Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
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| Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords | |
 | |
| Developer(s) | Obsidian Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | LucasArts |
| Engine | Odyssey engine |
| Release date(s) | December 6, 2004(Xbox) February 8, 2005 (PC) |
| Genre | RPG |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | ESRB: Teen (T) |
| Platform(s) | Xbox, PC (Windows) |
| Media | PC: CD (4) |
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (KOTOR II) is an RPG video game for the PC and the Microsoft Xbox. The Xbox version was released on December 6, 2004, while the PC version was released on February 8, 2005. It was developed by Obsidian Entertainment and published by LucasArts.
| Contents |
Overview
The game is the sequel to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, which was widely regarded as a major commercial and critical success. The original game, however, was developed by a different company, BioWare. According to the game's producers, the change of developers was primarily due to BioWare's occupation with other titles, such as Jade Empire and Dragon Age. BioWare is understood to have recommended Obsidian as an alternative developer, having worked with many of Obsidian's key members when they were part of the now-defunct Black Isle Studios. The Sith Lords was constructed using an updated version of the original Knights of the Old Republic game engine, which Obsidian obtained from BioWare.
The game takes place approximately five years after the conclusion of the first game, and focuses on a different set of characters. The conclusion of the first game varied depending on the choices of the player, with either the light side or dark side of the force emerging triumphant - at the beginning of The Sith Lords, players specify which of these outcomes they wish the sequel to follow. Regardless of how the original game ended, however, the beginning of The Sith Lords sees the Sith Order having almost completely destroyed the Jedi Order. The character whom the player takes control of is a Jedi Knight banished from the Order, and is thought to be one of the last remaining Jedi, known simply as the Exile or Jedi Exile.
Among the new characters who may join the main character are Kreia (who acts as a mentor to the main character), Mira (a bounty hunter), and Atton Rand. Several characters featured in the first game are also brought into this sequel, and a few can join the main character's party. Enemies include Darth Sion (a Sith Lord whose shattered body is held together only by "his hatred and the power of the Dark Side"). The new planets which the character may visit include Telos (the near-destroyed home of Carth Onasi, a character in the first game), the planet of Onderon, its jungle moon Dxun, and Peragus. Korriban and Dantooine, which also appeared in the original KOTOR, are also revisited. The Ebon Hawk, the ship used by the main character in the first game, once again makes an appearance.
Of particular note regarding the game is the perceived problems with its third act, or the "endgame". The game's developer, Obsidian, was forced by LucasArts to rush the game out for a holiday release. This production rush resulted in a sizable number of bugs, occasionally crippling gameplay. Also, content was removed from the game proper, although most of the content can be found inside the game files.
While some gamers are quick to dismiss late-game plot holes on the rushed ending, many of them are beginning to discover that many of the "plot holes" are explained in sizable detail, if the player is willing to spend the time to accomplishing this task. For example, each party member has considerable backstory and plot revelation, which is only heard in-game if the party member likes the player character. Since many actions cause the gain or loss of influence with party members, it is not uncommon to find that a critic has never gotten acceptable influences with certain party members.
The originally planned ending would have provided in-game fates - and in many cases, deaths - for all of the characters who travel with the main player character. In-game, the game ends with a Force User revealing the party member's futures. By explaining their futures, instead of showing the events leading up to the finale, it leaves just what happened to the designers of KOTOR III.
Fan unhappiness with the ending has lead some to consider boycotting future LucasArts releases. Like other boycotts of this nature, however, it is expected that this action will be forgotten by the time the next game comes out. The same can be said for the online petitions which have sprung up, but none have reached more than 8,000 unverified signatures.
Although the game isn't so warmly accepted, it's been speculated that there might be more games in the series. Obsidian Entertainment said that among Neverwinter Nights 2, there are plans for possible KotOR 1,2 and even maybe 3 and 4 more games to the series.
Jedi Training
In addition to the influence system, one of the improvements this game has over its predecessor is the ability to train party members to use the Force. With the exception of the droids, Mandalore, and Hanharr, every party member can be promoted to a Jedi class. Even though these promoted Jedi don't have as many Force Powers as the Jedi Exile, Kreia, or Visas, they become considerably better warriors. Training a character to become a Jedi requires a very large amount of influence, and as such many players (and reviewers) have managed to get through the game without knowing it was an option.
Characters
Along the way the player also meets a great number other characters, some of which can be directly controllable:
- Jedi Exile
- Atton Rand
- Bao-Dur
- Handmaiden (only by choosing male as main character's gender)
- The Disciple (only by choosing female as main character's gender)
- G0-T0
- Hanharr (only by choosing dark side as main character's alignment)
- HK-47
- Kreia
- Mandalore
- Mira (only by choosing light side as main character's alignment)
- Remote
- T3-M4
- Visas Marr
Other characters met along the way include:
Locations
The game is played over numerous planets in the Star Wars universe:
Players also visit other locations:
- Citadel Station
- Ebon Hawk
- Goto's yacht
- Ravager
External links
- LucasArts official KOTOR II site (http://www.lucasarts.com/games/swkotor_sithlords/)
- IGN review (http://pc.ign.com/articles/586/586154p1.html)
- Editorial about game problems (http://www.theforce.net/jedicouncil/editorials/030405.asp)
- Online petition about game problems (http://www.petitiononline.com/kotor2/petition.html)
- Gamespot editorial on the storyline (http://www.gamespy.com/articles/588/588057p1.html)
Categories: 2004 computer and video games | 2005 computer and video games | Star Wars computer games | Windows games | Xbox games
