A lightsaber is undoubtedly the coolest weapon never invented. Forget the sword of Excalibur - the Jedi's fluoro stick of death is the special branch on the weapons tree. Playing with one, and a little bit of feelin' the Force, are the biggest attractions of Star Wars Jedi Knight 2: Jedi Outcast.

What you're served with here is a Lucas cocktail of two parts Dark Forces (the original Star Wars first-person shooter, of which this game is a descendant) and one part Tomb Raider, originally shaken and stirred in a PC and now offered up on Xbox.

If you have visions of immediately firing up your trusty 'saber and slicing and dicing Stormtroopers left, right and centre then you're going to be in for a long wait.

Several levels need to be completed before things start to actually become fun. The early stages are like playing Dark Forces by numbers. Go to room A, kill all the dumb bad guys and flick a switch. Go to room B, kill all the dumb bad guys and enter a code. Go back to room A and flick another previously hidden switch that lets you go to room C. Go there and kill all the dumb bad guys. Then try and find a route to room D. Rinse and repeat...

There's no sense of urgency to events. Much of the experience simply involves running around an empty map trying to find out what switches need to be activated in order to enter new areas, many of which look like the end result of a go at Star Wars Scenery Builder v1.1

Even after you've earned the way of the lightsaber and started learning cool force tricks, it's still just a case of having more novel methods of killing the Empire scum while finding codes or hunting down keys to open other areas or activate a beacon.

One redeeming feature is the Jedi Arena option, a series of multiplayer games - with bots for single players - unlocked as you progress through the main adventure. The arcade-style enjoyment of swishing the lightsaber and using Force powers you get in these events is missing from the game proper.

There are a few genuine moments of Star Wars magic, such as walking into a full-scale lightsaber battle, and rare occasions of interaction with well-known characters from the movies. It's just that these good bits are wrapped up tighter than a Jedi's robe in winter, resulting in a frustrating chore of a game with infrequent highlights that could have offered much more.

More innovative missions would've better complimented the kudos of wielding the glowing rod of death.

1. The lightsaber and force tricks.
2. Jedi Arena is great. Even one player vs. a bot army.

1. Repetitive gameplay
2. Uninspired levels
3. Average, technically

Power
Good cut scenes and a quick frame rate, but nothing that can't be found on lesser consoles.

Style
Authentic feel enhanced by music and sound effects, but looks wise this is lacklustre and uninspiring.

Immersion
There's some feel of Star Wars and Jedi Arena is fun. But single-player is frustrating.

Lifespan
Jedi Arena has replay potential, but you'll be relieved every time you finish a stage of the actual game.

Summary
If you must plump for a Star Wars game, this is better than Star Wars: Obi-Wan, but it stlll doesn't pull up any trees.