First Impressions: Knights of the Old Republic

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One could say I dove right in to the LucasArts/Bioware effort Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for the Xbox upon receiving it Thursday, though it would probably be more accurate to say I began devouring it with the ravenous ferocity of a malnourished Rancor.  It's been some time since I've enjoyed a really solid Star Wars title, one that not only captured the aesthetics of the franchise, namely by setting a significant portion of the game on a desert world, but also mirrored the innocence and purity of conflict that the Star Wars original trilogy is so well vested with.  That is, I've played many games with the trappings of Star Wars, but very few that lived up to my expectations of what such a game should feel like.

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Sometimes, the most difficult thing about creating a gaming experience in such an established universe is simply fulfilling the players' preconceived expectations about that universe.  The upside of producing a Star Wars title is, of course, the certainty of generating sales, but the downside is that you're not only then compelled to make a solid game, but to make a solid Star Wars game with all the myriad pitfalls involved.  Couple that with a significant hype factor, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic has a lot to live up to. 

The question of how Knights of the Old Republic - or KOTOR as it's more commonly referred to by people who don't want to write Knights of the Old Republic over and over again - ultimately fulfills its goals is best left answered later.  I want to digest the full experience and quietly ponder its aftertaste before passing final judgment, but I'm happy to tell you that the first course is quite satisfying, and things look promising.

KOTOR begins, as all great space sagas, on a besieged, doomed spaceship.  Essentially covering as both a tutorial and an introduction to a few of the characters, your first encounter with KOTOR quickly leads you through the basics of its intuitive controls and its combat system.  Upon escaping from the nefarious clutches of the evil Sith, and finding yourself stranded on the Sith controlled world of Tarsis, the actual game begins.

A few notable things stick out in my mind about KOTOR thus far, and to my pleasure most of those points are positive ones.  First, and possibly least important to some, I have to take a moment and cheer Bioware's decision to give players the option to save anywhere.  Sense that you're coming upon a crucial or pitched battle?  Go ahead and save first.  Found a spot that you'd like to explore more finely later; yeah, you can save there too.  Have a moment where you'd like to see what happens if you drift toward the dark side, go ahead and save with no worry of repercussions.  There are no limits to the amount of saves you have, no limit to where you can save, and no artificial extensions to gameplay in the guise of save points.  Maybe it comes from Bioware's PC legacy, or maybe it comes from respect for the player to dictate their own experience, KOTOR places no designed restrictions on your enjoyment of the Star Wars game. 

Further, and again with a flourishing bow to developer Bioware, the game just screams of polish, from voice acting, to story, to the combat system, to the intangible elements that make KOTOR feel like a Star Wars story.  Without artificially throwing Luke Skywalker at you, or making heavy-handed references to Han Solo or the Millennium Falcon, KOTOR evokes the memories of the characters, events, and setting of the original trilogy without drowning in them.  The story, being set in a time without the constraints of movie or book, has the freedom to develop on its own, but every now and again you sense a parallel that reminds you of why you liked Star Wars in the first place, and that's really quite satisfying.  From the first throaty growl of Big Z, to the roar of the Ebon Hawk as it makes the jump to lightspeed, to Darth Malak gazing pensive and malevolent down upon Taris, hands grasped tightly behind his back, KOTOR is at the same moment its own game, and also very reminiscent of what made the franchise popular in the first place.

On the topic of combat, I've always had a complaint with games that incongrously introduce melee weaponry into a game stocked with blasters.  It's always seemed common knowledge to me that you don't bring a knife to a gun fight, so why would I charge a Sith Trooper firing blaster rounds at me with a blade, vibro or otherwise?  Further, how would one just shrug off blaster fire as if it were merely an irritant?  Thankfully, and thoughtfully, KOTOR answers both questions in one pass, making sabers, light or otherwise, not only a realistic combat option, but a logical one.  It's a subtle point, but I'm happy to see it included.

Another problem I've often had with many console RPGs and which is addressed here is how often I dislike the protagonist I'm forced to control.  Whether it's Cloud, Squall, or Tsunami-the-Whiny, usually I'd much rather see the unnecessarily tolerant sensai drag my character behind the woodshed and give him something real to cry about, than patiently put up with prepubescent petulance (Alliteration ahoy!).  Fortunately, I dictate the attitude of my hero in KOTOR without having a personality thrust upon me.  Whether I want to be the wise cracking scoundrel, the serious minded Jedi, or the darkly evil anti-hero, the decisions about how my role-playing character develop are up to me, and even more happily I feel like the decisions I make in game, both in my actions and my speech, genuinely affect the course of the plot and how my party reacts to me.  Married to an engaging story, the ability to plot the course of my own character keeps me both interested in what happens to my character, and the development of characters that surround him!

As I said at the start, I don't want to judge or praise KOTOR too much too early, so I'll leave the bulk of my comments about story, combat, level progression, and stability for a later and more comprehensive review, but I also don't want to walk away without my objectivity in tact.  As such, there are a few things which have occurred to me as not quite up to par, things which I might have liked to see a bit more polish on.

First, the visuals are often times striking and beautiful, but at other times merely passable.  A tilted blade can quickly go from looking like the sharp instrument of a warrior to a metal staircase as seen from a distance.  One imagines, or hopes that on the PC version, with the option of higher resolution and better anti-aliasing, 'jaggies' might not be such an issue, but on my 32" Panasonic edges and curves aren't quite as crisp as I might prefer.

The game is also often a touch linear so far, though I suspect that will become less an issue as the game progresses.  I don't mention this precisely as either a complaint or a compliment, only as a notable design decision.  What does trouble me a bit however is that the levels feel like they have artificial borders to precisely funnel gameplay reminiscent to Bioware's own Neverwinter Nights.  In a great expanse of open grassland, having only three precise entrances and exits to any given playfield quickly reminds you that one does not have complete freedom, that one is playing a video game.  While I understand the concept of directing gameplay, I've seen it done with less a heavy hand.

Finally I'd have liked a more cleanly designed inventory system.  While I am grateful for the option to sort my inventory by options such as 'new items', 'equippable items' and the like, I still find that I'm often scrolling through a bulky and bloated knapsack to find that datapad or trap I just picked up.  I'd also have liked to see an option to easily switch from ranged to melee weapons during combat instead of having to pause and navigate several screens at a crucial moment. 

While I don't want to pass any judgment at this time, I also don't want to leave my impressions dropped on a negative note, so I will reiterate that my concerns above are presented only as evidence that Bioware hasn't got it quite perfect, and almost to prove to myself that I can come up with something to be critical about.  The truth is I'd much rather be playing KOTOR than either complaining about or praising it. The best thing you can say about the first ten hours of any game and still walk away with your credibility is that you're happily looking forward to playing the next ten, so I will say this: after playing the first ten hours of KOTOR I'm happily looking forward to playing the next twenty.  My time so far with Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic leaves me much more satisfied than I am with the complete experience of most Xbox games.

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- Elysium

Comments

Nice review, I hear what you are saying about praising it too early but so far so good. If the game can keep up the quality of the first 10 hours I think we have a classic on our hands.

Well Ely, I can say that your complaint about linearity is less founded once you finish with Dantooine. At that point the galaxy opens up and your free to travel it where you wish and complete your quest in any order or method you feel necessary.

As usual, Elysium puts into words my thoughts almost to the letter. Considering the screen shots you find at the official site KOTOR's jaggies throw you off at first, damn them and thier sneaky AA screen shots!

I have a feeling I'll be saving my second play through for the PC version.

This game is better than shooting whores in Grand Theft Auto vice city!  And that's high praise!

All I can say at this point is that when I close my eyes I see this game running around beneath my eyelids. That's as good as it gets, fellas.

    I don't know what is more impressive about this game. The fact that it is a much better Star Wars movie than either of the two newer ones or it's seamless blendign of the d20 system into an effective gameplay experience. The voice acting is top-notch, and dialogue is cleverly written.

    I rank this game as the third-best title for Xbox behind Halo and Splinter Cell.

I must say, this is the most well written game review I have read in some time.  The article is right on, and the authors first impressions are like he "read my mind".<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

While I've only made it through about 5 hours of gameplay, it has been quite enjoyable, resurrecting the excitement I once felt for Star Wars that the new novels and new movies have failed to do.

Sometimes, in a fit of intense narcissism, wish I could have written the prequels.  I imagine that the storyline of KOTOR might be quite similar to what I would have loved to have seen.

I to am loving this game. It is so much better than episode I & II its laughable. I've been staying in the middle of the light and dark sides. How about everyone else?

"All I can say at this point is that when I close my eyes I see this game running around beneath my eyelids. That's as good as it gets, fellas. "

Wow.

Keeping it totally evil and loving it. It's hard for me to be evil since the actions you do are so well 'evil' but its worth it. I'm 23 hours in and enjoying it even more now. My only dilemma now is when I play it again with a light jedi do I play the Xbox version or wait for the PC in Sept?!

Im doing a light side "idealistic yet cautious scout". Next time, Im going to play a "dark side mischevious manipulative scoundrel". As long as it is I actually want to play through a good chunk of it again.

When you guys finish, let me know how long it took !! Dying to know.