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182 of 199 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Might have been great, had they finished it, March 3, 2005
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
Knights of the Old Republic 2 is, in most ways, extraordinarily similar to the original. All the gameplay mechanisms are the same. There are a few new force powers, more feats to acquire, and more items and upgrades. This is not a criticism: the original KOTOR was a great game.
This is not, for one simple reason: it isn't finished. By this, I don't mean that the door is left wide open for a sequel, although it is. I don't even mean that the game is buggy, although it is. The game is literally not finished.
Plot points appear and disappear at random. For example, and without spoiling anything, in the first part of the game, your actions cause a significant problem on one of the other worlds in the game. You get a quest to fix the problem. You find a way to do so. The quest abruptly ends there--there is no way to let anyone know you've solved the problem. Then, at the end game, people complain to you that you never solved this quest. And that's a minor example. Frankly, more of the end game is explained by the brief blurbs on the loading screens than anything that happens in the game itself.
The game is filled with "Huh?" moments as a result. The end game, in particular, expects you to know things that are never revealed anywhere because those aspects were cut. Side plots are built up and suddenly dropped. One of the end-game cutscenes suggests a critical decision is about to be made, then is completely ignored.
Then there's the ending itself. Sheer garbage. There's no payoff for wading through the disjointed story. There's nothing but a brief little dialog that goes nowhere.
What's particularly sad is that, what story is there is very interesting. This game was designed by the designer for Planescape: Torment, one of the great RPGs. It has a similar feel, full of regret and melancholy, and the weight of decisions made in the past. I'm quite sure a complete story was developed. Some genius decided to start cutting so the game could get out the door sooner. It's a sad waste of potential, and leaves a bitter taste.
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221 of 252 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A Half Great Game, February 14, 2005
Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars
Oh, man, here we go with the name calling already. Re reviews below: Ray is not an "idiot" L.L., he just expected his game to run since Kotor I ran okay on his system, and the engine is basically the same. I've had the opportunity to play Kotor II on the Xbox (friend's copy and console), and now I've just finished the PC version (hoping Obsidian/Lucas had learned something in the last two months). No such luck. The game is inexcusably buggy (even after all the feedback from the Xbox version players). This is a serious and distracting problem throughout the game (and Lucas/Obsidian tech support is not good) -- beware!
To be fair, I should note that Kotor II is a darker, more complex, more philosophical story than Kotor I. The GAMEPLAY is somewhat better with a whole new system to build a great Jedi character (Dark or Light) and to handle combat more effectively (new Dark/Light Force powers are available along with new moves, feats and Jedi or Sith "prestige classes"). But the STORY, as realized, is often tedious, confusing and even puzzling (read boring) -- it often simply doesn't make sense (Like why am I doing this?). Quests end for no apparent reason without resolution or explanation. The ending sequences are especially bad. Storylines begin involving NPC's in your party who you care about, but you have no idea how they're resolved. The ending just creeps up, and then it's suddently game over (credits roll). It's almost as if they didn't get a chance to finish the last 25% of the game completely (time constraints?). This looks like a rush job for the Christmas 2004 (Xbox) shopping season which is really a shame. With a little more development time, testing and polish, this game could have really been great. I guess it's all about money.
The new characters/party members are okay, but not quite as interesting as Kotor 1. You do have a "bond" with one of the NPC's, but she's not a pretty young Jedi -- just the opposite in fact. For those of you who enjoyed the "romance" and other sidequests involving party members in Kotor 1, there will be major disappointment. If you liked the random dialog (sometimes very funny) between certain NPC's in the first Kotor, forget it. Most of the dialog in Kotor 2 seems to be pretty much scripted. The new "influence" system is a nice touch if you like to talk a lot (and know how to say the right things). If you handle things exactly right, you can even make apprentices (Jedi or Sith) out of certain party members.
In a couple places the game forces you to split up your party and use party members you don't like, don't want and didn't equip (this really bothered me). If you like combat, you can build a real "tank" type Jedi and mow down scores of "enemies" (this can get a little old after a while). I often felt my character was actually too powerful -- even with the game setting on "difficult". Remember, this time your character starts the game as a Jedi exile with some Force powers (but no light saber -- you must acquire the components and construct it). The weapons balance (melee vs. ranged) is MUCH improved as is the ability to switch weapon types during combat.
So, as I said in my Xbox review, this is a half great game. The gameplay is great, but the story/quests/characters are not so great. There's no way this game deserves 5 stars (except to real Star Wars fans who admit the game has problems but still give it 5 stars. Hmmm). For more objective people, I'd give it 3-1/2 stars if I could. It's a pretty good game. Perhaps upcoming patches will fix the bugs; perhaps not. I loved Kotor I but felt kind of let down by this one. Consider carefully before you buy.
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18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not a bad game . . . but you might want to wait for the price to drop before buying., July 22, 2005
A Kid's Review
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
The first KOTOR was, in my opinion, one of the greatest games ever. Though it had its flaws, they were few and far between. Obsidian and everyone involved with putting out KOTOR 2: TSL deserves an enthusiastic round of applause for their efforts to make a follow-up to such a stellar game. They managed to come up with a sequel that, while plauged with bugs and other issues, is nonetheless relatively enjoyable.
First, the good stuff:
TSL is fun to play--most of the time--and delivers much the same kind of experience as the first KOTOR (after all, what can compare to barbequing hordes of Sith with Force Storm whilst laughing maniaclly to yourself?). KOTOR 1 was good, and TSL tries to continue in the same tradition. Though there are plenty of problems with the game (see below), it is worth the time, to play through a few times. Many of the new features, like the streamlined weapon-change function, or the "Empty" label for looted containers, or the fact that new datapads are automatically opened to be read, are small but very helpful add-ons. The new prestige classes add a lot to the experience, giving much additional replay value. The companion influence system is interesting, if a bit stifling at times. Aside from the gameplay, I feel compelled to praise the new Jedi/Sith robes in the game: unlike KOTOR 1, TSL boasts about four different, full-length types of robe, with probably two dozen different color schemes/stats/features--it is most gratifying to walk around in a flowing robe, something very Star Wars-ish that the first game just didn't convey despite the brilliance of everything else. The music is quite good, as is the feature on the main menu that enables you to listen to the different songs you've unlocked in the game.
Now the not so good . . .
The one word that comes to mind when playing TSL is "Potential." This game had *enormous* potential to be utterly amazing, but unfortunately . . . it's not. I've seen other reviewers griping about Lucasarts pushing Obsidian too hard, about the game not being completely finished when released, etc. I'm not going to get involved in all that, but there are a great many things that disappoint in TSL, and it looks like TSL was indeed *not* entirely done when released (Pardon me while I sigh miserably over the lost content).
The incomplete state of the game is the biggest issue for me. This means that there are vexing holes in the story--especially near the end, where, as I think someone else pointed out, the little tidbits of info on the load/save screens are more informative as to what's going on than the game itself. The first KOTOR really delivered a strong, continuous main plot that kept you riveted till the very end; TSL pales in comparison. The story is *there*, you can sense it, but it was not fully brought out and clearly delineated--again, wonderful potential, but it falls flat. The end of the game is nice, to be sure, but KOTOR 1's was, simply put, totally cool, and made your adventure worth playing. In TSL, well, it's more than a little disappointing.
The NPCs you find seem sadly, madeningly dull compared to the first KOTOR. They don't have nearly as satisfying backstories or personalites--with the notable exception of Kreia; she is in the same league as KOTOR 1's characters. Occasionally, you'll get a juicy emotional cutscene or something where you actually connect with the others in your party, but those are infrequent. Also, the influence system makes its doubly hard to find out any stories that the NPCs actually have. (After hearing Atton make a woefully not-funny comment for the hundreth time, you'll start getting nostalgic for Jolee or HK-47 and their side-splitting remarks.)
The sidequests involve a lot of tedious running back and forth, and many quests simply cannot be completed, or end with irritating abruptness, a symptom of the game's unfinished state.
Many of the locations you visit in TSL are disappointingly flat. Unlike the unique and vibrant locales in the KOTOR 1, TSL's areas seem to be studies in how many shades of brown, gray, and black can be used (ah, for Manaan, or the Rakatan world).
There are other complaints, too: countless bugs, typos in the dialogue subtitles, items mysteriously vanishing from inventories, plot-critical quests failing to trigger, etc.--while I've been fortunate enough to avoid the bulk of these, I've heard many others complaining bitterly about them.
All in all, TSL is fun, but is lacking on many levels. If you liked the first KOTOR, I'd recommend getting TSL, but you'd be better off waiting for the price to drop.
Meanwhile, I think I feel inspired to go replay the first KOTOR, and hope that the rumored KOTOR 3 will be polish the many rough spots in KOTOR 2 . . .
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