When Knights of the Old Republic first came out, I was amazed at what they managed to achieve in a genre that was slowly being forgotten by most gamers. KotOR brought a whole new viewpoint to RPG’s.
The first game was excellent and exceeded most if not all my expectations. I anxiously awaited the arrival of Kotor II: The Sith Lords, ever since I heard that it was in development.
Sadly I must say that I’m disappointed with Kotor II. It promised so much, but in the end it’s just more of the same. The Sith Lords could actually have been an expansion pack to the first game instead of being a standalone game. Except for storyline changes, some new characters and a few new powers, it is exactly like the first one. I at least expected “something” new.
Don’t get me wrong. The game is still well worth playing. The storyline is excellent as usual and provides for some interesting twists and turns. I finished the game in about a week of casual playing.
For me the game had a severe bug when I reached Dantooine. For some reason it slowed down to such an extent that I had to limp along and pray that I reach where I was going. Luckily that only affected the game when you are on the surface of the planet, and not inside buildings. Luckily the problem was only limited to that one planet.
Another gripe I have with the game is the poor quality of the cutscenes. I think Obsidian could definitely have spend more time on creating some eye candy for the players. At least that would have made finishing certain stages and in the end, the game, so much more rewarding.
The ending definitely leaves the possibility for Kotor III wide open. Let’s just hope that if they ever decide to work on it, they give us a new game engine, and some more revolutionary changes, that will leave us in awe like the first one did.
My rating: 4/5
Pros:
Good storyline.
Star Wars (need I say more).
Cons:
Very buggy.
Nothing new.
Graphics look dated and still uses the old engine.
