STAR WARS™ Dark Forces (Classic, 1995)

For the past year I've been getting into old PC shooters I never played before as a Nintendo/Sega kid in the 90s. For anyone else looking into these old games, this game is a great starting point. For new players I'd almost say its mandatory you get The Force Engine source port. It essentially a mod that makes the game run in 1440p (or 1080p, or 4k), adds true mouse controls and fixes the controls to feel smooth and modern. And it's free. While the level design can get a little obtuse compared to Doom 1/2/64, Dark Forces is still probably one of my top 5 old PC shooters of the 25 or so I've played in the last year. I read the patch notes and saw that there are even a few subtle minor map tweaks the Force Engine port added to make certain things less confusing, so I only had to look up what to do a couple times on YouTube. There's tons of fan made maps too, lots of content in this purchase.

Dark Forces is a very old school "Boomer Shooter" that's set in the Star Wars universe. The story is actually quite good for the time and cutscenes between missions are well done. Unfortunately, the engine doesn't support very complicated gameplay so missions are more or less just "kill everyone and go to the end, sometimes backtrack to the beginning". Remember, that Dark Forces came out in a time when there was no horrible Star Wars Prequels, no stupid "improved" Special Editions of the original movies and people were hungry for Star Wars content. Luckily, LucasArts delivered, and Dark Forces, X-Wing & TIE Fighter are still some of the best Star Wars games ever made. The protagonist Kyle Katarn is a great character that grows in the sequels. I do recommend to check Dark Forces out. It's an important piece of gaming history and still quite fun.

The game is really good, various missions, a large selection of weapons where each will find its use and a nice plot. Additionally, this game has one of the coolest weapon i use (Stouker Concussion Rifle), shooting from it is pure pleasure. Some puzzles may take a while, but the fun is great. I played the game for the first time using only the keyboard. I have not encountered any problems. In addition, the game does not have saves or quick saves during missions (the game saves between missions), but the live system and while it may seem strange, it works great. I recommend 5/5.

Kyle Katarn didn't always need a lightsaber to rain on the Empire's parade. Explore beautiful levels, and an original story, as you use an arsenal of weapons to destroy your foes. This isn't a careless Doom-clone, it's a truly excellent early FPS.

I loved dark forces as a kid of 8 years old even in 2005 it was still fun bringing back good memories even though all I could find was a demo I still remember the surprise when I first played it the first time i killed a storm trooper the dark troopers etc etc. This was the first FPS I remember being really good it was actually the first FPS I ever owned it's properly old school corridors some monsters and 10 weapons (including fists). The story isn't bad either (when you compare it to doom (because you know demons) or something it's positively Shakespearian). You always feel the lurking menace of the dark troopers when you finally get the the last level and face them and get their gun it's a great feeling. This game actually started the Jedi knight saga so if you want to see how that started then download it now. Deftly get Jedi Knight and Jedi knight 2 if you enjoy this they are both great games but this started it. Don't expect far cry 4 star wars (It's basically doom star wars) but if you want a good classic shooter this is for you for 7 quid it's pretty good.