sci-fi

Arguably more immersive and truer to the spirit of the movies than the MMORPG from Sony, Knights of the Old Republic is the latest triumph from the RPG masters at Bioware.

Set thousands of years before Episode I, KOTR allows you to develop your character to the ways of the Jedi--be it light or dark--in a story that encompasses both the politcal machinations and good and evil struggle that have become trademarks of the Star Wars universe.

While the story follows a somewhat linear path highlighted by several critical crossroads, there are many different choices offered to your character which affect their alignment to either the Jedi or Sith. In addition, there are a number of side stories, and many different items, skills, and experiences for your adventurer as well. What this means for diehard gamers is extended replayability and a much better roleplaying experience. The levels of socialization that the game allows your character to explore are among the highest done yet in a game of this type. You may find yourself with some very difficult choices to make and some interesting consequences to bear.

Summary:

Graphics: Very good. The models, textures, and backgrounds are solid, if not especially detailed. The animations and effects capture the essence of the Star Wars theme.

Sounds: Also very good. The amount of speech in the game is incredible, and voice-acting is professional and well-done.

Music: Not quite the level of impact of the original John Williams score, but still appropriate to the atmosphere.

Gameplay: As with most RPGs, controls are basic and designed to get you where you need to go--no need for fast reflexes or pinpoint accuracy here. The interface is fairly intuitive and should be recognizable to fans of this genre. The third person camera perspective is not distracting.

Pros: Excellent story, you'll laugh, you may or may not cry, but you'll be satisfied; lots of character development both in personality, and in the RPG-stats departments; lots of atmosphere and immersion.

Cons: A few bugs that may affect gameplay; framerate a little disappointing; turn-based combat and "RPG" rules may disappoint some.

Overall, this is an excellent game. Highly Recommended.

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.

Knights Of The Old Republic is a GREAT adventure game. It's reminiscent of other great video games like System Shock 2, The Longest Journey, and Star Control 2 & 3. The characters are interesting, the combat is interesting, the quests are fun... it's just a great game. It's a good value, too: I just finished it, and it counted my time as something like 60 hours.