Star Wars is a universe of vast possibilities and endless wonder. Many people who have embraced the movies have also followed an "expanded universe" in books, comics, and of course video games. The bad thing is that you can count the number of "good" Star Wars games on one hand, using less than 5 fingers. Fortunately for XBOX owners, LucasArts and BIOWARE have added another title to those select few, and it is at the top of the list as the BEST Star Wars game ever -- Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. KOTOR is a RPG set back 4000 years before the events of The Phantom Menace. The Republic has just resolved the issues of the Mandalorian Wars, and are at a weakened state. Now a new threat is emerging, one which strikes very close to the Jedi Order: The Sith. Led by Darth Malak, the Sith hope to conquer the Republic while crushing or turning Jedi over to the Dark Side. The Jedi ranks are falling, and the hopes of the Republic rests with one person: you. You choose your path between the light and the dark in this 30+ hours of pure Star Wars heaven. The gameplay is similar to turn-style RPGs, except KOTOR is not so restricted as other RPGs might be. You can move around during battle, change targets, use weapons, items and eventually the Force, and assign your party members to a certain "role", like Jedi Assist or Grenader. Your characters have different categories that you can enhance each time you level up, such as Skills, Feats, Force Powers, etc. There are also many ways to go about creating different types of characters. If you want someone to provide blaster cover while you use melee weapons, you can designate points to your Attributes, Skills, and Feats to greater enhance those traits that would suit the kind of character you want. Of course, the most anticipated weapon choice is weilding a lightsaber, of which you can use a single lightsaber, 2 lightsabers, or the dual-bladed lightsaber a-la-Darth Maul. The story is very deep, with twists and turns galore. And to make your experience more unique (and to add to the replay value), your Light Side/Dark Side tendencies give you different situations to any aspect of the game. So, it may be the same twice... but you'll have to play it through several times, and as both Light Side and Dark side, for that to occur. KOTOR retains the Star Wars feel from the movies, so it is much like playing a very long, interactive Star Wars movie. Also, the music may not have been done by John Williams, but Jeremy Soule did such a good job its really hard to think that Williams didn't do the score. Voice acting is just as excellent, with tons of spoken dialogue thoughout the entire game. The graphics have been argued as one of its downfalls, but I think its a unique look for the game, and it really doesn't detract from your overall experience. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is without a doubt a game for every Star Wars and RPG fan to have in their personal collection. After all these years, LucasArts finally got it right... and the Force is very strong with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. Matadore's Score: 9.6
Other Helpful Reviews for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
"Star Wars" games are extremely hit and miss. More often than not, I am extremely disappointed at any given "Star Wars" themed game, whether it be due to awkward gameplay ("Bounty Hunter"), ... Read Full Review
This is a quite surprising and unique RPG! all you gamers out there have got to play, its fun, exciting and highly addictive!..even if your not into RPGs it doesn't matter! because i think after you have played this ... Read Full Review
