Retrospective: Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

Using it in regular combat is a skill - as soon as you swing it to attack you're no longer using it to defend yourself, so the skill is rushing in at the right moment. Done properly it feels very rewarding.

So much is so charming. The cut-scenes are FMV, which in the nineties was normally cause for stabbing out your eyes with the nearest biro and setting your PC on fire. But while they're corny as hell, they're also hugely enjoyable. This might be in large part because, well, it's more Star Wars movie! While it was all shot on green-screen, it doesn't look cheap or tacky. The effects are mostly great, and while the CGI for the droid, 8T88, is crude, the real-world make-up for aliens is all perfect. (And never mind about 8T88's CGI - just say his name out loud. It's ludicrously fun.)

No one's acting is particularly stellar, but most offer a fun, hammy turn. Katarn is played by one Jason Court, who hasn't exactly gone onto great fame - although he was previously in an episode of the Red Shoe Diaries - steamy! Angela Harry who plays Ors has equally failed to find fame beyond appearing in Pamela Anderson's V.I.P., but both at least had the high point in their careers of appearing in Diagnosis Murder, which is all any actor could hope for.

8T88 is voiced by Danny Delk and is a real highlight. This is no surprise from the man responsible for voicing Murray in the Monkey Island games and both tentacles and Hoagie in Day of the Tentacle. ("8T88!" Seriously, try it!) The only real issue is the lunatic playing the Twi'Lek Boc Aseca, the amazingly named Time Winters, who overacts so much your monitor might switch itself off in protest.

LucasArts recently released the game, along with all of the Dark Forces series, on Steam, for the weeny price of £3.50. However, if you want to play it again - and you really should - there's a few issues. Unlike its re-release of classic adventure games, this collection hasn't been completely reworked for modern machines. There's lots of angry threads on the Steam forums reporting multiple issues, but the most common (and the ones I experienced) are a complete lack of in-game music, and the very peculiar inability to show menus and cut-scenes in full-screen. This means the game switches in and out from full-screen glory for the levels, and a tiny little window for the FMV and options. It's odd, but it's not that enormous a problem. But be warned.

It's all worth it. Jedi Knight is still absolutely stunning. This shooter gone vertical also went Force-empowered, letting you eventually choose whether to focus on the Dark or Light sides, and offering different endings depending upon the direction in which you head. It captures so much of what was great about those original campy movies, and despite the character models looking hilariously awful, the overall design is so marvellous that your imagination eradicates the dated look.

8T88! 8T88! 8T88!