RPGamers Network > Reviews > Game Reviews > Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Originality:
Generally Star Wars brings to mind starship battles, lightsabers, force powers, and James Earl Jones scaring the hell out of us. And (except for Mr. Jones) all of that is contained in this game. The difference here is Bioware was allowed to write a story that was so far before the events of Episode 1 it felt like it was barely part of the Star Wars universe at all. Some of the settings were familiar to those of us that had seen the movies (Coruscant, Tatooine), but Bioware twisted everything to make the player experience new worlds and re-experience the old ones in ways that will probably define the Star Wars universe in the future. And while you were fighting for the universe, you weren't necessarily trying to save it. You may have been ambitious enough to try and take it for yourself. Because you can. That's the beauty of the game. It lets you. Something few games have attempted to do in the past.
Gameplay:
Knights of the Old Republic makes great use of the Dungeons and Dragons system. It does an even better job of covering it up. You will never see a single dice rolled, a single stat analyzed. Players that have never experienced D&D can play this game without even realizing it's there, while those of us that have will only want to further customize our characters for optimal performance. Decision making is a huge part of the game, and every choice not only affects the character in the present, it also affects the overall outcome of the game.
Music:
Putting together a soundtrack for a Star Wars game has to be one of the easiest jobs there is. The guy pretty much takes everything that John Williams has done, assembles it in a way that suits the game, and then goes on break. That's my only complaint with the music, nothing is new. Now I don't have a problem with any of the Star Wars music itself (I enjoy it for the most part). I'm simply saying it would have been nice to hear something new. Still, I can't complain about the selections, they set the mood of the scenes well and they're just audible enough to hear, but not overpower the other parts of the game.
Plot:
The game had a good, solid plot. You spend part of the spend part of the game trying to escape, and the rest fighting a greater evil (or trying to become part of it if you like). Your character also spends a huge portion of the game searching for his/her-self. The antagonist seems so evil in his actions, yet by the end you realize they were all almost justifiable. I don't want to describe any of it to you simply so that nothing is blown. My only real complaint here is the lack of supporting character development. It was optional for every character except one, and generally didn't have an impact on the way the character acted towards you in the future. I'm usually of the opinion that supporting characters really make the game, but this one is an exception.
Battle System:
The battle system was a nice change of pace from the other RPG's that I had been playing. Rather than shift to a whole new screen, the battle simply pauses for you to issue one or more commands to any or all of your characters. Though you do get some pretty cool force powers (Force lightning? Hell yeah!), I found myself pretty much running and beating guys up with my lightsabers. Because you can have 2. But by the end of the game it was pretty monotonous, just keeping you from the juicy bits of storyline that you'd rather suck up. The feats that D&D employs fit quite well, though you can play without them. The most annoying part was managing three characters at once. It sounds easy, but I often times found myself focusing on my strongest character and his/her feats and such, while the others did their own thing (which would occasionally result in death).
Sound and Visuals:
The cities and landscaping were well designed, and everything had great sound effects put to them. The only problem I had in this area was the constant re-use of the face-sets. Nearly every character that wasn't related to the plot had one of three or four face sets. Excluding the alien designs, which were nice to see, by the way.
Replay Value:
To experience the game properly, you're going to have to play it twice - once as a champion of the light, and once as a menace for the dark. Whichever you choose to do first is your own prerogative, but the game really pans out differently for what you pick. The story will remain the same until near the end, but your character's physical features will actually change depending on how you play. Also, just like in D&D, some NPCs will favor you evil people out there, but a lot of them are going to hate you. This alone sets up the game with a great replay value.
Conclusion:
Knights of the Old Republic is an all around good game. By Star Wars standards it's phenomenal, and by traditional RPG standards it's still good. It's worth playing through at least twice. I hear there are a few minor differences between the X-box version (which I played) and the PC version. Maybe if we're lucky, Bioware will take complete control of the Lucasarts gaming division. Maybe...
| Game Stats | |
|---|---|
| Genre | RPG |
| Platform | X-Box |
| Format | DVD |
| # of Players | 1 |
| Released Jap | N/A |
| Released US | 07.17.2003 |
| Released EU | 09.12.2003 |
| Aprox. Length | 35-45 hrs. |
| Reviewer Rankings | |
| Battle System | 8.0 |
| Gameplay | 9.0 |
| Music | 7.0 |
| Originality | 9.0 |
| Plot | 8.0 |
| Replay Value | 9.0 |
| Sound | 9.0 |
| Visuals | 8.0 |
| Difficulty | Hard |
| Overall | |
| 8.4 | |
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
By: BiowareReviewed By: Dominator
Finally a Star Wars game worthy of gracing our televisions and consoles alike. Bioware has impressed me with every single piece of their work that I have played, and this game is no exception.Originality:
Generally Star Wars brings to mind starship battles, lightsabers, force powers, and James Earl Jones scaring the hell out of us. And (except for Mr. Jones) all of that is contained in this game. The difference here is Bioware was allowed to write a story that was so far before the events of Episode 1 it felt like it was barely part of the Star Wars universe at all. Some of the settings were familiar to those of us that had seen the movies (Coruscant, Tatooine), but Bioware twisted everything to make the player experience new worlds and re-experience the old ones in ways that will probably define the Star Wars universe in the future. And while you were fighting for the universe, you weren't necessarily trying to save it. You may have been ambitious enough to try and take it for yourself. Because you can. That's the beauty of the game. It lets you. Something few games have attempted to do in the past.
Gameplay:
Knights of the Old Republic makes great use of the Dungeons and Dragons system. It does an even better job of covering it up. You will never see a single dice rolled, a single stat analyzed. Players that have never experienced D&D can play this game without even realizing it's there, while those of us that have will only want to further customize our characters for optimal performance. Decision making is a huge part of the game, and every choice not only affects the character in the present, it also affects the overall outcome of the game.
Music:
Putting together a soundtrack for a Star Wars game has to be one of the easiest jobs there is. The guy pretty much takes everything that John Williams has done, assembles it in a way that suits the game, and then goes on break. That's my only complaint with the music, nothing is new. Now I don't have a problem with any of the Star Wars music itself (I enjoy it for the most part). I'm simply saying it would have been nice to hear something new. Still, I can't complain about the selections, they set the mood of the scenes well and they're just audible enough to hear, but not overpower the other parts of the game.
Plot:
The game had a good, solid plot. You spend part of the spend part of the game trying to escape, and the rest fighting a greater evil (or trying to become part of it if you like). Your character also spends a huge portion of the game searching for his/her-self. The antagonist seems so evil in his actions, yet by the end you realize they were all almost justifiable. I don't want to describe any of it to you simply so that nothing is blown. My only real complaint here is the lack of supporting character development. It was optional for every character except one, and generally didn't have an impact on the way the character acted towards you in the future. I'm usually of the opinion that supporting characters really make the game, but this one is an exception.
Battle System:
The battle system was a nice change of pace from the other RPG's that I had been playing. Rather than shift to a whole new screen, the battle simply pauses for you to issue one or more commands to any or all of your characters. Though you do get some pretty cool force powers (Force lightning? Hell yeah!), I found myself pretty much running and beating guys up with my lightsabers. Because you can have 2. But by the end of the game it was pretty monotonous, just keeping you from the juicy bits of storyline that you'd rather suck up. The feats that D&D employs fit quite well, though you can play without them. The most annoying part was managing three characters at once. It sounds easy, but I often times found myself focusing on my strongest character and his/her feats and such, while the others did their own thing (which would occasionally result in death).
Sound and Visuals:
The cities and landscaping were well designed, and everything had great sound effects put to them. The only problem I had in this area was the constant re-use of the face-sets. Nearly every character that wasn't related to the plot had one of three or four face sets. Excluding the alien designs, which were nice to see, by the way.
Replay Value:
To experience the game properly, you're going to have to play it twice - once as a champion of the light, and once as a menace for the dark. Whichever you choose to do first is your own prerogative, but the game really pans out differently for what you pick. The story will remain the same until near the end, but your character's physical features will actually change depending on how you play. Also, just like in D&D, some NPCs will favor you evil people out there, but a lot of them are going to hate you. This alone sets up the game with a great replay value.
Conclusion:
Knights of the Old Republic is an all around good game. By Star Wars standards it's phenomenal, and by traditional RPG standards it's still good. It's worth playing through at least twice. I hear there are a few minor differences between the X-box version (which I played) and the PC version. Maybe if we're lucky, Bioware will take complete control of the Lucasarts gaming division. Maybe...
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