Yet another Star Wars game hits the shelves, but is this one worth the money or is it a dud game attempting to wring you dry of your money. Well I can already tell you that almost every Lucasarts Star Wars game has been brilliant so far, and this is definitely not an exception, with the amazing storyline, double crosses and brilliant twists you’ll be wanting to play the sequel to this in no time.
Play the YouTube video at the bottom of the page for some of the games music while reading through this blog.
The story is the key point of this game I’d like to discuss, as it was brilliantly designed with multiple choices throughout the game which can either lead you down the light or the dark side of the force. These choices affect your character’s appearance and future choices as well as some of the graphics and music in the game. You also have access to various force powers depending on what side you choose, for example, force grip for the dark side which is unavailable on the light side. You can pickup new party members during your travels ranging from humans to droids to aliens either allied to the light or dark side, however the brilliant feature in this game is the choice to either accept them into your party or turn against them, so you can have who you wish travelling with you. I absolutely loved the mini quests you are able to do throughout the game, each had it’s own challenges and puzzles to solve. A few in particular were infiltrating the tomb’s of the old Sith Lords where there are various traps and questions you had to answer to get the rewards, and helping a citizen solving a debt problem with a gang leader. Each situation again, being able to take multiple paths to achieve a different result on you, your party and your allegiances.
The graphics in this game are truly breathtaking, even though they are attempting to keep them simple and coherent to show the cleanliness of the space age there are multiple vast landscapes that you look out over and think… Wow. An example of this is pictured above, where the sun is setting over the planet Dantooine. Another is on a planet near the end, it looks like a tropical island but I don’t want to ruin the game for you. The music suits these maps perfectly, a nice blend of warm music and a slight bit of curiosity to help you explore to. It did it’s job nicely which blended into the background and increased the immersion of the game while suiting any particular moment of the story, from the calming landscapes to the dangerous battle scenes. The vocal work was fantastic, it really brought the characters to life as well as helping establish them in the scene. I loved how characters from your party often initiated conversations with each other to either fight one another or ask about them, this being another way to start mini quests.
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic is right up the top of the games that provide the highest immersion ratings, I found myself rarely being drawn from the game for most reasons while playing through it. I just wanted that next level, a sentence which we hear fairly commonly these days especially with MMORPG games. It’s true though there’s a large variety of skills, levels and perks you’re able to attain through this game to make your character just how you want them, and by the end there’s still 30% of the perks left which you haven’t attained through the game, due to being on the other side of the force you haven’t chosen.
The boss fights were just as I expected them to be, challenging with a chance of luck. There are multiple various bosses throughout the game along with mini-bosses shown left, which it’s their purpose to hunt you down through the game and put and end to your quest. This added a degree of caution to the game as I didn’t know when I’d run into some of Malak’s minions and I had to be ready at all times.
The game’s fairly non-linear however there’s a limit to what you can do without following the main storyline, in terms of exploring and quests, as new zones are cutoff and are unable to be reached. You may also take a break from the quests all-together and verse a citizen in a game of pazaak which is a card game in the Star Wars universe. You may buy a deck from a citizen on Taris and add cards to it for the ultimate deck, you bet how much you want on each game and can win money for use in the game. This is a nice addition but I rarely found myself playing a game as I typically didn’t need the money and if I did I could just go around and kill creatures for money and armour.
I highly recommend this game overall mainly for it’s story, depth of characters and background story but is also great fun if you enjoy strategy games and any other Star Wars games. The graphics on some of the levels could have done with an enhancement but overall it’s pleasing on the eye and suits the space-age environment. The game’s very addictive the first time you play through it although you may become stuck on a puzzle and stop playing for awhile you’ll eventually come back until it’s finished. The music fades into the background and suits every scene perfectly although it may become annoying during fight scenes if repeatedly dying. The vocal work is fantastic, combining with the music and graphics to form a pleasing and deep storyline.
Here’s the final score out of 100%:
Story: 95%
Game-play: 90%
Graphics: 80%
Sound/Music: 90%
Fun Rating: 85%
Addict-ability: 85%
Total: 87.5%
Legend:
0% – 24% = Hopeless Game, Definitely not worth buying! if you have it sell it now while its worth something!
25% – 49% = Terrible Game, This game will not prove to be very enjoyable, and may only be played once and forgotten.
50% – 59% = Average Game, A very mediocre game that you may play occasionally to pass time but doesn’t prove to be very enjoyable.
60% – 69% = Nice Game, A game you would play once or twice to see how it is, but ultimately lacks replay-ability and immersion.
70% – 79% = Brilliant Game, This game would satisfy your gaming needs for a very long time but would eventually be forgotten over time.
80% – 89% = Fantastic Game, A very fun game that proves time and time again to be enjoyable and addictive.
90% – 99% = Amazing Game, Extremely Enjoyable and has lots of replay-ability content, as well as pushing the boundaries for future games.
100% = Epic Game, Go and buy 20 copies right now! (In-case there’s a nuclear war and they get destroyed)