Reception
| Reception | |
|---|---|
| Aggregate scores | |
| Aggregator | Score |
| GameRankings | 87% |
| Metacritic | 91% |
| Review scores | |
| Publication | Score |
| GameSpot | 8.9/10 |
| IGN | 9.4/10 |
| PC Zone | 9.4/10 |
Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II was received well. The combination of puzzles and gameplay drew praise from critics, indicating that the game builds upon the good qualities present in Dark Forces. The user control of the game was praised, especially control of the lightsaber.
Jedi Knight was compared positively with Doom, a significant game in the first-person shooter genre. The gameplay did not escape criticism, however, with Tom Chick reviewing Jedi Knight for IGN criticising the layout of the levels: "The levels can be awfully linear, throwing you up against some frustrating brick walls where you don't know where to go or what you're supposed to do next. There are some bald key hunts."
The artificial intelligence of hostile NPCs received mixed reactions. GameSpot praised the AI of the enemies in Jedi Knight, saying that they help the suspension of disbelief. Chi Kong Lui of Gamecritics.com gave the opposite view: "Enemy artificial intelligence is still pretty mindless and blasting them doesn't require much skill."
Jedi Knight's graphics received mixed reviews. Critics stated the non-3D accelerated version of the game looks poor. Other graphical aspects received praise. The character animations were considered more detailed than similar games. The design of the levels received specific praise from IGN: "No other first person shooter has come close to Jedi Knight's dizzying sense of scale and its vast levels." The full-motion video sequences between levels received both praise and criticism.
The use of John Williams' soundtrack from the Star Wars films was met with praise, though one reviewer believed that the music is overused in Star Wars video games. The sound effects were also lauded, and seen as providing a good atmosphere to the game, in particular the lightsaber sound and its implementation.
The addition of a multiplayer mode to Jedi Knight was met positively, but questions arose to why there are so few multiplayer maps and why single-player maps cannot be used in the multiplayer mode. Tom Chick of IGN believes this was corrected with the release of Mysteries of the Sith.
Read more about this topic: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
Famous quotes containing the word reception:
“I gave a speech in Omaha. After the speech I went to a reception elsewhere in town. A sweet old lady came up to me, put her gloved hand in mine, and said, “I hear you spoke here tonight.” “Oh, it was nothing,” I replied modestly. “Yes,” the little old lady nodded, “that’s what I heard.””
—Gerald R. Ford (b. 1913)
“He’s leaving Germany by special request of the Nazi government. First he sends a dispatch about Danzig and how 10,000 German tourists are pouring into the city every day with butterfly nets in their hands and submachine guns in their knapsacks. They warn him right then. What does he do next? Goes to a reception at von Ribbentropf’s and keeps yelling for gefilte fish!”
—Billy Wilder (b. 1906)
“Aesthetic emotion puts man in a state favorable to the reception of erotic emotion.... Art is the accomplice of love. Take love away and there is no longer art.”
—Rémy De Gourmont (1858–1915)