Customer Reviews

Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

5 star:		(90)
4 star:		(22)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

I LOVED this game on the xbox when it came out and enjoyed so many hours on it and KOTOR II came out. Now the game looks old and dated on my PC. The controls feel clunky and slow, the game has not held up well over time as the graphics look like an old Playstation one game now to me. My memory of the game and the reality now that I replayed it are definitely different. I didn't play through the game again on my PC as it wasnt as fun as other games available now. I will always love the game for the memories and new gameplay that it was when it came out but I can not recommend playing this as a fun game to any new gamer anymore. There are simply better games out there, with better graphics, that have used this formula for "light and dark" choices, like mass effect. This game was revolutionary and amazing in it's day but has been improved on in every way by new games available now. I will not be playing this game again and can not recommend it to anyone other than for historical reasons. Great game when it came out, not so much now.

I haven't played many Star Wars video games but I was excited about this one. Before it came out I had imagined it would be role playing game along the lines of Morrowind. It is to some extent but you can't really roam at random. It is fun to immerse yourself in the Star Wars universe though. While the game is huge it moves along in a linear fashion. There are a huge amount of side quests to follow however.

The game has a quality story line that fits well in the Star Wars mythology. If there is one problem I have it is with the destruction of a planet. I thought that was a needlessly violent act, by now we get that the Sith are evil, do we need to see another planet bomarded into space debris? It also took away some of the replay value for me. The graphics are very good I think, with some cool looking special effects during fights and cut scenes. I like the character models better than Morrowind. The biggest problem I have with the graphics is the characters. There are only a few different looking human characters. It seems they used the same models with a few variations in hair and clothes. It's a small thing but distracting to me. The backgrounds are well done and retain the Star Wars style.

The game is addictive, I find myself playing more and more. Overall this is a fun game to play if you like Star Wars or role playing games, it's like the standard RPG with a science fiction twist and can recommend it to fans of Star Wars, RPGs and science fiction.

I wanna get this out, first of all: I am *not* an RPG gamer. yet I loved this game. THAT's how great it is. The story sure beats the prequels by setting it about 4,000 years BEFORE Episode I, in the Sith era. This review section is too small to allow a decent 2 1/2 page review so here's the bottom line: this game lets you do it all: wanna put a purple or red crystal into your lightsaber? Go for it! Want to wield 2 sabers, a saber staff or a single saber? Be my guest! Do you fly a ship and shoot at fighters? Well, you can shoot the fihgters. On top of gameplay, there's replay value. I beat the game first as a goody-too shoes Jedi first, then again as a heartless Dark Jedi: the story changes in a simialr way to that of Jedi Knight. The voice acting is superb. Darth Malak totally rocks. At first glance to newcomers, some elements seem 'borrowed': Ebon Hawk = the Falcon, Zalbaar = Chewie, Malak = Vader, etc. But in a good way. Who was everyone's favorite villain? Vader, so they created a Vader-ish character. What's been everyone's favorite ship? The Falcon. See where I'm going? they borrowed what MADE the Star Wars films and created their own version. It would be killer-cool if they made 3 games so we have our own little 'Trilogy'. Now, I can't wait for Knights of the Old Republic II....

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.

For fans of Bioware games like Baldurs Gate, KOR will seem familiar, but greatly evolved. The game depends on a D&D engine for skill aquisition and level advancement, as well as 3rd edition rules for prestige characters. Like other bioware games, KOR involves a large central quest and a large number of side quests many of which players are offered based on the NPCs the choose and that are often optional. Bioware, to their credit, here evolves much of the old "run and fetch" type quests, giving them in some cases several solutions and possible endings. Dialogue is also majorly advanced from previous games, offering a wider range of options for end results.

Lovers of Star Wars (which I am not really, just a minor fan) will enjoy the chance to sight see through the Galaxy far, far, away, as well as getting to learn much more about the mythos of the Jedi and the history of the republic. To the games credit, I found this aspect both entertaining and quite engrossing. Many other reviewer have allready pointed out that the game is richer than either of the previous films, and I would certainly join in this chorus.

Game play in KOL flows well, though the complaints about the game being buggy are well founded. Patches help considerably, but I still found myself needing to quit and reload a few times when the game froze in dialogue mode. Players may think looking at the game that it is combat oriented, but in reality the game is far more roleplay driven. Hit and damage are determined by random generation modified by armor and skill modifiers. The game also does an excellent job presenting Jedi powers, which I fould to be one of the games most fun aspects. These powers are divided between light, dark, and general. The more "light" your Jedi character is, the more expensive in Manna "dark" powers are to use. I played through as a Light side character but look forward to playing again on the dark side.

In sumation, Knights of the Old Republic offers players a wonderful play experience and easily 50+ hours of play time.

This is a great game. Designers did an amazing job of making the Star Wars universe look how you think the Star Wars Universe would look 3000 years before the time of the movies. You visit some famous places of the movie (e.g. the Wookie Homeworld) and you will spend HOURS on this game and the kicker is that while the game is fairly linear, you can actually make choices that will make you a champion of light or a vile dark lord. At it's current price it's a steal.

I love Star Wars and have played all of the Jedi Knight series games. Until KOTOR I had never played a Role Playing Game (RPG) so I did not know what to expect. I must confess that I was pleasantly surprised.

The level of interaction and depth of characters really carries this game. You become immersed in the storyline as if reading a gripping novel. Even my wife was often peering over my shoulder wondering what would happen next. She kept wondering what happened to Sasha (the stowaway aboard the Ebon Hawk).

I have played through this game twice - once as a Light Jedi and once as a Dark Jedi. It is definitely easier to play through as a Dark Jedi, but it was rather disturbing to kill your "friends" after such a long journey with them. Yet is that not the way of the Sith and the way of the Dark Side! Playing as a Light Jedi seemed more difficult due to the temptation of sinister dialogue. Some of the dialogue is just downright funny - particularly playing as a guy Jedi and the interaction with Bastilla on Dantooine. I could not stop laughing.

My favorite worlds were Korriban and Kashyykk. I was least impressed with Taris and also was not as excited about Manaan. In both times playing I generally followed this order of traveling: of course Taris was first, then Dantooine, Kashyykk, Manaan, Tatooine, Korriban, and then the mystery planet and the Star Forge.

Without giving the story away I thought the flashback sequence during the revelation of my character's past was great. It really helped weave the story together. After the truth was out I truly felt in awe and was struck dumb. I felt not just into the story, but in the story. I was truly immersed.

Having traditionally played First Person Shooters (FPS) it took me a little while to figure out what was going on. It took until the end of Taris for me to start liking the combat sequences. However, once I grew accustomed to playing an RPG I was hooked. It took me a little under 50 hours to complete the first game and about 36 hours to complete the second. I usually don't bother with pazaak but seek to earn money through bounties, swoop racing or the death match ring in the Upper Taris Cantina. I also only visited the space station near Yavin IV once - maybe I am missing something there?

The only other thing, which could use some improvement, is the inventory system. It was great that you could switch weapons among party members, but it quickly became over cluttered. Finding that newly entered data pad was often annoying. With this said, this being my first RPG game I was duly impressed and I look forward with great expectation to KOTOR II: The Sith Lords.

As a side note I ran this game on a Compaq Presario x1002us (laptop) with a Centrino Pentium M 1.4; 512 MB RAM; and an ATI Radeon Mobility 7500 video card. The video card did not meet the requirements, but the game ran flawlessly. I used the highest settings possible with only turning off the grass setting. I was somewhat surprised, but nonetheless excited, that the game ran on my system. I am glad it did!

This game is awesome and lives up to all the praise it has received from the various game magazines. All I can really add to all of the previous reviews is this. If you are looking for a good way to kill 2 or 3 entire days this is your answer. If you can't set the time aside to play through the entire game in one sitting don't worry, this game is as easy to play 30 minutes at a time as it is to play 3 days at a time. This is the game for any Star Wars Fan. The only thing that I can say that is negative about this game is I got so involved that I couldn't stop.

The acting is good. The storyline is interesting. There is character development. You won't come away from it feeling you threw your money away. And perhaps most importantly, you will want to experience it more than once (everyone ends up playing it at least twice, once for each of the two different endings). The game play is not 'non-linear' in the way that Morrowind is 'non-linear,' so don't expect to be able to go wherever, and do whatever you want immediately, there are limitations. The first two levels/areas are fairly limited in terms of where you can go and what order you can can finsh quests in, but after that you can visit any of the other 4 planets in whichever order you choose and should you leave, you can always return. Throughout the game you can usually choose to accomplish tasks, or not accomplish tasks, in a multitude of different orders and you almost always have at least three courses of action you can take, these generally break down into evil, neutral and good. And if you ever get bored or are low on funds, you can always play a game of cards. One of the games strongest aspects is the development of the main character (you). Your decisions as to the actions you take, or don't take, will impact your leaning to the light or dark sides. The story's outcome and the choices available to you towards the end of the game change depending on which side you are on, as do other character's reactions towards you, your abilities to use certain force powers, and even your physical appearance (if you are light side you appear normal, dark side, your character grows increasingly hunched-over, your skin gets paler, veins start to become very noticeable and your eyes will lose their pigmentation). This is not a hardcore RPG like Galaxies, Gothic, Everquest etc., nor is it a mindless hack-and-slash click-athon like Diablo and Dungeon Siege. Fights are always fast, leveling is relatively easy, there are not many stats to keep track of, and there is plenty of room for strategy. This game deserved every 'game of the year' award it got, and if you like games that require a bit of thinking and strategy and have compelling storylines, or you just like Star Wars, or both, you will enjoy this game immensely, those of you who only play FPS's and other reflex games should probably look elsewhere.

I had read some very favorable reviews of this game before I bought it, and had heard so many good things about it, but when I finally bought it I was actually a little...disappointed. I found it to be a bit slow at the beginning, but the game does pick up and I found it to be quite enjoyable as it progressed. The role-playing aspect is a lot of fun, and the main characters are very interesting and well-(voice) acted. Another review has stated that he had some issues with bugs and the game crashing, but I don't think I encountered a single problem with the game and I've played it to its completion. Recommended if you are a Star Wars fan and like role-playing games.