STAR WARS™: Knights of the Old Republic

I've been playing a lot of these games, however, StarWars themed or not, this one is one of the best RPGs ever made, period. It plays in one league with classics like Baldur's Gate or Planescape Torment and among all the Star Wars-themed games, this and its successor are on top of all others. Excellent story, interesting characters, top notch dialogs, a solid combat system and generally favorable game mechanics make KOTOR a unique experience. Plus, you get many of the iconic locations from the movies and, of course, a light saber :) A must for a Star Wars fan and a highly recommended for every RPG lover.

Plenty of 5 star reviews on here, nothing that hasn't been said. Basically, you could make a strong case that KOTOR is the greatest game of all time. It is at least on the list of games in consideration for that title. If you like Star Wars and haven't played this, you should rectify that. Seriously. This is the one.

This is not just the best Star Wars game ever made. It's one of THE best games ever made. I don't doubt that almost every game on this website is given that praise by someone, but KOTOR actually DESERVES such an accolade. The story is utter brilliance, with possibly one of the greatest twists in video game history. Tons of stories like KOTOR's boil down to you saving the country/world/galaxy, but KOTOR is so good in its pacing and delivery that each step of the way towards that massive goal feels important and interesting, and by the time the epic finale arrives, the weight of the task given you carries the gravity and tension it warrants. Even the Light/Dark Side nature of the game's morality system actually has plenty of nuance in areas, with some quests that actually left me feeling morally conflicted, something very rare in games. On that note, the NPCs are similarly great. All of the eventual companions you meet in the course of your adventures have tons of personality, back story, and nuance. You grow to know and love each one of these characters as well as you would in any well-written novel. Even minor NPCs have great personalities of their own, and you can easily spend hours just listening to the individual quirks and stories that each one carries. And the quests are flat out cool. Who doesn't love to infiltrate secret assassination guilds or save Wookies from slavery? When I first sat down to play, I was worried it might be like other old cRPGs I've played: ones with good writing, but with gameplay that hasn't aged well at all. KOTOR, however, has gameplay as good as its writing. The best way I can describe its gameplay is it feels like what Planescape Torment tried to do, with a semi-turn-based/real-time combat and movement style, but ironed out all the flaws and annoyances. I quickly fell in love with this combat system, which is saying a lot, as I normally prefer FPSs and character-action games. BUY THIS GAME!!!

For me, this game is right up there with Diablo II, Dungeon Siege I & II, and Neverwinter Nights in terms of RPG addictiveness, this game is one of the best games I've ever played. Rich in typical Star Wars Expanded Universe atmosphere and character, this game really is like playing through a Star Wars movie and the story behind it is worth as much attention as a film from the original trilogy. What a blast, it's been a very memorable experience for me. I've played through this game many, many times. It just doesn't get old for me. It features a pretty big game world for its time too. I picked up a copy of this game for the PC shortly after it went retail, probably like spring 2004. I was looking for something new in a local Gamestop and an employee recommended this to me based on my interest in RPGs and Star Wars. I'm sure glad he did. I had no idea what I had in my hand as I walked out of the store that day. Bioware developed this game. They heavily modified their Aurora engine that was built for Neverwinter Nights, so you'll see and feel a lot of similarities between the two. It's interesting to see the maturity of Bioware's development history with decision-based games whose stories are affected by your choices; Neverwinter Nights, KotOR, Mass Effect, etc. - they all feature similar character alignments that are affected by the decisions you make, and also affect different outcomes and environment variables throughout the game(s). It seems each game they develop advances this concept more and more. If you like RPGs and you like Star Wars, this game will be a little piece of heaven for you and I HIGHLY recommend it. However, I would steer clear of the sequel The Sith Lords, unfortunately that was a huge disappointment; great concepts, but it's a broken game with a broken story and really has nothing directly to do with the story of this game (except for dialogue references to elements and characters), so you really won't be missing anything there.

Bioware games (used to) focus on story and character; on dialogue and choices, and KoTOR gives you an semi-action view and combat style with the best storytelling in the gaming industry. Fantastic writing! You have many choices; you can have different dialogue (and meaningful decisions) with your many companions up to the end; your companions are the best ever written in a game; voice acting is fantastic; and there's a plot twist that will leave you speechless. I had never seen anything as imersive as this game when I played it, and haven't seen since. All that in the Star Wars universe. I have played mostly adventure and RPG games (my favourite) since the early games, and KoTOR is still the best ever. I can't recommend it enough! Buy it and play this game. You can play it many times (I played it dozens of times, maybe more) and there's always something new; some new way to play it. Enjoy the ride, the camaradarie, the banter, the adventure, the plot, the villains, everything. Pity Bioware does not make games like that anymore. They used to be the best. So, thank God we have GOG and the classics!