Star Wars Dark Forces

by LucasArts

Product Features

• playstation

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00002STL9
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches ; 3.2 ounces
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: January 1, 1997
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,351 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)

Product Description

GameSpot Review

It seems to be the collective desire of most of the young men of my generation to blow large holes in Imperial Stormtroopers. At least it's always been a fantasy of mine. And while Dark Forces replaces this fantasy with something tangible, the game itself doesn't live up to the dream.

In this Playstation adaptation of the PC game, players once again become Kyle Katarn, the unknown rebel spy who stole the all-important Death Star plans before the opening of the first Star Wars movie. (Actually the first level of the game merges Katarn's adventures with the storyline of the films.) As the story unfolds, we learn of an Imperial plot to build enhanced, robotic Stormtroopers called Dark Troopers. It would seem that the Empire tired of the human troopers' notoriously bad marksmanship. From there on out it becomes Katarn's task to hunt for information behind enemy lines, and eventually put a stop to the plan single-handedly. But these single-handed heroics are even more impressive given the game's stellarly poor frame rate and graphics, and Lucas Arts' notoriously user-unfriendly save feature.

Though the speed of the Playstation allows for smooth movement, Dark Forces boasts a horrendously choppy frame rate. In addition, the utter blandness of the individual slaying grounds make gameplay nothing short of nauseating. While the mission objectives are excruciatingly clear, thanks to the mini-movie length cutscenes, the levels themselves are vast and confusing. The sparse smattering of bitmapped, slow-moving, sprite-based (not 3-D polygonal), Doom-monster, dumb blaster fodder means the action is lean, not mean. Moreover, the powerups and enemies are difficult to find because they don't pop out of the background. It would seem that the Empire is quite stealthy and crafty despite itself.

And then there's Lucas Arts' unholy and steadfast alliance with its own save feature. As happens in all similar Lucas Arts titles, players cannot choose when and where to save their game. When the hero meets an untimely demise, he is placed back near to where he was downed. In practical terms, this means it isn't possible to save before trying a death-defying leap or rushing headlong into a gang of enemies. Adding insult to injury, when the hero is re-animated, he is back up to full health but not full firepower. Unlike Doom and its clones, Dark Forces can put the rejuvenated hero in the middle of a crossfire without any ammo - just where he left off - or charged with the task of renavigating already conquered terrain. This doesn't make the game fun; it makes the game frustrating.

Control itself isn't that terribly complicated, and in fact is almost elegant in its simplicity. Strafing, jumping, and looking up or down are quite easy. To the novice, however, the various button combinations needed to perform simple tasks will provide a steep, but short, learning curve.

To its credit, Dark Forces is a good game that doesn't "play itself" like the Rebel Assault games do. What action the game has is fast, and the puzzles aren't bad. Suffice to say that the Star Wars universe alone is what will draw many people to this game - despite the poor gameplay, corny dialogue, and misplaced feel-good critters that ironically make George Lucas' space opera so appealing. --Wiley Wiggins
--Copyright ©1999 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited. GameSpot and the GameSpot logo are trademarks of GameSpot Inc.

Product Description

Star Wars: Dark Forces is a Sci-Fi First-Person Shooter game, developed and published by LucasArts, which was released in 1996.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Ho-hum., February 2, 2005

By 

Andy Griffith "Bloodrayne" (Wisconsin, USA) - See all my reviews

= Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Star Wars Dark Forces (Video Game)

As a first-person shooter enthusiast, I had high hopes for Dark Forces when I hear about it for the first time.
And as it may be a sin to compare it to Doom, because honestly and truthfully, this game is hardly what Doom is, I must say one thing....take Doom, send it through a meat grinder, out pops Dark Forces.
Everything in this game is ho-hum....half or less than half of what Doom gives the Playstation gamer.
It's not THAT disappointing....it's still very fun to play....but the whole game seems rushed. People forgot to add more than 3 colors to walls and background images, and the pixelization is unsurpassed. Stormtroopers and items laying about look like primitive Lego models. The soundtrack isn't all that bad, but could be better....the voices are really done well though.
The levels in the game are ok....I found myself getting lost on some of them though due to the fact everything looks the same because of the limited color palette....and even some areas I'm guessing are supposed to be covered in "shadows" are in all actuality, just black spaces with no graphics at all.
The weapons are typical Star Wars guns....nothing entirely special, but it is a fun selection.

If you're a Star Wars fan, and can get this game for 5 bucks or less, by all means, add it to your collection.
But if you're a first-person shooter junkie, look elsewhere for a top-quality shooter.

Overall, an average game, 5 out of 10, possibly 5.5.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars i love this game, June 5, 2009

By 

Michael Brooks "starwarsfanatic" (portland,maine) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Star Wars Dark Forces (Video Game)

this game might be kinda cheesy now compared to battlefront 2.but at the time this game was the greatest.i love playing this game still to this day.
in the last year i have bought a bunch of games then you can't buy in stores anymore.so thanks amazon and also to the store or people that still have the classic games.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Dark Forces Rules, March 4, 2009

By 

David A. Smith "Powerful Light2012" (Webberville, Mi, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Star Wars Dark Forces (Video Game)

this was a pretty good game, i don't like to many shooter games but this one was a blast :)