| Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic takes place just a few
years after the Mandolorian Wars, thousands of years before the events
in the Star Wars movies we know and love. Two Jedi, master Revan and
his apprentice Malak, led the Republic's forces to victory and pursued
the Mandalorians into deep space only to return as Dark Jedi at the
head of a huge fleet of Sith warships. Only the Force powers of the
Jedi Bastila prevented the Sith from overwhelming the Republic's
weakened forces. At the start of the game Malak has usurped control of
the Sith by betraying Revan and has attacked the ship carrying Bastila
and yourself. In true Star Wars style, the game begins with a bang.
The storyline could have been a standard coming-of-age yarn but is
instead a genuinely interesting adventure told with humor, compassion,
and respect for the source material. Your character has a mystical bond
with Bastila, and the two of you share some kind of connection to the
Sith villains Darth Malak and Darth Revan. The game's planet-hopping
adventures are driven by your exploration of these connections and how
they relate to your larger goal of discovering the source of the Sith's
sudden fleet. During your adventure you can explore side quests minor
(such as racing swoops or gambling) and major (such as uncovering the
fascinating back stories of your companions). Star Wars fans will get a
kick out of the rich lore introduced in the game, particularly the
Tatooine storyline that reveals the origin and history of the Sand
People. Gameplay is an abbreviated form of Wizards of the
Coast's d20 Star Wars RPG game system--anyone who has played Dungeons
& Dragons will be familiar with the abilities, stats, feats, and
bonuses in this game. The player creates a character as a member of one
of three starting classes (soldier, smuggler, scout) and then later
chooses a Jedi class (guardian, consular, sentinel). Joining the
player's character are other Jedi, warriors, thieves, droids, a
wookiee, and even a Mandolorian. Unlike the faceless non-player
characters of other games, each member of the supporting cast has an
intriguing history and even agenda. Up to two of these other characters
can join your character at any time. Depending on who you chose to take
with you, new dialogue and even intra-party arguments come into the
game (put the Mandalorian veteran with the Republic patriot and you'll
see sparks fly). Combat is real-time turn-based, meaning the turns are
seamless but the player has the option of pausing the action at any
time to issue orders or direct any character to use a certain Force
power, ability, feat, or item. Graphics range from adequate to exceptional. Building and character models are not impressive--about what you get in GTA 3.
Lightsaber graphics and environmental effects (like waving grass,
clouds, and weather) bring the world to life. Battles are just
brilliant, with characters pumping out blaster fire at Jedi who dash,
dodge, and even deflect the bolts back toward their assailants.
Complete with sounds straight out of the movies, the thrilling combat
is pure Star Wars. |
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