Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

For my Throwback Thursday, I am reviewing one of my absolute favourite games of all time. Another Star Wars game, from all the way back to 2004, it’s Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR). This is, in my opinion, the beset Star Wars game to have ever been released (would have been KOTOR 2 but the cut content just puts it behind this one slightly).

This game was completely off my radar when it first came out, I don’t remember any fanfare or build up. I can’t even remember an advert. So when it came out in 2004, it passed me by. I got into it from my cousin, who had heard good things and bought a broken version. eBay was dangerous back then. Anyway, I played the broken game and loved it, so much that when I could scrounge up the cash I got it for myself the following year. Now the review begins.

The graphics look like 2004 was beer goggles and in 2018 wake up with a hangover and regrets. This really was the height of 3D graphics at the time, promise.

I am going to start by talking about the graphics, it was not only fully 3D but the character models were excellent and detailed, but not very varied. The animation is where this game shines, no matter what graphics setting the talking animations are pretty good and the movement/combat animations are astounding considering its age. The menu is pretty simple and the equip screen lets you pick the best stuff for your character. Although the inventory fills up rapidly and if you are a neat freak you will be forever stopping to spec up everyone before you sell the rest.

Gameplay wise, you do a lot of talking. There are RPG’s now that don’t come close to the amount of dialogue this game has. Thankfully Charisma is one of the things you can upgrade as the game goes on, along with Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence and Wisdom. All these affect different aspects and you should keep in mind what sort of build your character is. Other things that can affect your character is class, skills and even which side of the force (Light/Dark) you align with. The morality system in this game came at a time before every game and it’s DLC needed some kind of pointless morality system, and gave us a sense of choices really mattering. Some quests can be finished in more than good or bad ways and only multiple playthroughs can give you the full amount of choice that is in this game.

A good tutorial to give you a chance to see if you like your character class.

As you progress, you will level up, and then you customise what attributes, skills, feats and powers you want. This is where you can decide what sort of character you want, my first playthrough I was a healer who was skilled, second glass cannon, third tank, and then I’ve played it a few more times since. You can bring two other characters with you, which you can decide whoever fits into your playstyle better, but note that the characters will interact so switch up where you can and try to hear all of them.

As we’re onto the characters, we touch upon the huge plus point, in which they are all interesting. They all have pasts which they talk about and as you learn more about them you can unlock personal quests which are some of the most interesting of the game. My personal favourite is Juhani, who is constantly at odds with her nature and the teachings of the Jedi. The other favourities is descending order are, HK-47 is the comedy droid, an assassin droid that refers to people as meatbags (his story is locked behind skill checks). Jolee is the wise old Jedi hermit, who is unbelievably cranky and who’s history includes sex, drugs and rock n roll. Canderous, a Mandalorian veteran who dreams of uniting his people and loves war stories. Mission, a young Twilek who fulfils the Han Solo role but with more innocence and is best friends with a Wookie. Zalbaar, a Wookie that owes you a life debt and an outcast for attacking his brother. Carth, a veteran of the republic who lost his family when the planet was destroyed. T3-M4, the R2-D2 of the motley crew who hacks bases and is full of sass. Finally, Bastila, a young Jedi knight with an ability that can turn the tide of the war, who ends up forming a force connection with the main character. Brilliantly you may not unlock all of them if you play a certain way, which really drives home the choices and consequences aspect.

This droid is by far the most entertaining character in the Star Wars universe. If only he could assassinate Jar Jar Binks…

The best bit of all, the story. The game will give you the classic crawl to set up the backdrop of the galaxy, to which your immediately thrown into a battle. Your ship is being invaded and then it is tutorial time! Here you meet up with Carth, you crash into Taris. Taris is under enemy control and is under quarantine until you and Bastila, the Republics last hope, is found. From here you meet various people of ill repute and gain more followers to help balance out your team. Your main nemesis is Darth Malek, with his large stature and synthetic voice, is a fantastic villain. He is malevolent, ruthless and has backstory that only gets more interesting as you play through the game. Makes the top 5 villains in fiction when he destroyed an entire populated planet just in case 2 people escape. 2 people, he blew up a planet of billions. What a guy.

This is exactly what it looks like. Dark side rules!

So with a compelling plot of exploration, discovery and twists that spin you in your seat, this is the best example of storytelling though games. Knights of the Old Republic was light years ahead of other RPG’s back in the day and you can see how it influences games today, including Mass Effect, Fallout and other modern RPG’s. Amazingly, the modding community still work on this game and that should tell you just how ageless this game really is. Despite the 13 years since its release, I would recommend giving this game your time. Especially as you can pick it up for a few quid on Steam. This game was, and I personally think still is, one of the best RPG’s in gaming.

Just had to have a photo of this guy, Malak is a superb villain. Really elevates this game.

Hints and Tips for the Republic:

• Play through the tutorial with the different classes and see what is the best fit for you before you fully commit to the game. Use the opportunity to see the differences between the classes and research the type of character you want to build towards.
• Talk to everyone, several times. Not only will they have dialogue that reacts to what you do, but the fastest way to get quests, credits and exp.
• People who are playing to a specific morality, if you want to play every quest you’re going to have to get a few points from the opposing alignment but there’ll be loads of opportunities to rectify that.
• Personally, light side tends to lean towards support roles or in the case of guardians then tanks. Dark side is the glass cannon powers.
• Watch your levelling on Taris, as you don’t have force powers on this planet. Try and get by at the minimum level you can so you can maximise the amount of force powers your character can have.
• Experiment with crafting but don’t get obsessed. It isn’t the most in depth crafting system you’ll ever see.
• Try and do the mini games on each planet. There is usually a cool story or rewards at the end of it.
• If you’re in a space suit or diving suit, you’re going to be moving slowly, all I can say here is grit your teeth. If it is really unbearable, look up the turbo cheat.
• On Manaan, I’d recommend leaving this until last as unless you end it in a very specific way, you can’t go back.
• Use items like grenades, health packs and stimulants often. These can often make difficult fights fairly manageable.
• Always update your gear, as you play it can get outdated really quickly.
• Mod this game, there are some fantastic mods that can breath new life into it and increase the re-playability of this game, and I like getting my money’s worth. One of my favourite missions is a mod.