KOTOR II: The Sith Lords review

‘A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…’ – ugh. Scrub that hackneyed cliché, how about this:

‘Just over a year ago on this very planet, A prodigious game was spawned from a legendary franchise that would hit retailers’ shelves with the impact of a Double-bladed Lightsabre, glowing with the promise of appeal to both RPG and Star-Wars fans.’

Such is the power of storytelling that a profound and detailed plot, no longer an exclusive domain of books and film, has now become the mainstay of many games. And good RPG’s hinge on their plot: Fact (that was my best David Brent impression). Anyone who’s played Neverwinter Nights or Morrowind and has tinkered with some of the less thoughtful user-made scenarios available will be aware that hacking your way through to your ultimate goal without a pause to consider why, isn’t much fun for anyone with an IQ of 70+.

The crux of KOTOR was its plot, driven by an epic amount of dialogue and powerful cut scenes. It had other classic markings of a great RPG: Nerdy D&D die rolling system borrowed from Baldur’s Gate, a burlap sack full of inventory items and a raft of stats and feats that you could fantasise about eventually attaining. But these merely coloured your character.

KOTOR has inevitably spawned a sequel. A year later (and three months ahead of the original release date) and cue KOTORII – but don’t be deceived by the name. KOTORII is as different an experience from the original as Episode 1 was from Return of the Jedi.

A change could do you good...

KOTORII still offers the same in terms of graphical sophistication, cinematic cut-scenes, combat system and basic gameplay. Planet-hopping, exploration, group battles and character advancement still feature prominently and the plot is set four years after the events of the previous game. Character advancement has evolved with six new prestige classes available to you (depending on the path you choose to tread) and no experience cap (yay), which allows for seriously powerful characters. But at a superficial level, the game isn’t radically different from the first. The Ebon Hawk even makes a comeback.

However, KOTORII has a new developer: Bioware rather than Obsidian. Not such a bad swap, as it comes with many of the brains that made up former RPG masters Black Isle. This sees KOTORII take a markedly different and, for the most part, more sophisticated slant on the storyline.

You begin unconscious in the med bay of the Ebon Hawk. You’re alone, apart from Kreia (an enigmatic old biddy with an annoying habit of conveying cryptic telepathic messages to you) and, much like the plot for the first couple of hours of play, both you and your inventory have been stripped bare.

Oh, and conveniently, you’ve lost your memory and all your Jedi powers too. A scenario that’s not light years from the plot of the last game but, coupled with a streamlined (and skippable) introductory prologue, it provides you with a guiding hand that gently coaxes you into the game before the story heats up.

Chalk and cheese

And here the contrast between the games begins to show: where KOTOR was starkly black and white in its morality, KOTORII is distinctly grey. Moreover, whilst you can speculate as to a possible ending to the game (don’t think too hard on this one), the immediate direction it’s about to take is unclear; the general feeling is that your main character is moving at their own pace, carving their own destiny rather than being thrust from one chapter to the next.

Many characters have sloughed the varied, yet somewhat stale Star Wars stereotypes and have morphed into a variety of interesting shades – notable in this respect is the HK assassin droid you’ll meet early on in the game, who proves irritatingly reticent and condescending, yet disturbingly detached.

Dialogue can be just as ambiguous. As before, dark and light side points can be gained and an alignment shift achieved through conversation as well as action. A callous or offensive remark will propel you further towards the dark side as much as a kind statement will elevate you to saintly goodness.

However, most conversational options are not as clear cut as this, you’re often given choices that can be misconstrued as fairly neutral and you’re constantly under the impression that all is not what it seems. So, whether you’re planning on developing a devout Jedi or corrupt Sith, be prepared to save often.

Sitting astride the unfolding plot are the diverse range of companions (twelve altogether) you’ll meet and can recruit to your cause. Their strengths in certain skills are a key factor in forming a successful party whilst on a sortie outside the Ebon Hawk. The support they can provide you whilst in combat seems to go beyond that of KOTOR.

Perhaps Obsidian has given combat AI a boot up the behind, because babysitting your previously flaccid companions in combat is no longer necessary, as they’re generally more efficient and play a far more active role. But it’s the characterisation of your companions, rather than their value to the group that will endear you to them throughout the game.

Loose tongues and idle chatter

The Black Isle flair for character interaction blossoms through as KOTORprogresses and your collection of companions aboard the Ebon Hawk grows. Choose a male main character and you’ll soon have two fine fillies eating from your palm: The lascivious Visas and the prissy Handmaiden, so expect to have your virtual ego thoroughly massaged. Unfortunately, the onboard mud pit in the Captain’s ready room didn’t make the final cut…

The rivalry between these two highlights the sometimes torrid relationships that develop between the varying degrees of dark and light aboard the Ebon Hawk. Not surprising for Black Isle, it’s highly reminiscent of the banter exchanged between the main character’s companions in the Baldur’s Gate series.

Gaining influence with your the companions remains as important a part in this game as it was in the last. Butter Kreia up the right way and she’ll tell you her life story – revealing that she’s more than your average force sensitive OAP (I’ll bet your gran hasn’t got any Mandalorian War stories) and giving you a decent experience boost.

The voice-acting and dialogue is pretty convincing, as you might expect from a Lucasarts game, endowing your companions with a vivid life of their own. Dialogue can sometimes seem long-winded, but it’s worth holding off tapping the X button as most NPC’s and, of course, your companions have something worthwhile to say. For the best part of the game, conversation is both informative and interesting. This proves crucial to the development of the central storyline and in immersing the player into the plot of KOTORII.

A sandwich short of a picnic

Alas, the main fault of the game lies not with the strange inconsistencies that sometimes crop up in conversation or your companions’ occasional complete loss of orientation, leaving them stuck several rooms behind you. KOTORII’s plot is both its biggest asset and biggest disappointment.

It seems that, in the rush to meet a December deadline, KOTORII’s escalating plot was steamrolled in the final couple of hours. Having played for a good twenty or so hours, the climax suddenly flattened and, after fighting some remarkably lame bosses, the game ended. Without giving anything away, it’s rather like Luke Skywalker decapitating Darth Vader in The Empire Strikes Back before he had a chance to tell him that rather important something. It’s a distinctly bland finish to a game that was, until that point anything but, and it left me feeling much the way the game ended: somewhat deflated.

It’s debatable whether Bioware would have taken up the reins as well as, or better than Obsidian. It’s also worth considering whether Obsidian would have delivered a more complete and polished game if the release date hadn’t been pushed forward – but that’s for the academics.

On the whole, KOTORII is a rich, deep and detailed game. With around 50 hours (if you play both sides) of immersive RPGing and several different possible conclusions for both Dark and Light side players, you’re getting good value for money.
Just try not to sweat the ending too much.