It's been over a decade since Knights of the Old Republic was released, and I can honestly say that in my opinion, I don't believe a better RPG has been released since - though some have come very close. KOTOR is what every RPG should strive to be. A compelling story, right from the start - interesting (and occasionally hilarious) companions, a variety of visually distinct locations, excellent gameplay, and a very diverse character development system. It has one of the best plot twists in video game history midway through the game, and HK-47 is hilarious as a murderous Minsc-like stand-in. There are a few flaws; occasionally my character would get stuck in the terrain, usually necessitating a reload. Fortunately these were fairly rare, and the auto-save feature generally prevented me from losing too much progress. There were a few other bugs, but nothing that stands out in my memory at the moment. A few gameplay mechanics caused problems - most notably, your character doesn't begin the game as a Jedi, and there's a level limit of, if memory serves, 20. This means that on the first planet, if you do everything possible and continue to level up, your later progress as a Jedi is limited. Fortunately, leveling up is triggered manually with enough experience; after level 2 (which the tutorial forces you to take), you can simply wait to 'trigger' levels until after your Jedi training, though this understandably increases the difficulty in the early game. These minor problems aside, I strongly recommend this game to any RPG fan - even if you don't care for, or even like, the Star Wars setting. While it's true that Star Wars fans are bound to have a greater appreciation for the setting, KOTOR's RPG mechanics and storytelling are so successful that any fan of the genre is almost guaranteed to enjoy it.
For those unfamiliar with Jeff Vogel and Spiderweb Software, he's responsible for the excellent Exile (and updated version, Avernum) series. It needs to be said - if you're at all a fan of these types of RPGs (party creation, story driven, open-ended, turn based, slightly tactical), check out their homepage and give the demos of those games a try. On to Geneforge. The first Geneforge game was, in my opinion, a much needed breath of life into Spiderweb Software. As much as I loved the Avernum series, Vogel has a tendency to beat a setting into the ground (more on that later). Geneforge puts you in a world controlled by the Shapers, a sect of magic users that "Shape" life with magic, altering or creating new life forms to serve them. Of course, anyone else delving into their knowledge is strictly forbidden. You begin the game by choosing your class (between 3 classes for the first few games, later games have additional classes). Depending on your class, you will focus on either Melee, Magic, or Shaping. (Every class is capable of all 3, but skill point cost is adjusted by your choice). Shaping is where the game really shines. This is what lets you create additional party members. As you progress through the game, your character will learn to 'shape' more and stronger creatures to serve him. These creatures can be summoned any time outside of combat, and will stay with you until destroyed or you choose to re-absorb them. They can even level up with you! The setting is fantastic, and especially in the first game, unraveling the mystery of the Geneforge and what the shapers of Selucia island were studying will likely keep you intrigued right to the end game. As to the factions in the game - unlike Avernum, there are no clear 'good guys'. It's not completely morally ambiguous - some of them are clearly better than others - but they all have skeletons in their closets. It's been a while since I've played through all of them, but I believe every game gives you the option of either joining a faction or remaining neutral. The first one does, at least. By now, you're probably wondering why I only gave this set 4 stars. "What does it take to make you happy, Kenril?" you ask. "Do you hate puppies, too? I bet you hate puppies." The answer is that while the first Geneforge game easily gets 5 stars from me, the others I'd have to give 4, so it rounds out to 4.2 or so. The reason? As I mentioned earlier, Vogel has a tendency to beat his settings into the ground. While each game has a unique, compelling story - and is well worth the play, don't mistake me - you will see repeated themes and scenarios that constantly give you a feeling of deja vu, if not a "been there, done that". As these repeated themes pop up, you are told, through narration, how surprised your character is - the problem is that you, the player, have seen this over and over (and over, and over). It loses its impact quickly. Worse, many of these same themes were staples of the Exile/Avernum series. I think this is probably the fault of a single person being the writer, designer, and programmer for so many games - after a while you are bound to run out of unique and interesting hooks. That small caveat aside, these games are definitely worth the price of admission to anyone who appreciates the genre. If you aren't certain whether it's your cup of tea, pop on over to Spiderweb Software's homepage and pick up the demos for the games - their demos tend to give you hours of playing time before you reach the stopping point.
