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behayes2's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC)
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| [September 28, 2009 10:50:51 PM]
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GAMEPLAY
I was extremely impressed with the game’s progression in the story. Getting to view the next cutscene was a great reward for completing each level. When I realized that I could choose which planet I wanted to travel to, I was afraid that the story would be fragmented and independent from the other planets. I couldn’t have been any more wrong. The story line was extremely integrated into each planet yet the sequence in which the player travels to them is irrelevant. At this point, I’ve beaten the game with a 100% light affinity character and have just begun a character who will be on the dark side. I’ve intentionally travelled to different planets to see if there is a difference in the story, and there surprisingly isn’t. Another interesting, discovery was that my character’s affinity influences the member’s of my party’s affinity. This is dependent on my character’s influence on the given character. Playing on the light side, this affect isn’t very noticeable, but on the dark side, your friends are a lot more likely to have a dark affinity and a darker appearance.
I highly recommend this game to those who are looking for an interactive storyline or the chance to run in and attack enemies à la melee style. It seems like the game forces you to be a melee type character due to the close quarter combat. I typically encounter most of my enemies standing directly behind a door that I’ve just opened. This is neither here nor there for melee characters, but ranged characters are the most useful attacking from a distance. Their goal in most games is to kill or severely injure an enemy before it reaches the character. I personally enjoyed hacking up bounty hunters with my silver light saber, but it would have been nice to toggle between a melee or a ranged weapon without loosing a turn in the fight.
DESIGN
This game was clearly the sequel to the 2003 Game of the Year. Not only did it provide little to no innovation in terms of gameplay, graphics, and animation to the original, the game’s biggest claim to fame is the extended story line. Albeit, the designers found something that sold, and the game, by my own previous definition, is a game almost solely based on story line progression. The story made this game great, but at the same time, the creator’s focus on the story took away from needed improvements to gameplay.
KOTOR has a number of role playing aspects that really add to immersing players into their own Star Wars universe. Most of the levels can be beaten in a number of ways, but the way they are beaten often influence the player’s alignment. The limited character creation was a disappointment, but was made up by the numerous armor and weapon choices that outfitted the character’s avatar. Adding the ability to upgrade armor and change the light saber color was a nice touch.
The game creates a great deal of conflict in the player in that their decisions in conversation often carry the weight of changing the world. For example, on Telos, the player has the option to help a group dedicated to restoring the planet’s environment after the war or work for the Czerka Corp. who are interested only in credits (money) and the exploitation of certain areas of the planet for military bases. Both sides try to preach that they are what’s best for the planet, but in the end the player must decide. Another way the game creates conflict is by having to invest in skills, feats, force powers, and attributes. Depending on the player's skills/feats, there are additional options in conversation and alternative ways to completing a level. I enjoyed being able to have a character with high computer and security skills. Players who were in a level with a terminal can “slice” their way into the computer and use their skill to control doors, droids, or force fields that would have otherwise been an obstacle.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Sep 28th, 2009 at 22:58:32.
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| [September 27, 2009 10:08:22 AM]
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SUMMARY
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords, otherwise known as KOTOR II, is an in depth RPG set five years after KOTOR and 4,000 years before Episode I. In some sense, the game could be described as a mystery game. From the beginning tutorial to the final end game conversations, the player is encouraged to inquire as to what has happened, the state of the game world, who the player should trust, and what moral decisions the player should make.
GAMEPLAY
During the first half hour of the game, the player takes control of a droid who is the only conscious being on a nearly destroyed ship (aside from a trapped droid in the storage room). The droid must repair the ship in order to save itself and the unconscious jedi in the medical bay. This tutorial can be skipped, but it does give some back-story to how the main character ended up on the Peragus mining facility. The game did a great job of keeping me on edge in the beginning. I kept expecting something bad to happen due to the morbid condition of the ship, and the background music was consistent with this tone.
The story is what makes this game and the designers were clearly interested in plot twists and moral decisions. The player is given the chance to change their alignment (light or dark) depending on what they choose to say in conversation. One interesting addition to the role playing aspect of the game is that the player is questioned about why they chose to join the Mandalorian Wars, which gives the player the chance to create their own back-story. Every character that can join the player’s party has a unique personality, great voice acting, alignment, and back story that the player can uncover.
So far I only have two complaints. Complaint one: it took way too long to build a light saber. Who plays a Star Wars game as a jedi without the expectation to have a light saber at least after the first boss battle? My second complaint is that combat is turn-by-turn. The player has little interactivity in battle aside from picking a couple of attacks and keeping their health meter from getting too low. The game pauses when an enemy is spotted or when a party member passes out, breaking the continuity of the game. I highly recommend turning this feature off, unless you are struggling.
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behayes2's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC)
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Current Status: Finished playing
GameLog started on: Sunday 13 September, 2009
GameLog closed on: Sunday 4 October, 2009 |
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