GameSpot Jedi Outcast Jedi Knight II E3 preview is online after swinging by the LucasArts booth to check out the one level demonstration being offered for the just-announced installment in the Star Wars shooter series. Here's a portion of the piece that offers news on how the game will add a "buddy system," that also talks about what Raven is doing to provide visual impact:

Another new feature in Jedi Knight II is the game's buddy system. Through the course of the single-player campaign, you'll run into several NPCs, some of whom you'll be able to partner with. During the demonstration, LucasArts spawned in one such "buddy" while Katarn was facing a lightsaber-wielding boss character, and the ensuing fight looked remarkably like the spectacular fight between Qui Gon, Obi Wan, and Darth Maul in Episode I. Raven, no stranger to visual splendor, is incorporating a lot of eye candy into the game as well. Lightsabers leave red-hot scorch marks in any surface they touch, including floors, walls, and pillars. Additionally, the developers have implemented the GHOUL 2 animation system from Soldier of Fortune II into Jedi Knight II, and they've doubled the polygon capacity of the Quake III engine.