Written By: Tyler Selig
HEY EVERYBODY! There’s a new
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and I’m reviewing it! Of course, you
knew instantly that I was kidding because if you’re a KOTOR fan, there’s no way
they slip a sequel by you without you knowing.
I haven’t written anything here
in a long time. Indeed, I was strongly considering shutting this down – a feeling
that I admittedly have way too often. However, until I finally decide to pull
the plug, I do have some ideas for articles. I also have plans to review new
games once 2014 games start actually hitting stores. Until then, I’m mostly
dealing in retro games (if the 2000s can be considered retro in this case), and
other various articles. I am also considering doing a review in a month or more
for Final Fantasy: A Realm Reborn because I just broke down and bought it after
much argument… with myself.
So with that said, now you know
where I’ve been all this time which is absolutely nowhere in particular, and we
can continue on with a review for a game that I actually had never played until
now, despite hearing its praises over and over. I’m ashamed, you don’t have to
tell me that I suck.
Of course, I’m talking about
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2 – The Sith Lords.
Rating: 8.5/10
Verdict: The sequel to the
overwhelmingly loved Knights of the Old Republic is an accomplishment in
role-playing games, but it does have some flaws (that are apparently fixed by
installing certain mods). Whether you like Star Wars or not, there is a lot to
love here due to the control you have over what takes place and the in-depth
game play.
I feel like I’m in therapy because there are some more confessions I
need to make. Firstly, I am not really a Star Wars guy and that probably a
large reason why I haven’t played this game until now. I don’t hate Star Wars,
I’m just indifferent despite actually admiring a few aspects of it. I have
pledged to make 2014 the year that I get into it. The second confession is that
I haven’t played the first Knights of the Old Republic, which most people will
agree is the better of the two.
Whew, now that that’s over with,
let’s get on with the review. It’s important to note that I beat the game once,
apparently missed a few neat things, and I played as an evil prick.
I want to start with the bad to
get it over with, and there are some problems that keep me from rating it a 9
out of 10. Before anybody says it, I am aware that there are mods out there,
but I didn’t use them so I don’t know what they entail. I also believe that a
reviewer should review the game as it was put out. Steam gave me this, so this
is what I review.
What I’m trying to say is that
the game is buggy. There were plenty of times that my game glitched and I
wouldn’t attack, or the character did something stupid like walk the long way
around to get to an enemy. I got stuck on pieces of the environment that weren’t
there. There were just a fair amount of times that my game did things that it
wasn’t really supposed to do. My understanding is that people have been
critical because the game “isn’t finished” and is “unpolished.” I can see both
of these things being true, but it’s not a game breaker by any means.
Sometimes weird things happened,
such as awkward transitions to the next event. I also found that the cutscenes
were for the most part pretty poor. I am aware it’s not a cinematic RPG like
Final Fantasy tends to be. I also take into account that the game was made in
2004, but even by those standards some of the scenes were just painful to
watch. There were very few that I thought were pleasant to my eyes, and most of
those were near the end.
The beginning area is incredibly
long and uneventful. My brother, who bought me the game and adores the series,
even admits to this. He knows everything because he’s my blood and he is also
from the Dark Side. The base should have been shortened, because there really
wasn’t a lot going on of interest and it almost took me out of the game
entirely. I hate bad beginnings.
When the game opens up, it’s
worthy of the celebration it gets. The game is non-linear, meaning you can go
to any of the planets and complete it as you see fit. The game doesn’t hold
your hand, but sometimes events didn’t take place as they should so I’d be
confused about where to go next. It was rare but it happened. Still, being able
to hop from world to world at my own leisure (except for periods in the story
where one was off limits) was a joy. Doing the quests that each world presented
were fun as well. It’s not ground breaking in its own right, but it’s a solid
RPG experience in that regard.
Where the game excels most is
the story. Even today there are very few games where your decisions matter.
Mass Effect – made by the same company – does this (don’t tell me about the ME3
ending!), and KOTOR is where they planted the seeds for that. Every
conversation matters because each NPC with a name that you meet could mean
something to you. Answering a question could reflect greatly or poorly on you.
If you’re going for the Dark Side, you could answer a question a little nicer
than you wanted and you get Light Side points. The game does a good job of
grouping “good” and “bad” answers together, and it also does a wonderful job of
giving you a sense of real morality, whether you choose to be a complete badass
like me, or choose to be a pansy and uh, help people. These choices impact the
story in various ways, and it’s a real treat to see how this detailed – and as
much as I’m indifferent to Star Wars at this point, I can admit that there is a
lot of great material to mine for a Sci-Fi story – plays out, all the way to
the end. And oh, wasn’t the end glorious, me walking around as a complete beast
Force Storming my way back into their hearts.
On top of that you build
relationships with your character. Admittedly, like real life nobody liked me
that much, and it wasn’t until after I had beaten the game that I was told that
you can turn your characters into Jedis if they like you enough. Damn. Regardless,
it does make you care about the people in your life.
You play with up to three
characters at a time, and they have different skills that they excel in. If
your main character is lacking in something, like Repair, then put someone in
your team that can do it. Bao-Dur was pretty much a God to me because he was
great at everything I was not. On a side note I hated the Handmaiden because
she was also pissing on my parade. Fuck you I want to murder that person!
The UI for everything is easy to
maneuver, with everything just being a click away to access, so I have no
complaints with how the game looks and feels in that regard. You can easily get
to your melee attacks (in which there are different options) or your spells. Your
light and dark powers are even in different sections. Also included in the
hotbars are things like grenades, your different stances, abilities and items
to use. It’s very easy to get into for someone who hasn’t played the game
before.
Nothing about the game is
complicated except for your moral choices if you’re actually a person with a
conscience. Upgrading your equipment and creating items are easy, operating on
a simplified system in which you get components or chemicals by finding them or
breaking down items. Upgrading your equipment is a breeze as well.
Leveling up has the right amount
of complexity, but doesn’t confuse you. Basically there are four things you can
level up, your attributes, skills, powers and feats, though you can’t always
level all of them up. Everything is laid out in a nice fashion that keeps it
from being a chore.
I was given this advice and I
will give it to anybody who hasn’t played the game yet – when beginning, decide
whether you want to go Dark Side or Light Side and go all in. That doesn’t mean
you can’t get a Light Side spell if you’re on the path to Sith, especially
since the healing spell is on that spectrum. What I mean is that using the
Light Side takes more force points when you’re on the Dark Side and vice versa.
Don’t half-ass this.
I know I’m late to the party but
I’m glad I finally played it. It’s a lengthy campaign, being roughly thirty
hours if you do the story and some of the side-quests, and I intend to do a
playthrough on the Light Side at some point in my life. Knights of the Old
Republic 2 deserves its place in the RPG canon and it should be a must-play for
any RPG fan.
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