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y2jkol
07-10-2003, 11:23 AM
I've not been up to date on the whole star wars theme and stuff, and i was wandering if i should know any part in the Star wars series to get the most out of the game. I love RPG's and this game sounds great but is there anything i need to know that would be critical info in this game. I read it was set 4,000 years before the the present series so maybe the characters and theme r new to everyoone . But it would be a great help if anyone could help me learn anything about the series i should know. please dont send me to a site that i have to read hundreds of article about the story. i just need a brief explination.

Thanks in advance:huh:

AlBoogy
07-10-2003, 11:49 AM
Originally posted by y2jkol
I've not been up to date on the whole star wars theme and stuff, and i was wandering if i should know any part in the Star wars series to get the most out of the game. I love RPG's and this game sounds great but is there anything i need to know that would be critical info in this game. I read it was set 4,000 years before the the present series so maybe the characters and theme r new to everyoone . But it would be a great help if anyone could help me learn anything about the series i should know. please dont send me to a site that i have to read hundreds of article about the story. i just need a brief explination.

Thanks in advance:huh:

Me thinks you are lazy. Watch the movies, its easier then reading. Longer, but more entertaining.

JJaX
07-10-2003, 12:23 PM
Its 4000 years before the movies. Unless your a real hard-core fan, all you really need to know is that theres thousands of Jedi and sith walking around in some sort of civil war.

From what i understand, the opening sequence will give you an idea whats going on.

Shadow20002
07-10-2003, 01:18 PM
All you have to do is just play, don't matter too much on the story just because there are lot of story of Star Wars series.

Fanboy5000
07-10-2003, 02:06 PM
Originally posted by Shadow20002
All you have to do is just play, don't matter too much on the story just because there are lot of story of Star Wars series.



Yeah, but still peep the movies, I always thought they were pretty tight.

thrAsher
07-10-2003, 02:30 PM
Source (http://www.gamespy.com/previews/july03/starwarskotorxbox/)

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Xbox)
BioWare is prepping the first must-have RPG for the Xbox.
By Raymond "Psylancer" Padilla | July 4, 2003


Long, long ago (a couple of years) in a galaxy far, far away (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada), BioWare and LucasArts teamed up to create a Star Wars role-playing game (RPG) for the Xbox. Many pundits, including me, felt that there was no way that this game could be anything but great. You have one of the most prolific RPG creators in the business crafting an interactive adventure set in one of the most universally adored worlds. The game is almost finished and I've been playing a nearly complete build of it. What I've played so far is great and actually far greater than I thought it would be. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR) will satisfy Star Wars fans, BioWare fans, and any gamers looking for a quality RPG.

Since GameSpy has previewed the game several times in the past, I'll be focusing on my hands-on experience with KOTOR. Character creation is similar to starting up a character in a BioWare Dungeons & Dragons RPG. You select your initial stats, class, abilities, and portrait. The three initial classes are warrior, scout, and scoundrel. They fit nicely into D&D archetypes and offer you a tank, stealth, and a 'tweener character. There are three ways you can go about character creation. First, you can pick a class and let the game deal with the rest of the particulars. You can go into further detail, but still go with the suggested settings for each class. Lastly, you can get into the nitty gritty of your character and be really anal with your selections.

The adventure begins on a ship that's being attacked. A Sith Lord named Malak is trying to capture the Jedi Bastila, who possesses a rare ability that could lead to his downfall. The ship assault goes through the basic controls and serves as an efficient tutorial. After bailing from the vessel via escape pod you find yourself on the dingy world of Taris where you must discover Bastila's whereabouts. From there you go on a journey across the galaxy, hitting up planets like Dantooine, Kashyyyk (the Wookiee homeworld!), Tatooine, and Manaan. I'm not going to reveal too many details about the story, but it's most excellent and certainly more gripping than anything found in Episodes I and II. The narrative is well written, with a killer twist. It truly feels like an epic galactic adventure.

Part of the reason the story works so well is that it has some outstanding characters. There are loads of aliens, smugglers, Jedi, Sith, gamblers, heroes, and villains for you to encounter. The cream of the crop is the nine non-players characters (NPCs) that join your party. As you progress your adventure you'll have all sorts of aliens, humans, and druids at your disposal. Most of them have well-written dialogue and fantastic voice acting, making them seem more like a movie character than a game character. There were three that really stood out to me: Mission Vao, Juhani, and HK-47. Mission is a young Twi'ilek street urchin that joins up with you on Taris. She serves as the naïve and innocent youth that keeps things lighthearted. Juhani is a Jedi that fell to the dark side, but thanks you, once again walks the path of light. Her struggle with the dark side isn't over and it's interesting watch her tread the line. HK-47 is an evil assassin droid that despises humans (he refers to them as meatbags). He has some great one-liners and acts as the comic relief.

thrAsher
07-10-2003, 02:35 PM
Although the game is a 3D RPG with plenty of action, the game reminded me a lot of the Baldur's Gate series. The obvious reason is that it's an excellent RPG with some of the best voice acting in gaming. Surprisingly, the gameplay borrows from many Baldur's Gate conventions. Just going through the game's menus, which are shockingly easy to navigate with a gamepad, you'll see the paper doll equipment system, inventory list, stat page, ability list (skills, powers, and feats), dialogue, map/character select, and journal menus. The way the journal works with quests and mini-quests is almost identical to how BioWare uses it in Baldur's Gate. That said, there are also parts of the game that seem influenced by Japanese RPGs. You must acquire five Star Maps before facing the main villain, which sounds an awful lot like collecting four crystals before facing the bad guy. There's the moment towards the end of the game where, after a moment where you begin to doubt yourself, all the NPCs tell you how much they believe in you and your quest.

Combat in the game is also Baldur's Gate-ish, save for the fact that you can only control three characters at a time. When you spot an enemy the game pauses and you have all the time in the world to plot your strategy. Plotting my moves for half an hour was one of my favorite Baldur's Gate strategies and the same principles can be applied to KOTOR. At any time you can switch between your three characters. This lets you change attacks, strategies, and equipment if need be.

Though the game takes place long, long ago in a galaxy far, far away, the goods you can find, use, and buy are very much like ones you'd find in a D&D game. Even your skills and abilities are straight out of D&D. Melee weapons, ranged weapons, and lightsabers are implemented like their D&D counterparts. Even in ancient, distant galaxies people leave valuable objects in random containers that you find. Force powers might as well be magic-user spells. The game even uses a feat system. So even though it's most definitely a Star Wars game, much of it felt like D&D.

Perhaps the coolest part of the game is traveling to the different planets and encountering all the aliens you see in the Star Wars movies. It's rad going to Kashyyyk and seeing a Wookiee village. It's fun going to Tatooine and slaughtering those nasty Sand People. Getting into scraps with warriors clad in Mandalorian armor (just like Boba Fett's) is a rush. My only wish was that there was a planet full of Ewoks and Gungans for me to slice with my lightsaber. Perhaps that will be a future downloadable chapter.

Even though I've been looking forward to KOTOR's release and have been following it for quite some time, I'm still very surprised at how good it is. I fully expected strong gameplay, voice acting, and story, but it's better than I thought it would be. I was also surprised at how good the interface is and how well the D&D aspects are implemented. As jazzed as I am about the game, the version I have isn't even the final one. I can't wait to get my hands on the final. Maybe I'll call that cute LucasArts' intern and try my hand at Jedi mind tricks.


:cheers:

y2jkol
07-10-2003, 02:35 PM
Thanks guys. I was just checking for what you guys thought I needed to know, and Alboogy I'm sorry but I'm not lazy, I just can't be the hardcore Star Wars fan u r. I've got more important things to do than keep up with the series! But thanks for everyone telling me what they thought.

y2jkol
07-10-2003, 02:41 PM
Thanks guys. I was just checking for what you guys thought I needed to know, and Alboogy I'm sorry but I'm not lazy, I just can't be the hardcore Star Wars fan u r. I've got more important things to do than keep up with the series! But thanks for everyone telling me what they thought.