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With the arrival of Jedi Knight II, I looked for my ancient copy of the FPS that kicked off the series. I found a dusty green disc, with '1994' on it. After installing the game, I set about single handedly saving the Alliance agaisn tthe evil, yet patheticly predictable Empire. Then I decided to review it here!
You play Kyle Katarn, who gives the Rebels the Death Star plans, a job well done, but then - OH NO! The Empire is hatching an evil plot - Creating a massive army of super troopers!! You must stop them! Still, at least it is a better plot than Doom - Yet it is very similar in its gameplay.
You see, this is essentialy Doom II in Star Wars- Yet I find it more scary! It does however feature some innovative features. The graphics first then. They, by todays standards are terrible, but some fo the gun rendering is lovely, particularly the Stormtrooper Rifle - Lurvly! The scenery is typical Doom - High, pre rendered landscapes in the background, and then detailed foreground - Filled wither a wide variety of enemies, that yell 'Die Rebel Scum!!!' at you all the time - In its day, this was superb! The enemies still are recognisable today, albeit with pretty ppor AI, although the variety is quite surprising - Stormtroopers, Officers, Bounty Hunters, Kell Dragons (or several!) Three Eyed 'things', Axe wielding pigs, and several very annoying drones. But the worst, pivotal to the story, are the Dark Troopers - Particularly the 'First Stage' batch (unfinished, yet a nasty silver/red combination of metal madness) - Armed only with a laser cutter thing and a shield they can still be deadly! The 'second stage' (ie, finished) are deadly, armed with an uber 'assault cannon' (that you can use later on!)
Anyway, the sounds and graphics were superb in its time, and the levels all feel very disticntive, with each one easily recognisable. Imperial installations all are very one tone, and the star ports, are a little more, 'colouful' shall I say. The levels are superbly atmospheric and large as well as varied. You infiltrate an Imeprial City, a wrecked Rebel Base (complete with horribly burned corpses) and the simply terrifying Anoat Sewers, that hold dark passagways filled with tenticle festooned monsters of sludge that want to rip your heart out and have it with their avocado sauteed potatoes for tea! To aid you in this noble quest, you have a large array of fun weapins - A repeater rifle, plasma cutter, concussion rifle, the aforementioned uber 'assault cannon' (ie plasma firing, rocket wielding gun of death) and grenades, mines and a satisfylingly knuckle cracking punch, and more. They all work well, and even have secondary fire modes, that add a lot of variety to the battles with legions of enemies, that you shall face.
The game has three modes of difficutly, that add extra enemies to levels, etc, which adds a little lifespan. Frankly, if you don't have the cheats, the game can last you a long time - Some of the later levels, although linear, provide little puzzles, and are hugely daunting in its atmosphere.
In between each level are nice cut scens, with a voice over, that adds a feel that you are actualy getting somewhere, and the addition of a variety of mission styles (capture, escape, sabotage, blast 'em all) adds a little varity to the package, all briefed by different people.
So, in conclusion, by todays standards, this is not that great, but it has some interesting enemies and weapons, and some hugely fantastic levels, that are vewry large, and although not all that pretty, are fun, and the game will last you a long time. I also find i quite terrifying sometimes -trapped in an underground minig complex, with no idea of escape, a bomb about to explde, and a very very very evil sounding and looking Dark Trooper (phase one) after you, it can really be quite daunting and scary, but if you see it it, buy it, and let yourself in for the Star Wars ride!
You play Kyle Katarn, who gives the Rebels the Death Star plans, a job well done, but then - OH NO! The Empire is hatching an evil plot - Creating a massive army of super troopers!! You must stop them! Still, at least it is a better plot than Doom - Yet it is very similar in its gameplay.
You see, this is essentialy Doom II in Star Wars- Yet I find it more scary! It does however feature some innovative features. The graphics first then. They, by todays standards are terrible, but some fo the gun rendering is lovely, particularly the Stormtrooper Rifle - Lurvly! The scenery is typical Doom - High, pre rendered landscapes in the background, and then detailed foreground - Filled wither a wide variety of enemies, that yell 'Die Rebel Scum!!!' at you all the time - In its day, this was superb! The enemies still are recognisable today, albeit with pretty ppor AI, although the variety is quite surprising - Stormtroopers, Officers, Bounty Hunters, Kell Dragons (or several!) Three Eyed 'things', Axe wielding pigs, and several very annoying drones. But the worst, pivotal to the story, are the Dark Troopers - Particularly the 'First Stage' batch (unfinished, yet a nasty silver/red combination of metal madness) - Armed only with a laser cutter thing and a shield they can still be deadly! The 'second stage' (ie, finished) are deadly, armed with an uber 'assault cannon' (that you can use later on!)
Anyway, the sounds and graphics were superb in its time, and the levels all feel very disticntive, with each one easily recognisable. Imperial installations all are very one tone, and the star ports, are a little more, 'colouful' shall I say. The levels are superbly atmospheric and large as well as varied. You infiltrate an Imeprial City, a wrecked Rebel Base (complete with horribly burned corpses) and the simply terrifying Anoat Sewers, that hold dark passagways filled with tenticle festooned monsters of sludge that want to rip your heart out and have it with their avocado sauteed potatoes for tea! To aid you in this noble quest, you have a large array of fun weapins - A repeater rifle, plasma cutter, concussion rifle, the aforementioned uber 'assault cannon' (ie plasma firing, rocket wielding gun of death) and grenades, mines and a satisfylingly knuckle cracking punch, and more. They all work well, and even have secondary fire modes, that add a lot of variety to the battles with legions of enemies, that you shall face.
The game has three modes of difficutly, that add extra enemies to levels, etc, which adds a little lifespan. Frankly, if you don't have the cheats, the game can last you a long time - Some of the later levels, although linear, provide little puzzles, and are hugely daunting in its atmosphere.
In between each level are nice cut scens, with a voice over, that adds a feel that you are actualy getting somewhere, and the addition of a variety of mission styles (capture, escape, sabotage, blast 'em all) adds a little varity to the package, all briefed by different people.
So, in conclusion, by todays standards, this is not that great, but it has some interesting enemies and weapons, and some hugely fantastic levels, that are vewry large, and although not all that pretty, are fun, and the game will last you a long time. I also find i quite terrifying sometimes -trapped in an underground minig complex, with no idea of escape, a bomb about to explde, and a very very very evil sounding and looking Dark Trooper (phase one) after you, it can really be quite daunting and scary, but if you see it it, buy it, and let yourself in for the Star Wars ride!
With the arrival of Jedi Knight II, I looked for my ancient copy of the FPS that kicked off the series. I found a dusty green disc, with '1994' on it. After installing the game, I set about single handedly saving the Alliance agaisn tthe evil, yet patheticly predictable Empire. Then I decided to review it here!
You play Kyle Katarn, who gives the Rebels the Death Star plans, a job well done, but then - OH NO! The Empire is hatching an evil plot - Creating a massive army of super troopers!! You must stop them! Still, at least it is a better plot than Doom - Yet it is very similar in its gameplay.
You see, this is essentialy Doom II in Star Wars- Yet I find it more scary! It does however feature some innovative features. The graphics first then. They, by todays standards are terrible, but some fo the gun rendering is lovely, particularly the Stormtrooper Rifle - Lurvly! The scenery is typical Doom - High, pre rendered landscapes in the background, and then detailed foreground - Filled wither a wide variety of enemies, that yell 'Die Rebel Scum!!!' at you all the time - In its day, this was superb! The enemies still are recognisable today, albeit with pretty ppor AI, although the variety is quite surprising - Stormtroopers, Officers, Bounty Hunters, Kell Dragons (or several!) Three Eyed 'things', Axe wielding pigs, and several very annoying drones. But the worst, pivotal to the story, are the Dark Troopers - Particularly the 'First Stage' batch (unfinished, yet a nasty silver/red combination of metal madness) - Armed only with a laser cutter thing and a shield they can still be deadly! The 'second stage' (ie, finished) are deadly, armed with an uber 'assault cannon' (that you can use later on!)
Anyway, the sounds and graphics were superb in its time, and the levels all feel very disticntive, with each one easily recognisable. Imperial installations all are very one tone, and the star ports, are a little more, 'colouful' shall I say. The levels are superbly atmospheric and large as well as varied. You infiltrate an Imeprial City, a wrecked Rebel Base (complete with horribly burned corpses) and the simply terrifying Anoat Sewers, that hold dark passagways filled with tenticle festooned monsters of sludge that want to rip your heart out and have it with their avocado sauteed potatoes for tea! To aid you in this noble quest, you have a large array of fun weapins - A repeater rifle, plasma cutter, concussion rifle, the aforementioned uber 'assault cannon' (ie plasma firing, rocket wielding gun of death) and grenades, mines and a satisfylingly knuckle cracking punch, and more. They all work well, and even have secondary fire modes, that add a lot of variety to the battles with legions of enemies, that you shall face.
The game has three modes of difficutly, that add extra enemies to levels, etc, which adds a little lifespan. Frankly, if you don't have the cheats, the game can last you a long time - Some of the later levels, although linear, provide little puzzles, and are hugely daunting in its atmosphere.
In between each level are nice cut scens, with a voice over, that adds a feel that you are actualy getting somewhere, and the addition of a variety of mission styles (capture, escape, sabotage, blast 'em all) adds a little varity to the package, all briefed by different people.
So, in conclusion, by todays standards, this is not that great, but it has some interesting enemies and weapons, and some hugely fantastic levels, that are vewry large, and although not all that pretty, are fun, and the game will last you a long time. I also find i quite terrifying sometimes -trapped in an underground minig complex, with no idea of escape, a bomb about to explde, and a very very very evil sounding and looking Dark Trooper (phase one) after you, it can really be quite daunting and scary, but if you see it it, buy it, and let yourself in for the Star Wars ride!
You play Kyle Katarn, who gives the Rebels the Death Star plans, a job well done, but then - OH NO! The Empire is hatching an evil plot - Creating a massive army of super troopers!! You must stop them! Still, at least it is a better plot than Doom - Yet it is very similar in its gameplay.
You see, this is essentialy Doom II in Star Wars- Yet I find it more scary! It does however feature some innovative features. The graphics first then. They, by todays standards are terrible, but some fo the gun rendering is lovely, particularly the Stormtrooper Rifle - Lurvly! The scenery is typical Doom - High, pre rendered landscapes in the background, and then detailed foreground - Filled wither a wide variety of enemies, that yell 'Die Rebel Scum!!!' at you all the time - In its day, this was superb! The enemies still are recognisable today, albeit with pretty ppor AI, although the variety is quite surprising - Stormtroopers, Officers, Bounty Hunters, Kell Dragons (or several!) Three Eyed 'things', Axe wielding pigs, and several very annoying drones. But the worst, pivotal to the story, are the Dark Troopers - Particularly the 'First Stage' batch (unfinished, yet a nasty silver/red combination of metal madness) - Armed only with a laser cutter thing and a shield they can still be deadly! The 'second stage' (ie, finished) are deadly, armed with an uber 'assault cannon' (that you can use later on!)
Anyway, the sounds and graphics were superb in its time, and the levels all feel very disticntive, with each one easily recognisable. Imperial installations all are very one tone, and the star ports, are a little more, 'colouful' shall I say. The levels are superbly atmospheric and large as well as varied. You infiltrate an Imeprial City, a wrecked Rebel Base (complete with horribly burned corpses) and the simply terrifying Anoat Sewers, that hold dark passagways filled with tenticle festooned monsters of sludge that want to rip your heart out and have it with their avocado sauteed potatoes for tea! To aid you in this noble quest, you have a large array of fun weapins - A repeater rifle, plasma cutter, concussion rifle, the aforementioned uber 'assault cannon' (ie plasma firing, rocket wielding gun of death) and grenades, mines and a satisfylingly knuckle cracking punch, and more. They all work well, and even have secondary fire modes, that add a lot of variety to the battles with legions of enemies, that you shall face.
The game has three modes of difficutly, that add extra enemies to levels, etc, which adds a little lifespan. Frankly, if you don't have the cheats, the game can last you a long time - Some of the later levels, although linear, provide little puzzles, and are hugely daunting in its atmosphere.
In between each level are nice cut scens, with a voice over, that adds a feel that you are actualy getting somewhere, and the addition of a variety of mission styles (capture, escape, sabotage, blast 'em all) adds a little varity to the package, all briefed by different people.
So, in conclusion, by todays standards, this is not that great, but it has some interesting enemies and weapons, and some hugely fantastic levels, that are vewry large, and although not all that pretty, are fun, and the game will last you a long time. I also find i quite terrifying sometimes -trapped in an underground minig complex, with no idea of escape, a bomb about to explde, and a very very very evil sounding and looking Dark Trooper (phase one) after you, it can really be quite daunting and scary, but if you see it it, buy it, and let yourself in for the Star Wars ride!
I have Dark Forces in my collection, and I agree it is a good FPS game. It got some mixed reviews when it was origionally relesed, but I found the game to be quite fun and challenging. The only problem I found with the game was the absense of a lightsabre which is strange to say its based on star wars. I think i might reinstall it and give it another go, although I thought the sequel was far better in terms of gameplay and length.
Another star wars classic people may want to try is the awesome Tie Fighter. In my opinion one of lucasarts best star wars spin off games of all time. both a great games to play.
Another star wars classic people may want to try is the awesome Tie Fighter. In my opinion one of lucasarts best star wars spin off games of all time. both a great games to play.
Tie Fighter was a classic!
I recommend getting Rogue Leader then you can unlock a Tie Fighter to play in, though it has no shields...
I recommend getting Rogue Leader then you can unlock a Tie Fighter to play in, though it has no shields...
Rogue leader will be the first game I get for my game cube, I can't wait either. Although I don't think it will be as good as tie fighter, but I don't think there has been a space combat game as good a tie fighter either. Still looking forward to the game though.
cipro wrote:
> Rogue leader will be the first game I get for my game cube, I can't
> wait either. Although I don't think it will be as good as tie fighter,
> but I don't think there has been a space combat game as good a tie
> fighter either. Still looking forward to the game though.
You have no idea how much this game will blow you away do you!?
Buy a Cube and Rogue Leader and report your findings in the Nintendo forum as soon as possible...
> Rogue leader will be the first game I get for my game cube, I can't
> wait either. Although I don't think it will be as good as tie fighter,
> but I don't think there has been a space combat game as good a tie
> fighter either. Still looking forward to the game though.
You have no idea how much this game will blow you away do you!?
Buy a Cube and Rogue Leader and report your findings in the Nintendo forum as soon as possible...
Retro memories flood over me. Ah, it was a classic. Thanks for bringing it up Cyclone.
I'm planning to get a GC this June so I can stock up on a couple of more games to play on it in the meantime. I think Rogue Leader is the game which has pursuaded me to finally get a cube, I was going to leave it until agust/september, but seeing countless videos of this and other games on the console helped me decide to finally part with my cash.
I remember it wasn't too long ago that I thought the GC looked crap, and now I can't wait to get my hands on one. Can't wait.
I remember it wasn't too long ago that I thought the GC looked crap, and now I can't wait to get my hands on one. Can't wait.