Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC)

Everyone knows Star Wars - the epic tales of good versus evil, the fascinating characters and the ever-expanding universe.

For many years, ever since the original movies hit the big screen, it has been the dream of many a boy and girl to throw off the mantle of everyday life, and be transported magically to live and breathe in this fantastic world of daring adventure and breathtaking romance. For in the magical world of Star Wars, petty concerns are quickly forgotten when the fate of the entire galaxy hangs in the balance. And everyone knows that no matter the hardships, good will always triumph over evil in the end.

Unfortunately, that is not the case in the software-publishing industry.

In fact, as far as Star Wars releases are concerned, it seems that evil has planted its wretched, fat hutt-behind squarely on the situation. With one worthless excuse for a game coming out after the other, all marketed under the once-proud Star Wars brand, it appears the magic has gone the way of the quick dollar and the supermarket bargain bin.

Needless to say, this state of affairs is unlikely to inspire confidence in new titles, even among the most die-hard of Star Wars fans. So when a new title like Knights of the Old Republic shows up, and promises an immersive, action-packed Star Wars role playing experience, most are going to simply shrug and go on about their dejected lives. Even the Bioware logo on the box (the company behind titles such as the Baldurs Gate-series and Neverwinter Nights) is unlikely to make more than a few dare to hope that KotOR will deliver where so many other games have failed.

Amazingly, however, Knights of the Old Republic not only delivers, it delivers like you wouldn't believe…

A real story

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

As it is customary for Star Wars titles, Knights of the Old Republic takes place a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away… more specifically, an even longer time ago than the ‘first’ Star Wars movie, The Phantom Menace. As the game begins, the protagonist (the player character) is hurled headlong into a frantic battle aboard a Republic starship. Boarded by the ever-evil Sith and fighting a losing battle, the race is on to reach the safety of the lifepods before the ship is inevitably destroyed.

This first scene is part tutorial of the game system and part action-paced cover-up, to distract the player from the apparent lack of back story and "convenient" memory loss. Do not dismay, however, because the story is most certainly there. And in a fashion very similar to the excellent Planescape: Torment (by the recently-disbanded Black Isle Studios) our hero must uncover the secret of his own past as well as save the galaxy from the clutches of the Sith.

Of course, in the case of this particular hero, "saving" the galaxy might not be all its cranked up to be.

A real destiny

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Destiny, as you know, is a fickle thing. And in a fashion that has almost become a hallmark of Bioware productions, KotOR does not force you to play a hero, at least not in most senses of the word. While the main story as such is reasonably linear, most -- if not all -- of the challenges you will face in KotOR can be handled in several different ways.

In other words, you can fully enjoy the game as a true galactic hero, following the narrow path of the Light Side, spreading joy and salvation in your wake. Or, you can choose to embrace the power of the Dark Side and use The Force to inflict your will upon others.

Lets take an example that doesn't give too much of the story away. On the planet Taris, where you will go very early in the game, a vicious disease spreads throughout ‘the Undercity’, an area inhabited mostly by the poor and the weak. When you recover the only vial of antidote for this terrible affliction, will you do the right thing and give it to the struggling local physician who will make it available to all for a cheap price or will you seek out the local crime lord and sell the serum to him for a hefty profit?

It is decisions like this that will shape the fate of your character -- and of the entire galaxy.

A real adventure

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

A major focus of KotOR, beyond the unfolding story, is character development for combat. KotOR uses a system that is entirely similar to the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition rules, with a few modifications to allow for such things as lightsabers and force powers. However, if you have played even a few of the TSR games, like Neverwinter Nights, you will feel right at home with the concepts of levels, feats and so on. And in the unlikely event that you have not, the simplified system, the help-popups and the tutorial session should give you enough of a feeling of how things work.

You'll need it too, because even though the game is not incredibly difficult (there's a ‘hard’ setting if you think things are too easy), you will meet resistance from hostile forces throughout the game. You will also be faced with puzzles of the more classic adventure variety and small mini-games, like swoop bike racing that leaves it fairly evident that KotOR was developed as much for the Xbox as for the PC. Luckily, most of these console-gimmicks are entirely optional.

The interface, however, is obviously not optional, and while it is not so bad as to detract from the game experience, it is somewhat tainted by the need for tiny screens and simple buttons demanded by the console (in fairness, some parts have been rewritten entirely for the PC version). Conversely, the console-folks are likely to think that it is not simplified enough. And while this is a spiteful stab from the evils of the current game-publishing market, where it appears impossible to create a genuinely good game for the PC without having to launch it on at least one console platform as well, Bioware has managed to make it work for both platforms with considerable success.

A real romance

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

One of the things that makes KotOR stand out among the crowd, is the believability and personalities of the NPC's (non-player-characters). Bioware has managed to create a rich background not just for the overall story and the main characters, but also for seemingly every one of the sentients (aliens, humans and thinking robots alike) encountered throughout the game.

The fleshing out of the NPC's with background and intelligent dialogue has been done before, but KotOR stands out as perhaps the most successful attempt so far. Additionally, every word spoken in the game is accompanied by high-quality voice acting -- even the unintelligible alien voices. This fact alone goes a long way towards letting you feel like you're actually part of the Star Wars universe, and when combined with the genuinely well crafted landscapes and other scenery, KotOR provides an immersive and memorable role playing experience.

True to form, Bioware has even included the tantalizing possibility of forming a romantic relationship between the protagonist and one of the NPC's. Exactly who is determined by the gender of the player character, and shall not be revealed here.

And real music to boot.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

As if the aforementioned things were not enough to immerse the player completely in the game, Bioware lands a coup de gras with the excellent graphics and astonishing musical score of the game. On the graphics side, KotOR boasts a highly modernized engine that lets character movements come to life amidst flashing lightsabers, extravagant Force Powers and cinematic cut scenes almost worthy of the big screen.

As good as the graphics are, however, they are forced to take a back seat to the truly masterful tones of Jeremy Soule, the lead musical composer for KotOR. Some may remember his work from Bethesda Softworks' Morrowind, and he has truly outdone himself with KotOR. Nothing brings memories of the original Star Wars trilogy back like the compositions of John Williams, and while it is not our place to say that KotOR matches this level of musical genius, it certainly does outshine most games available for the PC today.

Definitely a real game

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

If you have read all the way to here, you may be able to understand why KotOR has already won numerous awards from the gaming industry, and is likely to continue to do so for quite a while. Finally, finally, it appears that someone has managed to break the curse that (with a few notable exceptions) has caused every PC game under the Star Wars brand to come out as junk.

This humble writers opinion is that with Knights of the Old Republic, Bioware comes a good deal closer to recreating the magic of the original Star Wars trilogy than any other PC game before it. That is not to say that KotOR is a perfect game, but honestly, the competition just isn't in the same league.

Some might even argue that KotOR comes closer to the magic than the two later movies by George Lucas himself.. but that is probably best left up to the gentle readers to decide for their own.