One of the best games I have ever played. An immersive, cinematic experience that will draw you in like no other before.
User Rating: 9.4 | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic XBOX
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic hails from Bioware, creators of some of the best PC RPG titles such as the Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Night's series. Being delegated the daunting task of setting a game in the Star Wars Universe - and making their first foray on the home console - this was never going to be an easy job on paper. However, Bioware have come through with quite possibly the best game on the Xbox - and certainly one of the best uses of the Star Wars licence. KOTOR is set approximately 2000 years before the events of "I am your Father", however, not much is different from the settings seen in the movies. The Universe of Star Wars is a timeless place, and fans will get a buzz from seeing and wandering through locations such as Manaan, Korriban, Dantooine and the old standby, Tattooine. As well, you will be spending a lot of time in the Ebon Hawk - your own Star ship, which itself has a story to tell and a role to play. The influence of Neverwinter Nights is easy to see - and those who have played previous Bioware titles will feel right at home. KOTOR is an open ended RPG, with an incredible story that plays out very well, with not just you watching cutscenes - but participating in hundreds of conversations where you take an active part in choosing your destiny, and shaping your character. This comes in the form of missions and quests - both optional and story based which flesh out the settings of the areas you face and that of the many NPC's you will encounter. Allignment becomes an important feature early on - showing the player that there are usually more than one way to accomplish a task, and that there are several ways to approach a situation. Becoming good or evil through the games many quests happens naturally, so choices following one line of questioning and missions will result in your morality sliding in one way or the other - making you more susceptible to specific Jedi or Sith powers. What you say and how you act has a significant effect on how you progress, and there is more than enough to play through at least once again, after you complete the roughly 30 hour long storyline. The game opens on a Republic Ship, transporting yourself (whom you can attire and create before gameplay) and others, as well as Bastila, a very gifted Jedi who is key to the current War taking place. Cutscenes and some loading screens, as well as conversations not only shape the present, but the past in how you came to be on that ship, which is attacked and downed by the Sith, though not before you, and Carth Anassi, a pilot, escaping. From here we begin to see dream sequences, that link you inexplicably with Bastila, and it is from this that the game really begins proper. Throughout the course of KOTOR you will meet many NPC's, and can even recruit some through various means - learning about them and their various reasons for joining you along the way. This isn't light hearted, there is a great deal of dialogue here, so those turned off by that would do best to steer clear. All the dialogue is cleverly written, and better yet, spoken. Bioware have gone to great lengths to get the 14,000 lines or so of spoken dialogue in the game and believable. All characters not only feel real - but evoke true emotion - and the ending sequence, as well as a huge turning point towards the end of the game, must be seen to be believed. Bioware are a master storyteller - and you won't be disappointed. Lip synching just seals the deal on the Audio front, and there is a great deal of humour, especially from a Robot who believes in putting down humanity at ever possible opportunity. Graphically, the game shines - with well realised characters and locations, though frame rate drops are ocassional when the action heats up. Fighting with Lightsabers is a lot of fun - seeing it in action looks great, and some of the powers, although have simple animations, can look stunning on ocassion, and certainly help your character when overwhelmed. You may travel with 3 at a time, though your main character is almost always in this party. At times, though, you will be forced to use a combination of players you don't want to - and haven't levelled up as much as the others, which is why I'm thankful the developers have thought of this, and included an auto-leveller which makes characters you don't normally use on par with those you do. Combat is turn based, but cleverly, looks real time. Using Vibroblade, and later, Lightsabers while choosing between powers is effective to show the balance between characters. You can also pause the game at any time (yes, even in battle) and issue orders to your fighters, and can even stack up to 3 actions before play continues. You can take a hard approach and get really involved in battle, or just watch it evolve in front of you - it's easy to come to grips with and is explained well early on. The music in KOTOR is truly excellent, with the Classic theme of Star Wars being mixed with an original score that fits the mood of the game. Background effects and ambient mixes of the Star Wars theme, as well as a main theme or each area you visit are compelling and enjoyable - and support Dolby Digital Surround Sound. The cinematic feel of the music and storyline never overshadows the gameplay, instead it helps draw you in to the conflict being played out on screen. There is even an option to remove the subtitles, so as to make the game even more cinematic. And some scenes will leave you gobsmacked, urging you to play on and discover what will happen next. Overall, this is a fantastic title and one I can easily recommend. While most combat is hands off, you can tune the gameplay to how you best see fit, and with the setting of KOTOR, as well as classic references to the movies and Universe, a well told story, arguably better than that of the last two movies, and role playing that actually has an effect on you, your perception, and how the story is told - all this makes an invaluable achievement to gaming itself. This is a great game. May the force be with you.
