Jedi Outcast is a follow-up to the award-winning
Jedi Knight, which was a follow-up to
Dark Forces. After his brush with the dark side, Kyle Katarn shut himself off to the Force and gave up his Jedi heritage. Things open with Kyle and his partner Jan investigating a Remnant outpost. While en route, they run into a transmission that mentions the Valley of the Jedi. Although reluctant to return to his Jedi ways - circumstances cause Kyle to once again wield his lightsaber.
While this is a straightforward FPS, Jedi Outcast does much to set itself apart from the rest. In addition to the obvious perk of blasting your way though the Star Wars universe, JK II also gives you the ability to embark on the path of the Jedi. When he first reconnects with the Force, Kyle only has a few powers available. As he regains his abilities, new powers are unlocked. It should go without saying that Force powers play a big part in the game, not only giving you new ways to attack, but also the means to solve many of the game's puzzles. Another interesting aspect is how the game handles lightsaber combat. Instead of keeping the game in a 1st person perspective, the game switches to a 3rd person perspective making combat very easy. There are ever a few 'feats' that Kyle can perform. Kyle will acquire various weapons during his quest including blasters, a bowcaster, and thermal detonators. Although most players (like myself) will more than likely use the lightsaber as their primary weapon, all weapons are available to Kyle at all times (provided he can find them). Regardless of how trigger happy you are, it's advisable that you at least get in a little practice with the lightsaber before you face the Dark Jedi.
JK II also offers an excellent multi-player mode and the Jedi Arena, which is basically a deathmatch against AI controlled bots. The only drawback to this mode is the lack of LAN or Live support. I'm especially surprised that Live support wasn't thrown in considering the support the game has received from the PC community as well as the game's release being so close to Live's launch.