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

"An epic story with a confusing outcome"

Story- 9
Gameplay- 10
Graphics- 8
Sound- 10
Controls- 10
Replay- 10

Some people believe that KOTOR and KOTOR II are the best Star Wars games out there. I, for one, agree with them. I have around thirty Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords game files on my Xbox. The one with the lowest game time is just under nineteen hours, and the one with the longest game time is over fifty-five hours. This game is one of the three games that I've pulled an all nighter for. The other 2 are Halo 2 (co-opt with friend), and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. I've hit a dry spell (and so has the gaming industry) with video games, and have decided to share my knowledge with others about games and try to help them with them. So, without further ado, my review for Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords.

Story- While some may dispute that 'gameplay' and 'story' are alike, in my opinion, 'story' is what your guidelines are, and 'gameplay' is how you do them. Where do I start with this wonderful Storyline? Well, the beginning is always a good place. Long, long, ago in a galaxy far, far, away...The Republic is in shambles after the Mandalorian Wars and the Jedi Civil War. You play a jedi exile that was severed from the force by the jedi coucil because you participated under Darth Revan in the Mandalorian Wars. That's right, you start this game being a jedi, unlike the first one. This story is novel, spanning eight worlds, with great plot twists and characters. The reason that this game gets a nine instead of a ten is that both endings leave you feeling a little cheated and angry that 'I beat this game and all I got is this lousy ending' feeling. I won't ruin it in this review, but all that have completed this game know what I mean.

Gameplay- Let me see, what is on my 'to do' list? Beat up a crazy assassin droid, blow up an entire planet, crash land upon the surface of another. Fight another droid that's the size of a Hummer on steroids, meet an icy jedi that stole my lightsaber...the list goes on and on, just like this game. You think that you've finally made some headway and completed a planet only to be kidnapped by an oily businessman. This game never lets you be idle or be bored. And to add upon it all, you have to build up your skill level, your feats (abilities), and your Force powers if you want to have a decent shot at beating the final boss battle (which has another excellent twist) and become a true Lord of the Sith, or a true Jedi Master. I would take off points for your allies not being able to participate with the final world, but when they come in the end makes it all ok. This game is like no other, being a turn-based real time fighting RPG. Okay, I know what you're thinking: 'This game has so much to do, but I'd probably get tired of it after a while'. I've got a news flash for you: All items that you get throughout the whole game are random, save a few exceptions. I'm still finding new items with every completion of this game.

Graphics- Oh boy, the Sith hits the fan...(bad joke). Overall, the graphics for this game were amazing. Weapons and Armor alike were pretty detailed, each encounter, whether it be droid, human, or alien looked good. However, the game loses one point for there being so few NPC designs. There are maybe 5 designs total for each species. I know that it would probably take up a lot a disc space, but hey, make at least 15 designs for each species, and give them a little diversity. It gets old seeing the same type of person on every world. Now here comes the second point lost: Choppiness. The number of graphical glitches in this game were immense, as well as the occassional super speed and choppy graphics after some loadings. Otherwise, the graphics are great.

Sound- Wow. Wow. Did I mention the word 'wow'? There are only a few games that surpass this one in special effect sounds. From the clashing of the swords to the subtle hissing of ozone being vaporized when you activate your lightsaber, this game utilizes the cutting edge of technology. Even the footsteps sound pretty good...as footfalls go...err, did I just say that? The quietly played songs that appeal to you at the time of hearing them, but you can't remember later add to the effect of the entire game. It's really to bad that they didn't incorporate any king of weather scheme into this game, but I suppose that it either has no appeal to the general public, they can't do it yet, or they won't do it yet. I'm sorry, but I believe that fighting Darth Treyus in the rain would have looked and sounded awesome. If I could go above a ten rating for this section, I would without hesitation.

Controls- This game has some pretty sweet controls. This game is so complex however, that it requires its own tutorial at the start of the game (which is, of course, optional) that covers just about everything. The R and L buttons cycle through targets and the menu. The A button is the action button, while the B button cancels or exits you from the combat setting. Y cancels actions while in the battle setting, and X adds commands in the battle setting. The left thumbstick moves you and the right thumbstick moves the camera. The D-Pad helps you cycle through the action menu. The white button pauses and the black button changes characters. Start opens the menu. The solo mode feature is controlledby the back button. I'm sorry if this is a bit monotonous but I feel that one has to explain the controls to a game as he describes the game itself to a person.

Replay- I can, and will, play this game for many years to come. This was one of the first Xbox games that I played and set the standard a bit high for games furthur along the line. I bought it for fifty dollars and it was worth it, and now it's only $30. buy this game. I hope that this review helped you make a decision whether to buy this game or not.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/26/06