STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II Reviews

Played using OpenJKDF2 It was alright, I liked DF1 better 7/10

[h1]Become The Jedi Knight![/h1] Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II picks up where the award-winning Dark Forces game left off, with even more features and firepower in dazzling 3D graphics. set in the Star Wars expanded universe one year after the film Return of the Jedi, follows returning protagonist Kyle Katarn, a mercenary working for the New Republic, who discovers his connection to the Force and "The Valley of the Jedi", an ancient source of power. With his father having been murdered years prior by the Dark Jedi Jerec and his followers over the Valley's location, Katarn embarks on a quest to confront his father's killers and find the Valley before they do. [url=https://steamcommunity.com/groups/ATReviews]Follow My Review Group Here![/url] [table] [tr] [th]About[/th] [th]Description[/th] [/tr] [tr] [td]💾Graphics[/td] [td][u]NOTE[/u]: I was using the upscaled texture mod to improve the visuals. The link to the fixes and upscaled textures are linked in the bottom of the review. Now for the graphics section review! I don’t mind the original graphics. For a 1997 game, it’s actually not that bad. For people who don't want to play on the dated visuals, then the remastered mod will improve the look of the game by a mile! It’s mostly just texture improvements, but it makes a huge difference. So in terms of visuals (with the remastered mod), the game looks really sharp. With the updated high res textures and models, this mod makes the game look like a legit remaster. Lighting is also pretty solid here, although still kinda dated. I do really enjoy the atmosphere this game has. It has that old school Star Wars look to it. It might be a classic game thing because these older Star Wars titles really do capture that Star Wars aesthetic perfectly. Overall it’s a great looking game if you are using the remastered mod. The original look has obviously aged, but the remastered mod fixes that completely (in my opinion).[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]🎮Gameplay[/td] [td]Gameplay is actually pretty good for the most part. The overall gameplay is straightforward. Levels are linier, with puzzle solving and backtracking, but the levels are fairly small and don’t take long to complete. You have a decent arsenal of weapons to use, which are all pretty good (besides the mines which felt useless). The AI are actually not that bad in this game. They behave naturally and can be a challenge at times. You also have Jedi powers you can unlock throughout your playthrough. Depending on your actions throughout the game, you may lean more towards the dark side, or light side. This will influence how you pick certain force abilities. Being too evil may lean to you only having dark side abilities, etc. The abilities are okay for the most. Some do feel useless like force pull. Another complaint is the lightsaber. I didn’t like it, and felt inferior to use compared to other weapons. Maybe I’m using it wrong, but the combat with the lightsaber just feels bland and not satisfying. Also kinda janky and annoying. The level design for the most part is good. Some annoying sections that make no sense, but overall they are pretty good.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]📜Story[/td] [td]The story is pretty good actually. I absolutely really liked the live cutscenes in the game. Yes they are a bit corny, but super entertaining! The cutscenes are miles better than the cutscenes from Mysteries of the Sith. The overall story is fun to go through. It’s nothing special in terms of Star Wars, but I did enjoy it. The pacing was good and never got stale. I also enjoyed the ending in this game. It felt rewarding to go through, and enjoyed the overall experience in terms of story.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]🕛Playtime[/td] [td]The game is around 10 hours of playtime. There’s really not much replayability unless you enjoy finding all the secrets and just enjoy the game overall. If you play on a harder difficulty, it may take a bit longer, but not by much.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]🎧Sound[/td] [td]Sound design is good! The weapon sounds are classic and iconic, and that goes with the music too. I love the classic Star Wars music and it’s just so cool to hear it in this game (and that goes along with many other Star Wars games too). The voice acting is questionable to say it lightly, but it adds some charm to the experience.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]❗Bugs❗[/td] [td]I had some annoying softlocks in this game. Also the lightsaber has an odd hit detection that does feel buggy as well. Besides that, the game didn’t have a ton of bugs from my experience (besides those two inconveniences).[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]🔅Performance[/td] [td]Performance is good. I had no issues with frame rate or crashes. The game ran really well for me. Now granted you may need to install a patch to get this game working well, but I will provide that in the links below.[/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]✔️Pro’s[/td] [td][list] [*]Decent gunplay [*]Pretty good story [*]Amazing classic soundtrack [*]Fight in many different locations/planets [*]Corny live action cutscenes (entertaining af) [*]Has that amazing STAR WARS atmosphere [*]Able to use many force abilities from dark side & light side [*]Decent visuals for 1997 (Do highly recommend the remastered mod) [/list][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]❌Con’s[/td] [td][list] [*]throwing grenades is clunky [*]Softlocking can be an issue [*]Lightsaber is pretty bad (hit detection can be inconsistent) [/list][/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]🏆Rating[/td] [td]7.5/10 This game is worth the full price![/td] [/tr] [tr] [td]🔗Conclusion[/td] [td]STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is an amazing Star Wars game! It does have some old school gaming flaws, like questionable level design and some odd jank. Besides that, the game is a great experience, and if you are a fan of Star Wars, then this is a must play. Also the live action cutscenes are just so cool to see in a game (even though they are a bit corny at times). Try this game out, if you are intimidated by the visuals and age, then install the Remastered mod![/td] [/tr] [/table] https://store.steampowered.com/app/32380/STAR_WARS_Jedi_Knight_Dark_Forces_II/ [b]Links to help you in STAR WARS™ Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II:[/b] [olist] [*][url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2152211656] STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II Remastered Mod [/url] [*][url=https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=590962441] Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II Walkthrough [/url] [/olist] [b]Specs for Review:[/b] [list] [*]GPU: RTX 3080 (Laptop GPU) [*]CPU: Intel Core i7-11800H 4.6 GHz [*]RAM: 32GB Ram [/list]

Great game. It's a little dated but still a classic.

This is a good game, first time you could wield a lightsaber as far as I know and the live action cutscenes are cool if cheesy, the story is okay, Kyle is still a badass, the guns feel pretty good for the most part, and the force powers and lightsaber are pretty fun to use. There are problems though, #1 YOU CANNOT PLAY THIS GAME, it will crash on modern systems, you will have to find your own way around that #2 on harder difficulties some of the bosses are total B.S. and #3 there is no number 3. If you can get past those first two then you're golden and can enjoy a classic star wars experience in the guise of a slightly janky early shooter.

Remember the time when Star Wars was owned by LucasArts, and Star Wars didn't suck? This is a great game, with a good story and character cast. Kyle Katarn is the kind of classic male lead that "current day" Western AAA-companies SHOULD be having in their games, and that "normal" fans and players actually want. You know, NOT Concord, Forspoken, Redfall, Far Cry 6, Veilguard, SW Outlaws etc. Using Jedi Knight Remastered v3.0 is highly recommended. The upgraded visuals look like an official release, and is completely stable and functioning well on modern computers. This is a really good game from before the "current day" crapification of sci-fi and fantasy began. Imagine a new Dark Forces/Jedi Knight game with Kyle Katarn and classic SW storytelling. If only... Give me Kyle Katarn over Cal Kestis or Rey every day of the week. https://www.moddb.com/mods/jedi-knight-remastered

Was good when it first came out and still fun. Worth playing, especially with remaster mods.

This game was probably the most advanced fps of its time, doing things that would only be topped the following year by the one and only Half-Life. It is fun, but quirky. The live action FMV's are something to behold (in the best possible way) and the game really does take me back to a time when Star Wars was good. It reminds me why I loved the first Dark Forces, and this genre in the first place. Yeah, it might've aged a little poorly, but its still worth checking out if only for seeing what was considered "bleeding edge" in 1997.

this game brought back serious nostalgia of playing this on my father's desktop with that good ole fahioned dial-up internet with a 56k modem. good times. anywho, 10/10

Greatest game ever made. Multi-player on this back in the day was chefs kiss.