Some of the higher quality Star Wars games have recently been made available on Steam.
If you haven’t played Star Wars: Dark Forces or the titles that came after it, now is the perfect time. Dark Forces, along with Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II, Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, and Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy are all now available for purchase on Steam in a collection for the low price of $19.99.
Purchasing the collection saves about $13, and is well worth it. These titles are first and third-person action/FPS titles set in the Star Wars universe. Yes, you do get to wield a lightsaber, and you do get to shoot the crap out of white helmet wearing imperial troopers.
I would put any of these games up against the more recent Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, though admittedly that may be some of the nostalgia in me talking. Dark Forces is still one of my most memorable first-person-shooters of all time. The gameplay moment that I remember best was throwing a thermal detonator at an imperial trooper, exploding him off the ledge of a cliff, and hearing him scream the whole way down. This may be nothing new nowadays, but when the game first came out in 1995 this was pretty cool. I may have always had to use cheats when I got stuck on some of the switch flipping puzzles, or when fighting the invincible Dark Troopers, but that doesn’t stop my fond memories of the game.
Kyle Katarn, Dark Forces‘ protagonist, returned in Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and its expansion Mysteries of the Sith. These games took the series to a whole new level, adding the ability to use a lightsaber and force powers, and including a new multiplayer mode. Dark Forces II now allowed me to force push these same enemies off of a cliff to hear them scream instead of using a thermal detonator, and it was great. Jedi Outcast saw the return of Katarn yet again, while in Jedi Academy players take on the role of Kyle’s apprentice. The games are worthy additions to any FPS or Star Wars fan’s library, and perfect to soak up some time while waiting for Star Wars: The Old Republic.
Via: 1up
Published: Sep 17, 2009 10:22 pm