Together Retro: Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

[Xeogred]

Waiting for my Xbox copy, I'm definitely in the mood and excited to jump into this one. Finally...

Can you play fairly neutral and get by well enough, like in KOTOR2?

[MrPopo]

Neutral is the sucker way to go in KOTOR1. You get locked out of stat bonuses and the top end gear (which all requires either light or dark). Obsidian specifically put in neutral gear in KOTOR2 because they didn't like that neutral was 100% bad from a gameplay perspective.

[Xeogred]

Neutral is the sucker way to go in KOTOR1. You get locked out of stat bonuses and the top end gear (which all requires either light or dark). Obsidian specifically put in neutral gear in KOTOR2 because they didn't like that neutral was 100% bad from a gameplay perspective.

Damn, typical Bioware I guess.

That's one reason why I might still like KOTOR2 more than the Mass Effect games. And well, it was one of the weirdest and coolest interpretations of Star Wars material in general.

[marurun]

What's really interesting is Mass Effect 1 was CLEARLY designed by the same team that did KOTOR. There's so much there that hearkens back to KOTOR. Mass Effect 2 jettisoned a lot of that influence, however.

[Flake]

What's really interesting is Mass Effect 1 was CLEARLY designed by the same team that did KOTOR. There's so much there that hearkens back to KOTOR. Mass Effect 2 jettisoned a lot of that influence, however.

Like the excess of redundant junk in your inventory.

[marurun]

As with all things, there is some good, some bad.

For example, managing NPCs in KOTOR... This can be a thankless task. It sometimes feels like combat wants to do its own thing, and you are just along for the ride.

[Gunstar Green]

Damn, typical Bioware I guess.

They didn't learn their lesson at first in SWTOR either until enough userbase shouting convinced them to remove functionally all of the light/dark requirements in the game.

[TEKTORO]

I started this up around Christmas and didn't take me to far before losing interest. I appreciate the game but the battle system annoys me although it's gets better a few hours in. I do like the the feel of it being the stepping stone into Mass Effect though. Unfortunately I'm out on this.

Do you guys think being a Star Wars fan helps out immensely, how do you think it stands on its own as a game?

Boggles and surprises me to have that opinion since I enjoy everything else Bioware literally, this just ends up being my least favorite.

[nullPointer]

Do you guys think being a Star Wars fan helps out immensely, how do you think it stands on its own as a game?

This is a very interesting question, and honestly ... yeah I do think being a Star Wars fan helps out a lot. It's very dialogue and text heavy, and consequently if you're not at least somewhat vested in the lore, you're going to have a bad time. I was thinking over the weekend that this is one of the best Star Wars games, certainly one of a handful of games that really understood the Star Wars vibe and knocked it out of the park. But that's just it; it's an excellent Star Wars game. I don't think I'd put it on any sort of Greatest Games of All Time list or anything like that.

I guess I really don't have issues with the combat; to me it just seems like a slightly prettier spin on the Active Time Battle system. Sure the ATB mechanic was getting slightly long in the tooth by the time KotOR was released, but if I don't hold it against all the other RPGs that utilize this system, I can't really do so here either. (And yeah I realize that technically it's considered a d20 game, but if I can't see dice rolls going down I'm not calling it d-anything, even if that is the way it works mechanically ).

More weird game details regarding Dantooine:

Does anyone else think that the murder investigation that takes place based on the accounts of of Rickard Luskoff and Handon Guld is resolved using some egregious circumstantial evidence and logical leaps (not to mention a distinct lack of physical evidence)? I understand what BioWare trying to do with this encounter, playing up the Jedi as consulars and arbiters of order. I think it's a nice touch, but the devil is in the details, and to that end I think the resolution of the case based on the testimonies given is a bit slip shod. In other words Batman can safely retain his title as World's Greatest Detective for the time-being, while the Jedi pass sentences that would probably fall apart in an actual court of law.

All told I'm still having a good time with the game. It's been long enough since I last played it that I remember the greater story arc, but had forgotten most of the individual story details and side quests.

[MrPopo]

Since I was Dark Side I just murdered everyone involved. Sort of cutting the Gordian Knot.