More cutting edge than Yoda's lightsabre (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox))

Member Name: dj981

Product:	Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
Date:	10/10/03 (125 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Huge & varied content, Open ended gameplay at it's best, It's Star Wars (sort of)

Disadvantages: Choppy Framrate, Loss of social life, Loss of job

As someone who generally shies away from RPG's, and having only a casual interest in Star Wars, even I found the hype surrounding this game to be irresistible, and parted with my £40 on the day of its release. As a 'first timer' I kept my receipt safer than usual, in case the plethora of XP's, DC's, and HP's etc got too overpowering for my usually action-thirsty gaming taste. Fortunately, my faith in word of mouth proved to be deserved. It's superb.

Quality and polish are evident from the intro, in the form of some stunning cinematic sequences. Although set millennia before Episodes I & III of the films, the official licence is used to good effect, with the familiar musical score and sound effects providing a suitable Star Wars atmosphere to whet your appetite.

So far, this will be familiar to long suffering fans, who have shelled out in the past looking for an experience to rival the motion pictures, only to be served a cold plate of derivative bile once they start playing. Mercifully, BioWare has shown respect rather than neglect to a licence cynically exploited in the past, and resisted all temptation to milk the Lucas cash cow. The level of effort applied to this game is apparent from start to finish.

You are in complete control from the outset. Initially, you need to create a team leader, who will conduct all of the main dialogue, and will be an ever present fixture in your party. You can customise gender, appearance, skill sets, and strengths; pretty much every attribute you could think of has been included, and applied with a great measure of depth and aptitude.

Initially you are on your own, attempting to escape your besieged ship, (Halo anyone?) but the first sequences gently introduce you to team play and resource management, and also guide you through some battle sequences. The learning curve is pitched just right, to allow plodding novices to get to grips with turn based combat, whilst no
t interfering with the more
proficient players' enjoyment. It is a finely tuned balancing act, which has been perfected and consistently applied throughout.

As your character progresses and acquires other party members, you have the option to either get your hands dirty with the stats, or let the CPU do the brain work for you. To be honest, I'd anticipated succumbing to the latter early on, but the interface works so well I hardly noticed myself getting entwined in the makeup of my characters. As your party grows up to a maximum of nine, you'd imagine catering for them all would become tiresome, but clever use of the Xbox controller allows you to sweep through the nitty-gritty with ease. Limiting exploration to any three members from your total party also staggers the brainwork into bite size portions.

Alongside the technical development of your characters, you also have the opportunity to converse with them, discovering more about their background and personas. This often leads to side-quests and opportunities that are entirely of your own creation, increasing the feeling that you are in control of your own destiny and path through the game. In addition, some amusing dialogue, reinforced by good voice acting, gives you the chance to interact with your group the way you want. Do you sympathise with the Wookie, or call him an eight-foot walking carpet? It's up to you. General conversation is also brightened up by some occasionally hilarious one-liners, which you should use sparingly if you want to avoid making too many enemies.

This feeling of freedom doesn't just cover dialogue. The core of the game is your choice between the dark and light side of the force. Almost every scenario in the game is geared towards decisions that contribute to your standing as a force for Dark or Light. Example: - You need something from a store to progress, but you don't have enough credits. Do you threaten to relieve the shopkeepe
r of his head(s), or go and earn the credits in a swoop bike race, solving a dispute in the process? Your decisions will add weight to a gauge that works like a seesaw, constantly reacting to your decisions, and reflecting the struggle between dark and light.

Even more intelligent is the way that your dark/light decisions impact other areas of gameplay. In combat, Light side skills are less of a drain to use for a Jedi, and the dirtier, (more entertaining) dark side skills work the same way for a Sith. Also, using the dark side in conversation may grant you a short-term advantage, although this may backfire later on. This feature keeps you listening intently to conversations (generally speaking - see minor criticisms), that in other games you would be tempted to skip. More importantly, there is a real 'what if?' factor, which increases believability, as well as the replay value once you have completed it.

The main plus point of KOTOR however, is that it's Star Wars. Despite the fact that none of the characters names will be recognisable in the context of the films, their appearance, dialect and traits are instantly familiar. The numerous different locations and their inhabitants will also feel familiar, with some lifted straight from the films. Any omissions or liberties taken by BioWare can be forgiven, in light of the level of realism achieved.

On the downside, I feel obliged to mention the frame rate, which becomes so choppy at times it feels like you're teleporting from one area to another. Other minor glitches could be considered, such as your teammates' infrequent but appalling stupidity when controlled by the CPU. Like their frustrating habit of following you into a corner and just standing there, idiotically blocking your path, or getting hopelessly stuck in a crowded street, which you only notice after running the entire length of an area.

More general problems are the standard RPG fare, such as the
relatively small areas that can be explored before you?re confronted with
the dreaded 'loading' screen; or approaching somebody for a quick chat, and being bombarded with reams of unwanted peripheral information. But at least you get the option to insult their tedious ranting once they've finished.

In summary, these minor problems are completely irrelevant when held against an achievement of this magnitude. A resounding victory for honest and thoughtful games design.

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