Star Wars: Dark Forces

Here we have what I consider to be not only one of the finest examples of Star Wars gaming, but my personal pick for best Star Wars FPS.  Dark Forces came out in a time when FPS games were still frequently referred to as "Doom Clones", but LucasArts brought more to the table than just another Doom-style shooter.  Operating off the proprietary Jedi engine, more options were made available that were not common at this point in time, such as the ability to duck and jump and to look up and down.  Also unlike Doom, which allowed variations in height but would not allow rooms to exist on top of one another, the Jedi engine, while still not capable of creating truly three-dimensional environments, did allow for multiple levels to be stacked on top of one another, resulting in more realistic layouts.

For the game the creators introduced a new character into the Star Wars timeline, Kyle Katarn.  He proved so popular as a character that in addition to his appearance in future games, he also made appearances in several Star Wars Expanded Universe novels.  Kyle begins as a former Imperial officer turned mercenary, whom the Rebel Alliance hires to steal the plans to the Empire's new super-weapon, the Death Star.  That's right, the story begins just before the events of Star Wars: A New Hope. After completing this first mission, Kyle is then sent out to uncover information on a new Imperial project to create extremely powerful, mechanical shock troops, known as "Dark Troopers".  This mission takes you from remote outposts, mining facilities and smuggling dens all the way to Coruscant and aboard a Star Destroyer.

The thing that I like the most about Dark Forces is that it puts you in a unique spot in the Star Wars timeline.  You're not a well-known hero, and you're not fighting on the front line of the great battles seen in the films.  You're off to the side, slogging through the seedy underworld of the universe looking to uncover secrets and unravel an Imperial plot before it ever makes it to the battlefield.

The game spawned sequels in which Kyle trains to become a Jedi. These sequels (Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight and Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast) were entertaining in their own right, but the reason that I prefer the original Dark Forces is that by making Kyle a Han Solo-style character with only his wits and a blaster to guide him, it made the game feel fresher. Once Force powers were introduced, well, yeah it was cool to use a lightsaber and throw things around with the Force, but at the same time it almost broke the game. Force powers became like cheat codes; it is possible, once you acquire the abilities, to play through Jedi Knight by using almost nothing but your lightsaber and Force Grab (which steals weapons from enemy's hands), making the other weapons and items essentially useless.  For me, it's more fun to play through the sequels using the Force only when the game requires you to do so, and using conventional weapons the rest of the time.  Everybody wants to be a Jedi, I know, but I always preferred Han Solo's style: "Hokey religions and ancients weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid."