![]() ![]() It’s refreshing to have someone openly question the Force in a way that’s rarely done elsewhere in the franchise, and because she is such a fascinating character, she had a permanent place in my active party. Via excellent voice acting, Kreia often expresses disgust to the player character if their actions land too far on either side of the light/dark side divide, and there are many times when she’ll interact with side characters without the Exile’s knowledge, manipulating them to her will. However, unlike other role models who extol the virtues of the force, whether light or dark, Kreia detests the Force and its hold over people’s freedom. Kreia plays the role of the Exile’s mentor. However, the supporting cast soars thanks to a return of a couple of favorites, such as the homicidal assassin droid HK-47 and others serving as fascinating deconstructions of Star Wars archetypes, such as the Wookie Hanhurr, and the resentment he holds towards his life debt.Īpart from those, the true highlight has to be one of the best-written characters in the whole Star Wars saga, Kreia. The Exile is an interesting (if typically cypher-like) representation of whoever the player decides they are, and shaped by choices that align them to the dark or the light side. This is a fine start, but where KOTOR 2 truly excels are the characters. ![]() The Exile is then tasked with finding the last of the Jedi council and bringing order to a broken galaxy. They’ve been cut off from the Force for unknown reasons, and the Jedi are almost wiped out as a result of a Sith-led hunt. This adventure tells the tale of the Exile, whom the player controls. The state of this port, both technically and artistically, is a shame because it would otherwise be a great companion piece to the original, with the story being its biggest plus. As a result, the ‘unfinished’ feeling of the original’s plotline is carried over here with notable script gaps still left unfilled. Part of the selling point of this Switch port is that this content will be included - emphasis on “will.” That’s right, it’s not actually in this port yet! The word is that it’s to be available sometime in Q3 2022, but nothing concrete as of yet. There’s also a big missed opportunity regarding the original’s cut content, which has been available for the PC version via mods. For a game as infamously rough as this one, releasing a port in this state is unbelievable. There were even widespread reports of players being unable to progress the story due to a bug. Unfortunately, this version takes the concept of ‘faithful port’ and runs with it to an almost-comic degree - much like its original release, during my time with it I found it to be crash-prone and I lost progress on more than one occasion. After learning that this port would reintegrate cut content that was missing from the original, I figured it was a good time to revisit. However, over the course of a handful of replays I grew to appreciate it, despite its flaws. Because Obsidian was only given a year to develop a sequel, the result became known as an often-broken, unfinished and unpolished experience. For an in-depth look at the game, you can read the full GameCritics review from 2005 here.Īs a result of this rushed development, I didn’t enjoy it as much as the original. Knights of the Old Republic 2 is one such game.Īs a quick history lesson, the first iteration of KOTOR 2 was released in 2004 and developed by Obsidian, not Bioware, who crafted the first KOTOR. I said in my review of the The Force Unleashed that certain games in the Star Wars franchise did a great job of exploring the mythos, moving focus away from the Skywalker dynasty and instead looking at how the force and the Jedi/Sith wars affect the galaxy. WTF Several crashes resulting in lost progress! LOW Launching without the cut content restored. HIGH Kreia remains a high point of writing and voice acting in videogames. Taking the Concept of ‘Faithful Port’ Too Far…
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |