Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II
Cover art
Developer(s)	LucasArts
Publisher(s)	LucasArts
Director(s)	Justin Chin
Designer(s)	Peter Chan
Writer(s)	Peter Chan
Composer(s)	Peter McConnell
Series	Star Wars: Jedi Knight
Platform(s)	Windows
Release	NA: October 9, 1997[2] EU: October 17, 1997[1]
Genre(s)	First-person shooter, third-person shooter
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

Star Wars Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is a 1997 first-person shooter video game developed and published by LucasArts for Windows. It is the sequel to 1995's Star Wars: Dark Forces, and the second installment in the Star Wars: Jedi Knight series. The story, set in the fictional Star Wars expanded universe one year after the film Return of the Jedi, follows returning protagonist Kyle Katarn, a mercenary working for the New Republic, who discovers his connection to the Force and "The Valley of the Jedi", an ancient source of power. With his father having been murdered years prior by the Dark Jedi Jerec and his followers over the Valley's location, Katarn embarks on a quest to confront his father's killers and find the Valley before they do.

Jedi Knight made some technical and gameplay improvements over its predecessor. It uses a more powerful game engine, the Sith engine, which supports 3D acceleration using Direct3D 5.0. The story features branching paths and cutscenes recorded with live actors as full motion videos. The game introduces the lightsaber and the Force as prominent gameplay elements in the series, as well as a multiplayer mode that allows players to compete over the internet or a local area network.

Jedi Knight received critical acclaim for its gameplay additions, narrative, and improvements over Dark Forces, and has been cited as one of the best video games of all time. An expansion pack, Mysteries of the Sith, was released in 1998, and a sequel, Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, in 2002.