...or not. You can choose to avoid the portals opening up and spewing out demons and choose to do your own thing. It's entirely up to you, it is an Elder Scrolls game after all. I have a special place in my heart for this game as it was the first Elder Scrolls game I ever played, and never before had I gotten immersed into a fictional world the same way I got sucked into Oblivion. I will never forget the first time I stepped out of the sewers and saw the massive world laid open in front of me, just begging to be explored. I will never forget the first time I came across Kvatch, with its blood red skies and demons rushing out of the Oblivion gate that had opened right outside of the city gates. I will never forget going in to close that portal. I will never forget how I stole a horse and had the stable owners and guards come to chase me down, thinking that the game didn't care about who owned what as no other game I played took that into account (spoiler: it did). I have many memories with this game. For the longest time I only owned the base game on disc and never really got around to playing the DLC for this game. I must confess, I don't think time has been particularly kind to Oblivion (hence the four star rating). It's characters look ugly nowadays and it seems harder to get into for new players than it's successor, Skyrim. But there is a certain charm to Oblivion that I feel has not been lessened over the years, and now that it is available on GOG, complete, this was the perfect time for me to jump back in to the land of Cyrodiil. So, happy adventures, recently freed prisoners from the Imperial Prisons, and keep an eye out for those mudcrabs, they're nasty creatures.
...or not. You can choose to avoid the portals opening up and spewing out demons and choose to do your own thing. It's entirely up to you, it is an Elder Scrolls game after all. I have a special place in my heart for this game as it was the first Elder Scrolls game I ever played, and never before had I gotten immersed into a fictional world the same way I got sucked into Oblivion. I will never forget the first time I stepped out of the sewers and saw the massive world laid open in front of me, just begging to be explored. I will never forget the first time I came across Kvatch, with its blood red skies and demons rushing out of the Oblivion gate that had opened right outside of the city gates. I will never forget going in to close that portal. I will never forget how I stole a horse and had the stable owners and guards come to chase me down, thinking that the game didn't care about who owned what as no other game I played took that into account (spoiler: it did). I have many memories with this game. For the longest time I only owned the base game on disc and never really got around to playing the DLC for this game. I must confess, I don't think time has been particularly kind to Oblivion (hence the four star rating). It's characters look ugly nowadays and it seems harder to get into for new players than it's successor, Skyrim. But there is a certain charm to Oblivion that I feel has not been lessened over the years, and now that it is available on GOG, complete, this was the perfect time for me to jump back in to the land of Cyrodiil. So, happy adventures, recently freed prisoners from the Imperial Prisons, and keep an eye out for those mudcrabs, they're nasty creatures.
I am going to preface this review with a caveat. If a game that is unfinished is something you know you're not going to enjoy, despite the rest of it having no match in quality, then I suggest you look elsewhere for your RPG fix (there are plenty of them on GOG). I also want to add that this review is for the game WITHOUT the Restored Content Mod. Having said all of that, I would still argue that Knights of the Old Republic II is one of the best games ever made, and especially in terms of the story, surpasses it's already excellent predecessor. This game asks questions about the Jedi, the Sith, and the Force that no other Star Wars game that I know of has yet to tackle. While the graphics have aged poorly, this is still the same old Knights of the Old Republic gameplay that you know and love. The enhanced crafting features really add to the sense of making you feel more powerful. This game is notorious however for having really no ending and ultimately it does bring the final product down somewhat with it. Here's my suggestion to you, if you have never played Knights of the Old Republic II before: First, play through the first one. It is almost essential to understanding of what's going on. Second, play through this game, as I believe it is in this release, in it's original, unfinished state. Third, download the Restored Content Mod and play through this game once again. In my opinion you really don't get an appreciation for what was cut if you play it through the first time with the mod. If I was reviewing this game with the Restored Content Mod it would hands down be a five star game that surpasses the first in every single way. That being said, it is still a great game even unfinished.
At this point I don't think there's much that can be added to Knights of the Old Republic that hasn't already been said. I originally played this game on the physical discs (It came on 4 CDs...) and played the hell out of it. Today I still play it, and now I can enjoy it DRM Free! The story of this game is among the best (beaten only by perhaps Knights of the Old Republic II) and this game was when Bioware was in its prime. Sure, the graphics themselves don't look as good as they did when this game was released, and to be fair, some of the actual gameplay elements are a little "outdated", but I would argue that everything else about this game is sheer excellence. For me, the combat still holds up to this day, the story is still excellent, and no other game is going to make you feel more like you are in the Star Wars universe than this one. This is a must own.
