Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II pushed the genre forward by adding a lightsaber and the Force to a classic shooter. The player continues the story of Kyle Katarn, a mercenary in the service of the Rebellion, who follows the trail of his father's killers and along the way discovers his own Jedi heritage. Blaster combat remains, but once the lightsaber comes out, close combat turns into a fast circling duel around your opponent. On top of that come Force powers split into two branches, so the player decides whether to heal, persuade, and slow time, or choke enemies and hurl lightning. The choice even affects the ending of the story.

The game was one of the first to abandon sector-based fake-3D engines in favor of fully three-dimensional levels with hardware acceleration support, which at the time meant a noticeably cleaner image and smoother movement. The levels are huge and vertical, full of shafts, platforms, and jumps that the Force helps with, and their scale is as much a strength as an occasional weakness, since it's easy to get lost. Between missions, live-action cutscenes with actors and sets run, giving the game an unusually cinematic touch for its time. The audio side builds on familiar orchestral themes and on signature sounds, from the hum of the saber to blaster deflections, so the Star Wars atmosphere lands.

At the time it was a major success and for years the best way to play as a Jedi. Its lightsaber-and-Force multiplayer foreshadowed what the sequels would later deliver, and the Mysteries of the Sith expansion added another campaign. Today Jedi Knight is most interesting for its hybrid nature, since the combination of gunfights and swordplay still feels fresh. The graphics and jump controls show their age, though, and navigating the large levels demands patience. For fans of the series it remains an essential chapter regardless.