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Average Overall Rating:  65 Ratings,76 Reviews |
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| The Complex Masterpice |
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from Green Bay, WI 2006-10-07 22:22:56 3 out of 4 found this reivew helpful |
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Plato's resilient wisdom and before-his-time ponderings are beautifully displayed in this modern translation. Highly recommended for the philosophy student or simply for the curious intellectual! (Read full review at Overstock)
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| "Wonderful adventure game" |
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By flamberge 2006-09-12 00:00:00 1 out of 2 found this reivew helpful |
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I really love this game, it is probably the best adventure game that I have ever had the opportunity to play. It runs very well, is simple to pick up and understand, and allows you to do more or less whatever you want in a star wars setting. The... (Read full review at CNET)
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| Pros: lots of items to find, lots of quests/ sidequests |
| Cons: point and click combat |
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| Battlefront 2 |
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By Eric J 2006-08-14 00:00:00 1 out of 2 found this reivew helpful |
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Pros: plannet surroundings, sound effects, visual graphics, weapon control, more options than the first game Cons: not enough space locations, needs more storylines with more characters, not as many vehicles as in the first game I have both of... (Read full review at Yahoo! Shopping)
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| The Ultimate RPG |
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By Kotor King from SO Cal 2006-07-01 01:00:46 1 out of 16 found this reivew helpful |
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This is an epic adventure game This is the sequal to the award winning kotor and includes new gear storyline and options i personally beat this multiple times and advise YOU to try it! (Read full review at CompUSA)
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| Pros: Everything |
| Cons: there are several bugs and glitches i found through levels which will freeze your computer |
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-- Defunctgames Expert, Defunctgames  1 out of 2 found this reivew helpful |
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| "All right! I get to review a Star Wars game! Wait...which Star Wars game? Aw Damn it!" was the extent of my imaginary conversation with Cyril about my reviewing of Star Wars for the Game Gear. A slow, ugly, boring and frustrating experience. Thank t ...
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| -- Guru3d Expert, Guru3d 1 out of 2 found this reivew helpful |
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| Knights of the Old Republic: The Sith Lords Test System : Athlon 64 FX-55 Asus A8N SLI Deluxe 2xXFX 6800 Ultras (SLI) 1024MB OCZ PC3700 Audigy 2 ZS Platinum Pro Logitech Z680 Speakers Minimum Specs : Intel PIII/AMD Athlon 1GHz (1.6 GHz recommended) CPU, 256mb RAM 512mb Recommended), 32mb 3d card with Hardware T&L (Radeon 9200/ Nvidia Geforce 4 Ti Recommended), 4GB Hard disk space. Developer : Obsidian. I ntroduction There are certain things in your childhood that will always leave an impression on your mind. Those things can never be destroyed and will alwa ys leave their mark. For myself and countless others in my generation, one of these moments of childhood nostalgia begins with a simple somewhat emphatic sentence and ends with the ultimate triumph of good over evil. Somewhere in between I was swept to mystical lands, encapsulated by awe inspiring battles and mesmerized by the power of the force. It is always good when something rekindles memories like these. But when it comes to Star Wars such moments have been few and far between since Luke and his Father settled their differences. This is no more true than in the world of gaming, with high expectations often ending in bitter disappointment. In 2003, however, one game caused a disturbance in the force. Bioware's Knights of the Old Repulic (KOTOR) was so good, that in the style of Jedi Master Yoda: "propel me back to my childhood it did." Not only was it one of the best RPG?s in a long time, and not only did it provide an encapsulating, intricately detailed story line with genuine plot twists and multiple paths, but it was inherently more Star Wars than anything Star Wars since the original trilogy. And that?s no small feat. So then, it is safe to say that I had high expectations and a childish eagerness when I approached its sequel; "The Sith Lords." ...
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| -- Maxpc Expert, Maxpc 17 out of 18 found this reivew helpful |
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| Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords The Sith are a persistent bunch, but will you be lured into joining them, or make them eat lightsabre? Only time will tell. We've always been fascinated by the political systems of the Star Wars universe (electoral apathists and Lucas loathers feel free to skip this bit). Even in the first movies, there were oblique political references to the Senate, but it climaxed in Episode I with the low-born Amidala being democratically elected (how exactly does a planet vote for a 14-year old?) as 'Queen', combining the USA's hegemonising democracy and with its affection for royalty and princesses in particular. Then there are Jedi 'Knights', Senators, Emperors and Generals. It's a very confused universe. And now the Sith 'Lords'. Is it a birthright? Does that mean Sith breed? Do they sit in a House? And where exactly are they Lords of? (Gril, what about the game? - Ed.) Good lord This instalment picks up the story of Knights of the Old Republic ten years later. The heroes from the first title have mostly vanished, Revan having disappeared on the Galactic rim some years before. While the outcome of the first game doesn't affect the plot of this one unduly, you have the ability to decide what happened in the first instalment through a clever conversational game device. (You can also pick what sort of lightsabre you'll ultimately have, long before you get it, through a similar confab with a team mate.) You play The Exile, a Jedi who fought in the Mandalorian War alongside Revan, and who has since lost his powers through unspecified means. He has been wandering the outer reaches of the galaxy for some time, and his motivation, alignment and powers are all in question. If there's a theme to KOTOR II, it's this sense of confusion and ambiguity. Much like the first time round, the characters are oddly reticent about their past; unlike the first time round, it's simply not possible to find out everything about everyone in one play. Simply put, depending on your playing style, depending on your alignment, even depending on your sex, you simply won't be able to see the entire story the first time through. Let the wookie win For example, a Dark Side character who subjects Hanharr, the Wookie bounty-hunter, to enough humiliation will find out his history (involving a particularly twisted interpretation of the Wookie life-debt), and unlock the toughest hand-to-hand fighter available. A Light Side character will simply kill him, and employ his victim, Mira, instead. Similarly, a male character will have access to the Handmaiden, while a female will get the Disciple, giving two halves of the same story that only multiple plays will properly link. Everything kicks off with the same KOTOR avatar creation process, but this time you're starting as a Jedi, so your options are much more limited. You have a choice of three Jedi classes and sex, but that's it. Other elements of this are identical to before: the engine has changed very little, the combat system is the same, your companions' navigation bugs are the same - even the structure of the narrative is identical, with you starting on a single planet, and fleeing before its destruction to a second planet which, on completion, opens up four more levels. These can be completed in any order before you enter the endgame. It's all familiar, and a good backbone to the intrigue. But the yarn couldn't be more different. Granted it also has the same 'pursuit' theme, but this time you are the last Jedi, and it's the Sith tracking you down. The Republic still exists, but is crippled and terrified of these roving Sith Lords, who can massacre planets and exist independently of galactic norms. This political vacuum breeds an odd maturity. Because of the uncertainty over your companions' motivations, because of the confusion inherent in your back-story, because of the missing Jedi and a neutral public coping without them, nothing is black and white. Even the evil Czerka corporation and the Exchange from the first game are painted in a more ambiguous light this time round, so for long periods, you'll not know who to trust. Mind tricks The compatriots who fight alongside you, are a richly-painted bunch. Even the ostensibly uncomplicated characters - like Atton Rand, the pazaak-obsessed scoundrel and Go-To, a gangland robot - have strange, unlikely secrets, the sort of revelations that make you kick yourself for not getting them earlier, a bit like the Edwina Currie and John Major affair. At several points in the game you can take these and other characters on single-player romps (with a reassuringly camp protocol droid and yet another astromech unit providing suitably twisted comic relief in one memorable sequence). Moreover, they've all got brand-spanking-new special abilities, which you unlock as you progress through the game (or rather as your rapport with them improves). Mira posesses the ability to run through minefields without coming to any harm, Atton is always the last man standing, T3-M4 can act as a portable workbench, and Kreia. ah, Kreia. Kreia is the only other survivor of the attack on your ship at the beginning of the tale. Well, we say survivor; she appears to be dead, but brings herself back to life. It's never clear what side she's on and where she stands between the Jedi and the Sith. She was once a Jedi, and once a Sith, but it's hard to see where her motivation lies these days. What is curious about her is the extent of her links with the main character. You hear her voice in your head, you feel pain when she feels pain (and suffer damage when she does), and your slow-healing connection to the force appears to be routed through her. Her role is that of a mentor to The Exile, but it's not clear what path she's leading you down... Cut and droid Oh yes, that attack at the beginning. After a promising but skippable tutorial (with a certain astromech droid rebuilding the Ebon Hawk after a Sith attack), The Exile wakes up in a deserted mining base - cue lots of low-level droid bashing, and some of the weakest elements of the game. Notably poor are the spacesuit escapades on the outside of the station, where your uncontrollable, blobby character has to perform the challenging task of walking in a straight line, and the numerous turret mini-games, comparable to Duck Hunt, but with Sith warriors. There are bugs aplenty too, worryingly carried over from the previous game and the Xbox version. For example, every swoop racing track in the game can be completed by aiming at a wall and quitting just before you hit it. Hopefully this will be patched, but it wasn't the only crippling critter - there were the usual problems with your buddies navigating. Don't worry about it, because as soon as you get off the station, everything gets a lot more interesting and these impoverished remnants of the first game are soon excised. These minor glitches aside, Knights of the Old Republic II is easily the equal of its predecessor - an adult plot, new techniques to unlock your team's back-story, exciting levels and planets, divergent light and dark plot paths, and a black sense of humour all contribute to a nicely rounded RPG. Yes, there are monotonous passages, yes there's bugs and exploits galore, but none of these problems ruin the game. This is a thought-provoking title that raises issues about identity, friendship and trust - and, more happily, lots of lightsabres and large explosions. Dan Griliopoulos This article first appeared in PC Format Issue 173 - April 2005 Click Here to Shop Format page for printing Email article to a friend ...
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| -- Ggmania Expert, Ggmania 1 out of 2 found this reivew helpful |
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| Five years after the events from the award winning Knights of the Old Republic, the Sith Lords have hunted the Jedi to the edge of extinction and are on the verge of crushing the Old Republic. The Republic no longer has the strength to protect its worlds. Sith Assassins are hunting the one they believe to be the last of the Jedi, the one who holds the fate of the galaxy - you. Yes, you are the last known Jedi left and it is up to you to decide a future for yourself and the Jedi order. Bringing a new chapter to the Star Wars series, this sequel to the blockbuster RPG again delves into the saga's founding lore that was explored in the original. If you've played KOTOR (and you really should!), then this KOTOR2 offers much of the same in terms of gameplay, plus a little more. /Ed.note - If you haven't played the original won't necessarily feel lost here but the new story does build on events and characters from the previous game/. You will still be selecting gender and class, and you will have the option to assign all your attribute/skill points and select your feats, or you can use recommended numbers. Since you start out as a Jedi, you will have different class selections at the beginning of the game, but you won't even need to select Force powers, because you earn your early powers through play. The skills system is also much improved, whereas there was really no need to develop a range of skills in KOTOR, the player is now rewarded for developing skills in that they open new dialogue options in conversation with. There are several new planets in the game - Peragus Station (A mining faculty), Telos (Carth's homeworld), Nar Shadda (Once was a place of luxury but turns into a criminal haven), Korriban (Sith home world), Onderon/Dxun (Jungle like planet), Dantoine (Remains of the Jedi academy) ,some of them were seen or mentioned in the original game. In addition to the quests that are pertinent to the story line, there are still numerous side quests on each world to keep you occupied and gaining experience. And what is a Star Wars game without Force Powers? All of the powers that fans of the original loved (and used extensively) are still there. Some new powers have been added as well, mostly on the Dark Side. New powers include the malevolent Force Crush, a crueler version of Force Choke that lifts an enemy off the ground as it painfully crushes and contorts his body. Force Scream damages and stuns all enemies in a radius around you, and Force Sight shows you another character's Force alignment and allows you to see through walls. The abilities are class-specific, although you have the freedom to assign the points in whatever way you want. The constraint is that abilities foreign to your character's class "cost" double. Like its predecessor, The Sith Lords uses a mix of real-time and turn-based combat. Basically, the combat will play out in real-time, but you can pause ([space] key) at any time to give orders to your party members about what they should do next. Although you start the game as a Jedi, it's a while before you receive a lightsaber. They are somewhat scarce in the game, probably because they can be made very powerful indeed. As with the original KOTOR, double-bladed lightsabers work as double weapons and are similar to fighting with a weapon in each hand. Therefore, the double-bladed lightsaber is most effective if you have few, but very powerful lightsaber upgrades because it makes the most of them. You can learn up to several Jedi Lightsaber Forms. These are fighting techniques whose effectiveness depends upon the tactical situation. Each form shines in certain conditions, but also has weaknesses. Learning the characteristics of the Lightsaber Forms, and switching between them as the combat situation changes, can allow a Jedi to prevail in what would otherwise be a fatal encounter. In spite of how great the game is, there are many, many bugs. Sadly, they do affect your enjoyment of a game. I never had the problems with movement and combat A.I. in the first KOTOR that I had with this one. It's the same engine, and it reuses a lot of the same material. How could this have gotten screwed up? Heh, hard to say. Ask developers. I hope they will fix all these bugs as soon as possible. Despite some unsightly bugs, if you're an RPG or Star Wars fan, you should not miss out on this game. The role playing and combat are just plain fun. And there is almost limitless replay value for playing the different alignments. So, if you are excited in going through another KOTOR adventure, you will be very pleased. related links: homepage , walktrough , cheats , trainer +7 System requirements: Minimum: Pentium III or Athlon class 1 GHz or faster CPU, 256MB RAM, at least 32MB OpenGL 1.4 compatible AGP or PCX 3D Graphics card with Hardware T&L, DirectX 9.0c compatible Audio Device, 4x Speed CD-ROM drive Recommended: Pentium 4 or Athlon XP class 1.6 GHz or faster CPU, 512MB RAM, 128MB 3D Graphics card with Hardware Vertex and Pixel Shader (VS/PS) Capability, DirectX 9.0c compatible Audio Device, 16x Speed CD-ROM drive * Gamepads and joysticks are not supported snd: 5/5 - great sound effects, music fits perfectly with the game, little bit inconsistent voice acting gfx: 4/5 - pretty much the same as KOTOR 1, slightly dated (especially if you compare it to the graphical quality of games that came after KOTOR), improved particle effects and the overall effects in the Force powers and other attacks, some weird camera issues, many clipping errors playability: 5/5 - excellent, great story, plenty of hours of fun, new planets, Forces Powers, weapons and characters and creatures; feels more like an expansion pack than a sequel, too many bugs (random crashes, performance, AI, etc) genre: RPG platform: PC (also available on Xbox) release: January 2005 developer: Obsidian Entertainment publisher: LucasArts Overall: 88% ...
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| -- CNET Expert, CNET 1 out of 2 found this reivew helpful |
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| Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic wasn't just the best role-playing game of 2003. It was one of the best things to happen to Star Wars in years. Knights of the Old Republic impressively succeeded on several counts: It delivered a memorable and open-ended story featuring lots of excellent voice acting, an entertaining strategic combat system, and a lengthy, highly replayable quest. Now all those good traits--as well as the game's few shortcomings--are back once again in Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords. The sequel is clearly aimed at fans of the original, since it's a very similar game whose storyline picks up not long after the first one left off. Given that The Sith Lords arrives only about a year after its predecessor, it's remarkable that the game's quest is every bit as big and complex as the original's. On the other hand, some unsightly technical issues and a general feeling of d?j? vu will probably prevent you from feeling as strongly about The Sith Lords as you did or still do about the first game. Nevertheless, it's hard to fault The Sith Lords for following in the footsteps of the original so faithfully. Prepare for another journey of self-discovery and major consequence in The Sith Lords. Like its predecessor, The Sith Lords takes place thousands of years before any of the Star Wars movies and is focused on some of the formative struggles between the Jedi and their power-hungry counterparts, the Sith. In the first game, you eventually discovered your Jedi powers, as well as your mysterious past. This time, you play as a different character that begins the adventure as a Jedi--but your knowledge of the character's past, the character's Force powers, and even the character's lightsaber are all missing. A journey of self-discovery awaits, and as you pick up the pieces of your character's past and discover the reasons for his or her exile from the Jedi order, your path will lead you to the few Jedi who survived the catastrophic events that took place at the conclusion of the original game. In your search for them, you'll once again visit the remnants of the Jedi enclave on Dantooine. You'll take sides in a political struggle on Onderon between a queen and a general in her army, and you'll search through the lush jungles of its moon, Dxun. You'll also see some ancient Sith burial grounds on Korriban, and more. The story of The Sith Lords turns out to be quite intriguing most of the way through, thanks to some enigmatic and complex characters and a few exciting episodes you'll experience along the way. However, a fairly terse resolution and some occasionally strange leaps of logic near the end are mildly disappointing, especially given how much exposition there is leading up to the climactic confrontations that occur. But the course of the adventure (which should take you 30 to 40 hours each time through) is rewarding enough as it is, and the story is ultimately about as good as that of the original, and is therefore one of the new game's main attractions. At the heart of Star Wars has always been a traditional struggle of good versus evil, but the franchise is at its best when its conflicts are a little more sophisticated. Much like Knights of the Old Republic before it, The Sith Lords does a great job of making you feel like your actions can have real consequences, one way or another. You'll constantly be faced with good or evil options in your discourse with the game's many characters, and the story pans out differently no matter what you decide. Better yet, the decision making isn't always so cut-and-dried. For instance, one of your companions, a mysterious old Jedi named Kreia, might chastise you for doing what you felt was certainly the right thing. Kreia makes a convincing point, causing you to second-guess yourself: Sometimes, people must learn life's hard lessons firsthand, and helping them out of a bind at these critical moments may not be what's ultimately best for them. The Sith Lords' morally ambiguous storyline has a number of poignant moments along these lines, and since much depends on the decisions you make and the traveling companions you take with you, there will be plenty left to see after you've finished the game for the first time. It also has some nice throwbacks to the original story, most notably in the form of several returning characters whom you'll probably appreciate seeing (and hearing) again. This will be a very familiar experience for Knights of the Old Republic fans, but a completely new story and some new gameplay twists help keep it fresh. From a gameplay standpoint, The Sith Lords doesn't make many changes to the formula established by Knights of the Old Republic. Apart from the numerous superficial similarities between the two, the new game turns out to be roughly as long and as challenging as the first, and it too begins with a few linear sequences before later opening up, allowing you to visit key locations in any order. As before, the gameplay fundamentally consists of three different elements: running from place to place across relatively flat, typically corridor-like environments; interacting with the game's huge cast of characters by choosing from multiple dialogue options (some of which are determined by your character's particular abilities); and doing battle with various types of enemies. The latter two aspects of play are once again far more interesting than all the running around, which can occasionally get a little tedious when you're required to travel back and forth between the same areas, especially when they're separated by loading screens. Meanwhile, the controls and interface are virtually identical to those of the first game, so you'll once again typically travel with two companions, who will gain experience levels at the same rate as your main character. And the underlying role-playing system is basically the same as before, too, so if you wanted to create a character with the same skills and proficiencies you had in Knights of the Old Republic, you certainly could. The Sith Lords even features variations on the same turret-shooting, swoop-racing, and gambling minigames as its predecessor. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Review of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (PC) Despite the overarching similarities, you'll spot a few new twists this time around. You'll find some new weapons, armor, and items on your journey, and the game's cast of characters (including those who'll become your traveling companions) is almost completely original. The Sith Lords also features some new feats and Force powers that your character can learn, and thanks to the new prestige classes, you'll be even stronger at the end of this game than you were at the end of the original. The prestige classes are extensions of the three Jedi classes introduced in Knights of the Old Republic, allowing you to further specialize in lightsaber combat, Force powers, or a well-rounded combination of the two. For good measure, both light and dark versions of the prestige classes are available and have slightly different abilities accordingly. They're a nice addition to the game, although they don't really cause you to rethink your strategy or anything. You'll meet some intriguing new characters, as well as some old ones you'll fondly remember. There's some added depth in The Sith Lords in the ability to either create various useful items in labs or upgrade virtually all your existing equipment to make it more powerful, but you won't feel the need to take advantage of these systems very often since you'll be finding so much new stuff everywhere you go. Another new system involves the ability to gain or lose influence with your traveling companions depending on whether you tell them what they want to hear. Your influence will largely determine whether your allies will loosen their lips (or the equivalent) with regard to some of the most important aspects of their pasts. It's pretty subtle and basically not that different from how Knights of the Old Republic would let you try to persuade certain characters into telling you what you wanted to know, but it helps flesh out your relationships with your party members a bit more. Also, once you regain your lightsaber--which takes a surprisingly long time, but there's a good sense of payoff as a result--you'll learn a variety of different fighting forms with the weapon, each suited to a different type of combat situation. These are good in theory but don't have a particularly noticeable effect in practice. You'll once again be able to veer toward the light or dark side of the Force as you make good or evil decisions. It's usually pretty obvious which is which. Compassionate or humble responses will move you toward the light side, while arrogant or angry responses will move you toward the dark side. Either way, you'll gain experience points by solving quests, so both methods are rewarding. Of course, you'll experience some different conversations and different confrontations depending on which side you choose. And since many Force powers are light-inclined or dark-inclined, you may gradually gain an affinity for one set of powers, letting you use them more efficiently. For this reason, The Sith Lords entices you to at least be consistent in your choice of good or evil responses, though you can go through the game flip-flopping between the two if you prefer. Your alignment will probably also help you decide which of your companions to take with you into the field, since some of them will naturally favor one type of behavior over the other. They'll follow you regardless, but they might complain if you continually act in a manner that's inconsistent with their sensibilities--which may be to your liking, depending on how you wish to play. Watching how the quests pan out depending on whether you choose a good or evil approach is one of the best parts of the game. So The Sith Lords is structurally very similar to the original game, but there's a notable exception. At certain points in the adventure, the action will shift its focus away from your main character to his or her companions. This tends to work well from a storytelling standpoint, but it also means that you no longer have control over the strongest character on your team, so you'll suddenly need to make do with some relatively weaker combatants. Since it's tempting to quickly "autolevel" your companions throughout the game, rather than take the time to wisely spend the skill points and choose the new feats and Force powers you get as you level up (which you'll definitely want to do with your main character), it's possible that by the time you stumble into these sequences, your companions will feel woefully unprepared for them. Only by taking advantage of some cheap tricks in the combat system--for example, by putting an obstacle in between ourselves and some sword-wielding opponents and then blasting away with ranged weapons while our enemies tried in vain to reach us--were we able to get past some of these bits. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Review of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (PC) Like its predecessor, The Sith Lords isn't necessarily well balanced in terms of its combat system, but this mostly just helps keep you guessing. The combat is in the same quasi-turn-based style of the original, so you can pause and issue orders to any of your characters at any time, but more often, you'll simply watch as they automatically close the distance to attack their foes with melee weapons or hang back and fire away with blasters. Once again, the ranged weapons feel rather underpowered, though, to be fair, this seems consistent with the Star Wars mythos. Nevertheless, if you focus on building up your melee and lightsaber combat skills, you'll soon start to feel virtually unstoppable. Some fights can still be challenging, such as when you're faced with maybe a dozen enemies at once, but the same tactics for consistently winning battles in Knights of the Old Republic apply here as well. As a result, most of the battles in The Sith Lords are probably going to seem easy at the default difficulty, but since there are a few tough fights thrown in every now and then, it's not so easy that you'll automatically want to crank up the difficulty setting. Of further note, the game's combat largely recycles the animations and effects used in Knights of the Old Republic, but it's still surprisingly fun. Something about cutting down droves of Sith troopers with a double-bladed lightsaber just never gets old. Lightsaber combat still looks impressive, but the visuals are a relative weak point in The Sith Lords. A disappointing presentation hurts The Sith Lords, especially on first impression. We encountered a number of minor issues during the course of the game, such as characters who'd occasionally pass through walls (no, it's not a Force power) or dialogue options that would unexpectedly throw us back into the same dialogue loop. The game also sporadically crashed to the desktop in transition between areas, and our computer-controlled companions were prone to some bone-headed tactics when left to their own devices. And it doesn't really look any better than the original, but since it tries to get away with a few new graphical effects, its frame rate is prone to taking nosedives on all but the fastest systems. Given that the game's character models and relatively small environments aren't particularly detailed or attractive to begin with, this is rather unfortunate, since a role-playing game of this caliber really deserves better. On the other hand, the lightsaber action you'll be seeing frequently throughout the second half of the game is impressive, and the characters you'll be speaking with look reasonably good, mostly because their lips (again, if they have lips) are properly synced with their speech. All things considered, The Sith Lords looks fair at best. Fortunately, graphics aren't what's most important to a high-quality RPG. As with the original, the best part about The Sith Lords' audio is its extensive use of speech, of which there must be hours and hours. Most of it is solid, though there are only a few standout performances, such as from Kreia and a certain model of sociopathic droid, with whom you'll get to exchange words, among other things. One blemish in this respect is that the game makes conspicuous use of alien characters during some major plot points, and they noticeably repeat the same alien-sounding speech clips over and over while the actual content of the dialogue drones on in subtitles. The rest of the sound effects are fine, though they're pretty much all recycled from the previous game and countless other Star Wars properties, so they get repetitive quickly. And the musical score consists of the sorts of grand, symphonic compositions that are innate to Star Wars, although the game's attempts to dynamically mix the soundtrack aren't always successful--sometimes the transitions between music pieces can be pretty jarring. But The Sith Lords still sounds great, so it would have been nice if its visuals had been on the level of its audio. The Sith Lords will be perfect for you if Knights of the Old Republic left you wanting more. If Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic left you wanting more of its near-perfect blend of exploration, combat, and role-playing, then The Sith Lords is going to give you your fill. It's the first product from Obsidian Entertainment, a studio composed of veteran RPG designers that took the development reins on this sequel from BioWare, and it evidently stayed true to the original style and vision in the process--that is, you wouldn't be able to guess just from playing The Sith Lords that this was the work of a different developer. Ironically, though, since Knights of the Old Republic was such a big game, with so much replay value, it didn't necessarily scream for such a similar sequel. As a result, you might have a much tougher time settling into The Sith Lords, since chances are you'll feel like you've played this game before, only you'll swear it looked better the first time. But, on the other hand, so what? It's just as important to note that no other game since Knights of the Old Republic has managed to deliver this excellent style of role playing. If you're a Knights of the Old Republic fan, then you should find a certain satisfaction in knowing almost exactly what you're in for going into The Sith Lords. ...
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| Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Windows |
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