I'm sure it's common, but I get rather nostalgic on my birthday. Think about the people from the past. Some lost, others gone. Going to play some games from times of innocence. First up, Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight.

The Return to Sulon is a pretty rough looking level overall, but the Aztec-like environment is a nice change from Imperial-grey hallways. At some points it almost reminds me of Thief: The Dark Project.

So on the next level, The Jedi's Lightsaber, I finally get my laser sword! (Yeah, this game is pretty dark - and the flashlight uses resources...).

And the real reason we remember the lightsaber so well in this game? You can cut their arms off :D

so_uncivilized.mp4

It really was a different time - the scale is insane for no real reason, and nobody gives a damn about texture seams :D The Jedi's Lightsaber is a crazy level of grand scale and log flumes. So many log flumes!

Also does anyone have any idea what this species is? I thought they might have been weirdly textured Trandoshans, but they sound like Tusken Raiders... @wrmaiden any ideas :D?

Also this game really has a habit of putting you in areas where you feel like you're not supposed to be... but turn out to be critical path - like, look at this death trap. The vertigo is strong in this one.

I'm serious, the vertigo in this game... if this was VR I'd nope the fuck out.

There's a wee moment in that chunk of the Star Wars score that reminds me of the Robocop score when Murphy goes home... maybe it's just me wanting to reference Robocop?

Weeeeeeeeeeeeee

Moving onto Barons Hed - seems that some of these duders can't swim...

ono

That feel when a game from 1997 does in-fighting better than Doom Eternal @joewintergreen :D

Also, the environments in Barons Hed give me some serious Star Wars: Episode I vibes, despite Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight being released 2 years earlier.

Decided to find a patch that fixed the FOV - check this secret out :D

The level, "Into the Dark Palace" has been pretty varied so far - could have done without the mine traps everywhere though...

So much combat in this level...

The Power Boost pickup is nuts - it turbo charges all of your weapons!

An elegant weapon for a more civilized age

As far as I could tell Palace Escape required the use of force powers - I guess that's a thing now. Another level with massive scale. Far too dark though, and those wind gusts on the corners of thin walkways are brutal. Some of the vent gameplay was cool though :)

So I just hit Chapter 9, Fuel Station Launch, and it's all coming back to me. I definitely played this level as a demo. I remember how much it blew my mind that there were "friendly" creatures in the world. This guy's little bark is ingrained into my skull.

Going to take a break for a bit, but will carry this thread on as I play more :)

Oh, and I am aware there are HD packs out there that make the game look closer to Jedi Outcast, and while that's cool an' all, I like to play it as close to the original game as I can.