Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC)

The storyline could have been a standard coming-of-age yarn, but is instead a genuinely interesting adventure which gradually unravels your connection with these events. The game's planet-hopping adventures are driven by your exploration of these connections and how they relate to your larger goal of discovering the source of the Sith's sudden fleet. During your adventure you can explore side quests minor (such as racing swoops or gambling) and major (such as uncovering the fascinating back stories of your companions). Star Wars fans will get a kick out of the rich lore introduced in the game, particularly the Tatooine storyline that reveals the origin and history of the Sand People.

Gameplay is an abbreviated form of Wizards of the Coast's d20 Star Wars RPG game system. The player creates a character as a member of one of three starting classes (soldier, smuggler, scout) and then later chooses a Jedi class (guardian, consular, sentinel). Joining the player's character are other Jedi, warriors, thieves, droids, a wookiee, and even a Mandolorian. Combat is real-time turn-based, meaning the turns are seamless but the player has the option of pausing the action at any time to issue orders or direct any character to use a certain Force power, ability, feat, or item.

Graphics range from adequate to exceptional. Lightsaber graphics and environmental effects (like waving grass, clouds, and weather) bring the world to life. Complete with sounds straight out of the movies, the thrilling combat is pure Star Wars.

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a masterpiece of Star Wars gaming. The pacing, balance of action and dialogue, clever puzzles and quests, and loving attention to detail have set the bar very high for role-playing games in general and Star Wars games in particular. --Mike Fehlauer

Apart from the hugely popular Jedi Knight series, Lucasarts has had difficulty in scoring another hit with its Star Wars franchise since it wound up the X-Wing games. The new films just weren't as popular as the originals, and neither were the games based around them. So this game hits you like a blast of fresh air. An inspired partnership with Bioware (who brought us the excellent AD&D game Neverwinter Nights) has produced a new, well presented and well developed game that will keep you playing well into the midnight hours. So, what's involved?

Your character serves the Republic, four thousand years before Anakin Skywalker can even spell "Lightsaber". Following a devastating war with the Mandalorians, an almost Nietzschian warrior civilisation, the Repblic is triumphant - until the great Jedi Knights who led the fleet, Malak and Reban, return from the galactic rim as Lords of the Sith. A third of the remaining fleet turns to the dark side immediately, a huge number of Republic worlds and forces are suddenly lost, and many Jedi are turned to the forces of evil. Caught unawares, and reeling from the ferocity and surprise of the attack, the Republic must depend upon the valour and sacrifice of the remaining Jedi Knights, and on one in particular - Bastila, whose skill of Battle Meditation can be the difference between victory or total annihilation. And it's your job to keep her out of the Sith Lords' clutches...

Coming from Bioware this is a roleplaying game very similar to Neverwinter Nights; the character progression system is very much built on the 3rd edition AD&D model and as such anybody who has played similar RPGs will pick up the basics in about half an hour flat. But better still, it's in glorious, full-detailed third person, so no miniature, generically modelled characters running around the game (except Jawas). The screen itself runs a little like the venerable Final Fantasy series, with the player being able to directly control a single character at a time (the maximum two companions being run according to the script you choose for them). In combat it's a simple matter of select your enemy, select what you want to do to them, or to yourself, and let rip. And repeat as necessary whenever your enemy drops, or if you want to do something else, such as change your weapons, activate a personal shield or throw a grenade.

The graphics are well developed, too. For a four gigabyte install they ought to be, and the huge use of disk space is easily explained by the quality of the landscapes and locations as well as the party's detailed character models (which will change along with every piece of kit you equip them with, a nice touch). The expanse of rolling sand dunes, and the dusty cluttered streets of Anchorhead on Tatooine just go to show that the place never improved much over a few millennia, and the polished, sky-reaching spires of Taris only serve to hide the pit of degradation that is the undercity. It's still recognisably Star Wars, but it's now set in a few new locales, and you may feel like a sigh of relief, given previous games' trend of constantly (re)treading in the footsteps of the films' (sometimes wooden) characters...

The sound is also pretty good; apart from your own dialogue, every sentence you hear is spoken out aloud. Yes, all of it. Which means that you're never talking to the usual obligatory-mute-RPG-fill-in characters that normally make up half an RPG's cast. It also keeps you guessing which characters are going to be more important than others in the scheme of things.

Your compatriots aren't dull either. As the story goes on, you will have the opportunity to talk to them and learn a little bit about what makes them tick. They have their own personalities and if you behave in a way they disagree with, expect them to say so - and since their guidance can sometimes be useful, it pays to listen. Actually getting your party together isn't a simple matter either - RPGs are no longer just, "You see Fred. He joins your party". No, now they will join you either as a result of your actions, or for reasons of their own, and as such they aren't just there as cannon fodder. And their presence in your current group can sometimes open new opportunites for adventure...

But the best part of all, which I just HAVE to mention before I hit my maximum word limit, is the equipment. In a truly inspired move, and with evidence of AD&D's and Deus Ex's influence, many items of your characters' equipment are customisable. Yep, that custom designed lightsaber is within your force-enabled grasp, so if you want to be a Mace Windu lookalike, no problem; and your blasters and armour and Vibro-weapons can all be tinkered with to give extra added value and added destruction. Those extra points of damage, that fine-tuned balance and those extra critical hits can make the diffence between drinking sancerre or eating dirt when the dust of battle has cleared, and it's well worth all those minutes spent at the workbench. Finding the components can be tricky though, but they are worth a few minor quests on their own...

Overall this is a spectacular game. Probably the best RPG since Fallout 2, which was ahead of its time (see review). You will almost certainly be up at unsociable hours still playing it. The only gripes I can mention are the level 20 character limit, that you can't multiclass voluntarily, and the few times it's kicked me out of the game into Windows again (although this is probably just my PC playing up). Other than that, this game is easily worth the whole Five Stars, and I fully expect it will also scoop the GOTY award from several PC Gaming publications.


PC Game of 2003   December 31, 2003
Sam D (United Kingdom)
45 out of 46 found this review helpful

Knights of the Old Republic, was an acclaimed success on Xbox, shooting straight to the top of the charts, and with good reason. BioWare seems to have the Midas touch, and the developers have proved themselves able to handle this typically problematic license with their usual class. This is the best Star Wars game ever and the best PC game released in 2003.

Based on the d20 role-playing system, Knights is set four thousand years before Episode 1, at a time when Jedi are plentiful. The ever-present war between the dark and light sides of the Force is the centrepiece of the story, focusing on a pair of ex-Jedi, Revan and Malak, who fell to the dark side after a mysterious journey to an unchartered edge of the galaxy. Players also get an insight into the training process of both the Jedi Academy and the Sith.

Like the Baldur's Gate series, you are free to create the game's central character yourself: male or female, combat-focused, stealthy or tech-focused, it's up to you. For this reason, your character is, amazingly, the only one who has no voice actor. In a novel move, you'll get to switch classes mid-game during your Jedi training, so with this and the AD&D-like d20 character statistics system, there's lots of potential for varied character builds. If you don't fancy getting your hands dirty with the numbers, an auto-level-up button will take care of the choices for you. However, half of the beauty of appreciating just how tailored to suit you this game can be lies in the fact that you can precisely tune your character, from his main attributes, to his skills, to his Jedi Powers, and even to the head visors he wears and the (modified) weapons he uses.

BioWare has always tried to provide multiple paths through its games, and Knights is ceratinly no different. As your character develops, you'll be able to make many choices about how to handle the people and puzzles the game puts in your path. The game even keeps track of your responses and changes your appearance to suit your behaviour, quite reminiscent of how Deus Ex so marvellously did 3 years ago. Although the large-scale plot is the same whether you choose good or evil, the way that small-scale situations play out is very different and as such, very satisfying. You'll find yourself finishing a particular sequence one way, and then restarting to see the other side's outcomes, and then trying out all the grey decisions in between. Both sides have many unique situations and conversations; the dark sided options produce the best jokes, however a light-sided stance has more satisfying quest outcomes.

The interface is a little unusual, but works excellently and comes very naturally after about an hour's play. It uses the WASD layout for moving forwards, backwards and rotating left and right, while the mouse isn't used for freelook, but kept as a pointer for selecting icons and on-screen objects. Smart keyboard shortcuts are included for icons and dialogue options too. The only problem is that the inventory management is a little hard to get used to after a while, becoming very cluttered with items you've picked up earlier and had little or no use for since: a minor point however, and items can be sold at the numerous traders you'll come across for credits anyway.

There's already a patch out to solve some issues with one particular Intel motherboard chipset, and users of ATI graphics cards have also reported some problems. Knowing BioWare, though, it'll be quick to stamp out any other issues that arise, however having played the game with the 1.1 patch installed, I can say that it ran as smoothly and as stable as the most stable games I've played and with everything turned up, looked an absolute treat. The install is large (4 GB), but once installed, it doesn't require juggling of its four CDs - you'll use the same "Play" CD throughout.

It's about time the PC-owning world got to see what all the fuss was about. The graphics look great, the interface works a treat and the additions, while minor, fit well. Clearly a lot of work has gone into making the game feel like it was meant to be on PC. As someone who's not usually into to RPGs, I feel quite qualified to say that you don't have to be an RPG fan to enjoy this. You don't even have to be a Star Wars fan. But if you're a fan of thoroughly enjoyable games, games that remind you why this is your hobby in the first place, you won't be able to avoid being smitten by Knights. It's the best PC game since Deus Ex and as most gaming publications will tell you, easily the PC game of 2003.


A long time ago in a galaxy even further away....   November 3, 2003
Leigh Hirst (United Kingdom)
23 out of 45 found this review helpful

"It is 4000 years before the Galactic Empire and hundreds of Jedi Knights have fallen in battle against the ruthless Sith. As the last hope of the Jedi, you must lead a band of freedom fighters in an epic struggle to save the galaxy."

On first impressions the graphics in 'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic' look upto date, but the most important thing you have to take into acount about this game is that it is the first ever Star Wars roll playing game (RPG). You get to control a band of three customisable characters with a choice of many different races. You can upgrade your characters aswell as your equipment, even your own starship.

The creators have had an excellent chance to produce something new and unique, taking the basic framework of what is well known in the Star Wars Galaxy and putting new species and creatures, worlds and cities as flesh on the bone.

The story revolves around the struggle between the Jedi and the Sith, both in their thousands at this point in history. Led by Darth Malak, the Sith intend to destroy the Rupublic and the Jedi order. This is where you come in, though a young apprentice Jedi you will change the fate of the galaxy by either keeping on the path of the Jedi, or falling to the Dark side.

On the whole 'Knights of the Old Republic' could be the refreshing change that Star Wars fans need in a PC game as recent titles (not including the 'Jedi Knight' series)have fallen alittle flat. The X-Box version is recieving some exellent reviews, the PC version is not expected to be at all different in style or content.

Lets hope this game will rekindle the flame for the many Star Wars gamers out there.


Beautiful...   September 4, 2004
21 out of 22 found this review helpful

You may have noticed that a good number of the reviews written have got 5 stars. No, this is not a load of deep star wars/RPG junkies (well not all)with biased opinions, this game is truly fantastic. What Knights of the old republic successfully does, is that it allows you to immerse yourself in a winding story, as your own jedi character, following the light side path as a jedi, or the dark side path towards the sith...

Something that makes this game truly unique, is the way the star-wars-like music has been merged so emotionally into the gameplay that you would mistake it for a film.

There are fantastic dialogue interfaces, easy to use controls, and amazing combat actions. This game offers many side quests as well as the core main quest, such as murder mysteries, swoop bike races(ask a SW junkie...), being a gladiator, or simply helping people out with the aid of your lightsabre...

To top all this off it comes with very good graphics, good interaction, and a beautifully built 3D galaxy, allowing you to visit Manaan(a big sea planet), Dantooine(jedi base/grassy plains), Korriban(The home of the sith academy), Tatooine(Oh come on, if you don't know this go play pacman instead), Kashyyk(Chewbacca(wookies) home planet), Taris(The beginning city planet), and the unknown, a tropical mystery(I'll let you work it out for yourself).

So basically if you're looking for a game that you will learn to love, this is the one for you, especially for star wars or RPG fans. BUY IT NOW!!! =)


At last - a great Star Wars Game   February 13, 2004
mbogle (ireland)
17 out of 19 found this review helpful

For those of you that had given up any hope of an enjoyable game ever being produced on the Star Wars licence here it is..

Set 4,000 years before the films it blends the old familiar feel of the Star Wars settings (planets/weapons/jedi) while giving the gamer a new environment that will continue to surprise and enthral him. The graphics are just amazing however this is not what has hooked me. It is the storyline. This is the first game in a long while that has had me actually care about my character and want to know how the story will next unfold. The rest of the game is excellent with a well-developed character progression table and basic d20 style combat mechanics.

I recommend this game for all RPG fans (it is a perfect game to try out the RPG genre if you have never played before as it is easy and intuitive with a simple point and click interface - It has won numerous awards from game sites including a number of Game of the Years) and those of you who have ever wanted to Suggest that 'you don't really want to do that!'

One word of warning however is that I have a top of the range machine which handles the graphic needs of this game (Radeon 9800pro). I have heard that you need at least the recommended specs for it to be playable.

The min Specs from the Lucasarts.com are:-

Computer: 100% DirectX 9.0b compatible computer
Operating Systems: Windows 98/98SE/ME/2000/XP
CPU: Intel PIII 1 GHz or AMD Athlon 1 GHz required
Memory: 128 MB RAM required for Windows 98, 256 MB RAM required for Windows ME/2000/XP
Graphics Card: 32 MB OpenGL 1.4 compatible PCI or AGP 3D Hardware Accelerator with Hardware Transform and Lighting (T&L) Capability required
Sound Card: 100% DirectX 9.0b compatible Audio Device required
CD-ROM: Quad Speed CD-ROM drive required
DirectX: Microsoft DirectX 9.0b
Installation: 4.0 GB

recommended is
CPU: 1.6 GHZ AMD or Intel processor
Video Chipset: ATI Radeon 9200 or better, NVidia GeForce4 Ti or better
RAM: 512 MB RAM