Star Wars: Jedi Knight II -- Jedi Outcast Xbox

The sequel to the critically acclaimed Star Wars: Jedi Knight finds its way to Xbox courtesy of Vicarious Visions. In this console port of the 2002 computer game, players are cast in the role of Kyle Katarn, a reluctant Jedi who must use the Force to save the Jedi Academy from a sinister power. While the game is primarily a first-person shooter, players will gradually learn eight Force powers and acquire the lightsaber, which automatically changes the game to a third-person view whenever it is activated.

Nine locales, ranging from Bespin to Yavin, are the setting for the game's 25 missions, including an Xbox bonus level entitled "Mission at Alzoc III." Players will advance through sewers, swamps, prisons, fortresses, and more while solving puzzles and engaging Stormtroopers, Imperial Officers, AT-STs, and alien races in deadly combat. Among the 15 available weapons are rifles, blasters, thermal detonators, trip mines, missile launchers, and more. Force powers, which are learned during the game, let players jump, push, pull, increase speed, heal, emit lightning, choke, and confuse characters using the Jedi mind trick.

While the game does not feature an online component as its computer predecessor, Jedi Outcast supports two-player action against up to 14 computer-controlled bots. Each bot is a featured character in the main game, from Luke Skywalker and Lando Calrissian to Bespin Officers and Shadow troopers, and each possesses different reaction times, accuracy, and agility levels, as well as special abilities. Multiplayer modes include Duel, Free-For-All, Capture the Flag, Team Free for All, and Jedi Master. Players can customize parameters such as time, kill, or capture limits; assign which Force powers can be used, if any; and decide whether or not lightsabers should be available. ~ Scott Alan Marriott, All Game Guide