| Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast | |
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| Released: | March 26, 2002 |
| Developed by: | Raven Software (Windows), Vicarious Visions (Xbox & GameCube) |
| Published by: | LucasArts |
| Genre(s): | First-person shooter/Third-person shooter |
Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is a 2002 first and third-person action game in the Star Wars: Jedi Knight series. The Microsoft Windows and OS X versions were developed by Raven Software, and the Xbox and GameCube versions by Vicarious Visions. The PC version was published by LucasArts in North America and Europe, and by CyberFront in Japan. The Xbox and GameCube versions were published by LucasArts in North American, and Activision in Europe. The Mac version was published by Aspyr. Powered by the Quake III: Team Arena game engine, the game primarily revolves around ranged and melee combat, with the player capable of wielding classic Star Wars weapons such as blasters, lightsabers and Force powers.
The game features both single-player and multiplayer modes. The plot follows protagonist Kyle Katarn as he fights against the Dark Jedi Desann and his followers.
In 2003, a sequel titled Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy was released for the Xbox, Mac OS and PC.
Gameplay[]
Kyle Katarn fighting a saber-wielding Reborn.
As a first/third-person shooter, Jedi Outcast allows the player to wield a variety of firearms, as well as lightsabers and Force powers. The player can choose whether to use first or third-person perspectives for each weapon, including the lightsaber. Players have health and shield meters, each of which is replenished separately.
Jedi Outcast places a strong emphasis on lightsaber combat. As in the films, lightsabers can be used to deflect shots from blasters. The game offers three lightsaber styles; fast, medium and strong, with each style differing from the others in terms of the speed of attacks and damage dealt. There are also a number of combos, many of which are unique to the selected saber style.
Force powers are available in both single-player and multiplayer modes, but more powers can be used in the latter. The use of powers is restricted by a "Force Meter", which depletes with each use and gradually refills over time. The "level" of a Force power determines the strength of that power and the amount depleted from the Force meter during its use. The multiplayer mode divides players into Light Siders and Dark Siders, pitting each side against the other in team battles. Each side has access to both shared "Neutral" Force powers, which are mostly focused on increasing speed and athletic ability. There are also numerous powers unique to both Light and Dark sides. As in the previous games, Light Side powers are mainly focused around protection and healing, while Dark Side powers are openly aggressive. Unlike previous games, however, Kyle does not exclusively select Light or Dark powers in the single-player, instead receiving a selection of both.
Single-player[]
The single-player campaign follows Kyle Katarn as he moves through the levels in a linear manner, meeting friendly and hostile Non-player characters (NPCs). Friendly NPCs will occasionally assist the player in combat. In addition to combat, the campaign features a variety of puzzles.
When the game starts, Kyle has forsaken The Force after the events of the previous game, and as such, the player has no access to a lightsaber or any Force powers. However, after the first two missions, Kyle regains his Force abilities, and as the game progresses, the number of powers available, and their strength, increase. Progression of Force abilities is fixed, and cannot be customized. Having previously fallen to the Dark Side, Kyle has access to both Light Side powers (such as Force Heal and Jedi Mind Trick) and Dark Side powers (such as Force Lightning and Force Grip), along with neutral ones (such as Force Speed, Force Jump, Force Pull and Force Push).
Multiplayer[]
Jedi Outcast features a set of multiplayer modes. In the PC and Macintosh versions, these can be played over a LAN or the Internet, but combat is limited to two players on the console versions. There are a variety of game modes (such as "Free-for-All", "Team Deathmatch" and "Capture the flag") which can be played with other players, bots, or both. Each player has limited customization control over his or her avatar. He or she can choose the player model (with access to nearly every character in the game, as well as some characters from the films not seen in the single-player mode) and lightsaber color. Before a match, the server specifies the game rules, including "Force ranking", which controls how many points the players have available to allocate into Force powers. Players then customize their powers for the match. The server can also choose to disable normal weapons so as to create lightsaber-only matches.
Plot[]
Setting and characters[]
As with Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, the player controls Kyle Katarn (voiced by Jeff Bennett), a former Jedi who has cut his links with the Force after almost succumbing to the Dark Side. At the start of the game he is a mercenary working for the New Republic.
Over the course of the game, Kyle is joined by various other characters. Three of the most prominent are Jan Ors (Vanessa Marshall), a fellow mercenary and subsequent love interest; Lando Calrissian (Billy Dee Williams), the sophisticated administrator of Cloud City, as seen in The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi; and Luke Skywalker (Bob Bergen), protagonist of the original film trilogy and leader of the Jedi Academy on Yavin IV. The player also receives help from other Jedi and New Republic soldiers, while Mon Mothma (Carolyn Seymour), Chief-of-State of the New Republic, assigns Kyle and Jan missions during the game.
The primary antagonists of Jedi Outcast, Desann (right) and Tavion
There are four main antagonists: Desann (Mark Klastorin), a former student of the Jedi Academy, who killed a fellow student before leaving the Order; Tavion (Kath Soucie), Desann's apprentice; Galak Fyyar (Steven Blum), a general in the Imperial Remnant; and Reelo Baruk (Kevin Michael Richardson), a crime lord posing as a "respectable garbage collector" on Nar Shaddaa. Other enemies include Imperial stormtroopers, numerous thugs and soldiers infused with the Force (known as the "Reborn").
Synopsis[]
The game begins with Kyle Katarn and Jan Ors investigating a supposedly abandoned Imperial outpost on Kejim. However, when they arrive, they find the base crawling with Imperial forces. They fight their way through the base, discovering a research centre studying cortosis crystals, which are similar to those used to power lightsabers. Following the cortosis link, Kyle and Jan travel to Artus Prime, a mining colony turned into an Imperial stronghold, where the miners have been enslaved and experimented upon. Katarn thwarts the Imperial operations, but not before Jan is captured by Desann and Tavion. Kyle tries to rescue her, but, having forsaken the ways of the Jedi, he is easily defeated by Desann, who orders Tavion to kill Jan before they leave the planet.
With Jan dead, Kyle travels to the Valley of the Jedi (a major plot element in Dark Forces II) to regain his Force powers, and then to the Jedi Academy to get his lightsaber. There, he learns of Desann's origins from Luke Skywalker. Luke offers Kyle his lightsaber back if he can complete a set of trials. Kyle completes the trials easily, so easily that Luke quickly deduces Kyle has returned to the Valley. Sensing Kyle's anger about the death of Jan, Luke warns Kyle that the path he is walking is a dangerous one, but he nevertheless gives Kyle the information he seeks, linking Desann to Reelo Baruk, a Rodian crime lord on Nar Shaddaa. Reelo proves to have little information, but Kyle stumbles upon Lando Calrissian, who has been imprisoned in Baruk's dungeons. From Lando, Kyle learns that Desann is a part of a huge operation smuggling cortosis crystals through Cloud City. Escaping from Reelo, Kyle and Lando then head for Bespin.
Jan Ors (left) and Kyle Katarn (right) in the opening cutscene of Jedi Outcast.
Lando drops Kyle off at the bottom of Cloud City, and as he works his way up the structure he has his first encounter with a Reborn. He subsequently fights several Reborn, plus numerous Remnants, until he eventually encounters Tavion, who is about to board a ship headed for Galak Fyyar's Star Destroyer, the Doomgiver. Kyle defeats Tavion and threatens to kill her, but Tavion pleads for her life, telling Kyle that Jan is alive and on board the Doomgiver. Jan's faked death was just a ploy to trick Kyle into going to the Valley of the Jedi in order for Desann to follow him there and tap its power. In exchange for her life, Tavion lets Kyle use her ship to travel to the Star Destroyer.
After fighting his way past some stormtroopers at the Cairn Installation - an Imperial base hidden on an asteroid in the Lenico Belt, where the Doomgiver is docked - Kyle meets up with Luke Skywalker. From Luke, Kyle learns that Desann has found the Valley of the Jedi, and used its energy to empower an army of Reborn which could number in the thousands. After battling several Reborn together, they part ways. Kyle then sneaks across the Cairn base and finds out it is also a large assault ship construction facility, which is preparing for a full-scale planetary assault. Kyle confronts more Reborn, including "Shadowtroopers" - Reborn equipped with armor which is both lightsaber-resistant, and allows a measure of invisibility. Kyle manages to sneak into the Doomgiver before the ship leaves Cairn, but Luke is left behind. After the Doomgiver completes its jump to hyperspace, Kyle uses the ship's communications array to contact Rogue Squadron. He finds Jan in the detention block, but then learns that Desann was not specificially interested in the Valley of the Jedi - instead his goal all along was to invade the Jedi Academy. Kyle destroys the Doomgiver's shield reactor, and kills Galak Fyyarr. Narrowly escaping the ship's destruction, Kyle and Jan use an escape pod to land on Yavin IV.
With the invasion fully underway, Kyle heads to the Jedi Academy, while Jan goes to a hangar to assist in the aerial battle. Kyle soon finds the academy overrun with Imperial forces, but with the help of the New Republic troops, he fends them off. Together with Jedi Academy students, he engages in a fight against Reborn warriors and Shadowtroopers. After crossing underground tunnels, Kyle finally confronts Desann. He reveals the Doomgiver's destruction and the defeat of the Imperial forces, but Desann rejects Kyle's offer to rejoin the Jedi and they engage in a lightsaber battle. Kyle prevails and kills Desann. He subsequently reunites with Luke and Jan, and politely rebuffs Luke's offer to safeguard his lightsaber, saying he is not ready to forsake the Force again.
External links[]
- Official site via Internet Archive
- OpenJK - an open source project to port Jedi Academy and Jedi Outcast to newer operating systems