Before I begin this little five-page opus into the merits and/or cons of this much-awaited space-age shoot 'em up. I need you our precious reader, to do something. Don't worry, it won't hurt. I simply need you to turn your minds back. To remember. To remember the first time you played Doom and the subsequent emotions that racked your body for hours afterwards. Do you remember the adrenaline that pumped through your veins? The nerves that stood momentarily on end every time you opened a new door? The beads of sweat that formed across your erudite brow after surviving a particularly vicious onslaught? These were primitive emotions, the very stuff of man. Doom was more than just a violent action game, it was a game that appealed to the very deepest reaches of our subconscious mind. A game that brought our prehistoric heritages directly to the fore. Man's deepest hidden desire is to kill - the very first tool we ever picked up was a weapon. Doom had no real pretensions at a plot, at a logical, thought-provoking challenge. It was simply kill or be killed and. as such, it captivated us.
This is going to be a complete playthrough of Star Wars: Dark Forces for the Playstation. Virtually identical to the PC version. All videos are done with 100% secrets and easter eggs.
Where I'm going with this is that every Doom-inspired game that has come since has failed to recreate these feelings and addictions simply because they constantly try to better the original by adding new features, more of a storyline, larger and more complex puzzle: to solve. And all the time they fail to recreate the true essence of Doom, the basic, simple need to turn living matter into its exact opposite. So. does Dark Forces manage to address our primitive desires? No. sadly it does not.
Enough psychology, already!
Right you are, on with reviewing it as a game. Despite not being able to capture the original 'Holy shit, this is f***ing amazing!' feelings that Doom ushered into everyone's workday lives, it does hold up as a challenging, involving and atmospheric game. Just a game mind you. nothing more than that. Dark Forres doesn't look set to become a major way of life or anything, just a damned fine blast to be getting on with until the sequel appears (not that there's any news of a sequel - it's just a figure of speech).
You are a rebel agent, a sort of laser-toting James Bond, devoted to overthrowing the Empire and freeing the universe of its icy grip. This is accomplished (or as much as possible within the constraints of the larger Sltir Wars storyline) through a series of challenging missions, from obtaining the plans to the Death Star to freeing prisoners from Jabba and blowing up Imperial manufacturing plants. The ultimate aim - and this is hinted at throughout by different elements of each mission - is to seek out and destroy the Emperor's latest weapon, the Dark Trooper.
Oher small points worthy of note are the annoying size of the guns and their difficulty to aim, the apparent emptiness of some levels and the lack of movement options pioneered in System Shock (for which I would have thought it was d-e rigeur for every Doom-game creating team to rip off). You can jump and crouch/crawl in Dark Forres which isn't all bad, but I would really have loved to have had the total movement experience that Origin offered in System Shock. Being able to flatten yourself against a wall and cautiously peer around the corner would have actually made some of the later levels feel more Star Wars-like.
It would also have been nice if the bad guys had tried to be a little bit more than the mindless cannon fodder they've turned into. Having Stormtroopers ducking taking cover, trying to pin yoi down and the like, a basic bit of enemy AI as it were, would have put Dark forces way above the rest of the Doom games currently available. The ultimate test I was giving the game was to see if it could create something dose to the scene in Star Wars when Luke, Han, Leia and Chewie were trapped in that prison block. If a situation like that had produced itself anywhere, I would have been jumping onto the rooftops of a Chipping Norton housing estate and proclaiming Dark Forces as king. It didn't, so the residents of Abercrombie Terrace were able to sleep peacefully at nights.There is one 'minor point' that stands head and shoulders abov the others, though. One feature that by its omission is causing howls of anguish in magazine offices everywhere. Read on...
Doom got 96
And Dark forces gets 95. Does that mean it's not as good? Sort of. It's as good as. It doesn't have that sense of total originality that Doom offered, but then nothing ever will again. That's why Doom scores slightly higher. You'll never be able to recreate those feelings of raw emotion. Other than that Dark Fotres is as good as. if not better than Doom, simply because that's what time does for a genre. Things will always progress and people will always produce slightly better product than before. Dark Forces is Doom with nicer graphics, more complex puzzles, a few neat extras and a storyline. With a multi-player option it might have got 97. But it doesn't, so it didn't. Live with it.
Overall rating: 6.5
ISOs » PSX on PSP » S » Star Wars - Dark Forces (USA)PSX on PSP / PSX2PSP eBoot ISOs
Genre: First-Person ShooterRating: ESRB: T
How to Play this Game ?
Quick Navigation:
Game Description & Reviews:
OverviewStar Wars: Dark Forces is a 1995 first-person shooter produced by LucasArts Entertainment. It stars Imperial officer turned mercenary Kyle Katarn, who is hired by the Rebel Alliance to investigate and dismantle a secret Imperial weapons program.
Upload a Screenshot/Add a Video:
Now you can add videos, screenshots, or other images (cover scans, disc scans, etc.) for Star Wars - Dark Forces (USA) to Emuparadise. Do it now!Nominate for Retro Game of the Day:
If you'd like to nominate Star Wars - Dark Forces (USA) for Retro Game of the Day, please submit a screenshot and description for it. The moment they are approved (we approve submissions twice a day..), you will be able to nominate this title as retro game of the day! (a nominate button will show up on this page..)
Support Emuparadise: | Sponsor Message: |
Share with your Friends:Support Emuparadise:Find out how else you can support emuparadise.It's free, easy and feels damn good! For starters, share this page with your friends. Use the links above : ) |
Download Star Wars - Dark Forces (USA)(334M)
Note: This game is a PSX2PSP eBoot and is meant to be played on a Sony PSP. If you are looking for a PSX/PS1 ISO to play on an emulator or console then please check our Sony Playstation ISOs Section.
Emulators:
Recommended Emulators
Android
RetroArch
Windows
RetroArch
For more emulators, check out our extensive emulators section.