STAR WARS Knights of the Old Republic 2 : The Sith Lords
System requirements:
Minimum
Recommended
------------------------------------------------------------
OVERVIEW
A sequel of sorts to one the the most beloved and may I say genre defining games of old times, KOTOR 2 had it difficult from the beginning following such footsteps. It has done so admirably with a story that somewhat carries on from where its predecessor left off, adding a tinge of extra flavour.
All the oldies are here, the sith, the republic (albiet in its last stages) and of course the Jedi, singular of course considering that you are pretty much the remanents of the old order.
The game plays according to the now familiar 'd20' D&D ruleset, so i shall refrain from getting into the specifics. Needless to say you will be leveling up, increasing basic stats once in every 4 levelups, and improving abilities more often. Then there are the force powers and other techniques to master. Oh joy!
KOTOR 2 places you in the shoes of a totally neutral character, who wakes up in a kolto tank, aboard a space station drifting seemingly meaninglessly. You have no recollection of who you are, and what you are about. Armed with a blowtorch and the ramblings of Kreia, an old lady who though seemingly innocent enough, takes on the role of your inner voice and mentor throughout the game except till the very end, when you are sprung with the biggest surprise of your saber twirling life.
STORYLINE
KOTOR 2 follows a very gripping storyline that revolves you and your followers. Increased party interaction, and the ability to influence them to your means, (whether nefarious or otherwise), has got to be one of the highlights of this game. Throughout the story you will be faced with decisions, which are integral to the main storyline by the way. The resulting path you choose will decide your fate, and the fate of your followers.
One of the coolest attributes of KOTOR 2 that it gives you the liberty to be as good or as bad as you want to be. The game rewards you by bestowing you with light or dark side points which will affect your skills, (dark side character will be able to use dark side abilities more freely as they cost less force points).
Your looks will also change as you tread further down the light or dark side, from the haloed Jedi, to the red haze swirling behind you if you turn sith. Your character also appears evil with cracks ultimately appearing on your face, (which is a mottled gray by now) if you turn sith. You are rewarded by gaining tremendous power in the bargain as only the dark side can grant you.
Character customisation is very good, and leveling up so much of a joy, that you'll undoubtably spend most of your time, waiting to accumulate enough points for that next level. All the Jedi, (and Sith), powers are yours for the taking, and as you increase in level and hence skill, you can also improve previous powers. The visuals are also rich, and the force powers look superb particularly force storm.
Throughout KOTOR 2 you will get side quests by talking to NPC's. Not only completion of these quests award you with more points, but depending on your approcah you'll get a light or dark side boost as well.
KOTOR 2 is much richer an experience than KOTOR, because your actions and decisions have much deeper repurcussions this time round.
GAMEPLAY
Character animation is slick, and the combat system though turn based is all good. You can fight close range, with ranged weapons i.e. blasters and their ilk, or with good ol' force powers.
You can play as a Jedi guardian, Jedi sentinel, Jedi Consular from the beginning, unlike KOTOR 1 where you start as a soldier, scout and so on.
At level 15 or so, depending on your alignment you will be offered deeper insights into the discipline and mental focus of the jedi, simply meaning that you can prestige class now.
This is where the leveling up becomes more interesting with classes like Jedi Weaponmaster, Jedi watchmen or the Jedi Master, the Sith equivalents being the Marauder, Assassin and Lord. These classes are simply the the martial and weapons expert, the sleuth and negotiator and the force power wizard in that order. Its possible to play as a Jedi guardian in the beginning and due to wicked deeds 'sithify' and become a Sith Lord. The combat oriented characters will want to melee and the marauder and weaponmaster are for you.
I found that the most powerful character in the game was the force wielding consular, (though not in the beginning), once he graduates to a master or Lord, the sheer force points he gets, (alongwith the wisdom modifiers and other bonuses), mean that powers like force storm are sure croud killers.
Played from a third person perspective doesn't spoil the experience of KOTOR 2 at all. Right from the mundane dialogue sequences to the travel and sometimes hectic battles you will find the gameplay completely absorbing. Part of the reason for such a thrilling gameplay experience is the revamped graphics engine, delivering everything an RPG of this cadre should. Another aspect, perhaps of greater significance is the storyline, Simply Absorbing in 2 words!
Party interaction is also another aspect of KOTOR 2 that is so fun, you will actually find yourself repeating a conversation just to choose different dialogue options!
Much of the story is told through cut scenes and dialogue sequences, and each of your party members have their own tales to spin, alongwith side quests that upon completion will improve their opinion of you immensely.
SIGHTS AND SOUND
The KOTOR 2 engine (slightly tweaked Odyssey engine) is basically somewhat ageing now, but not before delivering and delivering well, (I might add), for this game. The effects are good, the game lighting excellent. lightsaber and force power animations carried on very well, this game has the SHOW and the go.
The aural experience is still excellent, good voice acting, no goof ups whatsoever here. A definite :hap2: to the developers here. Unlike some good games that fail to deliver the visuals and sound to that level that justifies the gameplay, this one delivers it all!
MY TAKE
I Played KOTOR 2 three times through. I thoroughly enjoyed both the games, being a fan of the genre helped here. Unlike many others who thought KOTOR 2 wasn't a decent enough sequel, I beg to differ. To follow in footsteps of greatness is tough, to leave a few new prints here and there... a touch of genius!
This is one highly recommended game, which every fan of the genre should play and own. I haven't played a game this good since Neverwinter Nights. All credits to Obsidian for developing this one, even if folk say they copied Bioware's stuff.. Kudos all round to these 2 great developers and here's to more single player campaigns like this!
_________________
PS - Will add screenies a month later, as I don't have the game with me. Kindly bear
System requirements:
Minimum
- Pentium III/Athlon class 1 GHz or equivalent
- RAM: 256 MB
- Video Memory: 32 MB
- Other: DirectX 9.0c compatible computer
Recommended
- System: Pentium III/Athlon class 1.6 GHz or equivalent
- RAM: 512 MB
- Video Memory: 128 MB
------------------------------------------------------------
OVERVIEW
A sequel of sorts to one the the most beloved and may I say genre defining games of old times, KOTOR 2 had it difficult from the beginning following such footsteps. It has done so admirably with a story that somewhat carries on from where its predecessor left off, adding a tinge of extra flavour.
All the oldies are here, the sith, the republic (albiet in its last stages) and of course the Jedi, singular of course considering that you are pretty much the remanents of the old order.
The game plays according to the now familiar 'd20' D&D ruleset, so i shall refrain from getting into the specifics. Needless to say you will be leveling up, increasing basic stats once in every 4 levelups, and improving abilities more often. Then there are the force powers and other techniques to master. Oh joy!
KOTOR 2 places you in the shoes of a totally neutral character, who wakes up in a kolto tank, aboard a space station drifting seemingly meaninglessly. You have no recollection of who you are, and what you are about. Armed with a blowtorch and the ramblings of Kreia, an old lady who though seemingly innocent enough, takes on the role of your inner voice and mentor throughout the game except till the very end, when you are sprung with the biggest surprise of your saber twirling life.
STORYLINE
KOTOR 2 follows a very gripping storyline that revolves you and your followers. Increased party interaction, and the ability to influence them to your means, (whether nefarious or otherwise), has got to be one of the highlights of this game. Throughout the story you will be faced with decisions, which are integral to the main storyline by the way. The resulting path you choose will decide your fate, and the fate of your followers.
One of the coolest attributes of KOTOR 2 that it gives you the liberty to be as good or as bad as you want to be. The game rewards you by bestowing you with light or dark side points which will affect your skills, (dark side character will be able to use dark side abilities more freely as they cost less force points).
Your looks will also change as you tread further down the light or dark side, from the haloed Jedi, to the red haze swirling behind you if you turn sith. Your character also appears evil with cracks ultimately appearing on your face, (which is a mottled gray by now) if you turn sith. You are rewarded by gaining tremendous power in the bargain as only the dark side can grant you.
Character customisation is very good, and leveling up so much of a joy, that you'll undoubtably spend most of your time, waiting to accumulate enough points for that next level. All the Jedi, (and Sith), powers are yours for the taking, and as you increase in level and hence skill, you can also improve previous powers. The visuals are also rich, and the force powers look superb particularly force storm.
Throughout KOTOR 2 you will get side quests by talking to NPC's. Not only completion of these quests award you with more points, but depending on your approcah you'll get a light or dark side boost as well.
KOTOR 2 is much richer an experience than KOTOR, because your actions and decisions have much deeper repurcussions this time round.
GAMEPLAY
Character animation is slick, and the combat system though turn based is all good. You can fight close range, with ranged weapons i.e. blasters and their ilk, or with good ol' force powers.
You can play as a Jedi guardian, Jedi sentinel, Jedi Consular from the beginning, unlike KOTOR 1 where you start as a soldier, scout and so on.
At level 15 or so, depending on your alignment you will be offered deeper insights into the discipline and mental focus of the jedi, simply meaning that you can prestige class now.
This is where the leveling up becomes more interesting with classes like Jedi Weaponmaster, Jedi watchmen or the Jedi Master, the Sith equivalents being the Marauder, Assassin and Lord. These classes are simply the the martial and weapons expert, the sleuth and negotiator and the force power wizard in that order. Its possible to play as a Jedi guardian in the beginning and due to wicked deeds 'sithify' and become a Sith Lord. The combat oriented characters will want to melee and the marauder and weaponmaster are for you.
I found that the most powerful character in the game was the force wielding consular, (though not in the beginning), once he graduates to a master or Lord, the sheer force points he gets, (alongwith the wisdom modifiers and other bonuses), mean that powers like force storm are sure croud killers.
Played from a third person perspective doesn't spoil the experience of KOTOR 2 at all. Right from the mundane dialogue sequences to the travel and sometimes hectic battles you will find the gameplay completely absorbing. Part of the reason for such a thrilling gameplay experience is the revamped graphics engine, delivering everything an RPG of this cadre should. Another aspect, perhaps of greater significance is the storyline, Simply Absorbing in 2 words!
Party interaction is also another aspect of KOTOR 2 that is so fun, you will actually find yourself repeating a conversation just to choose different dialogue options!
Much of the story is told through cut scenes and dialogue sequences, and each of your party members have their own tales to spin, alongwith side quests that upon completion will improve their opinion of you immensely.
SIGHTS AND SOUND
The KOTOR 2 engine (slightly tweaked Odyssey engine) is basically somewhat ageing now, but not before delivering and delivering well, (I might add), for this game. The effects are good, the game lighting excellent. lightsaber and force power animations carried on very well, this game has the SHOW and the go.
The aural experience is still excellent, good voice acting, no goof ups whatsoever here. A definite :hap2: to the developers here. Unlike some good games that fail to deliver the visuals and sound to that level that justifies the gameplay, this one delivers it all!
MY TAKE
I Played KOTOR 2 three times through. I thoroughly enjoyed both the games, being a fan of the genre helped here. Unlike many others who thought KOTOR 2 wasn't a decent enough sequel, I beg to differ. To follow in footsteps of greatness is tough, to leave a few new prints here and there... a touch of genius!
This is one highly recommended game, which every fan of the genre should play and own. I haven't played a game this good since Neverwinter Nights. All credits to Obsidian for developing this one, even if folk say they copied Bioware's stuff.. Kudos all round to these 2 great developers and here's to more single player campaigns like this!
_________________
PS - Will add screenies a month later, as I don't have the game with me. Kindly bear
hyeah: 
