Vaarok
19th Apr 02, 8:42 AM
Allright! Star Wars has got to be the largest internationally-recognized piece of contemporary fiction since the bible, and while LucasArts has recently been pitching crap onto the computer-game market, Jedi Knight 2 is the (obscure BG2 reference) bejuril in the dungheap.
Once again, you're Kyle Katarn, mercenary under contract to the New Republic. As per the previous games in the series, you've gotten uglier, as your characters' facial model is the second most hideous thing I've seen since the fake-teeth and forehead applique makeup job on Maw in the first Jedi Knight.
Fortunately, everyone else in the game, with the exclusion of a bad guy or two (notably one of the boss baddies, who looks like a female Robin on crack), looks spot-on to the SW universe. (Stormtroopers are incredibly authentic, and far too high-poly for their own good)
The weapons are similarly a combination of good and bad, however. It seems Raven had ripped almost all their weapon code from Elite Force, as most of the new weapons effects are far beyond "eerily familiar," while old weapons have been tweaked in ways that are not for the best. For example, the Bowcaster effect is identical to the alt-fire of the Tetryon Pulse Distruptor, and the grenade launcher on the Heavy Repeater is *very* akin to the Scavenger rifle grenade.
Similarly, the old E-11 stormtrooper rifle is now incredibly inaccurate and seems almost to lag between pulling the trigger and firing, and feels nothing at all like the old standby of the previous two and a half games. The basic pistol has been similarly mutilated from it's position as a powerful and slow backup gun, now nothing more than a strange rip of the Unreal pulse pistol, complete with worthless primary shot and charging alt-fire. Also adding to the Unreal-ish feeling, there's a shotgun-type weapon that will make any Tournament champ feel right at home...
(Textures on some weapon effects are also ripped. The lightning texture used for the personal shield, Force Lightning, and Concussion Grenade Launcher is that same old one from the EF welder)
Fortunately, or unfortunately for some, you'll probably never have to cope with the strange new weapons, as you also get the lightsaber and force powers.
Gone are the days of four swings, a block, and a wide slash. Get ready to open up that can of whupass and jedi-flip like Qui-gon, because the saber is movie-grade. Not only does it reduce enemy jedi to corpses amid flashing sparks and the hum-and-sizzle of electricity and energy blades, but it is so useful I found myself mentally forcing myself to use guns on occasion.
Combine the above saber with an immobilizing Force Grip, a tricky spinning or tumbling Force Jump, or a bulet-time slow-mo Force Speed, and watch limbs sever and stormtroopers fall in clouds of sparks.
The storyline of JK2 is fairly good, with a couple nice twists and some tedious stretches, but manages to convey the plotline in a decent enough manner.
But, more importantly than the storyline, the environments. According to RAven, the Q3 engine can't handle the same sense of space, and so they've made more confined maps, with lots of switchbacks and trickiness. Unfortunately, this is where the game tanks. I've spent maybe two hours in the first four missions hunting for a switch to unlock a door or deactivate a something, and it becomes incredibly frustrating when you discover that you were supposed to just chop open a grate hidden in a corner. If your lightsaber can mow down enemies and carve open certain passages, why not just saw through a regular door like Qui-gon does to that massive blast door in EP:1?
Overall, JK2 is a good sucessor to the series. It's not quite the same feel as the prior three games, with tighter environments and more quake-style puzzles, but it does well enough by the series, and offers fantastic lightsaber/force combat in scenic environs.
8/10
Darth Maul ain't got nothin on me!
Once again, you're Kyle Katarn, mercenary under contract to the New Republic. As per the previous games in the series, you've gotten uglier, as your characters' facial model is the second most hideous thing I've seen since the fake-teeth and forehead applique makeup job on Maw in the first Jedi Knight.
Fortunately, everyone else in the game, with the exclusion of a bad guy or two (notably one of the boss baddies, who looks like a female Robin on crack), looks spot-on to the SW universe. (Stormtroopers are incredibly authentic, and far too high-poly for their own good)
The weapons are similarly a combination of good and bad, however. It seems Raven had ripped almost all their weapon code from Elite Force, as most of the new weapons effects are far beyond "eerily familiar," while old weapons have been tweaked in ways that are not for the best. For example, the Bowcaster effect is identical to the alt-fire of the Tetryon Pulse Distruptor, and the grenade launcher on the Heavy Repeater is *very* akin to the Scavenger rifle grenade.
Similarly, the old E-11 stormtrooper rifle is now incredibly inaccurate and seems almost to lag between pulling the trigger and firing, and feels nothing at all like the old standby of the previous two and a half games. The basic pistol has been similarly mutilated from it's position as a powerful and slow backup gun, now nothing more than a strange rip of the Unreal pulse pistol, complete with worthless primary shot and charging alt-fire. Also adding to the Unreal-ish feeling, there's a shotgun-type weapon that will make any Tournament champ feel right at home...
(Textures on some weapon effects are also ripped. The lightning texture used for the personal shield, Force Lightning, and Concussion Grenade Launcher is that same old one from the EF welder)
Fortunately, or unfortunately for some, you'll probably never have to cope with the strange new weapons, as you also get the lightsaber and force powers.
Gone are the days of four swings, a block, and a wide slash. Get ready to open up that can of whupass and jedi-flip like Qui-gon, because the saber is movie-grade. Not only does it reduce enemy jedi to corpses amid flashing sparks and the hum-and-sizzle of electricity and energy blades, but it is so useful I found myself mentally forcing myself to use guns on occasion.
Combine the above saber with an immobilizing Force Grip, a tricky spinning or tumbling Force Jump, or a bulet-time slow-mo Force Speed, and watch limbs sever and stormtroopers fall in clouds of sparks.
The storyline of JK2 is fairly good, with a couple nice twists and some tedious stretches, but manages to convey the plotline in a decent enough manner.
But, more importantly than the storyline, the environments. According to RAven, the Q3 engine can't handle the same sense of space, and so they've made more confined maps, with lots of switchbacks and trickiness. Unfortunately, this is where the game tanks. I've spent maybe two hours in the first four missions hunting for a switch to unlock a door or deactivate a something, and it becomes incredibly frustrating when you discover that you were supposed to just chop open a grate hidden in a corner. If your lightsaber can mow down enemies and carve open certain passages, why not just saw through a regular door like Qui-gon does to that massive blast door in EP:1?
Overall, JK2 is a good sucessor to the series. It's not quite the same feel as the prior three games, with tighter environments and more quake-style puzzles, but it does well enough by the series, and offers fantastic lightsaber/force combat in scenic environs.
8/10
Darth Maul ain't got nothin on me!