Review KOTOR 2 review at Thunderbolt Games

[fastpunk]

Hi Fastpunk -

Yeah, I loved the Kreia character too. As a matter of fact, she was the single best character I've ever encountered in any game - she even beats out anything in my all-time-favorite, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream." But she was also what caused me the most frustration in KOTOR2. To me, what she was saying made perfect sense in the context of the game, but no matter what I did to build influence with her, to explore her back story, to make decisions that squared with her outlook, etc., the game kept forcing me to misunderstand or disagree with her -- it just didn't give me the choices that I wanted. Like the first game, the whole gimmick was "light versus dark", but when faced with a prominent character so obviously in-between, it was just shitty to be stuck playing the game black-and-white, it really took me out of the game to HAVE to be a dumbshit every time dialogues came up.

Anyway, KOTOR2 ranks a 7, sure, if KOTOR1 ranks a 5.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I felt that on my second play-through, I wasn't very thorough in the first one. Obsidian should have covered a larger array of possible responses, that's for sure.

 

[Relayer71]

Hey, you all sounds like a bunch of X-boxers who didn't get enough "HAWT AKSHUN!11".
You might as well complain about Planescape: Torment this way. Well, you can... and you will be right, but the game has redeeming qualities that just trample over sucky combat (pretty much the same with KOTOR2).
However, I think that is because my philosophy coincides with Avellone's, and I played the game 'the way it meant to be played'... as "edgewalker" type.
I never 'max out' stats, I didn't choose 'prestige' class (cause my 'alignment' stayed 'a bit goodish' though whole game), I loved the story and everything Kreia said, and even the ‘open ending’.
I can understand how people that didn't like Kreia and were expecting 'canonical SW plot' were disappointed - only thing that was left for them was combat, and it was 'filler' just like in P:T.
Well, I can but say: Fuck you, buddies. Plot and characters that would satisfy hardcore SW fans will bore me to tears. Yea, I'm egoistic allright .

PS:T has redeeming qualities yes. It also had a ton of dialogue choices, interesting ones at that which made dialogue a huge part of the gameplay. So when the combat sucked, it was ok because there was still the dialogue part of the game along with excellent writing and setting. And there wasn't a lot of combat either. In essence, dialogue was the focal point of the game and it did this exceptionally well.

The writing in KOTOR2 was also pretty good but there weren't many dialogue choices, it wasn't exactly brimming with roleplayability therefore dialogue wasn't a big part of the gameplay. What are we left with then? Combat, and a lot of it. And boring combat at that since it was too easy and repetetive. So in Kotor2 the main thing was combat and it did this poorly, even if the writing was above average.

The other thing it did, puzzles, was ok but still nothing great.

On top of that the pacing was horrible - the intro to the game sucked big time and was just like the first KOTOR - "ooh, I'm stranded on a ship"...reminiscent of Bethesda's "ooh, I'm a prisoner" openings.

And it's not about constant ackshun, but if battles are something you as a designer are focusing on then make it interesting and challenging. I loved Icewind Dale for this. It wasn't Fallout or PS:T. THere was a story but it took a backseat to fighting and there wasn't much roleplaying. But the combat was excellent, requiring strategy and planning. Presentation was great too, excellent music and art design.

 

[Jasede]

There is one reason why I believe Kotor 2 is just one rating point under Torment.

It are scenes like this-
http://video.google.ca/videoplay?docid= ... 5149183484

Kreia... The story is so extremely awesome that it is beyond words. The villain is no villain... she's an old teacher loving her pupil, seeking revenge on those who did not believe her, the council, and in the end, she strips them of the force as she was stripped of it on Malachor, seeking nothing less than the death of the force and, in a way, of dualism.

The whole plot ties in the XP system and the level scaling and it is made so convincingly that it makes Kotor 2 a very special, if overlooked game. It is difficult to appreciate without paying a lot of attention. Kreia lies... often. But she does with good reason. You can only really like the game if you know when she lies, why she lies, and what all the story really means.

And that scene, the scene I linked- it made buying the whole game worth it.

And Kreia's voiceactor... I sound like a fanboy, but that, Codexites, is a really good actress and there's no reason to hate VA when it's this good.

 

[MetalCraze]

I also liked KotOR2 more than KotOR1. KotOR1 is more like some high-fantasy fairy tale. And has no athmosphere. While KotOR2 has it. In KotOR2 it's a dark world, hopes ruined and even with locations uglier than in KotOR1 KotOR2 has style.
And yes - Kreia was one of my favorite characters also. Together with some others

And I eagerly await Team Gizka's Mod.

 

[tardtastic]

Kreia was a nearly-perfect character, sure, except you could do fuck-all with her if you really dug her. The game pretty much forced you into loggerheads with her, for all the wrong reasons.

 

[dragonfk]

I only wait for Team Gizka to end their effort with restoration of some of the cut content and with addition of few mods ( force powers, A.I., difficulty, bla bla bla bla, etc. ) I will be once again roaming the universe with my OW so amazing evil character. Can't wait to tell the truth, especially that I have only finished the game with a good one.

 

[Jedi_Learner]

Was it suppose to be obvious who the final boss was in KOTOR II?

 

[Jasede]

The final boss in Kotor 2 is yourself.

 

[Jedi_Learner]

Please elaborate.

 

[Deleted member 7219]

Not true. There are no bosses in roleplaying games.

 

[psycojester]

Its a pity that Team Gizka has been making negative progress for the last few months. For a while they were down to around 13 problems to solve. Now their back up int the twenties again. Oh well maybe next year.

 

[Texas Red]

Its a pity that Team Gizka has been making negative progress for the last few months. For a while they were down to around 13 problems to solve. Now their back up int the twenties again. Oh well maybe next year.

As Jasede pointed out, the features dont count and therefore only 8 remain. Read the text above. And no, I understand this either.

 

[RK47]

now that i watch that clip again , i am again reminded of torment. force bond. torment ....zzzzzz

 

[Frau Bishop]

I should have played NWN2 with an incredibly charismatic, but terminally ill, lvl 3 fighter who made a vow to never use weapons or wear armor and never to level up again.

:D