Activision Lucas Classic Line: Jedi Knight 2 Jedi Outcast PC Gaming Devices

The key change is the switching of location. The original, Shogun Total War, allowed the player to take on mammoth battles across early Japan. Here, the warfare moves to Europe and North Africa and again there are two components to the action. Firstly, a map screen demands overall strategic decisions from you, and it's here that you'll build up your resources, plan your attacks and establish your defences. Should conflict ensue as a result of your choices (and inevitably it will), then in kicks the second part of the game--the battles themselves.

It's here that the game really hits top gear. Once you've enjoyed a mammoth, real-time strategy battle with thousands of units on screen at once, you'll be hooked. But the devil here is in the detail. There are hundreds of tactical permutations to consider, from troop positions and line-up through to approach and grouping in attack. In the midst of the battle, choices need to be made that can swiftly change the outcome.

Make no mistake, this is easily one of the deepest and most engrossing strategy games for PC, and while it's very easy to get to grips with--thanks to ample tutorials and logical controls--there's a very challenging, long-lasting series of battles ahead. Of course, the real fun is taking advantage of the online options and fighting it out with gamers worldwide. Suffice to say though that the single-player experience is worth the money alone.

Described several times on the packaging as "epic", Medieval Total War is just that. It's to the credit of the developers that it manages to keep its scope and ambition and marry them so well to such an outstanding game. For that, they deserve your reward--they might make a third one, then. --Simon Brew

As a game, it demands that you work out what to do and where to do it, which frequently means putting weapons away and letting your brain do some of the work. But a good blast is never too far away, and you're never left you with nothing to do. Sure, you might find yourself stuck from time to time, but a little bit of thought can usually back you out of a corner.

Frankly, it's all very good fun, with just a couple of caveats. For instance, it does follow a tried and tested path that fans of this kind of title will have trodden many times before. It doesn't add too much in gameplay terms to the original, either.

All things considered though, it's still an easy game to recommend. Challenging, entertaining and, when it hits top gear, really quite engrossing, Elite Force II is polished PC entertainment and one of the strongest users of the Trek licence to date. --Simon Brew

After some initial training, the academy forms a base from which various missions are launched across the galaxy. There are ample opportunities to visit familiar places from the classic Star Wars galaxy and to meet some familiar faces along the way. There are numerous levels and quests, and each one requires a cocktail of action, guile and a bit of common sense--oh, and the occasional Jedi mind trick. These levels are pleasantly challenging and mighty good fun to play.

You can call on a broad arsenal of weapons--with the light sabre available right from the start--and as you progress, you must build up your Force skills, which will ultimately help you out of many a sticky spot.

If you can overlook the very occasional lapse in enemy AI, and just let the sky-high production values soak in, the game proves to be cracking entertainment. Arguably it doesn't move the whole formula forwards a great deal, but you get a thumpingly good game backed up with strong multi-player options. --Simon Brew

There's nothing essentially new here for the hardened RTS gamer. Resources need to be mined, units built and technologies researched in the race to crush the opposition. What gives this the edge is the Star Wars setting and the quality of the graphics, which are visually appealing and stay accurate to the wealth of Star Wars information that already exists.

There are six basic "races": human Rebels, the Empire, Gungans, Wookiees, the Trade Federation and the Naboo, each with their own specific weapons and tools--there's nothing quite like sending a squadron of AT-ATs into battle and watching them smash the Alliance to bits.

In addition to the standard hardware afforded each side, Force alliances come into play and it's possible to side with either the Jedi or the Sith depending on your preference. It's also possible to conjure up Jedi Knights and Sith Dark Lords.

Clone Campaigns is the first add-on disk. This content mainly comes in the form of two new campaigns: the Old Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems. You can choose to either take control of the shiny new Jedi controlled Army of the Republic, forefathers of those pesky Imperial Stormtroopers, or the combined armies of the Confederacy complete with the insect-like Genosians and Techno Droids.

The action in Clone Campaigns commences on Geonosis, with the aftermath of the big battle scene at the end of the movie. Each campaign features seven missions to complete and over 200 new troop, vehicle and ship units and takes you through the beginning of the infamous clone wars. New features are also added to the original game with new units, orders and effects all selectable in the older campaigns. All the new and old armies are selectable in the multi-player and Skirmish modes, ensuring you'll need to re-evaluate those tactics for warfare against the new combatants. Overall this is a great add-on which adds to and enhances an already fantastic game. --Laurent S Hall

The storyline could have been a standard coming-of-age yarn, but is instead a genuinely interesting adventure which gradually unravels your connection with these events. The game's planet-hopping adventures are driven by your exploration of these connections and how they relate to your larger goal of discovering the source of the Sith's sudden fleet. During your adventure you can explore side quests minor (such as racing swoops or gambling) and major (such as uncovering the fascinating back stories of your companions). Star Wars fans will get a kick out of the rich lore introduced in the game, particularly the Tatooine storyline that reveals the origin and history of the Sand People.

Gameplay is an abbreviated form of Wizards of the Coast's d20 Star Wars RPG game system. The player creates a character as a member of one of three starting classes (soldier, smuggler, scout) and then later chooses a Jedi class (guardian, consular, sentinel). Joining the player's character are other Jedi, warriors, thieves, droids, a wookiee, and even a Mandolorian. Combat is real-time turn-based, meaning the turns are seamless but the player has the option of pausing the action at any time to issue orders or direct any character to use a certain Force power, ability, feat, or item.

Graphics range from adequate to exceptional. Lightsaber graphics and environmental effects (like waving grass, clouds, and weather) bring the world to life. Complete with sounds straight out of the movies, the thrilling combat is pure Star Wars.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a masterpiece of Star Wars gaming. The pacing, balance of action and dialogue, clever puzzles and quests, and loving attention to detail have set the bar very high for role-playing games in general and Star Wars games in particular. --Mike Fehlauer