Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II

Other products by Lucas Arts

Product Features

• Multiple Jedi classes to choose from, to start each game with unique Jedi abilities
• Incredible new Force powers, weapons, locations, characters and classes add to the richness of the game
• As your character makes choices through the story, you'll choose the Light or Dark sides of The Force
• Cameo appearances characters in the first game enhance the continuity and story flow
• Special content will be available for The Sith Lords via Xbox Live

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B0002B90SA
• Item Weight: 2 pounds
• Media: Video Game
• Release Date: December 6, 2004
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (210 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #561 in Video Games (See Bestsellers in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

• This is item 2 in The Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Series.

Product Description

Game Informer Review

Smug Statement: The Sith Lords is smart, deep, dark, and stands as the best thing to happen to Star Wars since Timothy Zahn penned the extraordinary Heir to the Empire trilogy. Much like a Padawan learning the ways of the Force from a Jedi Master, Obsidian Entertainment has embraced the teachings of BioWare, built upon the original formula, and forged a powerful sequel that will take your breath away faster than Vader ever could.

In the five years that have passed since the fall of Lord Malak, the Dark Side of the Force has spread across the galaxy like a disease. Sith Lord attacks have devastated the Old Republic, and the Jedi guardians are on the verge of extinction. The Republic's only hope of survival lies within your uncertain hands. Awakening in a battle-damaged vessel that is spinning uncontrollably through an asteroid field, you have no recollection of your past, yet you can feel the Force flowing through your veins. Will you side with the Republic and battle the Sith scourge? Or will you fade into darkness and let evil reign?

This compelling introduction pulls you into the plot, keeping you completely transfixed as you tip the scales between the light and dark and scour the cosmos for clues that will unearth your enigmatic past. The tale is paced to perfection and never once feels like it is making unnecessary detours to lengthen the experience.

From HK-47's amusing "droid prejudice" banter to Kreia's cryptic messages, the game is overflowing with fascinating personalities and some of the most believable characters to ever be brought to life in a game. Again, pacing is used expertly to develop relationships with the player. As the plot unfolds, you'll be forced to decide who to trust, who to keep close, and who to keep a watchful eye on. When you communicate with your allies, your choice of words will affect your standing with them. If you have a high enough influence over them, they may open up to you and follow your ways (be it light or dark).

The game also dives deeper into Star Wars lore as it utilizes a much wider selection of alien species, weapons, and gear, as well as planets that we really haven't seen much of in the movies or games. Obsidian can also be commended for creating not one, but two of the most fearsome and awe-inspiring nemeses in the Star Wars universe. Discovering who these Sith Lords are is another of the games exciting mysteries.

On the gameplay front, Obsidian stuck to the formula of the original game, but has built upon it with little additions and subtle tweaks. Of course, this still means that your supporting party will blindly run over a clearly visible mine, load times are just as extensive, some of the loose ends in the plot are not tied up (what's up with the HK droids?), and slowdown occurs when too many characters engage in battle. In short it still has its annoyances, yet the new material more than makes up for them. As you engage in conversation, you can now tap into your skills to add a new level of persuasion. For instance, if your character is knowledgeable to the subject matter, you may be prompted with an awareness option. Another interesting addition is the ability to break down items into components that you can turn around and use to create a wide variety of things.

The missions that you'll undertake are just as varied, and the consequences to your actions can be just as cataclysmic. A raised level cap won't stunt your characters growth this time around, and the variety that stems from the new character interactions only heightens the reasons to play this game numerous times. Many of the visuals are a bit underwhelming, but the detail in the facial modeling is much more defined, and you won't see as many unintentional identical twins throughout your journey.

It's almost impossible to deny the charms that emerge from this title's expertly crafted story and unbound freedom. The Sith Lords is a crowning accomplishment for video games and one of the finest Star Wars stories ever told.

Concept:
A Star Wars mystery set in the old times that offers up a fantastic story and role-playing bliss

Graphics:
Better facial models, but the environments are still bland and slowdown does occur

Sound:
The score fits perfectly into Star Wars canon, and the character dialogue is some of the best to date

Playability:
The same engine with a few enhancements around the edges. Influencing characters and making items are done well

Entertainment:
You absolutely have to play it twice to see where the story goes for light and dark

Replay:
High

Rated: 9.25 out of 10
Editor: Andrew Reiner
Issue: February 2005

2nd Opinion:
The call of The Sith Lords is impossible to resist. Embracing the dark side, I twisted an apprentice to my corrupt will, polluted the Force with senseless slaughter, and was told by my loyal HK unit that I was like "a delightful random cruelty generator." Even more than its predecessor, The Sith Lords provides countless opportunities for players to revel in the aftermath of their own choices. Essentially, anyone who said that Obsidian couldn't live up to the standards set by BioWare's first installment should be stuffing their mouths full of Bantha fodder right about now. Every exemplary aspect of KOTOR has actually been improved through expanded dialogue options, tons of alignment-specific variables, and a more engaging story. Honestly, I want to give this game an even higher score, but I just can't ignore the multitude of technical problems (like pathfinding and battle glitches) and certain key plot point omissions. Regardless, despite the imperfections, The Sith Lords crushes the feeble windpipes of any other RPG of 2004.

Rated: 9 out of 10
Editor: Joe Juba


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Product Description
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is the next chapter to Knights of the Old Republic saga. It's five years after the first game and the Jedi are being crushed by the Sith. The twisted wreck named Darth Sion will bring down the Republic, unless a lone Jedi can reconnect with the Force. You will guide this Jedi and make an important decision: Do you follow the Light or succumb to the Dark?

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

70 of 78 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Sith Strike Back: Return of the Exile, April 4, 2005

By	Strategos "The Guardian of Time" (In Space above Planet Earth) - See all my reviews

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

A New RPG

The first Knights of the old Republic (KOTOR), was one heck of a game. It took everything that people loved about the classic trilogy and expanded universe of Star Wars, and packed it neatly into an epic RPG where everything you did had either light side or dark side properties. Sure there was light-saber combat, but the game was more about storyline and immersion than anything else. The countless hours of voice-acting and intriguing dialog choices, to say nothing of conversations that would or would not take place depending on what you did, created an experience that sent shockwaves through the video game world. Of course there were also some bugs to be found (okay, a LOT of bugs), and some of the mini games were pointless (anyone else get tired of playing gunner when it's almost impossible to lose?), but on the whole, that game was awesome, giving you everything from jedi mind-tricks and choking of smart-mouths with the force to dancing with twileks and finding out your own dark "Luke, I AM your father" secret. So naturally, the second KOTOR has a lot to live up to.

You Should Not Have Come Back

If the first KOTOR was A New Hope with the plot twist from Empire Strikes back, this one is probably Empire Strikes back with the plot and pacing of A New Hope. In a move that sits particularly well with me, the dialog and plot are both much darker and much funnier this time around. I knew that from the moment I found myself half-naked tallking to a prisoner in a cell in a station where hundreds lie dead on the ground and psycho droids roam the halls. As the title of the game suggests, this time around everything revolves around the Sith (well, that and finding out why you were banished in the first place). Pretty much the whole has you playing cat-and-mouse with the Sith, trying to figure out who exactly the real bad guys are. Is is the tortured zombie Darth Sion, who is only kept alive by his own hatred and dark-side power, lusting for revenge on his old master? Is it Sith Lord who wears the creepy Sith Mask, so consumed with hunger for force energy that entire planets are devoured by his hunger as he roams the galaxy in his ghost-ship? Or is the true villain the one who manipulates these Sith fools, using them to make YOU stronger?

Pluck of an Old (Fashioned) Sith

Instead of the same old questions of simple "Do I kill the guy or give him ALL of my money" good and evil, a lot of situations in this game are grey areas. You COULD help someone, but it may hurt them more in the long run. You COULD listen to someone's innocent comments, only to discover that they are pure evil. And you COULD hurt someone very much by allowing them to get too close to you. Really, if there is one thing that makes this game fascinating, is the way that puts such a wonderful spin on things, making you repeatedly question your actions and why you are doing the things that you are, forcing nice people to kill when YOU are the good guy, making people betray their master to serve YOU. Perhaps the ultimate question of the game (and it's proved by the very end) is just how far are you willing to go in order to help someone you believe in or destroy something that you hate. Far more is at stake than just the Jedi and the Sith, or even just the Republic. What will you do? Sacrifice your soldiers or save the galaxy?

The Weapon of a Jedi Knight

Some people will undoubted become irked at the fact that they can't have a light saber from the get-go. But storyline is key here, and now that almost all the Jedi are dead, and most of the Sith as well, light sabers are becoming a little rare. And what with people hunting Jedi down and all, well you get the picture. Consider this though, what is a Jedi without his light saber? Have you ever thought about it? A jedi who's an expert marksman would be a dangerous foe, and a jedi with a sword is kind of like a samurai... And much to my delight, when you begin the game you DO have force powers.


I Want to Learn the Ways of the Force

When I heard about how this game was going to have all these new force powers, at first I was irritated. Great, more confusion, more head-scratching and decision making distracting me from the game. But as the game progressed I discovered something wonderful. Instead of forcing you to choose, the game helps you along by making the choices far more obvious. Certain types of Jedi gain certain abilities automatically (bonuses that come from leveling up in a certain style), and certain super-cool powers can only be obtained by types. In other words, a weapons master can't throw lightening around like a jedi master. More choices, but the impossible ones aren't shown, and the crucial ones are automatic. Nice.

Fastest Ship in the Galaxy

Really you've got to love most of the changes that have been made in this game. The card game has been expanded and so has the racing (and both have gotten a lot more sophisticated). You can break down components, build new ones, create upgrades, choose fighting styles You have three extra levels of Jedi on top of the old for dark side and light side, and dialog options change depending on your skills. Of course the game is also a lot easier on normal now (which some may not like), and there is a lot more soloing this time (which adds to the narrative, but forces you to use certain characters). I particularly loved the fact that Jedi can now equip armor of certain types and still use force powers. That and the fact that I never ran out of money (like I frequenly did in the first game the first time around).

From a Certain Point of View

What really makes this game shine though, is the story. Granted, it may not be as ambitious as the first game, and a few critical moments could have been better (I wanted a LONG battle with the main villains, not a quick death for one of us), but on the whole I think the story of this game is better. Essentially you start the game full of questions and end it in a similar way, but along the way to the answers to your main questions you pick up a variety of characters who are just full of surprises, and keep you guessing as to how you should play things out.

You can try to get close to one character or another, but inevitably you're going to alienate someone, and as certain characters will give you bonuses as you teach each other various techniques, you're likely to quickly start playing favorites. While some characters will just plain shut up if you have nothing to talk about, and others will allow you (glitch time) to have the same conversations over and over again, on the whole the character interaction is incredible, augmented by some wonderful voice-acting. Depending on what you say and do, you may find yourself with not only a love interest, but a love TRIANGLE, and in this game no one is quite what they seem (even the droids).

While the influence you exert over others (turning them light or dark side and opening them up to you) is great, many will doubtless be delighted with the prospect of training their own apprentice(s) in the ways of the Force. There is just something insanely cool about training your own private army of Jedi, don't you think? Of course it can go so many ways depending on how you play...

It also seems to me that the characters in this game have a much stronger sense of identity and personal agenda than in the first game, and the conversations feel more personal. In particular I found the new female characters fascinating, as the manipulate Kreia tries to teach you, protect you, and control you, the Handmaiden tries to preach to you, learn from you, and respect you, Mira tries to decypher you, and Visas just plain worships you (or does she?). The frustrating but interesting thing about the characters is that you'll only get certain ones if you are light side/dark side and you can only figure out what they're really up to if you use your powers of persuation in a concentrated effort. And of course there are also characters that will or will not join you depending on whether you are male or female (how about that?). Some people will comepletely overlook this part of the game and not talk to anyone, but they will never understand the true motivations of the characters, and certain won't have any padawan learners to educate in the ways of the force.

All in all, the story and characters are pretty great, and definitely worth playing the game through more than once to see the full scope of. Your fist time through will doubtless still leave you wondering about the future at the end of the game, as some big questions are still left unanswered (can you say KOTOR III?).

The Droids You're Looking For

And then there's the droids. Is it possible for our psychotic assasin droid to get any more sarcastic and cynical (and demented)? And what about our little astromech droid? Now you can converse with the cute little guy the way Luke and Obi-Wan did with R2 (how cool is that?). In addition to these guys though, you also have a floating orb that follows your resident mechanic/melee expert, and a new floating torture/assasin droid that is more than he seems.

What a Piece of Junk

Alright, I'll admit it. While this game has better facial detail and probably more terrain detail than the previous game (and better battle animations to boot), there are some glitches that are simply inexcusable. Yeah, there are a LOT of load times that shouldn't be there (the ones for races are particularly bad), and while you get used to them, they still are irritating. But that's nothing. During battles with vast amounts of baddies, the frame rate occasionally drops to about 0, and you'll have no idea how you (or someone else) just died. Sometimes (and I thought this most irritating of all), the dialog will be cut off and the cinematic (in-game not pre-rendered) will go black. Ugh. THAT ruins drama. And then there's times when your characters will just stand and do nothing in a battle (not good), or someone who is supposed to follow you won't (ARGH!). And of course the graphics aren't exactly state-of the-art. I mean they are better, but they're still look more like something from the N64 or Playstation than the X-Box. Do these flaws (and others) make the game unplayable? No. But they do take away that vital fifth star...

I Have a Bad Feeling About This

There were times early in the game where I was so incredible sucked-in that I could think of nothing else except that I hadn't played a game I enjoyed this much in ages. The storyline really is that good. There were moments when I thought this was going to be the greatest game I ever played (the flying creature from The Phantom Menace who faked being fooled by my mind-trick was one for the ages, as was Mira's description of how to deal with a guy that a girl likes). Some of the lines characters said were so close to classic Star Wars lines I was laughing hysterically (not to mention some of the wacky things you could say in reply). And no matter how slice it, saving the galaxy, fighting dark lords and wielding light sabers is mighty cool. Sadly though, glitches, gameplay flaws, and weak confrontations with the biggest bosses left this one a bit short of perfect. It's still definitely worth playing though. Especially if you liked the first KOTOR. It's also nice and long. It took me 50 hours to beat the first time through. May the force be with you...

111 of 140 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, December 17, 2004

By	Jonathan S. Haas (Redmond, WA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars 

Knights of the Old Republic II is a good game. Maybe even a very good game. Which is a pity, because its prequel was one of the greatest games of all time. The sequel doesn't live up.

The game mechanics are virtually identical to the original, which is fine. There are a few minor tweaks. The workbench can now be used to create items, not just upgrade them, and there's a new "lab station" that can make medical items and explosives. Both of these stations are much more common than the workbench was in the original. You can now switch among several "forms" which give bonuses to some attributes and penalties to others. Pazaak has been improved with the addition of some new cards, plus the first play alternates between the contestants. Other than that, there's not much in the engine that's new.

Which, again, is fine. The original's mechanics worked well and there's no need to change them. But the original achieved legendary status by building a powerful and compelling storyline on top of those mechanics, and here the sequel falls short.

The characters aren't as interesting. Your character's motivations are far less clear. There are times when a character's actions become cryptic for nothing more than the sake of being cryptic. The game shows you many cutscenes where your main character is not present, so you will gain knowledge that your character is unable to act on, which can be frustrating.

I found KotOR II much easier than the original. Virtually none of the enemies provided a challenge. I frequently found myself opening a door, facing up to a dozen foes, and slicing through them like butter, only to open the next door and do it all over again. There is an adjustable difficulty level, which I left on Normal... I can't imagine what Easy must be like.

While leaving the engine pretty much alone, Obsidian abused it by throwing more at it than it can handle. Occasions where the frame rate drops are frequent, sometimes unacceptably so. In a few instances, it dropped to less than one frame per second. I also encountered one hard crash while playing. Fortunately, the game autosaves frequently.

Ironically, I was compelled to play the game almost continuously through and completed it in a single weekend. This was because I kept waiting for it to get better, waiting for the dramatic improvement that would make it a worthy sequel. It never came, and the ending was as disappointing as the rest of the game.

My advice to those who played and loved the prequel is to play KotOR II, but keep your expectations low. Perhaps then the disappointment won't be as bitter.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You won't have to force the fun., December 17, 2004

By	Fred Radloff (USA) - See all my reviews

Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars 

If you love KOTOR (Knights of the Old Republic) you will love this. Might be because this is KOTOR 2. It has the qualities that we loved from the last game. However, there are a few changes. For one I have not noticed any dialogue between my party while traveling. All dialogue between party members is now done on the Ebon Hawk. Workbenches now creat items as well as customizing them. Skills have more use now because they are used to create better items in the workbench. Speaking of customizing lightsabers are now much more customizable with 5 slots for upgrades. Party memebers gain or lose influence points depending on how you treat them and if they agree with you. The more influence you have over them the closer their alignment is to yours and also other benefits may arise.

Well I think you must've heard plenty of good things about this game, but here are a few things I didn't like. The biggest of which is the ending. Don't worry I won't give it away. Suffice to say that it was highly anti-climatic as well as being a cliffhanger. In fact it is anti-climatic in a few more areas other than the ending. However, the story was still engaging if you can follow it. It is a bit cryptic at times and confusing, but if you could follow Metal Gear Solid 2 you can follow this. Another big problem is that it is glitchy. I didn't have any problems, but I've heard many others complain about it. Especially those with modded Xboxes. The romance options in this game never really come to fruition. Except for one, there never seems to be any resolution to the romances. Also you do not get your lightsaber until a good long way into the game. This wasn't a problem to me and added a sense of importance to obtaining one. Also lightsabers are much more powerful than in the first so it makes sense to make them rarer.

Despite all that this game is great! It is definitely worth buying if you are a fan of Star Wars and the first game. The quests are new and interesting. There are quite a few moral dilemmas. Not much if any of the quests from the previous game were recycled. Which is a good thing...