"A Jedi's strength flows from the Force. But beware of the dark side.” Immortal lines, and also the words which instantly betrayed Raven’s new project when the press release finally confirmed rumours on the 17th of May 2001. Jedi Knight II was in development. The wait was coming to an end. Quite a wait it was too; literally years since the initial Jedi Knight game wowed audiences as the most in-depth and convincing available, and one of the best examples of the genre. Ever since there have been clamours from the deeply enthused fan-base for a sequel; and finally Lucas Arts have caved-in; announcing a direct sequel, that, it would appear, is designed to coincide with the launch of the Episode II film. Unusually for the prolific high-standards of Lucas Arts, they’ve made the decision not to develop the game in-house, instead sub-contracting the project out to genre-Veterans Software. Raven have such hits under their collective belts as Hexen II, Heretic II, Soldier of Fortune, and Elite Force. Not many developers have more experience than Raven, and their knowledge of the first-person genre is exemplary.

In undertaking of Jedi Knight II, Raven themselves will be constantly overseen by the watchfully creative eyes of Lucas Arts; ensuring that the game matches up to their high standards for this crucial Star Wars outing. The technology behind the game will be supplied from the great gaming-engine-factory of and their uber-techno geek John Carmack, the impressive Quake 3: Arena engine being employed to bring George Lucas’ world to life. If the stunning Return to Castle is anything to go by, then Raven have made a fine choice in id Software’s codings; as that game really shows the power and versatility of the technology. As do the initial screenshots from the game, I hasten to add. Raven have added to the technology themselves too, doubling the polygon count of characters and enhancing the reflective surface capabilities available.