Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

Rating:
Summary: My favorite game of the year, of the last 3 years!
Review: Well, after quite a few long nights of playing Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR), it is finished. Upon completing this incredible roleplaying game I felt a great sense of satisfaction, but also a pang of sadness. This game has such an incredible story, characters, plot twists, and atmosphere,it made me realize how awful the last 2 star wars movies are in comparison. There are many jaded Star Wars fans who will never experience this game, and will be missing out on an incredible experience. It is sad, because if George Lucas had any credibility left, he would turn this into a movie. It could even be made into a new trilogy.

This game takes place thousands of years before the Star Wars universe observed in the movies. Fear not: There are many familiar places and aliens that you still enjoy the Star Wars universe. There are plenty of reviews already on this game already, and you should believe all of them. The game, my friend, is indeed as good as everyone praises it to be. There is little I can add that will not sound repetitive.

So here are a couple of things to consider about this game:
1. The game is true to the Star Wars setting, but Bioware is bold enough to form its own version, it's own personality, of this setting.
2. The voice acting is superb for this game. Not only is the dialogue excellent, the voices are distinct, a perfect match for each character, well-acted, and unique for each species. The only drawback is some alien dialogues you will notice are repeated after a while, or proceed longer than the script they are describing. (Why does a Wookie take 6 seconds to say goodbye?) Otherwise, it is by far the best voice-acting I have ever heard in a game.
3. The graphics and landscapes are gorgeous. However, make sure you have the latest video drivers for this game. I had to download my latest versions to play the game. Also, some generic character faces are repeated after awhile. All your party members, and particularly important characters in the game, however, have their own models. So do not fret.
4. Although the interface is excellent, the inventory system is a bit lacking. Your character carries EVERYTHING from the first item he picks up.
5. Most of the music is new, but fits as well for this game as the John Williams scores do for the movies.
6. There are so many options and dialogue choices to select, and almost all of them have direct effects in the plot. Many games will allow you to say 3 different things, but all lead to the same result. Not here. How you speak or respond to someone can have dramatically different results.
7. The ability to choose from 2 equally-satisfying light and dark side paths, with the plot allowing the opportunity to switch from one to the other in the game based on your choices, adds a lot of replayability to this game. Just like there is nobody who's seen Star Wars once, I defy anyone to play this game just once through and then shelf it.

This game is my second favorite game of all time, (Baldur's Gate 2 will always be my first choice.) and is easily the best game I've played all year, and last year, and the year before that. And based on the number Game of the Year awards this game is winning, I am not alone in this opinion.

Rating:
Summary: It's been a long time coming.
Review: It has been a long and interesting ride with the Star Wars gaming license, with about as many games as there is sand on Tatooine. The latest offerings come in the form of a role playing game- Knights of the Old Republic. Knights is a somewhat confined and well-executed romp through perhaps the greatest franchise ever created. Games magazines are giving Knights high marks, and its well deserved, because she immersiveness of the game rivals just about every other Star Wars title from LucasArts or its stable of developers.

Knights succeeds in just about every category- it is both stunning to behold and fun to play. Characters are well designed, if a little 'same-ish' given that all men and women are the same height, with only superficial variances in model types. The game utilizes a bare-bones version of 3rd Edition D&D at its core, but unlike Neverwinter Nights, KOTOR only uses the system as background support and the mechanics rarely if ever intrude into actual game play. What the game doesn't allow is dual or multi-classing. You can start as either a Soldier, a Scout or a Scoundrel and by 8th to 10th level, you become a Jedi. And your character can only be human. Each class has their pluses and minuses, usually in areas like Skills, Feats and allotment of Jedi powers. Unlike Neverwinter Nights, however, you control the progress of your NPCs- choosing their skills, feats, and choice of equipment and weapons that they use. The Jedi classes are almost overwhelmingly superior to their mundane counterparts, but given this is a game about Jedi during their golden age, it is to expected.

KOTOR's story revolves around two former Jedi who, victorious over the Mandalorians, returned to conquer the Republic after falling to the Dark Side of the Force. They arrive at the head of a massive star fleet that no one seems to know where they got it from. It is your job to figure out how they managed to assemble such a large fleet and hopefully do something about it without succumbing to the Dark Side. (You can play through the game, making choices that will eventually determine whether you become light or dark.) Sadly, however, KOTOR's story is essentially the same as Neverwinter Nights- instead of finding four 'words of power', you must collect four star map fragments that lead you to an unknown world inhabited by the remnants of an ancient race that essentially gave the galaxy hyperspace travel. And the answer to where the Sith star fleet is coming from is more akin to a Star Trek story line than that of Star Wars. None of this changes the fact that most of the events that lead up to this revelation are interesting and a whole lot of fun. The various plot twists and the 'staggering' revelation about your character always keep it interesting.

In Knights you travel to several worlds- you start on the city-world of Taris, Dantooine, where you begin your Jedi training, Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Mannon, and the Sith world of Korriban. There are innumerable quests that you must undertake, many with light or dark consequences, though most of which are entertaining. In these adventures you are aided by several NPCs- a Republic soldier named Carth Onasi, Bastila Shan, a prissy Jedi Sentinel, the perky Twi'lek girl, Mission Vao and her Wookie sidekick, Zaalbar, an astromech droid, Canderous Ordo- an ex-Mandalorian mercenary, a cantankerous fallen Jedi named Jolee Bindo, and HK-47, a smart-mouthed assassin droid turned translator. HK-47 steals every scene he is in with his dry, dark humor, wry condescension and quips on the limitations of so-called 'meatbags' and bragging about his success as an assassin. There is also a never ending supply of equipment and gear to upgrade characters with- armor, shields, weapons and lovely flamethrowers.

The combat system involves queuing up actions for each character then watching them executed on screen. You can queue up four actions, be they attacks, Force powers, healing items or stimulant injectors (potions, essentially), and each action is executed in sequence. You can pause at any time, assigning actions to your characters, targets to attack, etc. then unpause and watch everything unfold. Though a limited way to do things, it is never dull to watch and the combat sequences are well animated and very flashy. One downside is that you can't switch weapons on the fly, rather you must pause, enter a sub-menu and swap weapons out as you desire. Combat should have been a little more interactive, but since battles rarely last very long anyway, it hardly makes a difference.

KOTOR's graphics are lavish and everything has that all-important Star Wars look to it. Sound effects are bang on. In this BioWare really did such a wonderful job in capturing all of the nuances of what Star Wars is all about- something Lucas can't seem to do in latest batch of prequels. This is perhaps the deepest and most Star Wars-like game since Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight, successfully capturing the best of what Star Wars is. I would have preferred a more 3rd-person-esque style of control and more freedom of movement, because though you can drive your character around the places you visit, you cannot climb, jump, swing, etc., which really would not have been that hard to accomplish within the confines of the game.

Ultimately, it is a very satisfying game- huge game worlds, which while linear in nature are fun to explore, epic story and fun characters more than make up for its failings. It has some bugs that lead to system lock-ups that forced several restarts. No mention of midi-chlorians, prophecies, or 'chosen one's'. It is a very romantic high adventure peppered with humor and a sense of fun - kinda what the movies are supposed to be like. What's more is that it provides 40-60 hours of fresh gameplay, making it the best Star Wars game in a long time.

Rating:
Summary: KOTOR
Review: Knights of the Old Republic is a very good game that will offer the gamer many hours of enjoyment.

Charactor development is good, you can also choose from 9 NPCs, all with good to excellent back stories, to help you. Mixing and matching the NPCs on various missions helps to keep things from getting stale.

There are somes bugs in the game such as graphics rendering issues and some isolated game play issues, but these are very minor and don't impair playability. Voice acting is OK.

Where this game really shines is in telling a Great story with neat twists and humour. The roll play element is very well done and game balance is terrific. the star subtraction is just for the tech glitches and alien voice acting.

A really excellent time! KUDOS Bioware!

Rating:
Summary: This is what RPGs should be
Review: I have to admit I was skeptical of a Star Wars RPG that was strictly turn based, but due to lack of good RPGs on the XBOX I bought it before renting it. Well good thing I did, because this game continues to wow not only myself, but critics as well. While the idea of a turn-based RPG may cause classic (Final Fantasy) RPGers away I bid you to stay. When playing this game you hardly notice the turns, because everything is done in real time, yet you can pause the action and set up all your actions such as heal, attack, defened, etc. With a create-a-hero at the beginning of the game you can play the game with a different character almost every time. It's the standard Star Wars plot minus the big-screen names (Luke, Han, Darth Vader). Good versus Evil, Light vs. Dark, Hero vs. villian, but the best thing is that you can pick any one of those sides to make your character into. How would you like to save the galaxy from the evil, or how bout destroy the galaxy as the new sith leader. This game has you react in such a manner that you can have a different experience every time you play, because your actions affect the game. If you want to be a jerk to one of your crew members don't be surprised if she attacks you or turns to the dark side just to spite you. A very impressive overall display with great graphics and blazing sound, I can gurantee that you will become one with your character, feeling emotions (love, hate) and with 50 + hours of gameplay you will have plenty to experience in the best Star Wars game ever. This is what RPGs should be!

Rating:
Summary: Amazing.
Review: There are no words to describe how amazing and wonderful this game is. I've played it on the Xbox and what Bioware was able with the transfer to the PC was seamless. The controls are great, and the atmosphere is reeking of Star Wars (in a good way).

This game has more atmosphere and more of a "Star-Wars" feel than the two prequels combined, no joke. The differences from playing the game as a Jedi or as a Sith is very exciting, and with the different character qualities, you'll be sure to go through this game more than once! The only thing you'll need is a fast computer, because this game is pretty glitchy and slow at times, even on my 2.8 and ATI Radeon 9800. Just a small warning.

This has passed Jedi Knight as my favorite Star Wars game. Buy this game.

Rating:
Summary: Buy this game
Review: If you enjoy playing games this is one of the greats. It takes about 45 hours to complete but you can play it twice and have two completely different endings. A large RPG with almost limitless weapons and things to collect. A true Star Wars game that has the feel of the first three movies yet is not just a movie game. I have never enjoyed any of the other Star Wars games but this one has something the others missed; fun.

Rating:
Summary: Couldn't hav asked for more...
Review: 2003 mamanged to produce lots of wonderful games but this one is by far the best. If u luv RPG with lots of action and adventure this is definitely the game for u. As for true Star Wars fans... u can't possibly let this slip through your fingers!!! This game is a dream come true for every person who has ever wanted to b part of the star war's world (and who hasn't?). With an intriguing storyline full of twists and turns, fantastic star wars soundtrack and awesome graphics this game makes u feel as if u were really living every moment, making decisions and solving problems like a true Jedi. Wisely choose your path, for change the future of the Galaxy it will.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent game, don't let the RPG scare you.
Review: Wow, I'm on my third play through of the game. It's amazing. A little different every time you play it. Sure alot of the main parts are the same, but the dialog really is effected by the choices you make in the game. It's very cool that you can choose to follow the light side and become a Jedi or give in to the dark side and rule the galaxy. My only complaint is the game's not long enough. I beat it the first time in less than 30 hours. But it's still great. The weapons take a little getting used to and there seems to be no way to obtain all the force powers for light or dark side, so you got to pick and choose carefully. Same goes with the abilities, you can't master everything. oh, and by far the best feature I've ever seen in the game, it can check for updates and download and install the most recent patch. I used this feature before I played the game for the first time and haven't had any problems with crashes or bugs. For anyone who does have problems I only have three pieces of advice: 1) Install the newest version of DirectX 2) Update your graphics drivers 3) Update your sound card drivers; and do so in that order. That tends to be the most common problem with PC games is people don't update their drivers.

Rating:
Summary: unbalievable!
Review: Required a computer upgrade for me to play. I thought my computer was top of the line but still required a better graphics card. Cost $200.00. Then when I got it running it blew me away. Easily 24 hours of actual game time logged in on one game. It became all I was thinking about until I finnished it a week after I started. Mezmorizing! It felt like the movie with plot twist, exploring different planets in a 3d world, and a suspensful showdown with your rival. Definatly a ten out of ten. It may lose it's appeal though after a few times through since it is limited in its veriety. 3d gameplay and exploration. Conversation choices with other characters and short story movies to enhance plot. Choice of companions that support you in your combat. Truely awesome.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best games since long...
Review: The last game I enjoyed that much was Neverwinter Nights from Bioware, and after finishing the last Neverwinter Nights expansion pack find this to be a refreshing new RPG.

This game is geared to all those Star Wars fans and also the casual RPG/Universal gamer. The puzzles shouldn't be to difficult, depending what kind of player you are (RPG players should have it relatively easy throughout the game), and combat isn't too difficult either (I guess for those who like challenge, you don't have to select a full party when venturing out into the wilderness (maybe there is also a setting : I didn't check that!).

Combat is very straight forward. You see an enemy, choose your weapons (either ranged or melee), either throw a grenade or simply begin slashing/shooting. Although the combat scenes are beautifully animated, there is not much for your character to do (well this isn't to different from many games).

However, I think you shouldn't focus entirely on combat. There is a lot more to do, like hacking into the computer system and take down the turrets and patrol droids. Or like disabling mines, let Mission collect these. Then put her into stealth, walk up to the Rancor place 5 mines in front of the monster (this is an alternative to putting the bomb and the scent into the pile), you get 750 XP doing it that way instead of the normal 200 XP!

In contrast to other RPG's, like NWN, the story is maybe a little slack. Now, this doesn't mean there is no story like in Dungeons Siege or its average, but its not as intense as in NWN latest expansion pack. Nevertheless, it still is a very good story (4/5 stars).

In-between there are also several smaller games, such as a Swoop Race (which was fun but easy even for a non-racer like me), a Space shooter (also easy - you just have to target close to the target to hit it), and a Pazack Card game (similar to Black Jack only galactic version) to get some extra credits.

The game creates an incredible atmosphere and is pretty addictive. It is very similar to NWN, yet different in a few aspects. Its rated Teen, I think also appropriately. PC Gamer gave it 91%, again I think appropriately.

To sum up, if you ever wanted to get that Star Wars feeling, play this game. It offers beautiful graphics and ambience.

Oh, yeah, let the force be with you!

NOTE: I had enormous difficulties running this game at first. It was slow. It crashed by virtually ever slight move. I decided to re-install my Windows system, and it worked perfectly ever since. I usually use Linux, so can't really tell what the problem may be, but after some time its just wise to reinstall Windows. If you notice difficulties already in the beginning, don't play on, make sure your system works first!