Was this really the last time I beat the PC version? I'm way overdue.
Jedi Outcast is an extremely important game to me. Extremely formative in my understanding of video games and storytelling. A repeated waypoint throughout my life. Something I've used to relate with family members growing up. And darn it, a comfortable, cozy playthrough to revisit every now and again.
Let me explain. Many of my early gaming memories came from watching my father play late 90s/early 00s FPSes. Jedi Outcast was one of the last ones I watched my father play as well as one of the first ones I was allowed to play myself. It was a favorite as a kid, but I drifted towards console games once they became an option in my household and rarely looked back. Years later, I had the opportunity to intern at Raven Software and ended up "rediscovering" Outcast while preparing for the internship. I've made a point to revisit the game every couple of years since, getting a little better every time (well, that time I played the GameCube port was more of a lateral move, but w/e).
Any further words I use to justify my love for this game is more excusing it than anything, but I'll push on. I recognize of course the game's dated nature and status as a hard sell these days; things like the game's main selling points (lightsaber combat and Force powers) being things you earn by grinding out the slower FPS levels in Kejim and Artus Prime, or how the awesomeness of being a Jedi is immediately tempered by all the snipers and Thermal Detonators in ns_streets. I dunno, those are things I love about the game. The game doesn't make you overpowered out the gate; you have to earn your power fantasy one level at a time.
And this is even harder to justify, but as a... oh, let's say middle-of-the-road Star Wars fan (I know some EU stuff, but not too much)... this is probably my favorite story Star Wars has done. It's not a gripping moral conundrum, it's not a tear-jerking tragedy, it's not a high-octane action story (well, not usually). It's a simple redemption story of a man who turned his back on power, returned to it for evil intent, and gradually resolved the turbulence in his heart into honor and duty. That's the essence of Star Wars to me, the gold standard every great Star Wars story should strive for.
Sometimes, that's all you need: the knowledge that good will triumph over evil, all while kicking ass along the way.
PS - I've never done the multiplayer. Not once.
Jedi Outcast is an extremely important game to me. Extremely formative in my understanding of video games and storytelling. A repeated waypoint throughout my life. Something I've used to relate with family members growing up. And darn it, a comfortable, cozy playthrough to revisit every now and again.
Let me explain. Many of my early gaming memories came from watching my father play late 90s/early 00s FPSes. Jedi Outcast was one of the last ones I watched my father play as well as one of the first ones I was allowed to play myself. It was a favorite as a kid, but I drifted towards console games once they became an option in my household and rarely looked back. Years later, I had the opportunity to intern at Raven Software and ended up "rediscovering" Outcast while preparing for the internship. I've made a point to revisit the game every couple of years since, getting a little better every time (well, that time I played the GameCube port was more of a lateral move, but w/e).
Any further words I use to justify my love for this game is more excusing it than anything, but I'll push on. I recognize of course the game's dated nature and status as a hard sell these days; things like the game's main selling points (lightsaber combat and Force powers) being things you earn by grinding out the slower FPS levels in Kejim and Artus Prime, or how the awesomeness of being a Jedi is immediately tempered by all the snipers and Thermal Detonators in ns_streets. I dunno, those are things I love about the game. The game doesn't make you overpowered out the gate; you have to earn your power fantasy one level at a time.
And this is even harder to justify, but as a... oh, let's say middle-of-the-road Star Wars fan (I know some EU stuff, but not too much)... this is probably my favorite story Star Wars has done. It's not a gripping moral conundrum, it's not a tear-jerking tragedy, it's not a high-octane action story (well, not usually). It's a simple redemption story of a man who turned his back on power, returned to it for evil intent, and gradually resolved the turbulence in his heart into honor and duty. That's the essence of Star Wars to me, the gold standard every great Star Wars story should strive for.
Sometimes, that's all you need: the knowledge that good will triumph over evil, all while kicking ass along the way.
PS - I've never done the multiplayer. Not once.