Nights of playing Knights

As part of a bonus promotion for purchasing Doom 3 when it came out I received an older game called Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR). It is a role playing game (RPG) based on the Star Wars license.

RPG games are not usually my cup-o'-tea. I usually don't have the desire to stick with it long enough to play them all the way through. But this game was different. You play the part of a Republic soldier (or explorer or scoundrel) and play your way through a story to try to save the Republic from the Sith. If you are unfamiliar with the Star Wars universe the Republic is good and the Sith are bad.

Throughout the game you must make choices. Your choices will influence you to the light side or dark side of the force. As you defeat various enemies and complete missions your character is given experience points and this allows you to "level up". As you gain levels your abilities improve and things get increasingly more difficult. Your character eventually becomes a Jedi and you get to create your own light saber.

Along the way you meet other characters that will join you in your quests. Each character brings a unique set of skills and can help you complete you missions. The combat interface is excellent and allows you to pause the action to size up the opponent(s) and plot a strategy. In fact, in the later missions, if you don't pause and think you will be easily overwhelmed and die.

The story is very good and a good story is really what will make or break most games of this nature. The voice acting is excellent and the majority of the dialogue is exactly what you would expect to hear in the Star Wars universe. Most of the main races are here including Wookies, Twi'leks, Hutts and Jawas. Many of these characters speak in their native tongues which really adds to the atmosphere. Of course your character is an expert in languages so you are able to see the translations on the screen.

I played the game through as a "Light" Jedi. I am now playing it through to see how it is different if you make "Dark" choices. So far there aren't any major changes but I haven't even become a Jedi yet. I think the main twists in the story will likely occur after that point. Overall, the game delivers a Star Wars experience you will be eager to get back to each time you fire up the game.