Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic takes place just a few years after the Mandolorian Wars, thousands of years before the events in the
Star Wars movies we know and love. Two Jedi, master Revan and his apprentice Malak, led the Republic's forces to victory and pursued the Mandalorians into deep space only to return as Dark Jedi at the head of a huge fleet of Sith warships. Its your task to find out why.
The storyline could have been a standard coming-of-age yarn but is instead a genuinely interesting adventure that gradually unravels your connection with these events. The game's planet-hopping adventures are driven by your exploration of these connections and how they relate to your larger goal of discovering the source of the Sith's surprise fleet. During your adventure you can explore side quests minor (such as racing swoops or gambling) and major (such as uncovering the fascinating back stories of your companions). Star Wars fans will get a kick out of the rich lore introduced in the game, particularly the Tatooine storyline that reveals the origin and history of the Sand People.
Gameplay is an abbreviated form of Wizards of the Coast's d20 Star Wars RPG game system. The player creates a character as a member of one of three starting classes (soldier, smuggler, scout) and then later chooses a Jedi class (guardian, consular, sentinel). Joining the player's character are other Jedi, warriors, thieves, droids, a wookiee and even a Mandolorian. Combat is real-time turn-based, meaning the turns are seamless but the player has the option of pausing the action at any time to issue orders or direct any character to use a certain Force power, ability, feat or item.
Graphics range from adequate to exceptional. Lightsaber graphics and environmental effects (like waving grass, clouds and weather) bring the world to life. Complete with sounds straight out of the movies, the thrilling combat is pure Star Wars.
All in all, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a masterpiece of Star Wars gaming. The pacing, balance of action and dialogue, clever puzzles and quests and loving attention to detail have set the bar very high for role-playing games in general and Star Wars games in particular. Consider this a must-have game. --Mike Fehlauer