Jedi Knight: Dark Forces 2
Very shortly after the release of the Star Wars FPS game Dark Forces LucasArts released a sequel that felt like quite a bit of a step up in terms of production quality. Dark Forces, released in 1995, a year after the success of Doom II, used a similar game engine and featured similar visuals. Dark Forces used 2D sprite art for the weapons and enemies combined with a 3D rendered world, the best that could be generated at the time.
Only two years later, after the success of this first Star Wars title a sequel was released. This sequel used a considerably more advanced game engine which included full 3D real-time rendering similar to that found in Quake released one year prior. This sequel also contained live action cinematics with computer generated backgrounds and props, a huge jump up from the limited 2D animation found in Dark Forces cutscenes.
Jedi Knight really showed what LucasArts was capable of at the time. The Sith engine they used allowed for some large-scale open worlds, big enough for even an AT-AT to roam in. The 2 CDs it played from allowed for some high-quality FMV cutscenes and loads of original audio tracks from the original movie scores. This really was a huge thing for me, the Star Wars soundtrack was so perfect that it really brings the feeling of Star Wars to the games when applied. LucasArts also really went out of their way to produce some quality live-action cinematics for this game. Though they appear a little on the budget side of things now, at the time they were pretty amazing. It's even noted as including the first lightsaber battles ever filmed since the original movies.
Jedi Knight was easily my favorite of the Dark Forces series. The level design was really saturated with Star Wars feeling, I can still remember making my way through the vertical city of Nar Shaddaa and the desert canyons of Barons Hed, the whole time really lost in the idea that these were real places I'd been. Sometimes I'm not sure what it is about a game like this and why it sits in my memories differently than other games, it may be in combination with the fact that FPS game were still new at the time and that particular experience became more ingrained for that reason alone.
It was a long time before I felt like there was another Star Wars game that captured the feeling quite like this one did. In fact, it wasn't until about 10 years later with the release of the Force Unleashed. Games like this really showed that LucasArts cared about their properties and really wanted to push the technological and storytelling edge in the quickly growing video game world. Games like this are why I miss LucasArts and the legacy they left behind.
Only two years later, after the success of this first Star Wars title a sequel was released. This sequel used a considerably more advanced game engine which included full 3D real-time rendering similar to that found in Quake released one year prior. This sequel also contained live action cinematics with computer generated backgrounds and props, a huge jump up from the limited 2D animation found in Dark Forces cutscenes.
Jedi Knight really showed what LucasArts was capable of at the time. The Sith engine they used allowed for some large-scale open worlds, big enough for even an AT-AT to roam in. The 2 CDs it played from allowed for some high-quality FMV cutscenes and loads of original audio tracks from the original movie scores. This really was a huge thing for me, the Star Wars soundtrack was so perfect that it really brings the feeling of Star Wars to the games when applied. LucasArts also really went out of their way to produce some quality live-action cinematics for this game. Though they appear a little on the budget side of things now, at the time they were pretty amazing. It's even noted as including the first lightsaber battles ever filmed since the original movies. Jedi Knight was easily my favorite of the Dark Forces series. The level design was really saturated with Star Wars feeling, I can still remember making my way through the vertical city of Nar Shaddaa and the desert canyons of Barons Hed, the whole time really lost in the idea that these were real places I'd been. Sometimes I'm not sure what it is about a game like this and why it sits in my memories differently than other games, it may be in combination with the fact that FPS game were still new at the time and that particular experience became more ingrained for that reason alone.It was a long time before I felt like there was another Star Wars game that captured the feeling quite like this one did. In fact, it wasn't until about 10 years later with the release of the Force Unleashed. Games like this really showed that LucasArts cared about their properties and really wanted to push the technological and storytelling edge in the quickly growing video game world. Games like this are why I miss LucasArts and the legacy they left behind.
No comments:
Post a Comment