."
Individually, each game in the series was generally received well by critics. Games in the series achieved consistently favorable review scores from publications. The only exception is the Sony PlayStation version of Dark Forces which was perceived to have problems and received an aggregate score of 60%.
Games in the Jedi Knight series received specific commendation and awards. Dark Forces II was judged to be the best game of the year for 1997 by five publications, and made number one position PC Gamer
's "50 best games ever" list in 1998. Jedi Outcast was a finalist in The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences "Interactive Achievement Awards" in the 2002 Game of the Year category. The game also received commendation from PC Gamer
and Computer Gaming World
.
Gameplay aspects of the series were received well. The lightsaber charted and number 7 in UGO Networks's countdown of the 50 best weapons in video games. The publication commented that using such a weapon in a game was "extremely satisfying" and stated that the lightsaber was refined as the Jedi Knight series continued.
The games in the Jedi Knight series have been added to Valve Corporation
's Steam service, available individually or together in a package.
First-person shooter
First-person shooter is a video game genre that centers the gameplay on gun and projectile weapon-based combat through first-person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other...
video game series based on the fictional Star Wars
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
universe. The series primarily focuses on Kyle Katarn
Kyle Katarn
Kyle Katarn is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, the protagonist of the video game Star Wars: Dark Forces and its sequels....
, a character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe
Star Wars Expanded Universe
The Star Wars Expanded Universe encompasses all of the officially licensed, fictional background of the Star Wars universe, outside of the six feature films produced by George Lucas. The expanded universe includes books, comic books, video games, spin-off films like Star Wars: The Clone Wars,...
. The series is published by LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
.
The Jedi Knight series began in 1995 with the release of Star Wars: Dark Forces
Star Wars: Dark Forces
Star Wars: Dark Forces is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts. It was released in 1995 for DOS and Apple Macintosh, and in 1996 for the PlayStation. The storyline within the Dark Forces is set in the Star Wars fictional universe and follows the character Kyle...
for DOS
DOS
DOS, short for "Disk Operating System", is an acronym for several closely related operating systems that dominated the IBM PC compatible market between 1981 and 1995, or until about 2000 if one includes the partially DOS-based Microsoft Windows versions 95, 98, and Millennium Edition.Related...
, Apple Macintosh, and the Sony
Sony
, commonly referred to as Sony, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan and the world's fifth largest media conglomerate measured by revenues....
PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. This was followed in 1997 by Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is a first person shooter computer game. It was developed and published by LucasArts and released on October 9, 1997. It was made available on Steam on September 16, 2009. It is based on the Star Wars franchise and is a sequel to Star Wars: Dark Forces...
in which Katarn learns the ways of a Jedi
Jedi
The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
. LucasArts developed Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith is an expansion pack for the first person shooter Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. It was developed and published by LucasArts, and released on January 31, 1998. The expansion includes a single-player mode and fifteen multiplayer maps. The...
as an expansion pack
Expansion pack
An expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
for Dark Forces II, this time giving the player control of Mara Jade
Mara Jade
Mara Jade Skywalker is a fictional character in Star Wars Expanded Universe books, comic books, and computer games. She is also wife to Luke Skywalker, and mother to Ben Skywalker. In the different video games, she is voiced by Heidi Shannon and Kath Soucie.-Concept and development:Mara Jade was...
as well as Katarn. In 2002, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, often abbreviated JK2 or JO, is a first- and third-person action game developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts and Activision. The PC version was released in March and the Mac OS X, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions were released in November...
was added to the series. Jedi Outcast was developed by Raven Software
Raven Software
Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
and is powered by the Quake III: Team Arena game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a first and third-person shooter action game set in the Star Wars universe. It was developed by Raven Software and published, distributed and marketed by LucasArts in North America and by Activision in the rest of the world. Jedi Academy was released in...
followed in 2003, powered by the same game engine. Jedi Academy was the first game in the series where the player does not control Kyle Katarn at any point in the game, though he is featured prominently in the storyline.
The games in the Jedi Knight series have received generally favorable reviews. Multiple publications have commented on the quality of the series as a whole, with GameNOW
GameNOW
GameNOW was a United States-based video game magazine that was published by Ziff-Davis from November 2001 to January 2004. There are 27 issues of GameNOW in total. In addition to video game consoles like PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance, GameNOW also covered games for...
describing it as "consistently great." The use of the lightsaber
Lightsaber
A lightsaber is a fictional weapon in the Star Wars universe, a "laser sword." It consists of a polished metal hilt which projects a blade of light about 1.33 metres long. The lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi order and their Sith counterparts, both of whom can use them for close...
in the game, a prominent gameplay element, has received specific praise for its implementation in the series.
Story
The Dark Forces video games are set in the Star WarsStar Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
universe. The player takes control of Kyle Katarn
Kyle Katarn
Kyle Katarn is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, the protagonist of the video game Star Wars: Dark Forces and its sequels....
who begins the series as a rebel spy
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
and learns the way of The Force
Force (Star Wars)
The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
to become a Jedi Master.
Galactic Empire (Star Wars)
The Galactic Empire is one of the main factions in the fictional universe of Star Wars. It is a galaxy-spanning regime established by the series' lead villain, Palpatine, to replace the Galactic Republic in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Galactic Empire is introduced in Star Wars...
. Katarn meets Jan Ors, who is undercover as a double agent
Double agent
A double agent, commonly abbreviated referral of double secret agent, is a counterintelligence term used to designate an employee of a secret service or organization, whose primary aim is to spy on the target organization, but who in fact is a member of that same target organization oneself. They...
and they become more closely acquainted. Ors uncovers the real information about Katarn's parents, from which Katarn learns that the Empire is actually to blame for his parents' deaths. Ors' cover is eventually blown, and she is taken prisoner. Katarn helps her escape, thus ending his career with the Empire. Katarn soon becomes a mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...
, and due to his hatred for the Empire for killing his parents, he takes on jobs from the Rebel Alliance
Rebel Alliance
The Alliance to Restore the Republic is an interstellar faction of the fictional universe of Star Wars....
.
Katarn recovers the plans to the Death Star
Death Star
The Death Star is a fictional moon-sized space station and superweapon appearing in the Star Wars movies and expanded universe. It is capable of destroying a planet with a single destructive super charged energy beam.-Origin and design:...
, a heavily armed space station
Space station
A space station is a spacecraft capable of supporting a crew which is designed to remain in space for an extended period of time, and to which other spacecraft can dock. A space station is distinguished from other spacecraft used for human spaceflight by its lack of major propulsion or landing...
capable of destroying planets. The Rebel Alliance uses the plans to find a weakness in and then destroy the Death Star. Katarn then aids the Rebels in stopping the threat of the Imperial dark trooper project. Despite the successful missions on behalf of the Rebel Alliance, Katarn still does not join their cause. After the destruction of the second Death Star in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand and written by George Lucas and Lawrence Kasdan. It is the third film released in the Star Wars saga, and the sixth in terms of the series' internal chronology...
, Katarn is informed of the exact details of his father's death. His father, Morgan Katarn, had discovered the location of "The Valley of the Jedi", a source of great Force power. A Dark Jedi
Dark Jedi
Dark Jedi is the name given in the Star Wars universe to fictional characters attuned to the Force and adept in its dark side. They exist by that name only in the Expanded Universe, including video games such as Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and the Jedi Knight series; the term is never...
named Jerec who desires the power had murdered Katarn's father. Katarn travels to the Valley of the Jedi while learning to be a Jedi himself to confront Jerec and avenge his murdered father.
Katarn's encounter with Jerec causes him to distance himself from the Force and to return to mercenary missions with Jan Ors. In Jedi Outcast, Ors is captured by Desann, a former pupil of Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
who turned to evil. Katarn believes Desann to have killed Ors, and so he attempts to relearn the Force to be able to stop Desann. Ors' death is actually a ruse employed by Desann for the purpose of learning the location of the Valley of the Jedi. Desann, in league with the Imperial Remnant, uses the power of the valley to endow his troops with the power of the Force, which he then uses to attack the Jedi Academy. Katarn, upon learning the truth about Ors' "death," defeats Desann and discovers his true force-led path, becoming a tutor at the Academy. There, Katarn takes on two students: Jaden Korr and Rosh Penin.
In the next installment, Jedi Academy, the player takes the role of Jaden Korr, who is dispatched on various peace-keeping missions across the galaxy. He (or she; the player has the option to select Jaden's gender at the beginning of the game) eventually encounters a Sith
Sith
-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...
cult led by Tavion (a former apprentice of Kyle's nemesis Desann) who plans to restore the Sith to power by using the stolen Force energy to resurrect an ancient Sith Lord, Marka Ragnos. After learning that Rosh has betrayed the Jedi and joined Tavion, Jaden may either kill him and turn to the dark side
Dark side (Star Wars)
The dark side of the Force is a prominent moral, philosophical, and psychic concept in the Star Wars universe. It is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, and appears in all subsequent Star Wars fiction...
or let him live and stay on the light side.
Gameplay
The Jedi Knight series is primarily a first-person shooter with several recurring gameplay elements. Each game uses level based system which contains a series of objectives that must be completed before the player can continue. From Dark Forces II, the series included lightsaber combat and use of Force powers, which were tweaked and developed as the series progressed.In the first game, Dark Forces, the focus is on combat against various creatures and characters from the Star Wars universe, including environmental puzzles and hazards also, following a central storyline outlined in mission briefings and cut scenes. For combat, the player may use fists, explosive land mine
Land mine
A land mine is usually a weight-triggered explosive device which is intended to damage a target—either human or inanimate—by means of a blast and/or fragment impact....
s and thermal detonators, as well as blasters and other ranged weapons, leaning more towards ranged combat. In Dark Forces II an option was added to give the player a third person view, with an option to automatically switch to third-person when the lightsaber is the selected weapon. Three types of Force powers are introduced in this game: Light powers provide non violent advantages, Dark powers provides violent ones, while Neutral ones enhance athletic abilities. The two endings focus on either the Light Side or the Dark Side. Unlike the predecessor, Mysteries of the Sith, has a single, morally positive course. The player progresses through the game in a linear fashion, and includes enemies featured in Dark Forces II as well as new monsters. The player has access to Force powers and to projectile weapons such as a blaster
Blaster (Star Wars)
Blasters are ranged weapons in the Star Wars fictional universe. This category of plasma bolt-firing rayguns includes various pistols, rifles, and other powerful weapons.-Production:...
or railgun
Railgun
A railgun is an entirely electrical gun that accelerates a conductive projectile along a pair of metal rails using the same principles as the homopolar motor. Railguns use two sliding or rolling contacts that permit a large electric current to pass through the projectile. This current interacts...
, and the lightsaber
Lightsaber
A lightsaber is a fictional weapon in the Star Wars universe, a "laser sword." It consists of a polished metal hilt which projects a blade of light about 1.33 metres long. The lightsaber is the signature weapon of the Jedi order and their Sith counterparts, both of whom can use them for close...
. Jedi Outcasts gameplay is similar to that of its predecessors, with a couple of small additions such as access to gun turret
Gun turret
A gun turret is a weapon mount that protects the crew or mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions.The turret is also a rotating weapon platform...
s, or use of combos unique to each of the three lightsaber styles in the game. The use of the Force powers is restricted by a "Force Meter", which depletes with use of powers. In Jedi Academy, the player may customize the lightsaber, and later in the game has the option of choosing dual sabers, or a "saber staff" similar to Darth Maul
Darth Maul
Darth Maul is a fictional character in the science fiction saga Star Wars. He is one of the main antagonists of Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by martial artist Ray Park and voiced by Peter Serafinowicz....
's double ended lightsaber in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. Instead of moving linearly from one level to the next, the player chooses from a selection of different missions. The game also introduces player-controllable vehicles and vehicle-based levels.
Starting with the second installment of Jedi Knight, a multiplayer mode is included, in which up to eight people to compete with each other on a local area network
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
and up to four people online. The player creates an avatar
Avatar (computing)
In computing, an avatar is the graphical representation of the user or the user's alter ego or character. It may take either a three-dimensional form, as in games or virtual worlds, or a two-dimensional form as an icon in Internet forums and other online communities. It can also refer to a text...
within Jedi Knight and selects a ranking, where the higher ones have more Force powers available to use by the avatar. There are two types of game that can be played in Jedi Knight's multiplayer mode, capture the flag
Capture the flag
Capture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
and Jedi Training mode, similar to deathmatch
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
. Mysteries of the Sith includes fifteen multiplayer maps, four of which only allow players to battle with lightsabers, and a ranking system that tracks the player's experience. The multiplayer mode allows the use of pre-set characters featured in both Mysteries of the Sith and Dark Forces II, including characters from the Star Wars films, such as Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
, Darth Vader
Darth Vader
Darth Vader is a central character in the Star Wars saga, appearing as one of the main antagonists in the original trilogy and as the main protagonist in the prequel trilogy....
and Boba Fett
Boba Fett
Boba Fett is a character in Star Wars. A bounty hunter hired by Darth Vader to find the Millennium Falcon, he is a minor villain in both Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back and Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi....
.The capture the flag
Capture the flag
Capture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
multiplayer mode has been altered, by reducing the force powers of the player who is carrying the flag. Jedi Outcast features a set of multiplayer modes: in the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
and Macintosh
Macintosh
The Macintosh , or Mac, is a series of several lines of personal computers designed, developed, and marketed by Apple Inc. The first Macintosh was introduced by Apple's then-chairman Steve Jobs on January 24, 1984; it was the first commercially successful personal computer to feature a mouse and a...
versions, these can be played over LAN
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
or the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
, but is limited to two players on the console versions. There are a variety of game modes (examples are free-for-all
Deathmatch (gaming)
Deathmatch or Player vs All is a widely-used gameplay mode integrated into many shooter and real-time strategy computer games...
, team deathmatch and capture the flag
Capture the flag
Capture the Flag is a traditional outdoor sport generally played by children, where two teams each have a flag and the objective is to capture the other team's flag, located at the team's "base," and bring it safely back to their own base...
, Power Duel, Siege) which can be played with other players, bots
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
, or both. Jedi Academy introduces several multiplayer modifications, such as Movie Battles II
Movie Battles
Movie Battles II or MBII is a team-based, last man standing multiplayer mod of the shooter game Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy inspired by the popular first person shooter Counter-Strike...
which allows players to take part in lightsaber duels that featured in the Star Wars films
Star Wars
Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
. Movie Battles lets players choose different classes of character, ranging from Jedi Knight
Jedi
The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
to Wookiee
Wookiee
Wookiees are a species of bipeds in the Star Wars universe. The most notable Wookiee is Chewbacca, a companion to Han Solo.-Inspiration:...
.
Games
- Star Wars: Dark ForcesStar Wars: Dark ForcesStar Wars: Dark Forces is a first-person shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts. It was released in 1995 for DOS and Apple Macintosh, and in 1996 for the PlayStation. The storyline within the Dark Forces is set in the Star Wars fictional universe and follows the character Kyle...
was produced by the LucasArts Entertainment Company and released in 1995 for the PCIBM PC compatibleIBM PC compatible computers are those generally similar to the original IBM PC, XT, and AT. Such computers used to be referred to as PC clones, or IBM clones since they almost exactly duplicated all the significant features of the PC architecture, facilitated by various manufacturers' ability to...
, Macintosh, and PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. It was the first officially produced first-person shooter set in the Star WarsStar WarsStar Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...
universe.
- Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces IIStar Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces IIStar Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is a first person shooter computer game. It was developed and published by LucasArts and released on October 9, 1997. It was made available on Steam on September 16, 2009. It is based on the Star Wars franchise and is a sequel to Star Wars: Dark Forces...
was developed and published by LucasArts and released on October 9, 1997 for Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
.
- Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the SithStar Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the SithStar Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith is an expansion pack for the first person shooter Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. It was developed and published by LucasArts, and released on January 31, 1998. The expansion includes a single-player mode and fifteen multiplayer maps. The...
is an expansion packExpansion packAn expansion pack, expansion set, or supplement is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game or video game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, and/or an extended storyline to a complete and already released game...
for Dark Forces II. It was developed and published by LucasArts and released on January 31, 1998 for Microsoft Windows. The expansion includes a single-player mode and fifteen multiplayer maps.
- Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi OutcastStar Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, often abbreviated JK2 or JO, is a first- and third-person action game developed by Raven Software and published by LucasArts and Activision. The PC version was released in March and the Mac OS X, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube versions were released in November...
was developed by Raven SoftwareRaven SoftwareRaven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
and published by LucasArtsLucasArtsLucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
and ActivisionActivisionActivision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
. The PCPersonal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
version was released in early 20022002 in video gamingThe year 2002 in video gaming saw the release of many games to sixth-generation video game consoles, predominately, the Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, and Xbox.-Events:...
and the Mac OSMac OSMac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
, XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
, and Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
versions were released in late 2002.
- Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi AcademyStar Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi AcademyStar Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy is a first and third-person shooter action game set in the Star Wars universe. It was developed by Raven Software and published, distributed and marketed by LucasArts in North America and by Activision in the rest of the world. Jedi Academy was released in...
was developed by Raven SoftwareRaven SoftwareRaven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
and published, distributed and marketed by LucasArtsLucasArtsLucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
in North AmericaNorth AmericaNorth America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and by ActivisionActivisionActivision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
in the rest of the world. Jedi Academy was released in September 2003 for Microsoft WindowsMicrosoft WindowsMicrosoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
, Mac OSMac OSMac OS is a series of graphical user interface-based operating systems developed by Apple Inc. for their Macintosh line of computer systems. The Macintosh user experience is credited with popularizing the graphical user interface...
, and XboxXboxThe Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
platforms.
Development
Production of Star Wars: Dark Forces began in September 1993, with Daron Stinnett as the project leader, and Justin Chin as the storyline writer. The developers wanted to adapt the first-person shooter format to include strategy and puzzles. Dark Forces features logic puzzles and parts of the game requires a strategic method to progress that may involve manipulating the environment, a style that has remained present in all games in the series. Another aspect that has remained the same since Dark Forces is the use of John WilliamsJohn Williams
John Towner Williams is an American composer, conductor, and pianist. In a career spanning almost six decades, he has composed some of the most recognizable film scores in the history of motion pictures, including the Star Wars saga, Jaws, Superman, the Indiana Jones films, E.T...
' soundtrack used in the Star Wars films. In Dark Forces the music was implemented using iMuse, software that alters the music depending on what is happening at that moment in the game. Lucasarts developed the Jedi game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
to power Dark Forces, adding features to the first-person shooter genre that were uncommon at the time. These include multi-level floors, free look
Free look
Free look describes the ability to move the mouse to rotate the player character's view in video games. It is almost always used for 3D game engines, and has been included on role-playing games, real-time strategy games, third-person shooters, first-person shooters, racing games, and flight...
and athletic abilities such as running, jumping, ducking and swimming. Original plans for the game had Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker
Luke Skywalker is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the original film trilogy of the Star Wars franchise, where he is portrayed by Mark Hamill. He is introduced in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, in which he is forced to leave home, and finds himself apprenticed to the Jedi master...
as the main character, but due to the limitations this would impose on the story and gameplay, the developers designed a new character, Kyle Katarn. To accompany the Jedi Knight series, three novels written by William C. Dietz
William C. Dietz
William C. Dietz is the best-selling author of more than thirty novels some of which have been translated into German, French, Russian, Korean and Japanese...
were produced, which were adapted into audio dramatizations. Before the release of Dark Forces Chin had already planned out Katarn's role in Dark Forces II, indicating that Katarn would face a "big trial" in the game that would be a "rite of passage."
Justin Chin became project leader for Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, released on October 9, 1997. In Dark Forces II, the digital sound was replaced with CD audio
Red Book (audio CD standard)
Red Book is the standard for audio CDs . It is named after one of the Rainbow Books, a series of books that contain the technical specifications for all CD and CD-ROM formats.The first edition of the Red Book was released in 1980 by Philips and Sony; it was adopted by the Digital Audio Disc...
. Dark Forces II adds two "Jedi
Jedi
The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
" aspects to the series; the use of The Force and the lightsaber. The Force plays an integral role in how the player plays the game. The method of allocating credits to Force powers was designed with an RPG style in mind, allowing the player the choice of which powers to improve. Chin said in an early interview that progress in the game is based upon the abilities the player develops. A new game engine called Sith was developed for Dark Forces II, which uses both 3D graphics and sound. It is one of the early games to adopt the use of 3D graphics hardware acceleration using Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
Direct3D
Direct3D
Direct3D is part of Microsoft's DirectX application programming interface . Direct3D is available for Microsoft Windows operating systems , and for other platforms through the open source software Wine. It is the base for the graphics API on the Xbox and Xbox 360 console systems...
. Dark Forces II moved on from static images between levels to full motion video
Full motion video
Full motion video based games are video games that rely upon pre-recorded TV-quality movie or animation rather than sprites, vectors, or 3D models to display action in the game. In the early 1990s a diverse set of games utilized this format...
cutscenes. The characters are represented by live actors while the backgrounds are pre-rendered graphics. The cutscenes included the first lightsaber footage filmed since Return of the Jedi in 1983. Dark Forces II also introduced multiplayer gaming to the series, allowing players to play online or over a local area network
Local area network
A local area network is a computer network that interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building...
. Multiplayer gaming has since remained a part of the series.
Nearly four years after the release of Dark Forces II, LucasArts announced at E3 2001 that they will be producing Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast for release in 2002. Unlike previous games in the series, Jedi Outcast was not developed in-house by LucasArts, but by Raven Software
Raven Software
Raven Software is an American video game developer. The company was founded in 1990 by brothers Brian and Steve Raffel. In 1997, Raven made an exclusive publishing deal with Activision and was subsequently acquired by them...
instead. The subsequent success of Jedi Outcast caused LucasArts to decide to continue the partnership with the development of Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy a year later. "With the overwhelming success and critical acclaim of Star Wars: Jedi Outcast, continuing an alliance with Activision and Raven Software was a clear and very easy decision," said president of LucasArts, Simon Jeffery
Simon Jeffery
Simon Jeffery is the chief publishing officer of ngmoco's Plus+ Publishing group.Similar to EA Publishing Partners group, Plus+ Publishing is a combined technology, App Store publishing and custom support play for iPhone and iPod touch developers. It will launch its first products with the rollout...
. Jedi Outcast and Jedi Academy are both powered by the Quake III: Team Arena game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
with modifications for the use of a lightsaber and The Force.
Jedi Academy is the only game in the Jedi Knight series that does not give the player control of Kyle Katarn at any point in the game. Instead the focus is on Jaden Korr, a student learning the to be a Jedi under Katarn. The decision to make the change of characters was made by the developers for gameplay reasons.
Reception
Each of the games in the Dark Forces series was received well. The series itself has been described as "highly acclaimed". The series has also been noted by IGNIGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
as one of few Star Wars themed video game franchises that is of high quality on the PC platform. GamersMark.com called the series "rather entertaining." In 1995, Dark Forces became LucasArts' highest sell-in with more than 300,000 copies accounted for at launch. GameNOW
GameNOW
GameNOW was a United States-based video game magazine that was published by Ziff-Davis from November 2001 to January 2004. There are 27 issues of GameNOW in total. In addition to video game consoles like PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube, and Game Boy Advance, GameNOW also covered games for...
believes the series to be "consistently great."
Individually, each game in the series was generally received well by critics. Games in the series achieved consistently favorable review scores from publications. The only exception is the Sony PlayStation version of Dark Forces which was perceived to have problems and received an aggregate score of 60%.
Games in the Jedi Knight series received specific commendation and awards. Dark Forces II was judged to be the best game of the year for 1997 by five publications, and made number one position PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
's "50 best games ever" list in 1998. Jedi Outcast was a finalist in The Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences "Interactive Achievement Awards" in the 2002 Game of the Year category. The game also received commendation from PC Gamer
PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
and Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World
Computer Gaming World was a computer game magazine founded in 1981 by Russell Sipe as a bimonthly publication. Early issues were typically 40-50 pages in length, written in a newsletter style, including submissions by game designers such as Joel Billings , Dan Bunten , and Chris Crawford...
.
Gameplay aspects of the series were received well. The lightsaber charted and number 7 in UGO Networks's countdown of the 50 best weapons in video games. The publication commented that using such a weapon in a game was "extremely satisfying" and stated that the lightsaber was refined as the Jedi Knight series continued.
The games in the Jedi Knight series have been added to Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation
Valve Corporation is an American video game development and digital distribution company based in Bellevue, Washington, United States...
's Steam service, available individually or together in a package.