High: Excellent graphics, voice-acting and gameplay. Lots of mini-games inside to provide you with a break from all the missions and quests you have to complete. All party members have different and interesting personalities, some members might come in conflict with each other if you pair them up.
Low: A numbers of technical problems that bugs your gaming experience, need a big harddrive to run it.


Bioware is famous for developing some of the best RPGs (Role Playing Games) in the world of computer gaming. Its Neverwinter Nights w/ expansions and Baldurs Gates 1, 2 w/ expansions have gotten many awards over the past few years. Developed with Lucus Arts, Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic (KOTOR) is one of the new borns for Bioware with a bit different style of gaming. It opened a new era in the limitless world of RPGs.

Like its name, KOTOR is based on Star Wars, the ever so popular film series. The game however, its based way before the films.The game is a lot better than any of the Star Wars films I have watched. The game itself its like an interactive movie where everything its based around you. Everything you do directly affect your character and your gaming experience.

You will start out as a common soldier in the Republic Fleet. Your fate, however, changed rapidly when the Siths attacked your spaceship and the ship crashed into the planet below. You will start as a new character with an unknown identity that is waiting to be discovered. Should you join the dark side and gain great powers or become a protector and soldier of the light side ? Your will be introduced to your faithful companions soon and then you have to make the choice that might affect the whole universe.

If you have played any other RPGs made by Bioware, you should be pretty familiar with the combat system. It is based on Bioware's traditional dice point system. It has been heavily modified for KOTOR. The dice system works quite well in KOTOR and it does not appear to be complex at all.

Like most other Star Wars game out there, the most effective weapons in game are lightsabers. Surprising huh? The lightsaber, however, doesn't come in force till much later in the game. You will have to use a variety of different weapons before the lightsaber becomes your primary weapon. You can adjust the combat difficulty with ease and there aren't many monsters in game that could post a big problem for your lightsabers. Compare with other Bioware RPGs, the combat system is alot easier. (Which reduced a ton of headaches for a lot of people!)

KOTOR its one of the first RPG games that has little mini little games in them instead of just missions. Those mini games includes swoop bike racing, pazaak ( a blackjack/21 type ish card game ) , arena dueling and a few others. Those mini games proved to be very successful and provided hours of fun. They can act as a nice break from all the missions and event syou are attending. You can also get really wealthy and/or gain a lot of respect from those mini games. Most of the mini games are optional but the game require you to win them to proceed sometimes. Unless you are quick with a mouse, you could be in trouble.

Companionship is another main feature of KOTOR. You can have a wide variety of companions in the game but you can only bring out two out at the same time. They all have their own useful abilities and personalities. Some are really serious or cute, while others make you crack up laughing instantly. They also have a variety of side quests with them that you can do. They can give you aid in your combat or guidance you in the right ways of the jedi if you want. Like most of the creatures in game, they all have their own voices! Some even sounds really sexy and sweet! In fact, your character it's the only one who can't speak out loud! They also have a few little puzzles in them. They are pretty fun to play with and shouldn't be too hard. You can also romance with 1 or 2 of them if you choose what you say carefully. (Don't be a jackass and you get a kiss or 2)

The game is not linear, you have alot of options. You can have a ton of choices that you can choose from. Base on your abilities,classes and sides, you might get a lot of different results from quests. You never really know what to expect in the game. A lot of things happen so fast and so surprising that you can do nothing but remain in awe. It makes the game very much interesting and give you a feeling of always wanting more. It is the same for replays: choose a different side, a different class, a different companion and you might have a totally new experience!

The graphics are top notch. Perhaps one of the best in RPGs. It is a combination of traditional overhead RPG view and FPS (First Person Shooter) view. It can't compare with the new Unreal II technology but it certainly ranks in the tops. Everything from the face of character, the waves of the oceans, to the lights reflected by the lightsaber or the creepiness of dungeons seems to be very realistic.

When I told you that KOTOR its like an interactive star wars movie, I wasn't lying. The game developers made everything inside the game so much like a movie that sometimes you can't even see their difference. Everything from dialogues, combat, user interface to even simple traveling between planets are movie like. This concept made KOTOR a very unique game.

Like I said before, everything has their own voices except your character. Most conversions are voice recorded by real people. You can go to KOTOR website and checkout who is behind which character. The musics and sounds are pretty good.

Nothing its perfect, KOTOR has its own faults and technical problems. Some problems can be so annoying that you can't really play your game in peace. It just keeps bugging and bugging you till you give up or finish the game. You will also need a pretty good computer to play the game. You do need a big hard drive since the game comes in 4 CDs. The game its also fairly short, about 20 hours + of gaming time.

If you are a hardcore RPG player, a Bioware lover or a newbie to the world of RPGs/computer gaming, you should definitely try the game out. It brings a totally different experience that you have rarely experienced before. KOTOR II its coming out very soon near the time of the writing.. I heard it will be even better. So, take my suggestion and try out KOTOR and KOTOR II. You won't regret it.

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Reviewed By:p3t3r Reviewed On: Wed, 29 June 2005 12:36:17 Read:

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