STAR WARS™: Knights of the Old Republic

Ok, real talk now. Everything Bioware did after KOTOR was, in one way or another, derivative of KOTOR. Jade Empire, Mass Effect, Dragon Age were all made using the same mold that Bioware PERFECTED with KOTOR. Knights of the Old Republic isn't very nuanced. It's not a complex story. It doesn't have as many emotional moments as later Bioware titles - and that's not a bad thing. This game's list of stuff to do wasn't something that happened in a board room, but it IS the game that set the stage for many things that went on such lists in its wake. The list of things to do was "Make a perfect Star Wars RPG" and that's what they did. All their games after KOTOR were like "Ok, let's try to recapture the perfect game we made last time, but in a different setting." In my opinion, they failed each and every time. This is the definitive Bioware experience.

This is one of the greatest games of all time, but not here. Even compared to other vendors, the GOG version is extremely unstable, frequently crashing to desktop and having persistent difficulties whenever a cutscene appears. I've played this game from different (modern) sources, and this particular offering is something to avoid.

What else can I say about this game that hasn't been said? It's a classic.

I played this game as a kid, but I don't view this game with just "nostalgia glasses" I've played this game for thousands of hours and I continue to revisit it. You may not think it but there's a surprising amount of replay value.The graphics may not be the best, but there's a lot to be enjoyed for sure. Every time I pick this game back up, I play it through from beginning to end regardless. Definitely worth a buy, if you're on the fence then pick it up during sale to save a few moneys.

This game IS a bit old and is pretty dang clunky. Z and C are strafing left and right, whereas A and D rotate the camera, because that's how some games used to be! It's gonna take a little work to get it to run the way you want, otherwise it runs in 4:3, I think. Also beware of high frame rates. It's "real time with pause" but also turn-based. You can pause whenever, switch to anybody in your party, and add or delete moves/powers from their queue (up to 4 moves ahead) and it's based on Dungeons and Dragons under the hood. Those familiar with 3.5e should notice it - attributes, feats, skills. You can use one lightsaber, two, or a double-bladed. Decent color choices, and two slots to put secondary crystals to add more neat stuff to your saber. Tons of dark, neutral, and light side powers to learn. Story is great. Side quests range from ughhhh to really good. Good amount of puzzles and problems to solve. I actually had to use a notebook to keep track and figure out some of them. But I really really liked the main story and it's partially why I don't like a lot of newer Star Wars stuff - I think the writing just isn't as good as it is in this game. I can't even tell you how many times I've played it. Several times on the original Xbox and a couple more times when I built my first computer, and I'm playing it again today in 2020, nearly 17 years after it came out. I wholeheartedly recommend this... not to everybody but like. Do you like DnD-style RPGs with Star Wars flavoring? Do you want to explore Star Wars a few thousand years before Sidious' Empire? Go on, then! And may the Force be with you.