STAR WARS™: Knights of the Old Republic

A mediorcre game with a horrible control scheme.

To all these people giving 5 stars and praising it as one of the greatest games of all time: I get it, really. I too loved it when I first played through it about eight years ago, and while it was not the best game, or even best RPG I had played until then, I held it in high esteem, and had intended to replay it for a long time, to refresh my memory of the story before playing the second one and to try out the dark side path. However, I ended up being quite a bit disappointed, and frankly, bored by it. Don't get me wrong, the characters are interesting and well-written and the dark side powers are cool. But in terms of the overall story it doesn't really matter whether you choose the light side or the dark side of the force, you'll always end up helping the Jedi and the Republic, and no matter how evil your actions are, you keep getting away with everything, even if you do it right in front of a Jedi companion. As I have played through the game before, I know that there is actually a reason for this, but it's still pretty far-fetched. The story really only makes sense if you play as a light side character, and if you choose the dark side, it feels very forced (no pun intended) and you really notice how none of your actions really matter. Also, as has been pointed out before, many dark side choices are over the top and make your character appear more like a galactic bully than a master of betrayal and manipulation. Also, I have been put off by the long and boring first planet, impractical controls, a very poorly inventory, overall uninteresting combat that is neither as tactically challenging as it is in the old infinity engine games nor as fast-paced as it is in more action-oriented titles, and the long running distances, combined with the very restricted areas. I may have been spoiled by the freedom of open world RPGs which allow you to play the way you want and create your own story along the way, but I just feel very constrained by KOTOR's linear story path.

This one of my favourite Bioware games, ranking right up there with Dragon Age, Mass Effect, and Jade Empire. Want to know what would happen if Baldur's Gate 2 and Star Wars had a baby? Well, wonder no more! It takes D&D rules and applies it brilliantly to Star Wars. The twist 3/4's through is ranks right up there with "No, I am your father." This is an amazing game, written by the demi god Drew Kapryshyn, who also essentially wrote Mass Effect, and was smart enough to get out before the abomination known as Mass Effect 3 was released. BUT...$12.50 is a goddamn insult. I bought this on Steam for $2.50, and full price was $9.99, and it is no different from this release. If it came with better bonus features like behind the scenes interviews, soundtracks, or even avatars, I could justify the expense. Sure, you could say "Oh, but this is DRM free!" True, but is it worth the 20% markup? That's for you to decide. I'm not going to be one of those douches who gives a good game a bad review because I don't agree with the price. It's a great game, buy it. Just know there are cheaper alternatives out there. Interested to hear GoG's excuse for the increased price. Caveat emptor.

It is as any Bioware games; training world, then you choice of locations to advance the storyline. Also, right after training world, oh and behold, to advance the story, you MUST become a Jedi! So those 6-7 levels you spend improving your characters will all be going to waste since you're a Jedi now, so that thing you did to be able to be a two blaster-towing fighter is no longer viable or even possible to make, nice going wasting those feats.

Does this game work with an xbox controller? I like being lazy somedays ;]