Vault Dweller
Commissar, Red Star Studio
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2003
- Messages
- 28,035
Overview:
To put it simply, I didn't like KOTOR 2. Two main reasons are ridiculously easy combat that killed the combat-related part of the game and the lack of a coherent story that killed the rest. The rushed Bloodlines-style ending didn't help either. The dialogues were good, but the dialogues alone can't carry a game.
Character system:
Same old 3 classes that are forcefully upgraded into 3 better classes later. More feats, more powers, same skills, new lightsaber styles which are basically combat modifiers: +1 to attack, -2 to defense, etc. Nothing that would change the gameplay formula significantly. It would have been nice to have those things in KOTOR, but I expected more from a sequel.
Crafting itamz:
Nice feature. You can break existing items into components and make new items, including upgrade items that could turn even a crappy stick into a deadly blade of ultimate doom and extreme ownage. Sounds cool in theory. I bet such a system would have been a blast in FO3 where items were rare. In KOTOR 2 items are everywhere. Even animals imported to different planets from the Diablo universe drop items. I don't need to craft anything because I have plenty of everything. I used medkits twice and that was when the game Forced me to play someone else (more on that later). You can find plenty of items, so when I finally loaded everything I found into my lightsaber, the damage output was enough to kill everything in 2-3 hits. I suppose I could have fine-tuned it with better upgrades to 1-2 hits but why bother?
Combat:
Meet gameplay killer Number One. It makes all those feats, lightsaber styles, and upgrading absolutely pointless. It turns an army of all kinda Sith - assassins, masters, marauders, soldiers, etc - into annoying pests waiting to be dealt with. Guardians can kill anything including uber villains in 2-3 attacks. Consulars can kill anything in a 2-mile radius with 2-3 force storms/waves. 'nuff said.
Teh Stori:
You are the last Jedi whose every non-robot companion is a Jedi and who's sent by another Jedi to look for 4 Jedi Masters. If you see nothing wrong with that sentense, you'll like the game very much. Also, it's worth noting that the "find 4 itamz on 4 different planets" schtick is pretty much the story. There is nothing else to it. This is not Planscape Torment, this is basically a series of loosely connected scenarios where you can practice your role-playing skills and listen to well-written, but empty dialogues about the Force and Jedi.
Of course, you are the Special One, and you get a Force bond just like the one in KOTOR. Yay for originality. Also, you are a war veteran and a GENERAL, yet you start at level 1 with 0 skills. Some General, huh?
NPCs & Dialogue:
The characters are better, but not by much. The comparison with PST characters is inevitable, and KOTOR 2 loses easily. The dialogues are very good though. Unfortunately, they don't tell a story because KOTOR 2 doesn't have that feature, so everything revolves around the Force, Jedi, and right&wrong in that context. After awhile it gets boring because you are just restating the position of your character.
Role-Playing:
That's another solid part of the game. There are plenty of side-taking decision-making skill&stat using well-designed situations. If they were connected with a story, it would have been a damn good RPG.
Two things that I want to mention here. First, the skill integration into gameplay is great. You can use all the skills you have in a variety of ways. For example, you can use Treat Injury to understand medical logs, heal wounded and sick NPCs (not party members!), and even get dialogue lines showing understanding of the subject.
Another thing is delegation, and this one is extremely annoying. Throughout the game, you'd have to use party members to complete different gameplay objectives. No, it's not as fun as it sounds. For example, at some point the game puts Atton the ranged support character against two blade-wielding melee assassins. I haven't been using him for awhile and thus didn't upgrade him into a Jedi with powahz. Luckily the combat is that easy, and the AI isn't the brightest so it's easy to put an obstacle like a table between you and your dumb opponent, safely shooting at him/her with extreme prejudice.
Conclusion:
The game shows a lot of promise, there are many nice features, yet it plays like the original. Perhaps Obsidian was afraid to move from the "award-winning formula", perhaps Lucas Arts is to blame here (Remember, kids, always try to blame the publisher. Those fuckers are more evil than a bunch of Sith Lords). It's not a bad game, but it's not a good game either. It's somewhere in the middle, bundled together with Bloodlines under the "why did they have to ruin a good game with something stupid" category.
Edit: Decided to add another paragraph on story and linearity:
Story & Linearity: *****SPOILERS ALERT*****
Ultimately, the game is about finding 4 Jedi Masters. To find them you must follow linear quests on 4 different planets. Each master would show up or talk to you only after you've done most of his/her planet's quests. Each master basically tells you the same thing, and only when all of them are together or dead which is the same thing because they die the moment they get together, you get to proceed without any answers or clues to the final portions of the game. Needless to say the dialogues don't play a major role presenting this "story".
To put it simply, I didn't like KOTOR 2. Two main reasons are ridiculously easy combat that killed the combat-related part of the game and the lack of a coherent story that killed the rest. The rushed Bloodlines-style ending didn't help either. The dialogues were good, but the dialogues alone can't carry a game.
Character system:
Same old 3 classes that are forcefully upgraded into 3 better classes later. More feats, more powers, same skills, new lightsaber styles which are basically combat modifiers: +1 to attack, -2 to defense, etc. Nothing that would change the gameplay formula significantly. It would have been nice to have those things in KOTOR, but I expected more from a sequel.
Crafting itamz:
Nice feature. You can break existing items into components and make new items, including upgrade items that could turn even a crappy stick into a deadly blade of ultimate doom and extreme ownage. Sounds cool in theory. I bet such a system would have been a blast in FO3 where items were rare. In KOTOR 2 items are everywhere. Even animals imported to different planets from the Diablo universe drop items. I don't need to craft anything because I have plenty of everything. I used medkits twice and that was when the game Forced me to play someone else (more on that later). You can find plenty of items, so when I finally loaded everything I found into my lightsaber, the damage output was enough to kill everything in 2-3 hits. I suppose I could have fine-tuned it with better upgrades to 1-2 hits but why bother?
Combat:
Meet gameplay killer Number One. It makes all those feats, lightsaber styles, and upgrading absolutely pointless. It turns an army of all kinda Sith - assassins, masters, marauders, soldiers, etc - into annoying pests waiting to be dealt with. Guardians can kill anything including uber villains in 2-3 attacks. Consulars can kill anything in a 2-mile radius with 2-3 force storms/waves. 'nuff said.
Teh Stori:
You are the last Jedi whose every non-robot companion is a Jedi and who's sent by another Jedi to look for 4 Jedi Masters. If you see nothing wrong with that sentense, you'll like the game very much. Also, it's worth noting that the "find 4 itamz on 4 different planets" schtick is pretty much the story. There is nothing else to it. This is not Planscape Torment, this is basically a series of loosely connected scenarios where you can practice your role-playing skills and listen to well-written, but empty dialogues about the Force and Jedi.
Of course, you are the Special One, and you get a Force bond just like the one in KOTOR. Yay for originality. Also, you are a war veteran and a GENERAL, yet you start at level 1 with 0 skills. Some General, huh?
NPCs & Dialogue:
The characters are better, but not by much. The comparison with PST characters is inevitable, and KOTOR 2 loses easily. The dialogues are very good though. Unfortunately, they don't tell a story because KOTOR 2 doesn't have that feature, so everything revolves around the Force, Jedi, and right&wrong in that context. After awhile it gets boring because you are just restating the position of your character.
Role-Playing:
That's another solid part of the game. There are plenty of side-taking decision-making skill&stat using well-designed situations. If they were connected with a story, it would have been a damn good RPG.
Two things that I want to mention here. First, the skill integration into gameplay is great. You can use all the skills you have in a variety of ways. For example, you can use Treat Injury to understand medical logs, heal wounded and sick NPCs (not party members!), and even get dialogue lines showing understanding of the subject.
Another thing is delegation, and this one is extremely annoying. Throughout the game, you'd have to use party members to complete different gameplay objectives. No, it's not as fun as it sounds. For example, at some point the game puts Atton the ranged support character against two blade-wielding melee assassins. I haven't been using him for awhile and thus didn't upgrade him into a Jedi with powahz. Luckily the combat is that easy, and the AI isn't the brightest so it's easy to put an obstacle like a table between you and your dumb opponent, safely shooting at him/her with extreme prejudice.
Conclusion:
The game shows a lot of promise, there are many nice features, yet it plays like the original. Perhaps Obsidian was afraid to move from the "award-winning formula", perhaps Lucas Arts is to blame here (Remember, kids, always try to blame the publisher. Those fuckers are more evil than a bunch of Sith Lords). It's not a bad game, but it's not a good game either. It's somewhere in the middle, bundled together with Bloodlines under the "why did they have to ruin a good game with something stupid" category.
Edit: Decided to add another paragraph on story and linearity:
Story & Linearity: *****SPOILERS ALERT*****
Ultimately, the game is about finding 4 Jedi Masters. To find them you must follow linear quests on 4 different planets. Each master would show up or talk to you only after you've done most of his/her planet's quests. Each master basically tells you the same thing, and only when all of them are together or dead which is the same thing because they die the moment they get together, you get to proceed without any answers or clues to the final portions of the game. Needless to say the dialogues don't play a major role presenting this "story".
