Reviewed: March 31, 2005
Reviewed by: Mark Smith

Publisher
LucasArts

Developer
Obisidian Entertainment

Released: February 8, 2005
Genre: RPG
Players: 1
ESRB: Teen

9
8
9
10
9.3

System Requirements

LucasArts and Obsidian are once again ready to rescue you from the RPG drought with Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the PC port of the Xbox sequel that arrived last December.

KOTOR II doesn’t stray far from the formula that made the previous title a massive success earning countless Game of the Year awards. BioWare bowed out to Obsidian so they could work on their upcoming Jade Empire but did offer support as needed while Obsidian crafted the next installment in the KOTOR franchise.

The Sith Lords picks up five years after the events in the last game and once again you play a mysterious Jedi who gets to learn about his past (and future) right along with you. The number of characters in video games with amnesia is starting to rival daytime soaps. There is a main story that underlies everything you do in KOTOR II along with numerous sub-plots and quests that you will undertake while always balancing that moralistic line of the Light and Dark side of the Force.

Obsidian has given the game enough ties to the original so those who played it will find some interesting character development and evolution of the original story, but having played the first game is certainly not a requirement and you won’t feel lost in any way. It’s just more of a bonus for those who have.

As before, you have several planets to explore and for the most part you are free to explore them in any order you wish. On each planet you will engage in numerous side-quests while always keeping your eye on that underlying goal. To their credit, Obsidian has hidden some pertinent clues in what would otherwise seem like trivial side-quests, so you really are encouraged to seek out and complete any task you can find in the game.

KOTOR II gives you unprecedented freedom, but this also allows you to potentially screw up and miss an important item or possibly an encounter that could lead to a new party member. I’m sure this lends itself to replay value, but for those wanting to experience KOTOR II to its fullest on one or two passes you will want to invest in a strategy guide and consult it before any major decision.

Along with this freedom comes the freedom to choose from right and wrong. Once again you can steer your character to the Dark or Light side, each with distinct paths and choices throughout the game, ultimately arriving at unique endings based on the sum of your actions. You now have the ability to influence NPC’s, steering conversations and actually manipulating people in some instances.

In the last game your party members attitude toward you was based on your current “alignment” but now you can actually use your influence to bring them to your way of thinking. The relationship system is actually quite in-depth but oddly enough it seldom affects the path or outcome of the game. It’s merely a toy to occupy your time, and I really regret the fact that it didn’t become a more integral part of the gameplay.

Controls and the turn-based combat system are relatively unchanged from the original game. You basically command (or stack commands) for each of your party members then watch everything unfold. Since the game relies on unseen dice rolls and weapon and character stats, reflexes, character positioning, and anything else you might want to do is irrelative.

I was impressed with the improvement to the party AI for this sequel. Unlike the previous KOTOR where I was constantly picking and choosing individual commands and actions for everyone in my team, I found myself surprisingly free to rely on the AI to “do the right thing”. That’s not to say you won’t want to step in from time to time and take charge, but at least you don’t have to.

So while everything sounds like just an improved version of the original, KOTOR II does add a few subtle features starting with new feats and Jedi powers as well as six new prestige classes, three for Sith and three for Jedi. These prestige classes are actually natural evolutions of the staring classes, obviously with more power and abilities that more tightly focus on combat or using the Force.

Another new element is the addition of fighting styles or lightsaber forms. This is a great nuance to the fighting system that you can either approach with diligence or not even bother with. I will tell you that if you do take the time to master these forms you will find a much more detailed fighting experience that rewards you with bonus modifiers. The only problem is that by the time you are able to learn these new forms the bonuses they bestow are not that noticeable since you are already dishing out massive amounts of damage.

As always, the characters look phenomenal with great details and animation and there are loads of special effects, glowing lightsabers, particle effects, smoke, shadows, new snow and rain effects, and some amazing lighting, but levels are often overly dark and not all that detailed in textures or furnishes.

Obviously you can crank the resolution up much higher than the Xbox is capable but even high-end PC’s will choke on a few locations deliver stuttering framerates. The good news is that the load times are a fraction of what they were on the Xbox.

The John Williams soundtrack, or at least the snippets we hear are excellent as to be expected. The music cues to the action with a cinematic flair and the cutscenes are flawlessly scored.

There are thousands of lines of spoken dialogue and it’s amazing just how good it all is. You might stumble across some B-grade acting in a few places but 99% of this game is scripted and voiced with absolute perfection.

Sound effects are outstanding and you’ll easily recognize the sounds of blaster fire and the humming, clashing, and sizzle of your lightsaber. Some of the larger battles can actually get a bit overwhelming with all of the sound and visual effects coming at you.

Then you have the prestige classes and fighting styles, plus countless side-quests, a few of which you are likely to miss unless you are consulting a strategy guide. This is a massive quest of epic proportions and will keep you busy for a month or more of solid gaming.

Whether you choose the Light or the Dark path, remember, the Force will be with you always…