Star Wars Was KOTOR even worth a play?

[Cologno]

Liking Kotor 1 is one thing but openly admitting of owning XBOX? Willingly?

Remember Skyway?

MetalCraze here, right? I remember him and both those names from the Arma community. He really did get around back in the day.

 

[Jaesun]

racofer Do you happen to have the old in before skyway pic? That was always a good laugh.

 

[Arbiter]

It's been almost 10 years: https://rpgcodex.net/forums/members/metalcraze.8364/

 

[racofer]

racofer Do you happen to have the old in before skyway pic? That was always a good laugh.

I'm not sure which pic you're referring to. Do you mean the one he says you have to play it seven times?

 

[Jaesun]

Perfect racofer I knew you could deliver.

 

[Falksi]

Decided to go back to this to see how it fares now, and so far (only a few hours in) I'm quite enjoying it.

A big positive for the game which I'd forgotten about is just how well it expands the Star Wars universe whilst both paying respect to the source material, and keeping it grounded in a more mature and realistic tone too. It captures the vibes without shitting all over them either (not to say it doesn't make a few missteps, but overall it does well).

As I'm having conversations with people on Taris the world really feels lived in, and the problems and issues which are occurring have at least some semblance of credibility about them.

Also, Carth's (your first companion) early conversations are very relevant to the plot too. Contrast that to the garbage Tyranny which I just attempted to play through again, where it's just reems of text about bullshit character background gumph (which often felt contradictory to the character), and it's making for a far more absorbing experience here. There's no background BS with Carth yet, it's simply "this whole situation is dodgy, we'll work together but we don't really trust each other yet either". It feels far more realistic and makes for far better game pacing too.

 

[NecroLord]

Kotor and especially Kotor 2 had great worldbuilding.
It expanded the Star Wars Universe and sought to explore a different era while remaining faithful to the setting itself.
Kotor 2 is darker in tone, it was Avellone's deconstruction of the setting.
Different era, but still the same themes - War, Conflict of Good vs Evil, more specifically The Light Side vs The Dark Side, The Republic and its bureaucracy, etc.

 

[Max Damage]

KOTOR is like the most "ok" game I've ever played, it had a few memorable locations like Korriban and Manaan, but also very dumbed down combat and character progression, and cast was 90% forgettable. I've replayed the sequel several times, not itching to return to the first game because there's not much worth revisiting, but it was alright back in the days.

 

[REhorror]

I'll actually say no.

Only thing noteworthy about KOTOR1 IMO is the Bastilla (or Ballista) corruption porno.

 

[Frank Capicoli]

Only thing noteworthy about KOTOR1 IMO is the Bastilla (or Ballista) corruption porno.

The soundtrack was nice.

 

[NecroLord]

Kotor 2 had an even more Star Wars-like soundtrack than Kotor.

 

[Ryzer]

The biggest problems with Kotor are the linear corridors the game offers, they are everywhere at every single town, even the wilderness is one big empty area corridor-like. Not to mention the gameplay which is downright abysmally simplified and unfun.

However the writing is kinda entertaining and the characters memorable.

 

[NecroLord]

The Star Forge trash mobs do get on my nerves a bit, but it usually passes after I massacre them.
And yeah, those long Sith corridors aren't really fun.

 

[Falksi]

Sunk around 8 more hours into the game this weekend, just finishing up on Taris

Still really enjoying it, surprisingly so. This early combat is undoubtably lacking, it's not awful by any means but it's certainly nothing special either. But I've just got Force powers rolling now that I've nabbed a certain character, and that's added a slight bit of spice to proceedings thankfully, hopefully it will continue.

Linear corridors are a valid complaint, but the freedom to approach various quests how you like helps matters. Not to mention that the location of those quests and how they overlap, means it's not straight-forward to streamline everything too, so linearity isn't bothering me currently.

And bloody hell they've done a superb job of paying homage to and capturing that 70's/80's/90's sci-fi vibe. I absolute love how they've struck an almost perfect balance of fantastical and realistic, and allowed the early game to give you something of a Star Trek/Space Hunter feel too, where you are a mere mortal just trying to get off a rock. Honestly, I'm a huge sucker for Sci-Fi done well, and you can tell this has had some real effort and real heart put into this area of it's development. It avoids a ton of Nu-Star Wars dumb shit, and gives you those feels which peak sci-fi did. That's a huge sweet spot for me personally.

Apart from the odd mis-step, the writing and voice acting are pretty good, and the quests themselves fun too. I really appreciate how opposite alignments allow for different approaches to certain quests rather than just being a case of doing the same quest but choosing between doing it with a smile or frown upon your face.

So far, it's held up way better than I thought, would probably rate it 8/10 at the mo.

 

[BosanskiSeljak]

That's because Taris best planet. It's the most fun I've had on any planet in either of the KOTOR games.

Better combat & less binary Light side/Dark side choices would boost it to one of my favourites. Still a shame never got a third KOTOR because for some reason needed to make it a shit MMO.

 

[Kem0sabe]

500 million is an expensive price tag for this developer, but they are pretty large and have a potential big hit on their hands with Space Marine 2. Maybe an attractive option for MS, especially considering their previous work with Halo.

 

[NecroLord]

Sunk around 8 more hours into the game this weekend, just finishing up on Taris

Still really enjoying it, surprisingly so. This early combat is undoubtably lacking, it's not awful by any means but it's certainly nothing special either. But I've just got Force powers rolling now that I've nabbed a certain character, and that's added a slight bit of spice to proceedings thankfully, hopefully it will continue.

Linear corridors are a valid complaint, but the freedom to approach various quests how you like helps matters. Not to mention that the location of those quests and how they overlap, means it's not straight-forward to streamline everything too, so linearity isn't bothering me currently.

And bloody hell they've done a superb job of paying homage to and capturing that 70's/80's/90's sci-fi vibe. I absolute love how they've struck an almost perfect balance of fantastical and realistic, and allowed the early game to give you something of a Star Trek/Space Hunter feel too, where you are a mere mortal just trying to get off a rock. Honestly, I'm a huge sucker for Sci-Fi done well, and you can tell this has had some real effort and real heart put into this area of it's development. It avoids a ton of Nu-Star Wars dumb shit, and gives you those feels which peak sci-fi did. That's a huge sweet spot for me personally.

Apart from the odd mis-step, the writing and voice acting are pretty good, and the quests themselves fun too. I really appreciate how opposite alignments allow for different approaches to certain quests rather than just being a case of doing the same quest but choosing between doing it with a smile or frown upon your face.

So far, it's held up way better than I thought, would probably rate it 8/10 at the mo.

Some really cool quests in there:
The Genoharadan plot twist near the end.
The Sunri Murder Trial and how it can proceed and end.
And of course the Main Quest MAJOR plot twist, arguably one of the most significant in a video game.

 

[Saldrone]

KotOR was one of the last good RPGs of the Renaissance.

Or more like, the start of the end.

 

[Falksi]

Been a good week for gaming on KOTOR. Now over 30 hours in and I've only 2 planets left to complete.

Genuinely surprised how much I am enjoying this. As suspected, now I've a lot more force powers at my disposal I'm enjoying the gameplay a lot more. It's still too simplistic and lacks strategic depth big time, but just dicking about with the powers is fun as is the general Jedi feeling which goes with that. Normal difficulty is definitely WAY too easy though once you're past the very early game.

But there's just some really great questing here which links in with the Star Wars universe. Credit to Bioware for expanding the first 6 films so practically but without bogging them down. That blend of "I'm a mystic space-knight" and "I've got bills to pay" is just really well done, and I like a lot of the characters in here too.

Liking it more the more I play, in fact this is probably the most I've ever enjoyed playing it. I definitely think suffering through trash like Tyranny and Solsta prior to this has given me a new appreciation of it. So far I'd rate it 8.5/10

 

[NecroLord]

Been a good week for gaming on KOTOR. Now over 30 hours in and I've only 2 planets left to complete.

Genuinely surprised how much I am enjoying this. As suspected, now I've a lot more force powers at my disposal I'm enjoying the gameplay a lot more. It's still too simplistic and lacks strategic depth big time, but just dicking about with the powers is fun as is the general Jedi feeling which goes with that. Normal difficulty is definitely WAY too easy though once you're past the very early game.

But there's just some really great questing here which links in with the Star Wars universe. Credit to Bioware for expanding the first 6 films so practically but without bogging them down. That blend of "I'm a mystic knight" and "I've got bills to pay" is just really well done, and I like a lot of the characters in here too.

Liking it more the more I play, in fact this is probably the most I've ever enjoyed playing it. I definitely think suffering through trash like Tyranny and Solsta prior to this has given me a new appreciation of it. So far I'd rate it 8.5/10

What's your build?

 

[Falksi]

Been a good week for gaming on KOTOR. Now over 30 hours in and I've only 2 planets left to complete.

Genuinely surprised how much I am enjoying this. As suspected, now I've a lot more force powers at my disposal I'm enjoying the gameplay a lot more. It's still too simplistic and lacks strategic depth big time, but just dicking about with the powers is fun as is the general Jedi feeling which goes with that. Normal difficulty is definitely WAY too easy though once you're past the very early game.

But there's just some really great questing here which links in with the Star Wars universe. Credit to Bioware for expanding the first 6 films so practically but without bogging them down. That blend of "I'm a mystic knight" and "I've got bills to pay" is just really well done, and I like a lot of the characters in here too.

Liking it more the more I play, in fact this is probably the most I've ever enjoyed playing it. I definitely think suffering through trash like Tyranny and Solsta prior to this has given me a new appreciation of it. So far I'd rate it 8.5/10

What's your build?

POWERS
Cure
Force Resistance
Knight Speed
Force Shield
Force Wave
Plague

Using 2nd Level Flurry with 3rd level Dueling for fisticuffs.

Very nice all round build which allows me to jump between wizardy stuff and fighter stuff. Jolee (Jolee!....JOLEE!!.....JOOOLEEEEE!!!! I'm begging of you please don't take Manaan!) has become my main sidekick, with him chucking Stasis and Force Shock at the enemies, and I switch between a duel-wield Vibroblade Zaalbar and Bastilia as secondary support as the mood takes.

 

[NecroLord]

Jolee is crazy powerful.
Not necessarily powerful in a physical sense, but useful. He can buff and debuff like no one else. Also a really cool companion (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson aka Sarevok).
Consular is one of the best classes in Kotor and arguably the best base class in Kotor 2.

 

[Falksi]

Jolee is crazy powerful.
Not necessarily powerful in a physical sense, but useful. He can buff and debuff like no one else. Also a really cool companion (voiced by Kevin Michael Richardson aka Sarevok).
Consular is one of the best classes in Kotor and arguably the best base class in Kotor 2.

Yeah, he's a funny old coot which is why I decided to stick him in the party. My plan is to finish this, run KOTOR 2, then do a Dark Side run again through both games a but later in the year.

Glad I returned to it, and glad this thread prompted said return.

 

[NecroLord]

I'm curious to see how your big throwdown with Malak is gonna go and if you can land hits on him consistently.
Hell, I remember even my last Scout/Guardian with a Strength of 30 missed a couple of times, though I did use Master Power Attack.

 

[Falksi]

I'm curious to see how your big throwdown with Malak is gonna go and if you can land hits on him consistently.
Hell, I remember even my last Scout/Guardian with a Strength of 30 missed a couple of times, though I did use Master Power Attack.

Yeah, I've certainly not power-built so fingers crossed it'll provide a good challenge.