Techtite's Macintosh Game Reviews!

"The RPG of the year in every sense of the word. If only this would be made into a whole series of games...or at least a mission pack? Please?"

---from the review

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 Star Wars, Knights of the Old Republic: Official Strategy Guide

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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Click picture to order this game (Macintosh version)

A Techtite Review

While Star Wars games are nothing new for LucasArts, this title was designed by Bioware; the same RPG gurus that made Neverwinter Nights and Baldur's Gate. In Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, they have done what few would ever dream possible; a whole RPG set in the Star Wars universe, with over a dozen interesting lead characters, an extremely engrossing story, and the best chance you'll ever have to wield a light saber in an RPG game. What more could a Star Wars fan want...? Well, aside from us Macintosh owners wanting it ported to our system: nothing. Now that the game's finally available on the Mac, Star Wars gaming has never been so great.

The most inspired aspect of this game is that its time frame is set entirely separate from the films. Set 4,000 years before Luke Skywalker was even a glint in Anakin's eye, this is an age when the evil Sith were as plentiful as Jedi! The reigning Dark Lord of the Sith, Darth Revan, and his apprentice Darth Malak, discovered a powerful relic that could spell doom for peace and prosperity in the galaxy. Although a prologue praises the defeat of Revan, his apprentice still lives! It is up to you to seek out their secret weapon's location, defeat Darth Malak, and restore order to the galaxy...by whatever means are necessary.

What do I mean by that last line...? Not unlike many Jedi games (including Jedi Academy) you can follow either a dark or a light path of The Force, leading to two totally alternate endings. You can become a Dark Jedi and defeat Malak to become the new ruler of the Sith, or you can follow the more obvious, "Happy Ending" and restore peace to the galaxy. Personally, I prefer the latter, though suit yourself. It's a "happy ending" either way, I suppose, depending on your own personal taste.

The game proper begins as you escape your doomed Republic vessel (the "tutorial mission," so to speak), where you use an escape pod to flee to the planet of Taris. Trouble is; Taris is a totally Sith dominated world, beginning the game with a bang. After saving the leader of your fallen Republic ship, Bastila (a female Jedi, no less!), you escape to the Jedi Outpost of Dantooine (Star Wars trivia buffs will remember this planet mentioned by Princess Leia, which by then was a long-abandoned rebel base). It's at the Jedi temple there where you have been decreed to be strong with the force; and become a Jedi in training. Sure, this is pretty far into this RPG before you build (yes; build!) and engage your first light saber, but for role playing gamers, stories can never be long enough, and this is actually just a small taste of this multi-tiered storyline. It's also just the first hours of a game that will take you several days to complete.

Of course, in order to leave Taris, you need to commandeer a spaceship. What this spaceship means is that from Dantooine-on, you are in complete command of which planet you go to, and in what order, for the majority of the game. This is good, because on Dantooine you come across what Darth Revan found five years ago: an ancient Star Map. Incomplete, you must follow the trail to other planets, whose ancient ruins hold the additional map pieces that complete it. In your quest to find these other star maps, you travel to the wookie world of Kashyyyk, the Sith temples of Korriban, the aquatic Manaan, and yes, Tatooine.

What's really cool about this star-map-quest part of the game, is its total independence. Any one of these planets can be visited and revisited at will. Many quests can even be abandoned and restarted later; mini-quests, not related to the star map, can be abandoned completely. It's all up to you (a phrase I love when reviewing a game).

There's a lot to see here, as is the case for any well designed RPG. Up to nine characters join you in your travels, two of whom are totally optional to meet at all(!), dependant on your actions. Among these allies, five have optional side quests of their own, which are accessible only if you "get to know them" (i.e., talk with them often, take them on multiple away missions, etc.). If your character is male, there is an optional Bastila "romance" side quest; if your character is female, there is a similar romance possible, with Carth. Each world has around half a dozen optional quests in themselves. All the largest worlds also have mini games possible, like "pod racing" and a card game called Pazaak (sort of like "21", only better). As I said: there's a lot to see here.

While I'm not a member of the "bash all new Star Wars movies because we can" brigade, I will also admit this much; this game's characters are far more enticing, "alive," and intriguing than anything you've seen in the Star Wars films as of late. I won't spoil any of it here, though I will offer this advice: you owe it to yourself to go to the droid store on Tatooine, and buy a cynical ex-assassin droid named HK-47. He's priced at 4,000 credits (or less if you don't mind a "dark side" penalty!), and sue to the droid's sardonic wit and hilarious banter elsewhere in the game, he's worth every penny. HK's banter is so hilarious, that if you don't include him on various away missions, you may wish to re-play them later, with him tagging along (most missions allow you only to bring two of your nine possible teammates along). Of course, he is still one great character of many. The mysterious female padawan Bastila is worth taking along on a mission or two, to be sure, especially if you're engaging in the romance subplot. This isn't even getting into Darth Malak, one of the most imaginative of nemesis I've seen for any "T for Teen" rated video game.

What makes this game shine, however, is how far it goes to make these characters seem so...real. It is not uncommon for your companions to have a chat during any "lull" in your travels (when mapping out the desert of Tattoine, for example). At one point, Carth and Bastila may bicker over how easily Bastila was kidnapped by a mere band of mercenaries on Taris. You can join in the teasing, or defend Bastila's honor; it's up to you. As for Mission (a character name, not an actual "mission"), she may ask why Bastila doesn't use her Force tricks "for fun," only to egg on the young Padawan into doing just that...and not the way Mission would prefer. This is just a pair of examples among many. It just made the whole story far more engaging for me, for the game to take the time to allow the characters to have both lively and likely conversations amongst themselves. The  final levels' emotional emphasis is all the more effective because of each "little" scene.

If there's one piece of advice I can give, it is to not rush through this game quickly! This is not a game that you race through only to post on the message boards with pride that you finished it in "36 hours." If you finish this game for the first time in a little over a day, fine. If you're completely done with the game in that time, you're a moron. There are so many little nuances and side trips in this game, it is a travesty if a diehard gamer does not attempt to see them all. It's one thing to take "the quick and easy path," as Yoda would say, and turn to the Dark Side. It's another thing to take a quick and easy path in the actual game! Don't do it.

Gripes...? For one, not unlike the feeling many people have with The Phantom Menace as a whole; the first world, Taris, was a story that barely needed to be told. With no Jedi skills yet, and many quests to complete before you can escape this planet's cold grasp, it will be several hours of game time before you can even hold a light saber, as I said earlier (though felt the need to repeat in a "gripes" paragraph). Granted, you meet Bastila soon enough, and she can use a light saber just fine, and yet...it's not the same, you know?

However, there's no denying the thrill the game offers, from your first step on Dantooine. Meeting the leader of the Jedi Council is one thing (a little fellow that looks like an ancestor of you-know-who); when you get to "assemble" your own light saber, however, there is nothing more than goose bumps to be felt by even the most agnostic of Star Wars fans. So, yeah, it may be long before the game gives you a light saber to play with (an upgradeable light saber, no less!). You just need patience for that first planet. A whole galaxy of light saber wielding awaits you if you do.

I could go on and on about this game, but I think I've said enough. This is clearly the RPG must-have for Star Wars fans, though how about the typical fantasy game fan? If you prefer the typical tale of dragons and spells and spell casting, I would still recommend this game for its excellent characters, engaging story, and a plot twist that to me was the best thing seen in Star Wars since "I am your father!" True, none of us are able to wield a real light saber (aw!). This game is close enough.

---Techtite