Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith
Published: 1998

Jedi Knight was LucasArts' long-awaited sequel to the critically-acclaimed Dark Forces. Dark Forces was LucasArts' first shooter based in the Star Wars universe, but despite its success, it had a few faults, such as a poor save feature and lack of multiplay support, that would be addressed in Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II. You once again played rogue Kyle Katarn, but this time, you were training to become a Jedi knight.

click to enlarge

Jedi Knight was a very story-driven game, and the missions were each preceded by cutscenes. While the story wasn't exactly top-notch fiction, it did drive the game forward and give purpose to the missions. The level of integration between the story, cutscenes, and missions was hailed by critics and fans as a more worthy direction for first-person shooters, and was a cut above the run-and-gun gameplay of such games as Quake, Duke Nukem 3D, and other games.

click to enlarge

The emphasis in this game was on being a Jedi, and so you eventually acquired a lightsaber and learned Force powers. You could hurl lightning bolts, run at super speeds, heal yourself, and even choke victims, a la Darth Vader. It was even possible to turn to the Dark Side and become the new emperor of the galaxy. Alas, the ending for Jedi Knight wasn't that rewarding, especially for the Dark Side path. Nevertheless, Jedi Knight offered a great deal of immersion in the Star Wars universe and let you become a Jedi. Not since TIE Fighter did you feel as immersed in the Star Wars experience as in this game.

click to enlarge

Finally, Jedi Knight did fix the problems of Dark Forces. It offered a save anytime feature and multiplayer support. Although its graphics engine paled next to Quake II, Jedi Knight did have excellent animation, environments, and level design. It was no wonder, then, that it won numerous game of the year awards from many game publications, including Computer Gaming World and PC Gamer. The designer on Jedi Knight was Justin Chin, while the lead programmer was Ray Gresko. After finishing Jedi Knight, both left LucasArts to found their own gaming companies.

click to enlarge

Jedi Knight's popularity spawned an expansion pack, called Mysteries of the Sith. It appeared with very little fanfare and quickly disappeared from the consciousness of gamers. However, it was noteworthy on a few accounts. First, it let you play as Mara Jade, a popular character made famous in the Timothy Zhan Thrawn trilogy of novels. It also was designed by a totally new design team, which would later move on to designing the next Star Wars shooter, the currently underdevelopment Star Wars: Episode I Obi-Wan.

Read GameSpot's original review of Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II.

Read GameSpot's review of Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith.

Next: Rogue Squadron