A/V The Old Republic MMO: The New Official Thread

Because the writers said so is why. Same with the no attachment deal.

 

I will say my brief preview of Fallen Empire and Eternal Throne have been quite positive. But I want to finish the original campaign to see when things get good.

 

To be fair, I think there was a backhanded insult with the Mandalorians. They work for the Sith because they want to fight the best in the galaxy. Which is to say the Jedi and Republic.

The Sith are just a paycheck.

Of course, there's no reason we couldn't have found "Republic" aligned Mandalorians next to Sith aligned ones. Also, the Mandalorians are a minor part of the Bounty Hunter storyline as well unless you're romancing Torian.

 

Star Wars: The Old Republic: Knights of the Fallen Empire review

http://unitedfederationofcharles.blogspot.com/2016/12/star-wars-old-republic-knights-of.html


I've fallen behind on my Star Wars: The Old Republic reviews. In large part, this is due to the fact I don't have the same amount of time to game as I used to. I'd very much like to catch up and do reviews of Rise of the Hutt Cartel and the Shadow of Revan. However, due to the release of The Eternal Throne, I figure it's probably a good idea to get the biggest and most important of the expansions reviewed.

Knights of the Fallen Empire is, in my opinion, a game-changer. I liked all of the class-centric stories as well as the previous two expansions but this is really a step up. The others, bluntly, felt like they leaned a little too heavily on their archetypes so that they didn't have quite the same level of storytelling as the Knights of the Old Republic games.

While dislike for MMORPGs and the fact The Old Republic isn't on consoles plays some role in the fan grumbling for a "real" Knights of the Old Republic 3, I actually think this goes a long way to settling my desire for one. It's the first story which I think is every bit as good as those two games. I admit, part of the reason for this is due to the fact they also ditch a lot of what was in the main game for something more distinctly Bioware.

One of the things which never quite gelled in The Old Republic was it's very black and white view of the conflict with the Sith = Evil and the Republic = Good. The stories were never more interesting when you were playing a Light Side Sith or seeing the Dark Side of the Republic. While Knights of the Old Republic was very much a conflict between good and bad, it's best games blurred the lines like Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2.

In a very real way, the game also felt stalled because there were literally many quests which were mirrors of one another. The Sith Player Characters would make a lot of inroads in Balmorra, only to have it implied the Republic Players moved it right back. There didn't seem to be the same level of stakes in other games, even when the omnicidal Dark Side god Vititae showed up, due to the fact the players were actively working to counteract each other. You couldn't actually have a "winner" in the Old Republic Galactic Civil War either because then the game would be over.

Knights of the Fallen Empire fixes all that.

The premise for the expansion is the Player Character joins an alliance with Darth Marr and Satele Shan (Jedi and Sith together! Woot!) to hunt down the newly-revived Emperor Vitiate. In true Empire Strikes Back fashion, this alliance is crushed by Vitiate revealing a third faction to the galaxy. The Zakuul Empire, armed with a fleet of super battleships, crushes the fleet sent to destroy Vitiate before revealing that he is worshipped as a god in a powerful new empire.

The Sith Emperor offers the Player Character a chance to join them, only to be betrayed by his son Arcann who becomes the expansion's archvillain. The PC is left with the Sith Emperor, known in Zakuul as Emperor Valkorion, as their unwanted Obi-Wan Kenobi. They must join with Lana Beniko, Koth Vortena, and a mysterious woman named Senya to form a galactic rebellion against the Zakuul before they wipe out all opposition to their rule.

In simple terms, the Zakuul offer the game what it needed from the beginning in a third faction for Player versus Enemy games. A lot of people said The Old Republic was needlessly cribbing off World of Warcraft but the thing about that was WOW possesses The Burning Legion, The Scourge, Deathwing, and other characters to distract from the largely played-out Alliance vs. Horde business. Hell, it was largely played out by Warcraft 3 and there was a reason peace was the ultimate goal in that game.
Zakuul is also a surprisingly well-written faction as it's not Light or Dark but a Neutral faction misled by evil rulers.

The Zakuul are a utopian Star Trek-esque civilization which just so happens to have a monster of a leader as well as an absolutist monarchy. There's no sign of the Sith's evil or even the Republic's corruption but Arcann has absolute authority due to the fact his treason has a conveinant scapegoat (you). That doesn't mean they aren't crushingly terrifying enemies to the Republic and Sith Empire, who are helpless before its superior technology. After millennium of being the biggest game in town, both the Sith and Republic find themselves as the undeveloped nations exploited by more powerful ones.

Attempts to move beyond the Empire and Sith as antagonists have always been a mixed bag in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. The Yuuzhan Vong, for me, failed because they were too alien. Star Wars is, for me, all about people with the aliens being more "normal" than in Star Trek (and that's a big statement given most ST aliens just have rubber foreheads). Thats because Star Wars is (mostly) a metaphor for all time mooshed together versus being set in the future. Zakuul isn't alien. It's a very believable conquest-minded nation with good, bad, and neutral people. It's akin to setting the British Empire in Star Wars than organic religious Forceless religious fanatics. As such, they feel like they belong and that goes a long way to make them good enemies.

The villains for the game are also extremely well-developed with Arcann, his sister Vaylin, and Valkorion all having three-dimensional personalities. Okay, Vaylin is just Dark Side Druscilla from Buffy but that's not a bad thing. KOTFE goes a long way to redeeming the Sith Emperor from being a flat one-note bad guy as well. The retcon that he was as disgusted with the Sith as the Light Sided Sith players is an interesting one. He's still a murderer of billions but he "conquest of the universe for my chosen people" is a more understandable as a motivation than "Dark Side Chaos God." It's doubly so if you assume he only intended to murder his people's enemies. There were a lot of times when Valkorion criticized the Sith Empire and my Light Side Sith Inquisitor couldn't help but nod along.

Arcannn, by contrast, has a lot of Kylo Ren in him but instead of going for a scared teenager, the developers went for something more akin to Darth Malak. Driven by the same jealousy which drove Darth Malak to rebel against Darth Revan, Arcann is over his head as Zakuul Emperor but not so much that you don't think he's not a threat. He actually felt like a threat to my character and someone who could be a galaxy-beater even if I didn't think he had the charisma or tactical brilliance to keep the universe once he conquered it.

The game makes a controversial decision to also make the player character into "The Outlander." All of the other player characters have disappeared in-universe (to die or be disabled in some way) so it's all up to the Player Character to save the universe. I approve of this because it really does amp up the Star Wars feel considerably. For those invested in more than one storyline, though, it feels like a gut punch since you get to see almost all of the Companions devastated by the loss of their heroes. There's no happy ending for the Sith Warrior and Vette unless you're playing the Sith Warrior and if you are then the Jedi Knight and Kira or Smuggler and Corso Riggs are doomed.

On the plus side, I love the new cast of Companions with my favorite Sith and CGI object of adoration Lana Beniko being your first companion. She does an excellent job balancing the scales being a Dark Sider and the fact she's loyal, noble, idealistic, and (possibly) in love with you. Theron Shan doesn't make an appearance until near the middle of the story so there's a bit of a downside but I still think of those two as the strongest characters in the game so I'm not too upset. I absolutely love the Specialists you recruit for the Rebellion with ascended extras like Hylo Visz and being especially welcome.

In a very real way, Knights of the Fallen Empire is pretty much what I wanted from Knights of the Old Republic 3. It's a high stakes, dramatic, well-written space opera with a hugely important position for your Player Character while also giving us new developments to the universe. The Empire of Zakuul could have been named better (Archduchy of Zakuul, Star Kingdom of Zakuul, Federation of Zakuul?) but it works well. I also felt the stakes were high as well and never really lowered. Congratulations, Bioware, you've earned back the trust you lost with Dragon Age: Inquisition.

10/10

 

Off-topic, but what about Dragon Age: Inquisition lost some of your trust? The overwhelming response I saw to it was winning back the Bioware fans who had been disappointed by the previous installment and ME3, and the worst things I tend to see about it to this day are "not as good a fantasy RPG as The Witcher 3" - which isn't exactly a major failing.

 

I loved Dragon Age: Origins because it was a dark, mostly mature story which was very Black vs. Gray Morality. Dragon Age: Inquisition is a game which gets worse and worse in my mind because it's almost PASSIONATELY Black vs. White morality with almost no interest in anything resembling deeper storytelling about Thedas. The only part I really liked as a result was the Orlaisian Ball.

Corypheus was incredibly one note compared to Loghain, the Arishock, and even Arl Howe as well. At least Arl Howe had some funny bits.

I also felt the love interests were rather bland this time around for a relatively minor complaint. One of my friends said it best as, "Leliana and Morrigan are in the game and pretty much are the two women you'd want to date most."

 

If Vitiate's ritual is basically Exar Kun's, does that mean his original body was gone in the ritual just like Kun?

 

IIRC It was said that after the events of kotor2 jedi loosened up their no attachment rules. It is still possible for a jedi to be married (during swtor storyline) but requirements are now stricter.

 

Legends-wise, I think we can assume Lucien Draay's faction is the one who brought back Old School Jediism.

Thanks Lucien.

Really.

 

Well, its not like KOTOR2 had the entire Jedi Order wiped out. I assume that even though the Exile's crew may have acted as the 'gatherers' and eventually the new High Council, the bulk of the restored Jedi Order's population was made out of guys like Lucien Draay's group as mentioned as well as other Covenant remnants and of course, the Corellian Jedi. The rank and file Jedi were mostly wiped out, but a lot of these disparate groups that had loose, but still direct, affiliation to the High Council stuck around and would temporarily pull their members in together as long as there was someone to lead them, which I suppose would be the Exile's crew known as the 'Lost Jedi'.

 

Where do we hear about Lucien Daray's Jedi joining with the Exile? The last I've hear of him was in the KOTOR comics.

 

Some other comments about The Fallen Empire:

1. The Kaylio mission is probably my favorite part of the game because of the fact of how nicely it shows the difference between the Alliance and general terrorism. Kaylio wants to destroy the Zakuul but the simple fact is the populace at large is innocent of wrongdoing. Yet, I bet a lot of players were willing to blow them up because they're the people who are oppressing the galaxy.

2. I really prefer Valkorion and the "Evil Graysider" story they went for him. Valkorion is a monster and a mass murderer but he's more like Tarkin and Dooku than an embodiment of the Dark Side. He's evil but he's not dominated by the Dark Side but a user of both the Light and the Dark, just without morality save in the service of his goals.

3. I think Arcann and Vaylin work wonderfully as villains because they're NOT the Sith Emperor but have an origin which allows them to be believably more powerful than the Player Characters. They're "Chosen Ones" who are creations of the Force or a near-Force deity in Valkorion. They're an anti Luke and Leia so they have power enough to believably defeat the heroes.

4. I think the morality of the story is believably grayer without being Un-Star Wars. The Zakuul aren't evil but they're a neutral faction which has smashed the Republic and Sith. You want to see them beat the Zakuul but it's not really necessarily a good thing since the Republic has fallen to dictatorship and the Sith are Sith.

5. I love how each of the Companions actually relates to the larger themes of the campaign. Senya, Koth, and Lana all give some insight into the stakes and business. I miss Theron Shan not showing up later but works great here.

 

Really, my main issue is you don't have the option to disband the Alliance you've built and allow everyone to go back to their original factions. ESPECIALLY as someone like the Imperial Agent, who isn't one to have ambition to rule directly, at least in my view.

 

Random aside: I *HATED* that Fereldan forced my Inquisitor to shrink the Inquisition.

Because you know we're still needed.



My opinion of the finale, though, is that I understand where they going, though. The galaxy without the Alliance is going to immediately fall back into Civil War. You need to keep the alliance going to keep the peace. I do think even the Republic version feels like you've become Darth Revan, though. Having won the Mandalorian Wars, you're now going to turn your troops against the Republic/Empire which spawned you.

I think a better ending would have been the Republic and Empire both launching attacks on the Alliance after the defeat of the Zakuul.

Showing you CAN'T go home again.

 

I haven't gotten nearly as far in the game, but I watch cut-scenes on YouTube showing that, in both the dark ending and the light ending, both the Sith Empire and the Republic are planning to attack the player and the alliance...

 

That is a great ending, personally.

Because, it really does thematically tie the story back to Revan's in a way which is satisfying.

 

Sounded like they're planning on attacking each other, not the alliance or the player.

 

So if Arcann joins you, you don't have to fight him in the end of Chapter 9 along with Vaylin?

 

Correct

 

Anyone on Harbinger wants to visit my SH?

 

Since we're posting impressions, a review in progress for the original campaign:

I went with a Jedi Knight, primarily because this game is a reunion tour for Metal Gear voice actors, and "Snake Metalwalker" was untaken. It's also surprisingly easy to put together a sneaking suit out of the pilot gear I started with as a gift.

Overall, I am surprised by how good the combat feels. While fighting against random enemies, most fall to only a few lightsaber strikes, and the weapon seems appropriately lethal. The companions have apparently been buffed extensively, and they do contribute a lot to your efforts. The character animations, attacks, and saber effects are well done too. The voice acting is consistently good, though the writing is inconsistent, and as always, the dialogue reel doesn't always given an accurate impression of what you WANT to say. For an MMO however, it's quite good. The choices are hilariously black and white, but the consequences are clear enough I was able to play a mostly decent Jedi... with an occasional renegade streak (do you seriously expect me to NOT field execute a Imperial genocide camp captain? Really now).

The Jedi Knight story's prologue is fine, most of Chapter 1 feels wasted however, and you can really feel the Bioware "Go here to these planets to assemble the maguffin" in play. In this case, it's recovering the hilarious unsecured Republic super weapon program. Honestly, that Mon Calamari General should be spaced for allowing several Republic worlds to fall due to negligence. Has no one in the galaxy ever heard of compartmentalization?

Regardless, killing Darth Angral's son, and then the Sith Lord himself was a good end to that chapter. Chapter 2 still is very simple, and on rails, but at least it doesn't feel as patch worked.

Companions are a mixed bag, T7 is a rather irritating goody two shoes and his droid speak is not terribly well written. Doc is a Bruce Campbell stand in, but again, he feels pretty hollow. No Carth or Atton, that's for sure. Kira is excellent, feeling appropriately spunky, but clearly on the side of good. And given every Jedi character other than the Kel Dor Jedi is an annoying rock-for-brains white knight, she's an oasis of rationality and humor.

 

They should have got Bruce Campbell to play Doc.

 

After I finished my KotFE on my LS BH. I've been doing a playthrough of the Jedi Consular story myself. Have to say I really like it. I had been told it was boring, but I think it really captures the fantasy of being a jedi healer peacekeeper and diplomat really well. I can see how that might be boring to some, but I'm really loving it.

 

Having done a few missions with Consulars, it's pretty funny to hear Nolan North playing a straight man.

 

Was this guy Valkorion? He was the Emperor's voice decades ago.