Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II - The Sith Lords

Plot synopsis:
=== Setting ===
The game takes place five years after the events of Knights of the Old Republic and 4,000 years before Episode I: The Phantom Menace, in a time when the Jedi have been nearly exterminated by the Sith. The player's character, a former Jedi Knight exiled from the Jedi Order, is referred to as "The Exile" or "Jedi Exile". Throughout the game, the Exile restores their connection to the Force while, with the help of non-playable companions, setting out to stop the Sith. The player makes choices that turn the Exile to either the light side or the dark side of the Force, and they travel to six planets to either help or hinder the Republic's efforts to bring peace and stability to the galaxy.
New playable locations in Knights of the Old Republic II include Telos, Onderon and its moon Dxun, Nar Shaddaa, Malachor V, the Peragus Mining Facility, and various the starships such as the hijacked Republic cruiser Harbinger, the Sith cruiser Ravager, and Goto's yacht orbiting Nar Shaddaa. Two planets featured in the original game, Korriban and Dantooine, are revisited, both with ravaged buildings and intensified problems. The Ebon Hawk, the main character's ship in the first game, is also the player's transportation in Knights of the Old Republic II.
=== Characters ===
The Exile's back story reveals that the character served under Revan during the Mandalorian Wars and ordered the activation of a devastating weapon in the climactic battle over Malachor V. The deaths that ensued created such a substantial "wound" in the Force that the character was forced to sever their connection to the Force to survive, and the Jedi Council ordered the character exiled from the Jedi Order. As the game progresses, the Jedi Exile rebuilds a connection to the Force and creates unusually strong Force Bonds with other characters and places, while unknowingly sapping Force powers.
Among the characters who join the Jedi Exile are Kreia, who acts as the Exile's mentor; pilot and former Sith assassin Atton Rand; technician and Mandalorian War veteran Bao-Dur and his droid remote; the criminal droid G0-T0; and the Sith apprentice Visas Marr. T3-M4 and Canderous Ordo (now identified as "Mandalore"), both featured in the first game, also join the Exile's team. Other characters join the Exile's party under certain conditions. HK-47, who appears in the first game, joins the quest if the Exile collects and uses the parts necessary to reactivate him. Depending on the player's alignment, the Exile will either be joined by the bounty hunter Mira (light side or neutral) or by her rival, a Wookiee bounty hunter known as Hanharr (dark side). Depending on the player's gender, the Exile will either be joined by Mical the Disciple (female) or Brianna the Handmaiden (male).
The game features three main antagonists: Darth Traya, a mysterious assailant who remains in the dark through most of the game; Darth Sion, an undead Sith Lord with a murderous hatred for Jedi; and Darth Nihilus, a Sith Lord whose physical being was destroyed due to his immense affinity to the Force.
=== Plot ===
While hiding on the Harbinger, a Republic cruiser, the Exile is sedated by HK-50, an assassin droid, to be delivered to a crime syndicate called the Exchange, who have put out a bounty on live Jedi. The Exile is rescued by Kreia, with whom they form a Force Bond, and the droid T3-M4 on the Ebon Hawk, and the three flee the Harbinger as it is hijacked by a squad of Sith assassins. However, their ship is damaged during escape by the Harbinger's gunfire, and they eventually arrive at the Peragus Mining Facility. Teaming up with smuggler Atton Rand, the group escapes to the planet Telos IV. While hiding out on Telos, they encounter Atris, a surviving member of the Jedi Council who sentenced the protagonist to exile ten years prior. After settling a dispute regarding the Exile's past sentence, Atris forms an uneasy alliance with them, instructing them to seek out other surviving Jedi in order to rally against the Sith. The Exile then travels to four worlds to find reclusive Jedi Masters and either begs their aid or kills them in revenge for being exiled, depending on player choice. As the Exile continues their journey, they are joined by several individuals in their quest.
After finding all the Masters, the Exile travels back to Dantooine and learns that the countless deaths at Malachor V resulted in the Exile unconsciously giving up connection to the Force, which then became the teachings of the new Sith. If the player aided the Jedi Masters, they prepare to strip the Exile of their Force connection permanently, as the Masters fear that these teachings could result in the actual death of the Force, but Kreia reveals herself to be the former leader of the Sith and murders them all in retribution. If the player killed the Jedi Masters, Kreia attacks the Exile and leaves. Tracking Kreia to Telos, the Exile fights and defeats a corrupted Atris, from whom it is learned that Kreia plans to strengthen a massive wound in the Force made ten years prior. This wound had been created by the Exile during the Mandalorian Wars, when they activated a superweapon in order to end the battle on the planet Malachor V, causing mass death and destruction. Before following her to Malachor V, where Kreia had since rejoined the Sith as Darth Traya, the Exile stops a Sith invasion of Telos, defeating one of Traya's former apprentices, the Sith Lord Darth Nihilus. On Malachor V, the Exile is separated from their companions and fights through hordes of monsters on the planet's surface and the inhabitants of a large Sith Academy that survived the cataclysm. On the final floor of the academy, the Exile kills the Sith Lord Darth Sion and confronts Darth Traya in the planet's core.
The Exile defeats the Sith Lord, but before Traya dies, she delivers a prophetic vision of the future pertaining to the player's companions and the worlds that were visited over the course of the story. Depending on the Exile's alignment, they either order the destruction of Malachor V, escaping before it is destroyed, and travel into the Unknown Regions in search of Revan (light side), or remain on Malachor V as the new Dark Lord of the Sith (dark side).

Tags: good versus evil

Review:
In case you haven't played it yet, whether you like Star Wars or not, type Amazon in browser or get yourselves to the nearest store and get the game.
On the plus side, the game can randomly give you high-damage items, like weapons or armor, that are over-powerful until nearly the end.
Before I start with the review I would like to point out,that I am giving the game a higher rating than it deserves(I would normally rate it at 7.5),simply because "TSL" had great potential,but sadly,never achieved the greatness it deserved.The gameplay mechanics are basically the same as the first game.Some improvements have been added,such as more weapon upgrades,lab stations and more force powers,but I don't think it's relevant,as I will mainly talk about the story.The basics of the story are better than the first game.Let's face it,as much as I love KOTOR's story,it was little more than your basic good vs.
evil plot,with some clever twists,but still fairly simplistic.Here the focus is more on betrayal and suffering.Also,unlike the first game,not everything is entirely black or white.The characters are also far more complex,especially Kreia.This is reflected in the influence system(determines how much each companion likes you,depending on the actions you take).So,where does the game fall short?The answer is the ending.One of the most botched up,incoherent video game endings I have ever seen(on par with the "Mass Effect 3" ending before the extended cut).Seriously the first time I played the game,I had no idea what the hell was going on.First of all the ending is so damn abrupt,that when I reached the point of no return(where you can no longer do any other quests besides the main one) I said to myself "Nah,it can't end this soon,this is probably like the "Leviathan" segment in the first game",but no it did end that soon.Secondly,there are so many scenes missing,you wont be able to fully comprehend what is going on because the pacing moves at ludicrous speed.Seriously,you kill 3 Sith Lords in less than 3 hours,I'm not kidding.Characters disappear with almost no explanation,plot threads go absolutely nowhere and in the end you are just left thinking whether you had taken some kind of hallucinogenic substance,or the game designers.And the problem isn't just with the ending,it's safe to say that about 40% of the game's worth in cutscenes,quests,characters and areas has been cut out.In some cases it was cut out so late in the development,that you can,for example,see the door to a cut out area or start a quest you can't even finish.I don't know why they did it,were they that rushed,were they high?It's very sad,because this game could have not only lived up to the first one,but even surpassed it and it could have established itself as one of the best RPGs ever made.There are some restoration mods,but I don't think they do the game justice..
The developers were so hell bent on getting it out in time for the Christmas sales rush that the final game had big chunks removed from the story and it shows (especially playing the sith storyline), not to mention the game being chock full of bugs.
Oh, and play it with the fan made restored content mode, since kotor 2 haven't been finished because Lucasarts' greed (that's why I gave it "only" 9 star).
The Exile's lack of voice acting takes the cinematic feel down to zero, especially in the "climatic" final battles.Overall it is for die hards only, there are bits of good story involved, but the clunky controls and broken mechanics prevent this from being a good game, which is what it is supposed to be....a game.
well,i loved the first knights of the old republic(one of my personal favorite games of all time)but this game is a disappointment,horrible loading,bland characters and story,some of the least interesting villains in star wars history.(sure they look amazing,but they are so empty)the new game play features just seem unfinished and didn't interest me.some good things about the game is that combat is smoother and you can customize your lightsaber more with new colors and crystals.
To me the 2 Star Wars games which I will defend to my dying day as the best licensed games ever made are the Jedi Knight series (especially the FMV and Jedi Outcast) and the first KOTOR for introducing a strong and investing story and characters...
This on the other hand has all the game play elements of the first one but the rest feels like a diet version of the game.The set-up is in 5 short years after the end of the first game, the Jedi are now dead or very few.
The goal of the game is to assemble a party and look and learn from the Jedi in hiding and become strong enough to defeat someone who is apparently Revan from the first game (I just love RPG Sequels that screw you over if you played a good guy, basically saying your choices are out of continuity!).The reason why I don't like this game is that it is much blander then it's predecessor and a good reason for that is that I'm about 14 and a half hours into the game and all...
But even then I consider it a HUGE step back from the stuff right in front of you in the first game like Mission dealing with the destruction of her home world, Juhani's quest of redemption after being turned back from the light side or even when Carth was cryptic at least there his soldier of fortune dealing with the death of his family is way more interesting then anything presented in this game.I also find the levels extremely bland.
You're a Jedi from the start and yet the game is on automatic grind through levels mode as you can't get a light saber (unless you cheated like I did as a kid) for over 10 hours of game play?
It's a pet peeve more then anything else, When looking for the Jedi I figured on Dantooine the best thing to do would be to act like an actual search party and scout the entire map of the planet.
The good.The dialogs are richer and more entertaining than in the first KOTOR.Creating and breaking down items is definitely a good idea.The story has many interesting sub-plots and twists, sometimes the party does not even include the main character.The bad.The planets are too small, or maybe there are too many quests per square inch.
I found my best armor, not restricting force powers, before level 10.The main story is recycled and not very interesting.The ugly.Nar Shaddaa and the related levels have several bugs, both software and design/scenario.The storyline goes on and on, like latino serial, and becomes boring, yet the game feels somehow incomplete/unfinished.
This is the best star wars game series of all time.
If you want to feel what its like to have the power of the force and the power of choice then play KOTOR 1 and 2.
No other game will ever evoke this type of feeling,the pure amount of depth to the Story,dialogue,characters and attention to the star wars universe will create an experience like no other.It will be a shame that they most probably wont make a 3rd to complete the Kotor trilogy, i can only hope they do.It was and is the most incredible gaming journey i have taken, just like our starwars heroes and villains take in the movies!.
While there is cut content due to rushed release, having it deleted serves the story better that way than if everything was spoon-fed.In the first game, there were visible incarnations of good and evil, Jedi and Sith, Light and Dark Side.
The game focuses more on the protagonist's backstory and moral choices and less on the fate of the galaxy, heroes and villains are not what they seem to be, good and evil remain abstract concepts, not actually engaging in an open conflict, and you will learn to value the Jedi heritage and attributes they are associated with, not to take them as granted.
Obsidian's Knights of the Old Republic 2 is a compelling RPG set in the Star Wars galaxy, the sequel to one of BioWare's best games.
However, the middle section (let's say the central 75% of the game) is as great as the first KOTOR.The influence system is excellent; this was one of the first RPGs to make extensive use of it.
The companions' attitude towards the player is constantly evolving: for example, a certain character may appreciate loyalty, another deception; some party members will despise evil decisions, others will approve them (the morality system is based on the Light/Dark Side contrast, albeit with a few twists).
Special mention to Sarah Kestelmann's Kreia, who is both creepy and strangely sympathetic: one of the best Star Wars characters outside the original trilogy.
How come the main character defeats "Hunger" in one battle, whereas he was able to destroy the whole Jedi council plus a planet full of force-sensitive sentients?
However, there is way too many of them, and it is apparent that most are not intentional, but unfinished.One critical error is the following: If the main character takes time to work on the memory core of the astromech droid, we have a 3D message from Bastilla.
But one of several major issues I had was that the storyline was not at all remotely as good as the first Knights Of The Old Republic which made me fealing empty and even worse is at the end when you are on Malacore you are like a God it is near impossible to be killed by anyone or anything.
But an intelligent look at the aftermath of war, the implementation of unorthodox characters, the exploration of what light and dark really is, the extension of a beloved storyline, and the expanding of an already great game-play system all make up for the small amount of shortcomings KotOR II has.It is impossible to recapture what made KotOR I great.
I think it is simply because he does not treat some General the same as Revan himself.The things that bring KotOR 2 down: pussies for "Sith Lords".
There are some bad parts of the game like all the cut content the robot planet, assassin droids base, and love stories.
The game was better than the first and was longer, if you have the PC Version of it you can download added content to it to make it longer like planets, weapons, people, and music.
I have beat the game many time be for and have had may characters.
If you can master the first kotor you can be a pro at the game and have the best of characters..
They were planning on creating a story that surpasses the original, well-developed characters that would beat out the cast of Knights Of The Old Republic 1, and a big improvement over its predecessor.
The main focus of the game is to find out what the hell happened to Revan, why exactly you were exiled, and combat the current Sith threat or destroy the Jedi Order.
You're stuck looking for Revan after killing Kreia.What's worse than this is that the characters were supposed to have a bigger impact on the story, but Obsidian wasn't able to put it in the game no thanks to the Christmas deadline and it did show when you were playing as Mira on the Light Side game in Malachor V.
The additions that were made were the ability to create your own items, gaining and/or losing influence with party members so they could be either in the light or dark side of the Force, and you could make half of them Jedi Knights.
Handmaiden is too shallow and feels too Gothic, Hanharr is a wookie that whines about his life-debt to Mira, G0-T0 is the cheap version of "The Architect" from the Matrix franchise, Bao-Dur ends up being the big casualty since you barely get any background story from him besides "I just want to repair things, general." Unfortunately, you don't care about the villains at all in this game.
Again, emphasis is LucasArts is to blame for not giving Obsidian time to develop the characters well.Sound: 9/10: The voice-acting was great, but I had problems with the soundtrack.
'Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords' is the sequel to one of the best games of the 21st century.
I'm chiefly thinking of Atton and Kreia - two characters you meet very early in the game - but it could be extended to several others.The story is considerably more complex than the original game's.
(This isn't really a spoiler as they're featured on most cover art!) I don't think that either of these two Sith Lords are quite as intimidating as the original game's Darth Malak, but the way in which they are written will really challenge your perception of the 'Star Wars' universe, especially where the Force is concerned.The planets and other environments open to exploration are broadly as good as those in the first game, but I found it slightly disappointing that none of the worlds became quite as immersive or deep as Taris, the first planet the player experiences in the original 'KOTOR'.
Original KOTOR was made in the spirit of first Star Wars film and with great care for all details, but the sequel is nothing more than half-finished beta version with tons of cut content, outdated graphics and storyline that doesn't make any sense.
While KOTOR's heroes were very well fleshed-out and interesting, with rich dialogs, Obsidian-made heroes are cardboard with small amount of poorly-written things to say and their interactions are just p***ing (like Kreia with her palpatine-posed "wisdom" which looks like deplorable patois, or Visas' servile devotion to you which is only thing developers were capable to implement into that character) main story is rotating around brilliant idea of a guy who is "hole in the Force" and all dialogs center on this trekkish concept.
the finale is ridiculous with you running through halls of ugly malachor academy, killing sith pupils (we know it from original KOTOR already) and confronting idiotic Kreia who even when dying, torments us with her "sagacities" (her prophecy about your party members becoming New Jedi Order is plagiarized from Kevin Anderson, dear Avellone, BTW) More sense would be in putting Nihilus on Ravager as a final adversary instead of that boring Malachor, it would be more climactic, but it wouldn't save that game anyway.
The only thing that is good in that game is music actually.
I hope that Chris Avellone (Sith Lords creator)and his gang will never produce any star wars game again.
Knights of the Old Republic was a fantastic game, I have played and completed dozens of times, trying to see different ways to end the game, to see how evil or good you can make your character!
This time you were to start as a Jedi Knight who had followed original character Darth Revan to war against the Mandalorians.
Your character had decided not to join Revan and Malak as Sith Lords and returned to the Jedi - where you are stripped of your powers and lighstaber.
There's a long slog on a ship and then an equally long slog through a space station before you get to do some traveling and see other planets, but it's worth it.There's a real sense of living history playing the KotoR games, since your character gets to revisit familiar yet changed locations.
Sure, it must be hard to live up to anyones expectations when the original game had met so much admiration and praise.There are a lot of good things in KOTOR2, but in the end I felt slightly cheated and disappointed too.
This all started when Telos was attacked or maybe even earlier when I arrived on Dantooine again to meet the Jedi masters.Before that, I liked the game quite a bit and considered it a good sequel to its famous predecessor.
The voice acting was superb again (and yes, I liked Bao-Dur's voice also) and I believed the changes in the game-play (new lightsabre upgrades, new Force powers etc), the graphics (except for the video scenes) and the new level system a good evolution from the original.Most importantly, I was thrilled by the story.
As I said before, when one arrives on Telos for the second time to fight Darth Nihilis, the story falters considerably and never recovers until the end.Another point: the game-play balance seems to be flawed.
At least, 'Mind Trick' didn't work on Darth Traya and her floating lightsabres were a bit of a surprise.So, with a story that falters somewhere near the middle of the game and with no real challenge in combat (or on the intellectual front, for that matter) throughout the whole game, did I like KOTOR2?
I shudder to think how boring the game might be as a Jedi Guardian/Weaponsmaster...I seriously doubt I am going to replay KOTOR2 as many times as I did the other one with Revan, Carth and Bastila.Maybe if Obsidian alters the game balance - or even better, amends left out story plots in a patch for the game (a girl can dream...).
This time, you play as an exiled Jedi Knight, a veteran of the Mandalorian Wars, who followed Revan to battle against the Jedi Council's wishes.
The expansion of the Sith teachings is marvelous, especially if you choose to go 'dark'.The great things about this game: 1.
Thanks LucasArts and Obsidian for shearing off more of what could have been the best VG I've ever played because of your Sith-like greed.2.
*spoiler* Fighting Darth Sion over and over again (like you did in KOTOR I with Bastila and Malak).
As one would expect from Star Wars the music is excellent, finding out about Revan and Malek is very interesting and it looks good enough but that's about all that can be said for this game.