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
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