60 Second Preview of…

Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast: at E3 2001

The Specs

This sequel to Justin Chin's Jedi Knight is being created by Raven Software, using a modified Quake III engine, with support for new effects like breaking glass and glowing molten lightsaber gashes in the walls. The hero from the original games, Kyle Katarn, returns to relearn Force powers from Jedi Knight: chain lightning, saber throw, push, jump, Jedi mind trick, and so forth. In addition to lightsaber combat, there is an arsenal of familiar weapons, including a Bryar pistol and a blaster rifle. The levels unlock Force powers in a pre-determined sequence as you play and you'll be accompanied by friendly jedis through part of the game. Jedi Outcast promises a full suite of the usual multiplayer modes as well.

The Speculation

Mark's Comments: This shooter's using the Quake 3 engine and was looking pretty good at E3, right down to the breaking glass that the engine can handle now and which was demo'd for us again and again. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, you could make a killing as a glass replacement specialist. Jedi Outcast lets you move from first-person to third-person view depending on the weapon you use. You can even throw your lightsaber and it boomerangs back, and yes, you'll have those Force powers available in this game. During the demo we saw many jedis fighting at once and they were doing backflips, etc. It looked like a circus troupe doing warmup exercises. The gameplay wasn't anything radically different from the previous Jedi games, but Raven's a solid developer so this one should be fun.

Tom's Comments: I'm not sure I agree that Raven is a solid developer. I see a company riding a downward spiral from great games like the Heretic and Hexen series to mediocre fare like Soldier of Fortune to quickly cobbled together stuff like Star Trek: Elite Forces. I also see a company who doesn't understand some of the original Jedi Knight's greatest strengths. The concept of choice -- which Force powers will I pick and will I choose the Dark side? -- is entirely absent from Jedi Outcast. Also, Raven seems intent on including their buddy system from Elite Forces. I'm not sure I want some snot-nosed paddy-wan tagging along getting stuck in doorways. And what's with the grotesque Stormtrooper death animations? They do quivering dances of death as if they were bad guys from Soldier of Fortune getting knifed in the groin. In Star Wars, Stormtroopers are impersonal cannon fodder, not villains in an action movie shoot out. Finally, the Quake III engine simply isn't capable of the sense of scale from Jedi Knight, where the level design reinforced the idea that you were a hero in the middle of something vast. This was a central tenet of the Star Wars mythology that will probably be missing in the corridors of a Quake III engine. As for Jedi Outcast's Force powers, which Katarn must have simply forgotten since the last game, there wasn't a single one on display that hadn't already been done in the original Jedi Knight and Mysteries of the Sith expansion. Jedi Outcast looks like a gorgeous adaptation of the Quake III engine, but it doesn't look like the work of someone who understands Star Wars nearly as well as Justin Chin or Larry Holland.

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May 22, 2001