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

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a classic and considered by many to be one of the greatest RPGs of all time and even though I have only completed one playthrough of the game I completely understand why. The story and characters are brilliant and I recommend giving the game a chance if you've never played it. The sequel however comes up very little and my research into it suggests that a rushed development left the game feeling unchanged. There are those though who seem to revere the sequel quite highly, focusing on the more morally grey tone and improvements to combat. Knowing little about the sequel then I decided to purchase a copy from Ebay and give the game a shot. Full disclosure, I’m playing KOTOR II on my Xbox One using an OG Xbox copy for convenience sake. I know it's the inferior version and is frankly unfinished but I wanted to have the experience be as compatible as possible to how I played the first game which I also played on Xbox. 

KOTOR 2’s story picks up five years after the conclusion of the first and places you in the shows of the Exile. A former Jedi banished for unknown reasons, it's up to you to hunt down the members of the council that exiled you and find out what went down. After completing one of the most painful and boring tutorials I’ve ever played in a game, you’ll finally be able to explore multiple planets just like the first game and have to make choices depending on if you want your character to go light side or dark side. Most of these planets though can’t hold a candle to those found in the first game with Onderon being the worst. You spend far too much time walking back and forth between two locations and it made for the most tedious gameplay in the game. Dantooine was also one of the weaker planets and arguably the one with the most wasted potential. Originally the home to the Jedi enclave,there was an opportunity to create some real intrigue which unfortunately was not seized upon. Nar Shaddaa though was a highlight. A bustling planet with a seedy criminal underworld that you have to become embroiled with, offering the most side quests of any planet and some interesting dilemmas that need to be dealt with. It's not perfect due to an issue I’ll bring up later but it was easily the best planet in KOTOR II. Lastly Korriban and Dxun were good but not great planets that mostly focused on combat while offering the best looking environments in the game. 

 

The meat of KOTOR II’s story is definitely more complex than the original. A lot of the time, the objective is very broad and it does lead to some investigative work needing to be done by the player. The main objective though is to find a Jedi Master on each planet in order to learn more about the protagonist's exile. This builds to a brilliant climax that flips previously conceived notions of what the Force is on its head and offers a new villain in a surprise twist that while very obvious is executed perfectly with plausible and believable motivations guiding the true main antagonist if you could even call them one. This antagonist is sorely needed though considering the game’s main ones are criminally underutilised. Darth Nihlus, the cover star of KOTOR II has a brilliant design but only interacts with your character once making him feel rather one note. Darth Sion on the other hand fairs better even if he appears little and has a ridiculous Scottish accent. Neither though compare to Malek from the first game which is a real shame. However, the first game received praise not just for its story, but its characterisation and this is where the companions from KOTOR 2 come out to play.

Kreia is one of if not the greatest character Obsidian have ever created. She is not only a superb contrast to Bastilla from the first game but a wonderful contrast to any companion I have encountered in an RPG. Her apathy to the light and dark side ensures she doesn’t become one note and conversations with her about the Republic, Sith or the Force were my highlights throughout KOTOR II. Kreia exists as the perfect example of how to write a character that is morally grey and seamlessly integrate them into the story. Some of her scenes also take place away from the main character but in front of the eyes of the player, adding even more intrigue and mystery to what is one of the best, most thought provoking companions I’ve experienced in the medium. While Kreia is the clear standout, that by no means suggests that the rest of the crew can’t hold up their end of the bargain. Atton is another standout, offering a prickly exterior which shrouds a tortured backstory. Visas literally has a tortured past and her dedication towards the Exile made her one of my favourites. The Handmaiden and Mira have wonderful resolutions that make the Exile feel more connected to them and the only weak companions to me were Bao-Dur and GO-TO. The former because he shows undying loyalty towards the Exile, and the latter because he feels so disconnected from the rest of the crew. Some characters also make a return which I wouldn’t want to spoil as it came as quite a big surprise to me.

KOTOR’s combat didn’t blow me away in the first game and here, while there are some additions, it certainly isn't that enjoyable. You will still rely on dice rolls and special attacks to get the job done although there are some new Jedi stances for dealing with different combat scenarios. I tended to just brute force my way through encounters which became much easier after I obtained a lightsaber and turned a few companions into Jedi. I found the game to be mostly easy unless encounters offered ridiculous parameters like fighting two assassins in a bar as Atton or fighting a million droids without my main character. I mostly enjoyed the way I could level characters though and found the plethora of options with feats and force powers to be satisfying enough. Finally the dialogue system remains top tier and I honestly wish the Mass Effect series had adopted it instead of using the dialogue wheel. Having complete sentences of text rather than a short snippet may take more time to read, but it also makes you consider what you want to say more and ensures you never hear something you did not want your character to say.

Last but certainly not least we have to talk about the game’s unfinished and broken state. KOTOR II was made by Obsidian in just over a year meaning it is full to the brim with jank. Quests will break making them unfinishable, characters will bug out hiding dialogue options and the game refuses to autosave even when I’m sure I have the option turned on. Nar Shaddaa crashed consistently, making me rush the last part of the planet just to make sure I'd get through it. A quest on Nar Shaddaa also bugged out, preventing me from progressing the main quest and meaning I had to reload an old save. It is also clear that content is just straight up missing from the game. Now I know this content is available on PC but that does not escape the fact that the Xbox version is incomplete so keep that in mind. It’s a shame too because if Obsidian had taken longer to complete the game and put out the product they wanted, it could have been revered as highly as the original.

Conclusion

In concluding this review, I’m reminded of two other Obsidian products, Alpha Protocol and Fallout: New Vegas. Alpha Protocol was an ambitious, well written cult classic that was a broken mess, and New Vegas was also a well written classic that’s insanely buggy. Those two games standout because their characters, dialogue and quests were so entertaining and KOTOR II fits right in with them. There is so much to like from the genuinely compelling issues thrown at the player, to the wonderful companions. Kreia Atton, Visas, Mandalore, Handmaiden and even Bao-Dur have varied and contrasting reasons for following you and while the first act is poorly paced, the finale is brilliant. In debating whether I prefer KOTOR 1 or 2 it's really a tossup for me. The first game has an easier to follow narrative but the sequel asks the player more questions and completely recontextualises the role the force plays in the galaxy. In the end though it doesn’t really matter which one I prefer. KOTOR 2 is definitely not better than the first game as it’s partially completed condition, variety of bugs and samey feeling gameplay cripple it too much. It is however an immensely clever effort from Obsidian to create a narrative that doesn’t just revolve around the player. One that unfolds away from them and reacts not just to them, but to the other elements inplay. And one that offers a character in Kreia most RPGs wish they had.

Rating: A Kreiative Masterpiece

8/10