We only just managed to pry Nathan Davis from his Xbox to write this review.
I"m somewhat of a sucker when it comes to the whole Star Wars saga, being an avid fan ever since I can remember. Hence, it kills me to say I"ve been more than unimpressed with the output of SW related games from the Lucas Arts -- they"ve just been mediocre -- until now. The new Xbox role-playing game (RPG) Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) smashes this past history and is finally a beautiful merging of a Star Wars storyline, game play and graphics -- the compelling feeling that comes over you when playing is that you"re being spoilt.
At the beginning, you choose the appearance and configure your primary character"s abilities to your likings. This is tweaker"s ecstasy, because for those who like to spend hours/days calculating that perfect match of abilities, you can do just that; configure your character"s attributes such as strength, dexterity and charisma, and skills such as stealth, demolitions and security. Thankfully there"s a quick pick option, allowing the Xbox to decide for you, but of course that"s just plain lazy and wrong.
Once you"ve decided on how few points you can get away with assigning to intelligence, you are planted smack in the middle of the action. You find yourself awakening on a large ship called the Endar Spiro which is mid-space, under serious fire from the galactic dominative wannabes, the Sith. You need to escape the heck out of there, and this is where you learn most of the controls. Escaping from the ship in an escape pod you land on the nearby planet Tarus (which has just been taken over by the Sith), and from this begins a thrilling ride of galactic proportions. The story itself actually starts off a little slow, particularly on Tarus, but once the ball"s rolling and you"re surfing the stars, there"s a well worked out storyline to be enjoyed, having you journey across the far depths of the universe.
However, you won"t be in control of merely one character, because on your journeys, depending on how you communicate with people, a few set folk will tag along and become party members, aiding you in battles and providing you with their specialities.
However, you can"t have the whole party with you throughout the game; a maximum of two party members can be with you at any one time. This is actually a good thing, as fighting would otherwise become a confusing mess of weapon wielding beings. All these members can be fully tweaked too, but you can only communicate via your head character. In fact a good deal of natter time is spent with your own party members, usually gaining their respect by (pretending) to listen to their tales.
As with any game imprinted with George Lucas" infamous name, it"s visually impeccable. There’s beautiful surroundings -- both indoor and out -- with a great atmosphere to boot, thanks to the well orchestrated music, sound and superb voice acting. One thing that might be improved on is a more fluid character animation, as sometimes an NPC or even one of your own party members may suddenly appear on the other side of you if they’re in the way.
This game has a truly unique fighting system. When you come across an enemy, the game automatically pauses and lets you direct who inflicts pain on who and how. But you can also pause it whenever you wish to -- this is a welcome feature, particularly mid-battle with eight or so sewer dwelling Rakghoul mutants looking at your group like it’s last night"s dinner.
Also, you can"t just go around attacking everything and anyone you feel the need to. Attack will only activate when you"ve either pissed someone off, your in-game character feels likewise, or you are being payed to fight (one of the many clever in-games/puzzles).
For finding your way around the game, you need to pay particular attention to what people are saying (thankfully logged in your "journal"), as there is no waypoint navigation system, just a simple map to "guide" you through, with a mini (almost useless) version stuck up in the upper right hand corner of your screen.
KotOR also uses Xbox Live, but unfortunately not for multiplayer -- just game updates. This could path a means for an update to give it multiplayer-ability in the future -- here"s hoping, as it certainly has potential in that area, even if just for cooperative play.
Some things, even when explained, are a tad obscure too, but you figure these out as you go along. Thankfully there"s a full save game option, with no lame-arsed limit on it either.
This is an absolute godsend for a game of such proportions, considering most people don"t have time to play massive chapters through at a time.
There is an amazing wad of items you can collect and carry around. In fact, the ability to acquire so many things is a tad annoying, because you are limited to the factor of infinite.
That is, there is no limit. This tends to get messy -- it"s our guess that you have an insanely huge, yet invisible, buttock bag. What"s really annoying is the fact that you can"t drop or sell these items. If added, this would create a wonderful equipment/credit management system (hint, hint).
Overall, this is one giant galaxy of an awesome game that should simply be sitting in every Xbox owner"s cupboard, certainly not limited to just Star Wars fans. Xbox owners have been begging for this -- a fully decent game, and here it is. How often does this come in the form of an incredible Star Wars game? Did I mention incredible? A top RPG ready for a massive dollop of gaming goodness. This is one of, if not the now unsurpassed, Xbox games currently available. KotOR is simply the finest thing since sabre-sliced cheese. Now, if you"ll excuse me, I must return to whipping out some can-o"-arse whoopage on the Sith and the other evil uglies.
Issue: 133 | February, 2012