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

The Good
Obsidian Entertainment has stuck with the original formula in terms of how the game runs but tweaked it, so that it's just right. There are more information screens, healing can be performed on other party members with medpacks, and you're now able to use workbenches and lab stations to breakdown or create new items of your own (provided you have the requisite stats).

The sound and music as always is well done, with the voice acting of most of the major characters being of good quality and the music being what you typically expect from a Star Wars game or movie.

The storyline of this game is very interesting and much more darker than the first game. However it fails to resolve properly (as you'll see mentioned in the next section).

The Bad
The graphics in the game is becoming rather dated as it uses the same engine as the original KOTOR. Occasionally, the activation of some Force Powers (e.g. Force Enlightenment) would result in the screen going blurry while you run, but would remain blurry when you return back to your normal running pace.

The most major gripe with the game however is how obvious it is that this game was rushed. The number of bugs that this game has in showing cut-scenes, dialogue trees, quests, AI pathfinding behaviour, application crashes etc. is quite horrendous and shows a lack of any quality assurance whatsoever. True many of the minor technical issues can be fixed with a patch, but another thing that was rushed that is causing much anger to fans of the original KOTOR, is the ending. It has been recently leaked out what Obsidian Entertainment had initially planned for the ending and it would've explained a lot of plot holes that multiply as the game comes to a close. When I was playing the ending chapter, everything was rushing by so fast that I didn't have time to appreciate the fruits of my labour - one of them being the increasing of influence of your NPCs. What's the point of spending the time to improve your characters and get along with them, if you don't learn anything about them or even have a use for them at the end? Very disappointing.

The Bottom Line
If you're new to the KOTOR universe, this game is pretty good, if you can get past all the major bugs and all. To fans of the original KOTOR, it's a double-edged sword. On one hand, you'll better appreciate what's going on in the universe since you have past knowledge. On the other, you'll be disappointed by the ending since it just doesn't have the same amount of choice and grandeur that the original managed to achieve. In the end, it sometimes feels that what I've really bought is an expensive, long and buggy expansion pack, rather than the sequel to a previous GOTY winner. Overall, I give this game: 6/10.

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.