Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords

The game is great, except for one little detail: the ending is hurried and part of the storyline is missing. With little warning, your character is sent to the end story, with story threads still incomplete. Apparently, the game was hurried into the stores in time for the holiday season. And the maker will not devote any time to fleshing out the ending now.

All right, this is my first review, but here goes. This game is a great game. Then why did I rate if four stars? I did that because it's not complete. The ending is a bit disappointing, but the game is very fun overall. If they make a KOTOR 3 then I will feel absolutely thrilled with this game, but until then it is a half-game only.

If you played and liked Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, you'll love this game. If you haven't played Knights I, but love Star Wars, LucasArts, or Obsidian Entertainment, you'll love this game.

The original Knights, produced by BioWare, is still one of my favorite games ever, and this game is more or less the same. They've fine tuned some of the details, and added a few tweaks. Most notably is the addition of the "Influence" system. The characters aren't as deep (in my opinion) but they're not just one dimension, either. In your dialogues with your companions, you have the potential to gain or lose influence with them. Gaining influence adjusts them to your alignment (good or evil), and eventually *SPOILER* some of your characters can become your Jedi/Sith apprentices.

They've also added more combat behaviors and several Lightsaber Forms with different bonuses/costs. Plus, you start the game as a Jedi Class, with the option to become a Prestige Class based on your alignment later in the game.

Also, there is no need to play Knights 1 first. Early in the game, you will be asked to describe whether Revan was light/dark and male/female. This has some direct implications: i.e. return of some of the Knights 1 NPCs depending on whether Revan was light or dark. (Some NPCs will "forget" that Revan was a woman on occasion, and still call her "him".)

The only thing I can really complain about is that this game is slightly buggy on Vista. After the game *should* load, (i.e. you click GAME in the quicklaunch), Vista will announce that SWKotORII has stopped working... You just have to try again. And again. Eventually, it will launch, and it'll be good for hours upon hours of extended play (which was how the game was designed to be played).

Okay, I lied. The ending also sucks. LucasArts pressured Obsidian to push forward the release date, so after you defeat the final antagonist, you can ask them for an "eplilogue" about the characters, then you have a 30 second cutscene. That's it. There is no glorious ending of gratitude or conquest like in Knights I, but the rest of the game is well worth it.

Earlier this year after playing the first KOTOR game, I had read so many bad reviews about KOTOR 2 that I decided to just avoid this game. However, when rumors started to really fly that a third installment was possibly coming, I decided that I must play through The Sith Lords to be "caught up" in the KOTOR saga. Boy am I glad I did!

To me, Kotor and Kotor 2 are one big story, just like how the Star Wars movies flow together. If you are going to play both, I highly recommend the original KOTOR first so the story flows smoothly and also so the characters in KOTOR won't feel watered down. The larger selection of powers in this second game really add to the fun, and playing time was much longer--much to the dismay of the chores I need to get done around the house. ;)

I didn't have any problems with unfinished tasks, unless I left them that way on purpose or I simply didn't catch on to the "trigger event" in time. The ending had a few choppy graphics, but the voice acting more than made up for it so I could simply listen to what happens in the end-game wrap up. If dialog got passed over quickly due to a glitch, I could simply go back and read it in the Messages tool.

I also liked that even though the final battle in KOTOR was tough, KOTOR 2 was tougher and very imaginative. What worked in the first game didn't always work so well in the second, and vice versa. This keeps the two titles distinct concerning tactics and strategy, and far from boring. KOTOR 2 also had a talent for lulling me into a habit concerning the use of force powers and combat, and then it would throw something at me that would force me to change my style quickly (and it actually got me killed a couple of times when I didn't adapt!)

I had no problem with how the character starts out, and I also didn't have any problems with the ending. I enjoyed creating new Jedi and seeing some familiar "faces" and locations from the first game.

If you like Knights of the Old Republic, go ahead and get The Sith Lords to add to your enjoyment of this era of Star Wars.

The second-generation of BioWare's wonderful rpgs (preceeded by the inovative KOTOR and followed by Mass Effect, which will change the face of rpgaming forever), KOTOR II: The Sith Lords suffers only from being the middle child in a family of brilliant games. Where KOTOR was the first of its kind, with the ability to choose your path and play your way, The Sith Lords brings little new to the game besides new story.

*SPOILERS* You are the nameless Jedi Exile (cannonically female, incontrast to the male Reven from KOTOR I), banished from the republic for your part in the Mandalorian War. But now you have returned, the last Jedi to remain. Charismatic to a fault, if you rise into the Light your companions will rise with you, if you fall into the Dark they will fall with you. Love, like in BioWare's other rpgs, ensues in the cold metal of the Ebon Hawk (misteriously now in the pocession of the Exile). If you are female, you have the tragically devoted love of the simpering Disciple. If male, the half-alien Handmaiden earns your love. They along with the rest of your organic companions can become Jedi to repopulate the republic (in a strictly Jedi sense of course). *END SPOILERS*

In short, if you loved KOTOR, get KOTOR II: The Sith Lords. If you're new to the series, you'll love this. If your not, you'll like this game better. Still play, just be warned its not he original, despite the better graphics.