An excellent Star Wars RPG
Knights of the Old Republic, made by Bioware, really is a classic that still stands the test of time. While it still is a classic title, it is not for everybody by any stretch of the imagination. The menus are clunky, and stat growth and battle system is not terribly well explained in the beginning, and the introduction doesn't give a very good glimpse into the rest of the game. But if you prevail past the crappy UI and D&D style battle system, you have yourself a fascinating and deep game that will provide you hours of entertainment.
This really is a game about choices, and the story. The battling, although a lot of fun once you become a jedi and get cool force powers, isn't the main focus of this game. This is a game where you shouldn't just run headfirst into battle, you should talk to the numerous NPCs, wander around, see if there's a better way to complete your objectives. And the beauty of this game is that there is often a different way to go about nearly anything. All the story missions usually have numerous paths, usually revolving around being a light side character, and being a dark side character. You can be everything from a reward refusing jedi hero, to a prick that just says, F#%@ you, give me credits or die.
What may turn off many modern gamers, used to action and FPSes (two genres I enjoy immensely!), may find the battle system highly deceptive and boring. This really is a turn-based game, even though it appears to have combat in real time. You assign orders by clicking on what skills, granades, and force powers you want your characters to use on their enemies. Then you sit back and watch them follow through, and you pause when you want to assign new orders. The reason why it may seem very difficult to modern gamers is that most people don't like pausing. I didn't like pausing wither at first, and you really don't need to technically. But then I realized that when you don't tell your characters what to do, they often do dumb things and get themselves killed. This is where a lot of the early game difficulty comes from as you figure out why the heck you die from simple enemies all the time. Early difficulty problems like tough hit penalties early on result in a difficult to get into game for those expecting an action experience. But the battle system really picks up when you and your party becomes powerhouses, and rolling over sith masters and soldier fodder with cool force powers and your trusty lightsabers never gets old. It just takes a while to get there.
Knights of the Old Republic is now available on Steam for the truly low price of $10.00 (update luchadeals?) For $10, anyone interested in one of the best Starwars stories available and a unique active turn-based battle system, who's willing to overlook a clunky UI and a slow start should give this game a shot. Gamers with no interest in story or a turn-based system where you give commands instead of controlling the action, may want to take a pass. But for the patient gamer, I highly recommend this title.
