Star Wars: Jedi Knight (series)

Star Wars: Jedi Knight (series)

Star Wars: Jedi Knight, is a first-person shooter video game series based on the fictional Star Wars universe, and published by LucasArts. The series focuses primarily on Kyle Katarn, a character from the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

The Jedi Knight series began in 1995 with the release of Star Wars: Dark Forces for DOS, Macintosh, and Sony PlayStation. This was followed in 1997 by Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II in which Katarn learns the ways of a Jedi. LucasArts developed Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith as an expansion pack for Dark Forces II, this time giving the player control of Mara Jade as well as Katarn. In 2002, Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast was added to the series. Jedi Outcast was developed by Raven Software and powered by the Quake III: Team Arena game engine. Star Wars Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy followed in 2003, powered by the same game engine. Jedi Academy was the first game in the series where the player does not control Katarn at any point in the game, although he is featured prominently in the storyline.

The games in the Jedi Knight series have received generally favorable reviews. Multiple publications have commented on the quality of the series as a whole, with GameNOW describing it as "consistently great." The use of the lightsaber in the series, a prominent gameplay element in all but the first game, has received specific praise for its implementation.