I've heard a lot of amazing things about KOTOR 1, and I really want to like it, but I find it's just so hard to get started. To me, there are two things that push me out of the game.


First, I find it hard to be excited about my character when I'm given so few options in creating them. One race, three classes, eight skills. Decent selection of feats, mind you, but other than that, I feel like I'm given very few options for creating and customizing my character. For me, that sense of excitement and creating something you like and wondering where it will go is so key to overcoming the tedium that marks the early stages of very nearly every RPG ever made. I mean I realize it's based off of WOTC's Star Wars d20 system but frankly it's not a good system. It's like 3.x lite.


Second, the controls. This game was made for console, and holy hell does it show. Guiding my character is okay, but trying to shepherd my party around feels like herding cats. I'm very often tempted to just ignore them and only focus on the main character because anything else is just excruciating. This is a habit I've noticed with most Bioware RPGs - I know people (especially around these parts) like to wank on and on about the Infinity Engine games but they were the last Bioware RPG I've played where I didn't feel like I was fighting with the interface to play the game.


I guess what I'm saying is, I've heard so much about how this game has got a great story and awesome characters, and I want to experience that, but I just have so much trouble getting over the limited character creation and the clunky controls. Is there anything that will help me through that?

I am with you here. Tried to stat this game 5 times. There were moments later in the game which I loved. And then again there were some extra boring events. I also hate Pazaak mini game, but I have to play it because I need to buy all the available parts on market in order to repair every droid on the planet for ~0 XP.

I hate this game, I love this game! It's brilliant. It's not about graphics, it's all about plot and music!!!

Also I strongly recommend to choose Soldier for your first playthrough. Maybe balanced character is better for 1st time. Don't forget about Charisma and Persuasion (+ Empathy) if you wish to uncover all dialogue options.

And don't try to persuade Ajuur - it's a designer's bug specifically built into game by *bad* Bioware :))

Yeah, your avatar reminds me that I was similarly put off by Torment's lack of character customization and annoying interface, and I managed to slog through that to find one of my favourite RPGs of all time, so maybe I'll try giving KOTOR another go.

I don't really understand why you would find the character hard to get into.
This game is quite linear in terms of story progression, you can choose the light or the dark side, but that's about it. So, everything evolves around you and your party. Okay, he or she doesn't look like you, but hey... this just isn't a game where you create your own adventure, and have to identify with your avatar that much in order to have fun.

The controls are awful though, that's for sure. I usually ignore my party completely and let them do what they want (including automatic level-ups), that works great.

Taris, the opening planet, has been considered a slog by many who still love the game, and some have come to enjoy it once they had a better sense of the big picture.

IMO KotOR' focus is on unraveling the stories of the PC and his companions. This is a 35-50 hour game. It's not meant to be something you come back to for your 200th hour on a character you're attached to because of the thought and effort you put into them.

On the other hand, I do think there is a lot more replayability than their initially seems. When you later gain the ability to add an additional class, you wind up with nine combinations for your PC, each with valid strengths, plus the ability to explore Light Side and Dark Side consequences and stat bonuses. The diversity provided by the companions you will pick up over the course of the game also expands combat strategies.

KotOR's claim to fame is that it *feels* like Star Wars. It *feels* like you're having an adventure in the Star Wars movies. KotOR *nails* the Star Wars *feel* so Star Wars nerds can *really* gush all over it.

As a game, it suffices. Biowaste's actual game design went downhill after the Infinity era and they started focusing on interactive storytelling and world building over game and system design.

I don't think of KotOR as a real-time tactical/strategy game the likes of Baldur's Gate. I can't because it's not. I liken it a bit more to Diablo. Not a whole lot of character customization. Lots of frantic, sloppy, messy, straightforward visceral combat that feels good in between segments of well written and well acted dialog, a thrilling adventure narrative and a well realized world.

To me, KotOR doesn't feel less for that. It's still an exceptional experience in its own right. KotOR may feel shallow on the gameplay side of things, but at least it manages to function better than some of Biowaste's lesser designed games (ME1, NWN1, DA:O).

Come for the story and the spot on Star Wars presentation.

1) Character choice paucity: Later you get to promote to one of 3 Jedi classes, so that gives you 9 combinations.

2) I don't understand about "herding" your party. The unselected party members just follow you around. Are you trying to play it in solo mode?