STAR WARS™ Dark Forces (Classic, 1995)

Ah when Star Wars was Star War. And games were made by LucasArts and not licensed out. I first played this game when it came out in the 90's. It was basically Star Wars Doom (Before Halo replaced the genre). Yes the game graphics are dated today but for its time they were amazing, plus it was Star Wars! No, not the garbage coming out of Disney from Krapleen Kennedy but stuff that made Star Wars cool. Anyway, the story of Dark Forces is simple. You are Kyle Katarn, a former Imperial Soldier turned Mercenary. To prove your loyalty to the Alliance to Restore the Republic, you must steal the plans for an Imperial project. After completing the first mission, the plans are given to his contact Jan Ors who transfers them to another agent who gives them to a certain Alderaanian Senator who has her own destiny to fulfill. Following that, the Empire puts into motion new plans to crush the rebellion. Enter General Mohc. General Mohc presents to Darth Vader a group of new soldiers who in a demonstration, quickly destroy a Rebel Base in a decisive victory and a few civilian casualties. Kyle Katarn is then called in to meet with Mon Mothma and hired to find out what in the Sithspawn is the Empire doing. With Jan Ors as his contact/handler Kyle Katarn goes out to undercover what is being called The Dark Trooper Project. In addition to Darth Vader, Jabba the Hutt and Boba Fett appear in this game as do infamous locations from the EU like Coruscant (this is before the Prequels came out and ROTJ Special Edition) and Nar Shadda which in the lore makes Mos Eisley look like a Daycare compared to that place. You pick up an arsenal of weapons that were familiar like the Thermal Detonator and the Stormtrooper Rifle but sadly the lightsaber was not implemented (until the sequel). Still, the game is very enjoyable and for a shooter, the violence is minimal in that there is no gore. The one thing that should have been done is remastering the graphics but at least Kyle is back,

DF was amongst the first games on CD-Rom along with Rebel Assault 1. I had it bundled with a CD-Rom player, soundcard and speakers. This game came as a breath of fresh air for FPS players who were used to Doom. In DF, there is an interesting plot with twists and each level is set in a unique setting with unique textures. Variety was striking in every respect: situations, enemies, weapons, settings, level design, musics... and you never get bored. It even features a duel with an iconic figure from Star Wars. Developers managed to make a masterpiece out of a small engine. They made an excellent use of the Star Wars material, which accounts for a huge part of the success of the game, but they went beyond and introduced new elements that are really interesting: the character Kyle Katarn, Dark Troopers, the Arc Hammer... The major flaw is the impossibility to save during the game, which can be very frustrating as final levels are quite long. Best DF in the series and one of the best shooters, for me.

I originally played this game back in the 90's and recently re-played it for nostalgia sake. I loved it then and I still love it now. Sure, it's not going to stack up against a modern AAA title. But for an "old school" shooter, it's hard to beat. Pros: +Mostly great level design. +Some impressive set-pieces. +Has an engaging story (a rarity for shooters of that time). +Great Midi soundtrack and sound effects. +Voice acting....in 1995! (Seriously, there's no excuse for a game made today not to have this.) +Lots of fun weapons to play with that are actually useful in different situations. Cons: -A few levels can get really confusing and maze-like. They could have done a better job of steering you towards the next objective in those cases. -Even on easy, the jump in difficulty in fighting a Phase 2 Dark Trooper vs any other enemy is pretty big. They are supposed to be the toughest enemies, but they are REALLY tough compared to everything else and can take your health down to nothing in seconds. It feels a bit excessive. -Landmines. I hate the landmines and you will too. -Character controls feel a little floaty. When you lift up a movement key, you keep going a bit; almost like you're on ice. As other reviews mentioned, unless you're looking for a true "old school" experience, you're going to want to download the Force Engine. It's a source port for this game similar to what GZ Doom is for Doom. It gives you modern FPS controls like WASD movement and mouse-look. In my opinion, it's a must have. Other than that, I'd say that this game is perfect considering its age. It's one of the best Star Wars games ever made; up there with Jedi Outcast and TIE Fighter. It's also a stand out in a sea of Doom clones that were popular around that time. If you're a Star Wars fan or just a fan of old shooters, you should give this a try.

This is the only game to out-do TIE Fighter for iMUSE music. Not only does it adapt to what's happening, with strong memorable themes that help deliver just the right tension, then seamlessly escalate into adrenaline overdrive when the action kicks in, but the scores themselves are incredible. The intro music starts off as the classic John Williams theme, but then it morphs into a sinister and haunting theme that sets the tone of the game before you even get to the menus! Once you get going, the first level music delivers an incredible feel right from the get go, with a heart pounding take on John Williams' original scores with the dynamic enhancement of the iMUSE system being used to full effect. It just builds until you hit the final and most epic score - The Arc Hammer. I just sat at the beginning of the level listening to it when I first got to the Arc Hammer level; It is just mind-blowingly good and I get spine tingles everytime I hear that opening riff. In my opinion surpasses even John Williams. It is *that* good. But for the sake of your ears use a good SoundFont or at least GUS emulation in DOS Box; The OPL FM just doesn't do the music justice!!! It is my fervent hope that Tommy covers the music from this game in at least one of his Video Games Live gigs - Having the music played by a proper orchestra would bring out the full potential of the scores and surely give eargasms to all present!

I find it extremely hard to understand earlier user review saying this game is not as good as it was anymore because new games are so much better. Keep playing new games then, don't look back. Every game creates it's own reality. I just started replaying Dark Forces and for me the immersion is as good as it was the first time decades ago, I'm enjoying every moment of it. I recommend getting some HW to support General MIDI/wavetable sounds for best experience :)