When it was first shown (very tentatively) behind closed doors at last years E3 the signs were immediately promising. Rather than taking the slow and expensive option of building their own engine Lucasarts decided to license the extremely popular (and capable) Quake 3 engine. They also outsourced the development of the game to FPS maestros Raven. By doing this Lucasarts have delivered the most compelling Star Wars title in a long long time. Their previous foray into licensing other technology with Galactic Battlegrounds did not gel quite as nicely as JK 2 has but we're sure we would all rather see titles like Galactic Battlegrounds rather than Force Commander or Masters of Teras Kasi.

As stated before, Jedi Knight offered players a choice between the light and the dark side of the force and this choice determined how they finished the game. JK 2 follows on from the 'good' ending of Jedi Knight as it would have been just too complex to start the game with 2 separate stories from the very start. Kyle Katarn has renounced any contact with the force and has hung up his lightsaber. He hasn't completely retired and gone on to a life of herding nerfs however. He and his partner, Jan Ors, are still very much involved with their old Rebel allies (now the New Republic) and the game begins with them investigating a remote outpost that is suspected to be a bolt hole for the remaining Imperial forces (known as the Imperial Remnant). It isn't far into the game when the story picks up some serious pace and introduces one of the most memorably villianous characters to appear in a Star Wars title. Without spoiling the story the plot involves a return to the Valley of the Jedi, Dark Jedi, revenge and of course a few nice twists. Anyone who was concerned that JK2 couldn't live up to it's predecessors in terms of storyline/scripting can relax. The story is excellent. JK 2's story mainly takes place in game of course but there are a number of cutscenes the majority of which use the in-game engine very effectively. They aren't up to quite the same standard as the cutscenes in Jedi Knight which were very frequent and made use of live actors and a great deal of FMV but they more than make the grade. The use of more in-game cutscenes also makes the title slightly more immersive and the transition between game and cut-scene less jarring.

As with many movie licenses one of the major appeals is wandering through and experiencing the 'locations' from the movie. Raven and Lucasarts have really outdone themselves in this department. The attention to detail is brilliant and with the power of the Quake III engine JK 2 is one of the most 'authentic' Star Wars experiences around. Familiar environments such as the Rebel Base on Yavin Four appear relatively early on the game and have been recreated perfectly. Background noises, dialogue and sound effects sound like they have all been lifted directly from the movies and therefore add to the complete experience of being in a Star Wars film. The solid scripting mentioned earlier also makes this illusion more believable as most things in the game behave like you would expect them to behave in the Star Wars universe. A visit to a bar in Nar Shaddaa sees you talking to rough housing Rodians while the Cantina theme from the original Star Wars movie plays in the background. Top stuff. Even the encounters with characters from the movies which have traditionally been handled terribly are executed reasonably well. Although having said that it didn't sound much like Mark Hamill was providing the voice for Luke Skywalker in the game.