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After you've seen the Star Wars movies enough times, certain unmistakable sounds get hardwired into your brain: the warbly snicker-snack of dueling lightsabers; the signature fwoosh of hatches opening and closing (which Star Trek never did as well); the sharp, metallic bangs of blaster fire; even Han's trademark "yee-haw!" as he and Chewie lay into Imperial ships with the Falcon. If any advantage sets audio CDs apart as the format for telling dramatized Star Wars stories, this is it. In the Star Wars: Dark Forces Collector's Trilogy, all these audio tropes get employed to their full effect--along with John Williams's stirring score, of course--to convincingly transport you to that galaxy far, far away.
A CD drama based on a graphic novel series, based on a video game, and based on ... well, Star Wars, may sound a little suspect, but even derivative work can excel when the original source is strong (Lucas), the writing skills proficient (long-time sci-fi author William Dietz), and the voice talent able (dozens of workman actors, with credits ranging from The Fugitive to Shine to Fargo).
The story arc of the set's three Dark Forces stories (Soldier for the Empire, Rebel Agent, Jedi Knight) spans roughly the same time period as New Hope-Empire-Jedi, following Kyle Katarn, a young Imperial officer turned Rebel operative turned (nearly) Jedi Knight. Old favorites like Han, Lando, Luke, and even Chewie pass in and out of the story, a classic Star Wars tale of honor, love, loyalty, and revenge, which sets Kyle against the evil Imperial pretender Lord Jerec. Good fun, well done. (Running time: six hours over six discs; two discs per title.) --Paul Hughes
From AudioFile
Based on the popular computer games and the illustrated novels by William Dietz, this is an enjoyable trilogy spun from the fabric of the LucasArts machine. The story concerns Kyle Katarn, an Imperial officer who defects to the Rebel Alliance to fulfill his Jedi destiny. Sound quality is superb, even if the music and sound effects are borrowed from the original films and the acting is at times trite. Randal Berger, who plays Katarn, has a somewhat annoying voice more suited to a teenage beach movie than to intergalactic conflict. Nevertheless, Star Wars fans will enjoy this program and appreciate guest appearances by familiar characters like Luke, Leia and Han Solo. S.E.S. © AudioFile 2000, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine
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