ic-games Review - Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

ic-games Review - Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic - Reviews, Previews and Interviews for PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii ic-games Review - Home - Review, Preview and Interview for PC, Xbox,Xbox 360, PS2, PS3 and Wii

Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic

Information
Reviewer: Thomas Petersen
Developer: Bioware
Publisher: Activision
Reviewed: PC
Genre: Action RPG
UK Release: 05th Dec 2003
Article Date: 11th Mar 2004
Difficulty: Medium
Retail Price:
Price Comparison:
0

Score Breakdown

Experience:
Game Play:
Graphics:
Sound:
Overall Score: 91%

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Pros

True to the Star Wars universe

Great storyline

Cons

Some users experience random crashes

Screenshots

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I'll be the first to admit that I love Star Wars, well the original films not the recent ones. And I'm a huge fan of Neverwinter Nights from BioWare. And when I installed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic - a game based on the BioWare NVN engine it was with mixed feelings. Could the Star Wars universe fit into a more or less turned-based RPG? If you know Neverwinter Nights then you know that you create a party of various characters and that combat can be halted while you give your party members orders. My first thought was no - not Star Wars, that sounds like a flop.

But after installing the game (all 4GB) and pushed "start" I was hooked - It's a true Role-Playing Game.

What drives Knights of the old Republic is a great story. The story of Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader is about 4000 years into the future. The world is recovering from the Mandelorian Wars where the Republic was victorious. The two generals responsible for this victory disappeared just after slaying the last of the Mandelorian troops taking most of the Republic fleet with them. They return years after but now they were Sith Lords conquering planets and hunting down the Jedi.

Before you can venture into space you have to make a character. Like most RPG you can choose gender, appearance, skills, and alignment. There are three classes to choose from: Scout, Soldier and Rogue. Each features different "feats," like two-weapon fighting or sniper-shot, and "skills," like demolitions or repair. By your actions in the game you receive points for either the dark side or the light side. When you do good things, like saving someone from a gang of thugs, you gain light side points. If you kill all the thugs AND the person in distress however, then you gain dark side points. There are many choices like that in the game and that gives the game its feel.

You get thrown right into the game when you wake up in a star ship under attack. Your first party member will assist you and guide you through the first steps - good thinking as it can be frustrating for newcomers to the genre as to how the control interface works in a third person perspective.
As the story unfolds you get more party members. Up to 9 team mates can be in your roster but you are restricted to travel with 3 members where your main character is mandatory. One of the crucial elements is to pick the right members for the task at hand. If you need to break into a top secure Sith base you want to have someone with high security skills. At times you might ease your opposition by hacking into a security terminal and blow the barracks to pieces killing all the Sith guards inside. There are many strategies that will work and it's up to you to choose what to do.

The main plot line takes you to many planets, where you need to perform many tasks. There are also quite a few sub quests that you can embark on so you get value for your money.

The two key elements in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is the combat and the dialog. When you run into the enemy the game pauses. You then need to issue orders for your party. Should you choose to fire your blaster at the foe or should you throw a thermal detonator at him? You could also charge at him with a sword or if you happen to have a Jedi Knight with you it might be good to use the force. All the choices you make will impact the outcome of the battle, use your characters wrong, and it could end in failure.

When you think of the Star Wars universe you think good imagination and unique creatures. All the creatures and races you know from the films are present in Knights of the Old Republic. You get to meet Huts and Wookies and travel to Taris, Dantooine, Tatooine, Kashyyyk, Korriban and Manaan.
You'll meet Jedi Knights and Sith Knights. Fly in the fastest space ship in the galaxy. And I don't think I'll give too much away by reviling that you might be a Jedi Knight yourself if you train hard.
All this is put together as a solid plot with some well written dialog where your fellow party members also chip in with their opinion.

The graphic engine is based on BioWare’s well proven Neverwinter Nights and there is little if anything to put a finger on that is wrong. There's a tremendous attention to detail, and many fully realized worlds, characters and vehicles, so long-time fans of the Star Wars saga will find plenty of material to keep them entertained. As expected the soundtrack makes you think Star Wars starting with the theme song of the series. The sound effects are good and give you the feeling of being in a lightsabre battle or on a swoop bike. There is a remarkable amount of speech in the game - all the dialogue is spoken, not just written - and what's more the lines are all delivered convincingly.

Users have reported frequent crashes where as I haven't personally had any problems with the game. It is acknowledged by LucasArts, so you should get the patch available on the game's official website which should remedy some of the faults.

BioWare claims that there are 40 hours of game play in Knight of the old Republic but then you would have to follow a guide. I have spent more then that and haven't been into all corners of the game. And giving the light/dark side aspect of the story you can start by being helpful and on the light side - then play again and be evil and on the dark side.

All in all this is one of the games you shouldn't miss out on. So go to the store and get Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and ‘May the Force be with you’.

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