A decent Star Wars game is just about as rare as a dinosaur these days - titles such as The Clone Wars, Bounty Hunter and Obi Wan have all fallen woefully below the mark, despite the fact that Lucas Arts have had more practice than anyone to get it right. It may come as a surprise then that this time around they've pulled it off with flying colours - possibly thanks to their collaboration with Raven Software and Vicarious Visions. Jedi Outcast is the latest title in the acclaimed Dark Forces trilogy - popular only with PC Gamers until this instalment was ported over to the GameCube and Xbox.

Struggle your way through various opening credits and loading screens and you'll be presented with Jedi Knight II's single player game. You're Kyle Katarn, a mercenary who, after tiptoeing around the force and its various sides, decided to give up its ways after his father was killed and help the Republic as a soldier. Apparently your exceptional skill in battle was noted and you're partnered with Jan Ors to engage and neutralise remnant forces in the galaxy. You begin play while investigating an old Kejim outpost after reports of a disturbance are received. Naturally you end up stumbling across a whole new and much more threatening problem than you could imagine.

Be warned, the game does start slowly but as the plot gently eases Kyle back into the ways of the force some RPG elements are introduced - and this is where Jedi Outcast really comes into its own. Once you engage in some lightsaber combat, use force powers like a second nature and start building up and improving your Jedi skills you won't be able to put this beauty down. The lightsaber mechanics are a real work of genius and what with such fast paced, unpredictable and highly skilled fights you'll find that you forget about the other (still relatively interesting) weapons on hand. Combine that with some excellent puzzle solving and strategy, not to mention unlocking extras as you go and you've got one of the most enthralling and deep single player adventures available. There are, however, some points when the gameplay can get rather dull. This happens rarely, but when it does it's tough to struggle past them and return to the good stuff. Similarly, some of the puzzles can sometimes be a bit of a strain on the old grey matter - and you might need to resort to a walkthrough.

Aside from this, there's also the equally impressive Jedi Arena mode - updates for which such as characters and levels can be unlocked via the main game. It basically gives you a chance to practice your skills, take a break from the single player mode or battle it out against a mate in various game modes. The usual modes of play are all here (Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch, Capture the Flag, and more) but with a few more original modes too, such as Jedi Master (players must search for a single lightsaber on the map, the person who gets it obtaining maximum force powers) and Duel (two people fight at a time in a knockout tournament). All modes are brilliant fun, especially when played with a friend. It's a real shame then that the same can't be said for the multiplayer arenas - while some are very good, others are just bland and boring stages that you might only ever play once.

The single player quest is suitably challenging and has a decent learning curve with four degrees of difficulty. Add to that some mind bending puzzles and this is a game that's going to take you quite a while - even on the easier settings. Also, thanks to its somewhat non-linear gameplay and encouragement for the player to explore there's a great sense of replay value to go back and do things a different way, or discover what you may have missed. In addition to this there's the highly playable Jedi Arena mode I mentioned earlier that you won't tire of, even when the main quest is long forgotten and every last item and secret unlocked.

The graphics aren't anything really special in Jedi Outcast - there are some decent textures and nicely done character detail, but next to this there are some horribly frequent glitches that can get rather annoying. Also the game has a tendency to slow down when things start getting really hectic - but this can be made up for by some truly excellent character animation. All in all it's nicely done but with nothing groundbreaking. In terms of sound, however, it's really rather excellent. While there's nothing there to 'wow' you as it were, it's very well tied in with great effects on the lightsabers and various other things from the Star Wars universe. The atmospheric Star Wars theme and score is present and adds to the atmosphere of the game.

Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast is a brilliant game with an engaging single player mode boasting some excellent touches. The Jedi Arena is great fun by yourself or with a friend and there's plenty to keep you going for some time. It's a shame this otherwise magnificent game is let down by things such as graphical glitches and a few slip-ups in level and mission design. Nevertheless, this is worth a serious look whether you're a Star Wars fan or not.

Reviewed by AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).