Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast Review
The smash hit of the PC has finally made its port to GameCube. However, it wasn’t as smooth as it should have been. Overall this game looks great but a GameCube controller just lacks the buttons to pull this off, and you really need a keyboard to do it right. This game has many force moves that you can hotkey to selected buttons, but that isn’t the best idea. This makes switching from one to the next a long process and is much easier done on the PC when there is one key for each move. I myself have always preferred a gamepad over a mouse and keyboard for First Person Shooters but for some reason I preferred the PC game with my mouse and keyboard over the GC version.
The visuals of the game look identical to that of the PC version, which may or may not be a good thing. Although while playing it looks fine and smooth, the videos have little to no facial animation during talking, so your stuck with hearing a voice over a mouth that doesn’t move. The majority of the game though (while your actually playing) looks very good with life like looking character models and stunning saber effects.
You’ll recognize many of the classic Star Wars sound tracks and they never get old. The voice acting is one good but is just weighed down by the visuals during it. There are many storm troopers that sound as they did in the movie and their blasters do as well. Their voice sounds very well when they get hit and as does there falling over to die. The light saber, which you get after going through the game for a while, is very impressive and sounds perfect. The sounds of it hitting another enemy or a foes lightsaber sound exactly as they should and even the sound of it touching a wall is done well.
I have to admit this game is very fun but moving from PC to Console I found it hard to get use to and actually preferred the PC controls over console controls (this is the first time I have ever preferred PC to Console). If you have never played the PC version you’ll have little to no trouble with the controlling but if your a fan of the PC version you will struggle with this control. After playing for a while I have gotten used to this control but because of the setup for the force powers I still prefer the PC version. If you’ve never played this game before I recommend giving it a try, it is a fun game and you will enjoy it. If you have a PC powerful enough to run it a smooth then go for the PC version.
Visuals: 7.5
Sound: 9
Originality: 8
Replay: 7
Overall: 7.5