Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

Whenever a hit franchise is turned over to another developer, we gamers usually feel a touch of anxiety. What if the new guys screw things up? I wasn't worried myself--even though Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords went from RPG masters BioWare to Obsidian Entertainment. Obsidian might be a new company, but it is made up of a pretty formidable bunch of RPG experts too, including Feargus Urquhart, for starters. His name can be found on Fallout and one of the original Bard's Tale games, and many others.

After playing the game, my feelings were confirmed: Obsidian did not let us down. KOTOR 2 has a high quality story, sweet new gimmicks and features, and hits the high standard set by the previous game. If they keep making them this good, I want to see sequels until I retire from gaming (which will be right around never). I want to see lots and lots of Roman numerals after the KOTOR name.

We start the game a few years after Revan and Malak went at each other's throats, as chronicled in KOTOR 1. The Jedi ranks have been decimated in the civil war that followed, and in fact there just might be only one left--you. Known as "The Exile" because you were kicked out of the Jedi order, you've got to deal with assassins, bounty hunters, and a new dark secret that threatens the galaxy, and even the Force itself. As before, you can go through the game as a noble Jedi dedicated to justice and mercy, or fall to the Dark Side and be a monster for personal gain, or just plain evil fun.

There are a few new features to the game that you'll immediately take to. Customization junkies will find that items have more slots for upgrades, especially lightsabers. You can learn Force "forms" that will put you in combat stances for certain situations (example, a stance that is optimized for taking on superior numbers). There are more characters to adventure with, and you will even get different party members based on your gender and alignment. The game also does a good job at making these characters much more relevant, so you use them more often (in fact, some of them get solo sequences).

You start as a Jedi right away, which is good. Unfortunately, you still have a lot of work to do before you get your lightsaber, which is not so good. Jedis are patient, gamers are not. In fact, remember how in the first game you were stuck on Taris until you completed the main quests of that area? Well, you'll need to resolve most of two different areas before you can move on and choose what planets you want to visit. I am hoping KOTOR III gets off to a much quicker start, and gives the player more choices sooner.

Big glowing neon thumbs up must go to KOTOR 2's story, which is very strong, and very complex. It contains a pretty deep look at the morality surrounding the Dark and Light sides of the Force, and raises lots of questions and grey areas. The right and wrong things to do are not always so clear, so the game will have you thinking no matter what side you've chosen. It's not only a stylish story for an RPG, it's one of the most interesting treatments of the Star Wars galaxy I've seen in a long time.

Equally complex are the companions you'll get to travel with, many of whom have a much darker edge. Never mind skeletons; a few these guys have whole cemeteries stuffed in their closets. Your interaction with these characters is more interesting than before, because by saying and doing the right things (or wrong things), you gain and lose influence with them. If you have a high influence on a character, they'll eventually trust you enough to share their backstories, unlock new abilities, or maybe offer to train you in a skill you didn't have before. Even better, you can turn some of them into Jedi if you play them right, and train them up. It's really cool to sculpt the characters like this; make them realize their potential as a Jedi, or corrupt them and seduce them to the Dark Side...

A lot of the dialogue is very well-written, and is bound to be quoted in email sigs everywhere. It's also well delivered by the voice actors. Actress Sara Kestelman does a superb job with Kreia, a character so important to the narrative that she absolutely had to have a strong voice. And so she does. Statement: one of the most memorable characters from the first game is back too, and also shines.

KOTOR 2 doesn't look all that different from the first game. In fact, it reuses areas with a slight face-lift, like Dantooine and Korriban. So that's a little bit of a letdown. But by far KOTOR 2's biggest failing is its glitches. There are too many occurring in noticeable places. There are a few experience glitches or "exploits" that will allow you to build up characters to insane levels in a short space of time. All you need is a little patience. Some might not actually mind that, and I admit I stopped to give my character a 10 level cushion at one point, but these things really need to be caught before the game is out the door. Worse, there are glitches that bring the game to a halt, so definitely make a new save slot periodically.

Other improvements: Swoop races are optional, as are most of the minigames. In fact, there is only one fairly painless turret sequence that you have to go through, the rest are optional. And best of all, KOTOR 2 allows you to become one high-ranking kick ass character. You can reach level 50, and there are new Prestige classes, like Sith Assassin and Jedi Weapon Master. This will give you access to some very high level powers, particularly if you go the evil route. I've dropped whole groups with one flick of the wrist, all the while cackling "Feel the fury of the Dark Side!" Oh man, I need a date.

A PC version of KOTOR 2 is pending, which will hopefully correct the glitches that stand out like a zit on an otherwise beautiful face. And you'll get your money's worth with replays: trying to convert every character to a Jedi or Sith, trying the romantic subplots... I am half way through my second play. Even with its flaws, KOTOR remains not only a high point of the Xbox RPG scene, but of the entire Star Wars franchise.

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