Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords

"Not the first, but still great"

Star Wars Knights of The Old Republic, was a revolutionary game for the X-Box. It was 2003 Game of the Year. And was one of the greatest games of all time. I bought my X-Box for it, and played it over twenty times. And now, KOTOR 2 Sith Lords, brings everything back, with some new things to bring to the table, including new characters, new weapons, and of course, a new story, unfortunately, constant glitches and a weaker story line didn't make it live up to its past.

The game play for KOTOR 2 is very straight forward, and easy to master. You have a small bar at the button of the screen, which shows you what attacks you can do. As you progress, you get the choice to gain new attacks such as Flurry and Critical Hit. These attacks all do different things, and are all affective in taking down any kind of enemy. Also, as you go on, you can gain new Force Powers, such as Force Storm, Master Heal, and Knight Speed. Everything affects the way you use these moves. If you were heavy armor to protect you, it will give you high defense, but it will restrict you from certain Force moves. The way you use your moves, also determines what happens to you in the end. If you use Force Lightening to kill a needy wife, then you will be on your way to the dark side. But if you take the time and help this woman, you will be headed to the path of justice, the Light.

New additions also gave this game something to talk about. Now you can carry not two, but four weapons! With the hit of a button, you can change your plasma rifle, to duel wielding silver, yes silver light-sabers. You also are given over two dozen more Force powers and upgrades. The only thing here that made me angry, is the fact of there are multiple glitches in the game. I was lucky, and was not affected by to many, but some people couldn't even play the game it was so bad.

In number 1, you played as either the savior of the Galaxy. Or killed the villain, and became the ruler of the Sith. This game is no different. You are the Exile, a former Jedi that was banished from the Order for following Revan years ago into the Mandalorian Wars. The game starts you, not as the Exile, but as everyone's friendly companion from number 1, T3 M4. You lay unconscious on the Ebon Hawk, and T3 must repair the ship, and fly it into Peraguas, a mining colony. After this, the story unfolds with you meeting dozens of characters, which include a former soldier under you, a blind woman, and the Master of the Sith.

Tons of past characters return for this new installment, some which include a very confused and angry droid. The reason for the eight is that, while the beginning and end are great, the middle seems to drag on for a while, unlike number 1. Some would say the ending isn't to great, but I thought it was fine. This game is also a lot shorter. While in number 1, you would spend about twenty-five hours, if you speed through and didn't work hard, this game may last maybe thirty, going almost all missions.

KOTOR 2 is Star Wars music, of course it's sweet. The musical orchestra from the past game is back, and creating much new music for this game. Every sound flows with what's happening. I never had battle music while I was running though a city buying things. The voice acting is also phenomenal. Every character sounded like you would imagine. No old ladies voice for a twenty year old woman. I felt that some of the music got a little dragged on, as in it was played over and over, but I didn't care. All of the battle moments have been totally checked over, and you will hear every click of viro blades, to every grenade blowing up enemy troops from far away

No doubt, these are great graphics, especially for a Star Wars game. No Republic Commando, but I wouldn't expect that. No matter if you're walking the plains of a planet and the sun is glowing orange in the background, or if you're on a deserted and dead planet, fearing for your life, the graphics are top notch. Every scene is colored nicely, and the characters are all awesome too. Even if some of them get a little repetitive. Cut scenes are wonderfully played out. They all show stunning shows, and tons of action. While some will have you wanting more, you will always be happy to play again

After everything is said and done, this is a must have for all gamers collections. It keeps you in suspense, and rarely drops from the main plot. I would say rent this game first. To most people it will be hard to put down after starting, but I do know some that weren't happy with it. Most didn't like the end, and felt it was awful. You get to meet several past characters, some you will be happy to see than others. I love this game, and you will to. It's a very good game, and even though it didn't live up to number 1, it's still a great game and sets up number 3 with a huge cliff hanger.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/17/05, Updated 03/15/06