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Review
Installation & Documentation
Ease of use
Value for money
Price (approx)	$140 NZ
Operating System	OS 9.1+ OS X
Available from	Aspyr & NZ dealers

A long time ago...on a computer long since sold....well, it doesn't have the same quite opening impact, but it was 1995 when Mac users were introduced to the joys of a Star Wars shoot-em-up under the name of "Dark Forces". Mac players got to become Kyle Katarn, a rebel amongst...umm....rebels. Flash forward a few years and Lucas Arts announces a sequel "Jedi Knight" that sounds like a superb product. Only problem, there was to be no Mac version. So, after too long a wait, numerous online protests to get the original JK out of the gate (a very experienced programmer at Westlake Interactive is still offering to do the conversion for free) we finally get back on board with Kyle in the form of "Jedi Knight II : Jedi Outcast".

The game itself is a combination of story and problem solving, but mostly first-person shoot-em-up. As you start the game movie-like scenes explain the mission at hand and as each level is loaded, you are reminded of the task you must complete. Like most games of this nature, there are hidden areas where you can collect extra times, opportunities to increase your health and shield status, as well as charge your guns up ready to shoot. The prime objective though, travel through the Star Wars environments (with the superb John Williams tunes playing in the background as you go) killing the bad guys and getting closer to the ultimate showdown as you do.

Those of you familiar with the first Dark Forces will finds this game very familiar, but with the obvious benefit of time, technology has improved the graphics and the level of flexibility in the game. Most importantly, this game provides the user with the opportunity to learn, make use of and ultimately master The Force. Oh, and did I mention the lightsaber too? That's right, in this game you get to wield a lightsaber and do lots of cool things such as use the Force Push or Force Grip to choke opponents!!

About a third of the way into the game, as you have collected numerous helpful weapons and completed tasks, Kyle's companion Jan Ors is murdered. This leads Katarn to visit the Valley of the Jedi and immerse himself in the Force's power source (news to me that there was a power source!). From there, he goes to the Jedi Training Academy on Yavin 4 Moon where he comes across Luke Skywalker. This level is effectively a training level, where you get to try out some of the basic Force moves before getting into the game itself.

Then, you're off to try and avenge Jan's death (but of course, trying to avoid letting your emotions take over and cause you to turn to the Dark Side..."If you only knew the power of the Dark Side"!) by tracking down those that killed her, meeting up with Lando Calrissian (voiced by the original actor, Billy Dee Williams) along the way. As with Dark Forces there is a great range of weapons to make use of, including clever items such as trip mines and detonation packs. My favourite weapon would have to be the Wookie Bowcaster (after the lightsaber of course) although I'm not going to pretend to be walking furball as I play this thing.

The lightsaber fighting is done extremely well and by default, you move into third-person perspective when fighting this way. Even without the use of a joystick, the game engine is intelligent enough to take into account and deal with basic actions while you concentrate on the good stuff. For example, when attacking Stormtroopers with the lightsaber, the game engine has your character automatically deflecting blaster fire without you having to concentrate on such a trivial task. Like your Health and shield, you also have a Force power strength. As you make more use of the Force, this strength fades, so you are forced to stop and wait for it to renew before continuing any attack. Complete more levels and your Force powers are enhanced.

The other benefits of this game is that it has multiplayer ability as well as the opportunity to play add-on mods, although at the time of writing, I was unable to locate any for Mac users. Hopefully, as with Dark Forces, there will soon be a huge range of add-on levels to allow you to immerse yourself more in the Star Wars environment.

I thoroughly enjoyed playing the game and found the balance of story, problem solving and fighting just right. In some cases, even playing as a beginner was challenging, so it will certainly take the most skilled of users to defeat the evil forces at the highest level. All I can say is good luck and....come on, you were waiting for it I know..."May the Force be with you"

P.S...If the Force isn't with you, then check out the article on the Apple web site for cheats to use in the Mac version. It is your destiny :-)

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