New Review Posted: KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords

[Daniel Weissenberger]

Brad Gallaway reviews KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords, and does some thinking about the franchise:

"Star Wars is without a doubt one of the most popular and powerful franchises in Hollywood history, and you'd be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn't at least heard of it. It's nothing less than a cultural juggernaut, and along with that comes the expectations of the legions of fans that have supported it for decades. With such a huge audience, it's not surprising that there have been a slew of games trying carry the films' success into the videogame world, but what is surprising is how few of them actually turned out to be any good. Besides the X-Wing games on PC and the first Rogue Squadron on the Nintendo 64, most of them have been little more than cheap cash-ins. With such a rich universe portrayed in the films, it seemed a crime that there wasn't more being done with the license. In 2003, BioWare's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic came along and answered a lot of prayers."

He goes on to talk about the actual game right over here.

[Kin Korn Karn]

Based from your review (well done, chap!), I say that I am ever more glad that I decided to hit the original KOTOR before picking up the sequel.

Needless to say, I am also glad that I picked up Halo 1 vs. 2 as well.

I love my new Xbox!

[Reharl]

Good review Brad. Now that I have a graphics card capable of eating my Xbox alive and then some, I am definitely going to wait for the PC version of this. If there is something I hate in games is bugs and glitches (from with the player cannot benefit from, wink wink).

The PAL version of KOTOR 1 was surprisingly polished, though. I played through the game twice before encountering any serious bugs, but I've decided that I'm not going to take my chances with the Xbox version this time.

[Hypatia93]

Brad,

I often believe we think on similar wavelengths.

While I enjoyed the first one well enough (though I refused to hail it as the end all be all rpg many others did), I was more than a bit dubious about the second for almost the same reasons you mentioned that made it less than spectacular.

1. Bioware didn't complete its development (not a good sign in my book, but at least it was so the company could concentrate on what I hope will be an excellent title);

2. The production values were /still/ not there (yeah, you /could/ call me a graphics whore -- in some respects);

3. It was a tired storyline, especially at the beginning (amnesiac without a lightsaber);

4. Technical issues continued to plague the game (framerate and glitches -- I especially couldn't handle this one, since on my first playthrough of the last I ran into one of the most infamous and insidious of all glitches); and

5. I /hated/ the combat system (for me, it was like micromanaging hell, and they weren't changing it).

Sure, I'd heard the influence system is grand, but at what price? Bracken also heralded Sudeki's combat system, but I didn't purchase that title either. One cool thing is sometimes (okay usually) not enough.

I'd pretty much already decided it was a no-go for KOTOR 2, but you just set my decision in stone. Thanks, guy! (On the bright side, it's one less title I have to "worry" that I need to play. )

[Erithtotl]

I read this review thinking 'did we play a different KOTOR'? I haven't played the sequel yet and have decided to wait for the PC version since I had a glut of other games to finish when KOTOR 2 came out. But my experience was apparently very different from the reviewer's for the first game. The only technical issue I had with the first game was the load times. I don't remember significant frame rate issues, and don't recall encountering a single significant bug. I felt the level polish was very high, and I played the whole game through and completed as many side quests as possible.

Some of the criticisms of the story and characters do worry me about the sequel. I would be curious to see some other impressions of this title from someone who didn't have such negative impressions of the first game, one that I thought was the best single player RPG release since Baldurs Gate II.

[Brad Gallaway]

Hey there.

It's not clear whether you played KOTOR on the Xbox or PC, but although i've never tried the PC version, the word is that it ran significantly better. If you played the Xbox version, well.. each person has their own tolerances for technical quality, and KOTOR 1 (and 2) both fell woefully short of what i expect. however, i would just like to point out that KOTOR 1 earned an 8 from me, and i call it the best RPG experience to be had on the Xbox... so i wouldn't say that i really have a very negative opinion of it.

[Foom]

I have been playing KOTOR II for about 22 hours now, and I am enjoying it immensely. Not for the combat, which can be frustrating in its jerkiness and muddled quality; not for the graphics, which are no more than adequate; not for the characters, which are trite and banal; but for the simple fact that the story is the perfect example of an rpg made for adults. Not simple, not condescending, and not overblown, which makes it unique in my book.

I mean, hell, I’ve tried to read Moby Dick about three different times, and get bogged down in the details about halfway through each time. But I keep returning, because I know what I’ve read is good, and unlike anything else I’ve had to suffer through. To hell with flashy graphics, stable programs, and passion plays: give me the blood & guts of a good story. That’s where I think KOTOR II excels, and why I spend my small amount of leisure time sitting on the ground, my back and neck aching, just to see what happens next.