Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

The Good
This sequel may at first seem to be little different from the original. In fact, looking at the game graphically or based on gameplay, it is the same game but with a different story.

However, as you progress into the game, you notice many new features not found in the original. Although you could upgrade items with your workbench in the original, now you can also break items down and create your own items to use for upgrading weapons and armor. This can allow you to create much better equipment. There is also a lab station now, which lets you breakdown and create medpacks, stims, grenades, and mines. If you use these regularly, you won't have to worry about running out in the sequel. If you don't, then you'll be like me and never touch the lab station. Even so, it's a good addition.

Another useful thing in the game is that some of your party members will create items for you (security spikes, grenades, etc) and your T3 unit will let you upgrade items anywhere you want if it's in your party.

The number of upgrades available for your weapons and armor have been increased greatly, which lets you have a wider variety of choices. There are also many more weapon and armor types available in the game.

As with the previous game, communicating with your party members lets you gain various things. However, in this sequel, this is taken much farther. Talking to your party can gain them more abilities and powers (even create a dual-class jedi by taking on an apprentice). You can also improve your powers greatly by speaking to your party members... everything from increased force points to new force powers to ability to heal your T3 droid. It is strongly recommended that you talk to all your party members often.

Being a lightsaber user, I also am happy to see more color choices in the game. Unfortunately, some of the colors are not very different visually. Such as viridian being almost the same as green, and orange being almost the same as red. Still, more choice in color is great to see.

By taking the time to improve your light or dark side, you will get stat increases, such as +3 Wisdom. You can also get a nice stat increase by finding and using a lightsaber upgrade gem that's tuned to your own being... depending on if you're light or dark side and what class you are, you will gain some very powerful stat increases that get better as you level up.

I like how the game lets you learn about the original game with history and flashbacks. It's a good reminder of what happened in the original and can help people who have not played the original to better understand what led up to where this game is in history.

Dialogs are also interesting in this game. The programmers definitely had a sense of humor when coming up with the interactions between you and your party members and between themselves. All your droids tend to dislike each other and have various issues you'll end up seeing in cutscenes. Mira has some very interesting comments regarding you and your other female companions. Kreia just strives to get you to hate her and also has a very surprising comment regarding you and the handmaiden... which, in turn, gives you a dialog choice that is very funny to hear. The interactions start to bring you to the point seen in games like Planescape: Torment, where the characters really have a personality of their own and aren't just drones as found in most games.

Swoop racing has been improved to include changes in elevation, traffic, and mines. This can make it more challenging than the original races.

There are many lightsaber forms that affect not only how well you battle, but also change the movements you make while fighting. This makes the battles look much more interesting.

The Bad
The worst part of the game are the bugs. Watching the game crash frequently, having issues where swoop races that are completed seem to think you crashed and don't reward you, having party pathfinding poorly handled, having your character suddenly jump (not force jump, this is a bug) halfway across the screen ... often in the wrong direction... these make the game frustrating at times.

Although I understand not giving you a lightsaber at the start of the game, you don't end up getting one for a long time. Although the game is much longer than the original, the time to get your first lightsaber shouldn't be any longer than in the original. Most people, I think, prefer using a lightsaber in a Star Wars game and having to wait is annoying. There are also fewer drops for lightsabers. In the original, I ended up with over 20 red gems... in this one, I'm closer to 5. Granted, you don't need that many, but there just really aren't many colors to choose from for quite awhile into the game unless you start out at Dantooine.

There are many places where you must do everything when you're there, or you won't ever get the chance. Many places will not allow you to return to them after you leave. Although this can help with the plot, it can be annoying when you can't open something because of low skill and then you can't return with higher skill to open it.

As with the previous game, the plot is very fragmented. Each planet has its own story which supposedly all works together into one larger plot. However, there really isn't very much combining of the plots into one larger plot. About the only real thing combining the planets is the need to get all the Jedi Masters together. In most cases, if you complete everything on one planet, you never have to return. There's no comment about how you helped to restore a government or helped to get the fuel source for Telos...

The Bottom Line
If you liked the first game, you'll love this one. The new features really make the game an improvement over the first, even though the gameplay isn't changed. You definitely need to play the original first, as this game builds off the original a lot. If you're looking for cutting edge graphics, weren't a fan of the original game, or just don't like Star Wars, then this game isn't for you.

The Good
Almost everything about this game is awesome This game is one of the best RPGs in a long time. The story is well written and the voice acting is superb. This game features one Bad ass bad guy (well three actually). Great cinematics, Everything is colour full and detailed.

The Sith lords doesn't have the huge plot twist that KOTOR 1 had but it does have a few smaller twists that will leave any gamer satisfied. Depending on the path you take characters from the first game will pop up at some points throughout the game. And guess who's back as the most bad ass character in your party? That's Canderous!

The combat style in this game despite being Turn based is fun and easy to get into. There is a vast amount of weapons and armor in the game as well as a huge variety of lightsaber colour's. Sith Lords is much longer then KOTOR 1 coming in at around 30 hours game time on my first run through where as the first took me a mere (in comparison) 12 hours.

The Bad
Despite having a good engine the game is plagued by glitches and errors. It has some severe slow down problems especially during combat. The characters were not as fun or interesting as they were in KOTOR 1.

Sith Lords is far too easy when compared to the first. I only died about three times throughout the game, also the final battle(s) are far to easy. The story despite being great is more forced then the originals. I'd find myself being forced to use certain party members far to often then I did in KOTOR 1.

If you havn't played the first this game is only half as fun.

The Bottom Line
Excellent game. A must have for the Xbox.

The Good
I played Knights of the Old Republic so when I heard that a sequel was coming out, I had to buy it.

Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (KOTOR2 from now on) has a darker and much more polished plot with the same engaging and well thought RPG engine that made its predecessor a classic and game of the year.

The interaction between the characters and you is great due to a outstanding voice acting that makes the game great just for that alone.

The missions are varied and you get to see new planets and places inside the Star Wars universe

The Bad
It has a lot of resemblance to its predecessor, up to a point where you feel like you are replaying the first game.

The game is somehow not that difficult and some force powers make it even more easy - force lightning is a good example of that.

The Bottom Line
Star Wars is by far an endless source of stories and many games made the franchise a classic for gamers, but none caught my attention so much as the KOTOR games.

If you love Star Wars, you are bound to enjoy this game and even if you don't, KOTOR2 offers a great RPG experience that shouldn't be missed.