STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II vs STAR WARS Republic Commando
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is an FPS game from LucasArts (2009) while STAR WARS Republic Commando is an FPS strategy game from LucasArts (2009).
Quick answer: STAR WARS Republic Commando rates higher, 8.0 to 7.2 on the GamingPickz Score, and STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is the cheaper at $5.99.
What each one is
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is filed under FPS. In contrast, STAR WARS Republic Commando under FPS and Strategy.
Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II picks up where the award-winning Dark Forces™ game left off...with even more features and firepower in dazzling 3D graphics. As Kyle Katarn, you must acquire a lightsaber and learn the ways of the Force to become a Jedi Knight.
You are the leader of an elite squad of Republic Commandos, your mission is to infiltrate, dominate, and ultimately, annihilate the enemy. Your squad will follow your orders and your lead, working together as a team - instinctively, intelligently, instantly. You are their leader. They are your weapon.
At a glance
| STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II | STAR WARS Republic Commando | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 7.2/10 | 8.0/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (81%, 2,267) | Overwhelmingly Positive (96%, 17,143) |
| Critic aggregate | 91/100 | 78/100 |
| Price | $5.99 | $9.99 |
| Install size | — | — |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2009 | 2009 |
| Developer | LucasArts | LucasArts |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II vs STAR WARS Republic Commando, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces IIFPS gameSTAR WARS Republic CommandoFPS strategy gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces IIAction, FPS, ClassicSTAR WARS Republic CommandoFPS, Action, TacticalThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces IIScore 7.2 · 81% on Steam · 91 criticSTAR WARS Republic Commando ✓Score 8.0 · 96% on Steam · 78 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II2,267 reviewsSTAR WARS Republic Commando17,143 reviewsReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II ✓$5.99STAR WARS Republic Commando$9.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces IIPlayableSTAR WARS Republic CommandoPlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Across the rounds a number can settle, it is level at 1 each. Which one is "better" is the part no figure decides, so we leave it to what you want from the two.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueSTAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and STAR WARS Republic Commando on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- PC
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: STAR WARS Republic Commando (GamingPickz Score 8.0)
- The cheaper right now: STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II ($5.99)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: STAR WARS Republic Commando (17,143 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
ActionFPSClassicSci-fiSingleplayerFirst-PersonShooterMultiplayer
Where they differ
Third PersonFMVRetro1990'sBoomer ShooterStory Rich
TacticalAtmosphericEpicTeam-BasedWarCo-op
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. STAR WARS Republic Commando is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II | STAR WARS Republic Commando | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | — | 64MB 3D Graphics card with Vertex Shader and Pixel Shader (VS/PS) capability |
| Minimum CPU | — | Pentium III |
| Minimum RAM | — | 0.3 GB |
| Install size | — | — |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II · STAR WARS Republic Commando.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and 0 for STAR WARS Republic Commando. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II and STAR WARS Republic Commando in scope?
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II has drawn 2,267 Steam reviews. STAR WARS Republic Commando has drawn 17,143 Steam reviews.
Is STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II or STAR WARS Republic Commando better?
By the GamingPickz Score, STAR WARS Republic Commando rates higher (8.0 to 7.2). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II or STAR WARS Republic Commando?
STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is cheaper right now at $5.99, against $9.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II or STAR WARS Republic Commando?
STAR WARS Republic Commando rates higher, 8.0 to 7.2 on the GamingPickz Score, and STAR WARS Jedi Knight: Dark Forces II is the cheaper at $5.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
All comparisonsHow we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.