Look, it’s no secret that most gamers are also massive Star Wars fans… **guilty** so in the midst of what can probably be described as disappointing Star Wars titles from EA, let me take you back to the time a little Star Wars game called Dark Forces took on the world.
The year was 1995. The Internet was around – but only a select few had it at home… me included… I actually got to chat to someone in a chat room online… amazing, right 😉
Dark Forces hit the gaming scene and my God, it was glorious!
(Maybe not so much now, but this was 23 years ago, remember)
There’s been a shit load of Star Wars games released trying to capture the magic that makes the screen version such a massive success… and for the most part, they failed.
This one, in my humble opinion, did not.
I’ve always thought the reason why this game was so much better than any other Star Wars game I had played was the simple fact that it was a new story in the Star Wars galaxy. You played a good dude who was formerly a bad dude who hated the good dudes because he thought the good dudes killed his parents.
When, really, it was the bad dudes.
The central character, Kyle Katarn, wasn’t so conflicted by the force. He just had an agenda to avenge his parents death and help out some mates along the way.
In terms of the game, it borrowed heavily from old mate Doom, and with good reason. Doom was so new and so different to what we’d seen, and it was great to have a FPS with a good storyline and mission objectives.
From memory (so don’t quote me here), I think it was one of the first game to actually have some decent sound grabs… the stormtroopers sounded like stormtroopers. The lasers sounded like lasers… rinse and repeat.
Actually, the ’90s were a time to be alive if you were a gamer and Star Wars fan. Tie Fighter, Episode 1: Racer, X-Wing vs Tie Fighter, Rogue Squadron… to name but a few.
But Dark Forces and I had a special connection that, one day, I hope to find again in a Star Wars related video game. If there’s anyone, anywhere, connected with EA and reads this Retro Rocks Review… RE-BOOT THIS GAME!!! It would go off!
Written by: @dantheinternut
