I'm new here and probably won't post very often. I just need a place to vent about this game.
When I first started playing it, I was pretty excited. However, my objections kept piling up, until they entirely obscured all of the game's good points. At this point, as with all of Bioware's other games I've tried, I doubt I'm going to bother finishing KOTOR.
Here are the things that bothered me the most.
1. The joinable NPC's are cliche's of the worst sort. Carth makes Virgil (from Arcanum) seem like good company. Mission is just another "plucky little girl," the Chewbacca guy is sanctimonious, etc. Sure the voice acting is good, but that's just like intricate icing on stale cake. The only npc I liked was the assassin droid (sorry, as you can see, I have some trouble with names), because he makes the observations I want to make.
2. Level design, as others have said, is horrible. No matter where you go, you're walking a narrow, pre-set path. Sometimes the wall is no more than a few inches high, but, no, you can't just walk over it. I realize, of course, that games must have their limitations, but they could at least be designed in a way that isn't so insulting.
3. Far and away my greatest problem with this game is its juvenile political correctness. Example: if memory serves, in the original movie the Sand People were just plain bad. In this game, however, they are aboriginals whose "innocent" "way of life" is "threatened" by the "encroachments" of a more "advanced" civilization. Gimme a break. The same applies to hunting (the real hunter is one who "respects" his prey (but he still kills it! "Hey, prey, I have, like, total respect for you, and I think we've acheived understanding on a mystical level. Now die.")). And, of course, the Czerka Corporation is evil because...well, corporations are evil. The Star Wars movies were fun because they were fast-paced adventures filled with bright characters and derring-do, not because they were grad school-level political tracts.
I could go on, but what's the point? I'll buy the sequel if Obsidian makes it--the whole concept has a lot of potential. But I doubt I'll ever even consider a Bioware game again.