Game Review: Knights of the Old Republic II: Sith Lords

I have recently completed my first run through the PC version of the Knights of the Old Republic II: Sith Lords (KOTOR2) video game. I was and still am a huge fan of the first game, which is one of the best I have ever played, so I awaited the sequel with great anticipation. When I bought the game, I read some reviews and was surprised to find just about every one gave a laundry list of complaints and then 4 out of 5 stars. My review: a lot of complaints, 4 out of 5 stars.

As with any sequel, the game will inevitably be compared with its illustrious predecessor. That explains everyone's complaints. The game is vastly inferior to the first. But compared to other RPG style games, it is still good. The high marks for KOTOR2 are really an indication of just how good KOTOR1 was.

Before getting to the complaints, let's be positive and address the improvements. The gameplay and controls are as in the first game. The combat interface is improved. The player can equip each character with two sets of weapons, and switch between with a single mouse click. This is nice early in the game when you may switch between blasters and swords, but once your character acquires a lightsaber, you won't be switching much if at all. Speaking of lightsabers, there are more components to the saber than can be upgraded--lenses, emitters, and power cells--along with the usual crystals. That makes it more interesting. And the user can assemble basic components at workbenches.

The most important change in gameplay is that the player's interaction with other characters can influence those characters, and many of them can become Jedi if you handle them right. This influence game can be tricky, but it does make the user think a little more about more nuanced dialog choices. But if you mess something up with a character, that character may never speak to you again in the game.

My biggest complaint about KOTOR1 is that the game had a cap for character development at level 20. And that was the combination of the level achieved on Taris, i.e. before becoming a Jedi, with the levels achieved as a Jedi. Given that one could spend a lot of time and gain a lot of experience on Taris, this cap restricted just how much one could do as a Jedi. In fact, the user was effectively encouraged to rush through Taris as fast as possible, gaining as little experience as possible, so save the level ups for after becoming a Jedi. KOTOR2 removes this cap. First of all, the main character is a Jedi to begin with. And the character can level up as much as possible. So this is a major improvement.

Now the complaints. Where to start? What I loved most about KOTOR1 was the story. The main story was interesting in itself, but each of the supporting characters also had their own personal stories and the more time one spent with them, the more one learned. In this game, the story is virtually non-existent, and in the end I really don't understand it. Rather than chasing down star maps, the main mission for the game is to track down some hidden Jedi masters. Why? I'm not really sure. Something about getting them back together to smoke out the enemy. But they are in hiding to begin with because getting together smokes out the enemy, and that's a bad thing. And when you finally get them together, all they want to do is strip you of your Jedi powers, because you are a wound in the Force who could spell the end of the Force. I gather in the dark side game, you actually fight the masters you have assembled.

And the characters have basically no story. You might learn a little bit about a character in order to turn them into Jedi, but that's about all.

Some planets in the game seem totally unfinished. Nar Shadaa is especially bad here. Quests pop up in the journal that make no sense. In a pazaak den, I meet a droid who plays very bad pazaak. OK. Now I have a quest. What does the quest say? I met a droid who plays very bad pazaak. It makes no sense. Then there are quests you can't finish. I meet a woman who is looking for a pilot and a pilot who is looking for a job. I have two quests, to provide what each needs. Obvious answer: hook the two up. Can't do it. (I've only played once, so there may be a solution to that one, but I couldn't find it.) On Malachor V near the end of the game, I looked at the map which identified locations like a meditation chamber in non-existent places. It's like they had the idea to put a meditation chamber there, but didn't and never removed the indicator from the map.

Another way some levels seem unfinished is that scenes appear in the game that make no sense. For example, on Malachor V, the game brings up a confrontation between Mira and Hanharr. Why? Does Mira somehow factor into what will happen next in the level? No. Mira wins the battle and then is never seen again. So why move away from the main character for this battle when it serves no purpose? Again, I bet there was idea earlier in the game development that something would emerge from that scene. Maybe Mira would be captured and I would have to free her. But then that plot line got dropped but the battle remained.

I have read that LucasArts gave Obsidian only 12 months to develop the game, which would explain the sense of incompleteness.

The game is buggy, even with the latest patch. I played on a PC, and admittedly mine is not a top of the line gaming machine. In fact, it is at the low end of requirements. So I expect issues, but still, some of the bugs were ridiculous. On multiple occasions, I had to restart from an earlier saved game because something got stuck. For example, on Onderon there is a big battle in the throne room of the palace. Somehow I got the game into a state where the battle was not finished, but I could not fight anyone so there was no way to get it finished. Elsewhere, I had to fight Darth Nihilious three times to see how the fight ended. His death should trigger a cut scene, but the game kept hanging at that point with a black screen and the sound of lightsabers doing battle. Finally, I hit the quick save button, and got the game back with Nihilious considered dead, but still standing there.

Back to game play, it takes forever to get a lightsaber. As I said, the character is a Jedi from the very beginning of the game, so you always have force powers. But it took me something like 15 hours of gameplay through multiple planets before I got the lightsaber.

So, with all those complaints, why would I give the game a high score. Compared to other RPGs I have played, it is still an excellent game. It is addictive and grabs one's imagination much more than other top RPGs like Champions of Norrath. For that reason, I will give the game a high score. I just wish Obsidian had had more time to put together a better, more complete game. You can't rush some things.