KOTR II: The Sith Lords is it worth getting? if so how does it compare to number 1?

Hello, I beaten the first KOTOR Game and it is a Classic, one of the best Star Wars Games that Lucasarts has released in the past 5 years. however I'm wondering about number 2?



Does it live up to the first one? is it better? whats different about it?


Thanks, White Knight.

Redirecting to: Kotor 2 General Discussion

 

Rent this game...play it twice (once dark, once light) and return it and never play it again. It's a waste and has low replay value. The game is too glitchy, the story absolute falls apart at the end, and there is little effective resolution in the plotlines. Anyway...it's not worth it, IMO.

 

The index might be of help to you. As with the question - I don't know, I only played KotORI and not II. But I heard some bad things about II, which is why I didn't get it (but probably will eventually).

 

Actually, while all the stuff about it falling apart at the end are correct, it has a much deeper story than the first one. It is much darker than KOTOR I. The conversations are much more complex (if you gain influence with the right characters), and the ideas about the Jedi, Sith, and the force are much more complex than anything I've ever seen in the SW universe. I think it is definately worth buying, just don't expect a rehash of the first game (or other SWs games for that matter). The only real knock against the game is the ending. LA rushed Obsidian and the game was never truly finished. I don't feel it is any buggier than KOTOR I, and I think this has more to do with the condition of your Xbox or pc.

 

I like that sentence.

As for KOTOR 2 and how does it compare to KOTOR?

First off KOTOR 2 is an continuation of KOTOR, from a different perspective. So you won't be playing as Revan, Bastilla, Carth and other characters from KOTOR won't be in your party in KOTOR 2.

In terms of story, I say it is far greater than KOTOR. KOTOR was deep, but when its all said and done, it was just another "Kill the bad guy and save the galaxy" type games. KOTOR 2 isn't like that which is what I like about it. KOTOR 2 is the only Star Wars game that actually threw ethical/moral decisions to us. As we all know, Star Wars is all about eithical/moral choices. But yeah, KOTOR 2 is really deep and philosophical. Sometimes doing good can be bad and sometimes doing something bad can also be good in the long run. KOTOR 2 gives us these ideas and concepts. Again, something that I don't believe we ever saw in a videogame.

The characters in your party aren't as exciting as the ones in KOTOR. In KOTOR the characters were there for you and wanted to help you. They saw something great in you and wanted to be there to experience it with you. You can label them as your friends. In KOTOR 2 the characters aren't....friends persay. They are just people who happened to tag along with you and enjoy the ride. They care nothing of you, only the things that they can get out of you. I would go into more detail, but I don't want to ruin the game.

On a lighter note, the concept of Influence is a HUGE step in videogames. Many people over look this but I guarantee you that you'll see future RPG titles use this concept. It was flawed, because the game was rushed, but it was still a great attempt by Obsidian.

The music is rich and deep. A different person does the KOTOR 2 music but it is just as good and fits really well with the mysterious/dark tone of the game. KOTOR's music was more epic/subtle and battle-heavy while KOTOR 2's is more smaller, personal, and cloudy....which is how the game is.

There are many new great gameplay mechanics added in. I don't feel like running through them all, but just now that the gameplay is much better in KOTOR 2 than KOTOR.

However there is one thing that could hurt your experience, and that is the loooooooong loading times and overload of bugs/glitches. Again, this was a rushed product so what do you expect.

In conclusion, buy KOTOR 2. If you loved KOTOR you'll really love KOTOR 2. I see it as the Empire Strikes Back/Attack of the Clones in what seems to be a KOTOR trilogy....hopefully.

 

KOTOR is better than KOTOR II Sith Lords.

In KOTOR II it takes to long to get a lightsaber.

Also in KOTOR, you get to explore Sith Tombs on Korriban.
KOTOR II doesnt give this (because its set after)

KOTOR II is worth playing but I dont know if I could keep playing - it'd probably get boring..

I play KOTOR loads of times and its always exciting.

 

Going by what you say, you're saying that KOTOR 2 is inferior to KOTOR because it takes too long to get a lightsaber and that you can't explore Sith Tombs?

 

KOTOR II is Superior.

KOTOR I is flashy and Crowd Pleasing, light frothy fun... Ala A New Hope.

KOTOR II is Misunderstood, brooding, mysterious, deeper, Ala Empire Strikes Back.


People complain about KOTOR II without paying attention to how it adds and enriches the larger story, it is a middle piece to a trilogy... You need to play KOTOR I First to truly enjoy II, and I think you'll have to play III, before all the storylines introduced will play out.

 

Exactly!

And KOTOR 2 introduces us to MANY concepts that was never seen in videogames....until KOTOR 2 came along.

Innovation 101

 

Sure, KotOR II introduces at least one interesting concept into the RPG game play, but it stops short of actually developing the concept. I am thinking of the influence factor in the game play. I felt like it was sort of contrived and not really as "influential" as it should have been.

I also think that it's a bit inapt to call KotOR II the middle part of a trilogy when we do not have any indication that KotOR III is being made. In fact, the only indications we have are contrary to any future development of another KotOR game. I hope that it will be made; but I am not holding my breath.

Also, the story adds only a little to the original concept; instead it opts for trying to make the moral decisions between light and dark an interesting shade of grey. While an intriguing concept at the beginning, it results in a muddling of the storyline, which concededly falls absolutely apart at the end. It's tragic because had the original storyline been taken to completion, instead of the stunted underdeveloped story we are unfortunately left with, the concept of influence and the moral consequences of actions might have some actual meaning in the game. As it is, there is no resolution to any of the efforts to influence the NPCs. In my opinion, the terrible way the ending of KotOR II was carried off negates a lot of the benefits of these ersatz innovations in the RPG genre.

Don't get me wrong: the game is fun to play through at least twice. Do it from the good side and the darkside. One of the best moments for me was seeing my double-bladed Sith Lord chick, dressed in the dancers costume, rip through all comers at the very end. That it wasn't challenging to me was not important because of the concept character i had been able to develop. She was wicked-cool. The game just loses steam at the end and that, to me, makes it unenjoyable in repeat efforts.

So, I suggest rent it and play it. Enjoy it for what it's worth and then set it down.

 

Thats a fair opinion right there.

About the influence, you are right. However atleast they tried it. It wasn't complete....but it was an effort that they gave us. For that, I salute them.

Afterall, it wasn't Obsidian's fault that it wasn't complete....

 

First off, new here so HI! Second off, let's go through a mini review of KotOR II

Graphics:

When you consider the age we live in and you look at engines like the Source engine and the Doom 3 engine you would have expected KotOR II: TSL to have a spledid new engine to work off. Does it? The answer is no. Admittedly the engine looks ok on full settings (Some areas look stunning, examples include your first planet of Peragus when you go outside the facility and Telos can also have a few wow moments too) though those graphics that made you think, "wow," back when KotOR was released seem to taste slightly less sweet now- the sunset effect for Dantooine shall be greatly missed. The frame buffer effects do exactly the same thing and the water effects are the same. The engine feels stale, but it isn't completely off. As I say there are some good looking areas in the game and level design seems much improved- textures looking sharper and areas seeming to be more varied in their appearance (Rather than the, you are on planet x- I can't tell where you are on that planet as a lot of it is all the same) But there are no huge improvements in the graphical side of things. The engine was far from perfect in the first game, with lag occuring in the most bizzare locations and that hasn't been solved but it has certainly been smoothed out; using Fraps with my GeForce 6800 Ultra I get an average FPS (Everything on max) on Dantooine in K1 of 40FPS with it dropping to 20 in some places, in K2 the average isn't much changed but it doesn't drop as much only a variation of about 5 fps. Character models are improved, you are less likely to run into the same person five times in a row and be expected to think, "NO! That isn't the exact same model I saw just before." Though there are far more animations available to the game (I know this through modding- there are some great ones such as bow and hand on heart) they seem to be restricted to scripted cutscenes, you hardly ever see them in a conversation with a random person down the street- which is a shame. The rushed nature of the game means that often rather than seeing the animation for something it will just black out and then return later to the game. (One example of this is on your second planet where the Gameplay programmer notes in the .dlg file say that it should have a mini cutscene involving the PC lying down being watched by another character, instead you get a good old view of the bed and then it blacks out!)The wobbling head with plastic facial expressions was bearable back in 2003 but now it is annoying!

Graphical Summary:
Visual Quality: 5/10 (The graphics are mediocre at best in good need of an upgrade though areas are varied)
Performance: 5/10 (Considering I can get an average of 90 - 100 FPS on something like the Source engine then I would expect better than this in the Odyssey engine!)
Animations: 7/10 (Some lovely animations in there, but why don't we see them very often?!)
Overall: 6/10

Gameplay: KotOR offered us some nice choices throughout the course of the game. Though a lot of them never seemed to have any effect on the main plotline, at the end of the day you still had to have the Republic attack the Star Forge with no bearing on anything you did on Korriban/Manaan/Dantooine or any of the planets. KotOR II: TSL improves this by a great deal, if I helped one faction earlier on in the game then they will help me (Or not) in the endgame, whether I found fuel for a certain space station also has an effect on the outcome of the Endgame. You have a definite feeling of results in TSL, which is a very good thing.

We will now move onto the Influence system. Many people have complained that this means you cannot get all the backstory out of a character and have therefore concluded that TSL's characters are shallow and uninteresting. I beg to differ. Influence happens to open up a whole new dimension to the game. Originally Influence was to have an effect on what happens in the Endgame (And it will again once Team Gizka have completed their restoration ) though

 

Yes get it. Now. KotOR II is a great game, with a GREAT story.

 

Pavlos, do you want a job writing in the game industry? Its a not paying job but you do get benefits such as free games (to review and keep) and admission into many industry events such as E3.

I read your review and it is quite impressive.

Email me at CarolinaEdge@aol.com if you're interested.

www.controllerfreaks.com is the site I'm talking about.

 

I liked the story and settings a bit better than in KOTOR. But, by the end of the game, I was more confused at the storyline than I was watching the prequels.

 

If you buy it for a Thompson drive Xbox(Any Xbox manufactured in the past two or three years) it's likely you'll never run into a glitch you didn't cause on purpose.

All in all it's great and addictive game with a lot of merits. The gameplay is much better then that of KOTOR 1 but with a better looking HUD and Menu system. The graphics of the actually environments however are bit dumbed down and some of the environments are a little underwhelming when they didn't try their hardest. A few like the Rebuilt Jedi Enclave will leave you in awe everytime you replay this game(there is a lot of replay value, I doubt the user who claimed this even knows about any of the higher items you get rewarded for after multiple plays and at higher Character levels).

All of the costumes and weapons have been greatly improved upon and the battles are much more epic in scope, BTW. The influence system is beautifully executed and leaves you with a more rewarding experience with your party members. I just wish there were more missions to get to them all over since you will get a few of them late in the game depending on how you play(another reason for replay) and some are boring and just plain stupid(A lot of people think the same way about some party members in KOTOR 1) and T3-M4 gets a good personality upgrade in this sequel and is actually a very useful guy.

All in all you'll be missing out on something great if you don't buy this game. It has a few small flaws that have been beaten to death on a few forums but overall it's still a great game.

 

I played through the game a few times on what I thought was the highest difficulty rating it had to offer. Perhaps there are wonderful toys you receive as rewards but the story remains as stunted and underwhelming as it is on any other difficulty setting. I personally never saw Darth Malak's armor or anything else that was "promised" or "teased" with in the game guide. I did know about these special items that you are supposed to get during replays...but I never found those to be a good enough incentive to keep playing the game. Thus, for me replay equaled low.

 

I tend to doubt the replay value you speak of. KOTOR has no better does it? Besides new armors and such what makes replay value great in your opinion, different plot lines? This game is certainly not Morrowind and has a different development in terms of storyline then in KOTOR. While I almost never play KOTOR 2 anymore, neither do I play number 1. 1 is like ANH, KOTOR 2 like TESB, while not as flashy as the legendary KOTOR, in terms of amazing characters and such the game offers many different aspects of gaming. It's one of the first games I have played where it had a broad UNIQUE storyline, which always made me want more. In terms of a crappy ending, it's not terrible, or unfinished, it's protraying the dark places of the galaxy, a silient description of what is to come. It's very mysterious, and in some ways relating to the past aspects of the storyline, and looking into the future, in other words KOTOR 3. Whether or not KOTOR 3 will be made or not, it does not matter, KOTOR 3 is not a game, it is what comes after KOTOR 2, it is what you want it to be until you play any potential game, that's the reason why they didn't have more storyline in Trayus Academy, that's why they didn't explain Traya's motives, to create a sense of mystery, of what is to come. If Traya told you her motives and Trayus academy was expanded to explain the Sith Lords, what would that do for KOTOR 3, nothing.

KOTOR 2 is a worthy sequel, and if you don't have old hardware the gameplay is excellant, the score fufilling, fitting the gloominess of the game's storyline. Although it did not receive many awards, and wasn't a huge seller, it is nessessary to understand, in order to create the effect of KOTOR 3 if they make such a game. The way I look at it as is, if AOTC wasn't made before ROTS, you wouldn't understand the storyline if the OT never existed, it's the same with this game.

 

I'm still trying to beat the original one, which I got in June. I haven't put a whole lot of time into it, but it frustrates me. It takes forever to load on the Xbox, and the characters die to easily. What bothers me about that is that you can't really control it, as they're doing the fighting themselves.

 

Kotor II it worth buying. I think the reason some people don't like is because they try and compare it to Kotor I to much. It's always hard comparing new games or movies to old ones, just how everyone compares Star Wars I, II & III to the original. It's almost impossible to out do the original. The reason is the originals bring something new to the board that no one has ever seen before. That's what Kotor I does and when II came out some people wanted the same thing from it, something that was new and that has never been seen. But thats impossible cause thats what Kotor I did. For my opinion Kotor II has a story line that is a little harder to follow. You just cant race through the game and expect to absorb 100% of everything. You have to take your time and understand what going on. Also the new improvements to the upgrading of your character is great, I never saw that coming when they made it.

 

Unforgiveable insult by indifferent company wastes superb potential, is how it's best summed up.

The Sith Lords is a pig with makeup. She has the looks, lure and lust, but marital union reveals the sow she is.

And Vader's breath aside you'll still buy it knowing what KOTOR was like and the temptation is critical striking your saving throw to wisely avoid. So we'll get straight to the point. Obsidian's affront offers no backstory on the Darth villains, myriad game bugs, no twists or surprises or final movie, a companion-influence system that works against you, and fewer movies horridly fragmented into brief sequences best of all that a 2-gigabyte graphics patch still doesn't resolve.

KOTOR starts with a bang and Taris diversity to impress. Your bang here is a choppy intro movie, slaying foes with weak weapons in single hits half naked, your first vista of new face templates an afro-haired geek, unattractive ladies and a Lando clone. Hunters are coming, surrounded by volatile explosives, and the outcome is obvious. Kiss my Vadering breath, your dramatic movie/music of the heated escape is abruptly stop-started-stop-started with loading screens!

The transparent storyline as the last known wizard is ridiculous fraudulence, as though you won't greet and grit other Jedi. You're dreaming Bastila bums if you think the game offers plot or character conversation surprises like KOTOR, the stolen ending aside, of course. There's a darker feel, as unknown threats have decimated the wizards. The Darths aren't so terrifying when you easily corpse them, with only rudimentary info on Scion and absolutely none for Nilly. Why, you're not even told his damn name until you meet, this nightmare sucking worlds dry a delightful opposite of battle meditation, feeding, not nurturing, no background at all! Searching for Jedi Masters instead of starmaps, the old hag warns you the Darths you face are best faced without your Force.

Then why do you fight them with it??

Burping banthas, the Sith hardly use THEIR Force on you. I sabered them just fine. And they'd have you think Jedi-ing your companions is awesome, but it's too late in the short game, making their weak powers needless against your Incredible Hulk. Enemy strength isn't compensated when prestige classes overpower you. Force lightening/screaming 8 dead in a hit will either be fun or eventually boring. Sith Lords hardly even dark side you!

Your party conspiring behind you flavours TSL like a story, but it doesn't feel Star Wars at all. You don't find much sabers or fight saber foes until the very end, so what's the point in calling it SW? The legions of Sith Lord babies you swim through at the end are hardly worthy of the name.

The Kreia Kontradiction is transparent as to be blatant nudity. Supposedly neither light nor dark, then why does she reward you with darkside-influence? Was her ulterior design so opaque, that the developers thought that'd be a sneaky plot twist? She'll bonus your experience when with you, but lightside action loses influence. You want to level up faster, but a handy "close your eyes" game bug aboard ship allows you to influence her enough to access her movie story, fortunately.

Influence is this game's theme. Different behaviour can charisma different companions, which the developers would have you think is quiet cool. Truth is, you don't influence them right you won't access their precious backgrounds. While tying your influence into the storyline was a clever touch, the game lacks casual fun as you must constantly shift party slots to have the right human or droid present when meeting people.

Game duration's shorter than KOTOR, too short to access all your party stories under restrictive influence guidelines. Added annoyance as your shipmates is quite hilarious to hear. Lightsiders will only influence good companions, so you'll miss the darksiders. What, were you encouraged to replay this skeletal game?

Not only are you returned to Dantooine and Korriban, they're exceptionally short stays. The cave phantoms were f

 

Bah. The story wasn't nearly as good as the first one. There was a bunch of BS about echos, hunger, immortality and destinay tat tries to sound smart. The only thing interesting is Kreias ultiamte goal of destroying the force
The characters aren't as interesting either. Non of them have the uniqueness of the first game
s characters. No quotability. I just didn't care about them as much. What was worse was the absolutly stupid "influence system" which garunteed anyone but the most hardcore could not enjoy finding out the characters back story. Plus, wether due to rushing, the influence system or bugs: iended up having the same conversations over and over and over again. I mean, after killing Nihulis, I accidently got into the long talk about Nihulis is out there and will reveal himself in time. I just killed him! It was rediculus.


Don't get me wrongo. It is still a great game. HK is still as funney as every, the combat is good, and the villans are interesting (sadly not nearly enough is explained about them: who were they? Why is this guy a living embodeiment of hunger.) Kreia and gotto are unqiue chararcters and you get to team up with Mandos.

Buy it. Just don't get your hopes up.

 

I should have learned my lesson from buying the first one...don't bother with part 2.

 

It's got more holes(plotholes that is) than Swiss cheese.

 

It is a good game, as said above the influence is a great idea but it just wasn't polished as I had hoped for but I liked it and how it help change the flow if only a little. The graphics are about the same. There also tends to be some invisible walls at times but then again you can just walk away and come back and then they will be gone. The story line also need to be flushed out more, but the only reason is as said before LA was pushing to release quicker.

Overall I give it a rent or get it at gamestop or someother game store and play it and trade it back in for creds, which I tend to do a lot.