KOTOR Impressions thread (Official???)

**yall** · 07-17-2003

I played it for about 3-4 hours yesterday, so I'll give my initial impressions.

Graphics: Not the best, but certainly adequate. Suffers from the occasional ps2'ish texture, but then again, I have not seen much of the game world. I have yet to detect any framrate issues. I'll give them an 8.

Sound: The game seems more quiet than some of my other xbox titles, so I had to raise the volume a bit. Thats the only possible complaint I could have regarding the sound. Sound effects are great, voice acting is even better. The dialogue is superb. An easy 10 due to the high quality.

Control: The controls are pretty easy to get used to, but I do have one complaint regarding the camera. The left stick controls movement, while the right pivots the camera, but you cannot pivot the camera on the verticle axis, only the horizontal, which is a shame, because you can't look up or down to appreciate the environments. This doesn't seem to effect gameplay in the least however, so I will give them an 8.5 for their ease of use and the fact that for a complex game, they are rather intuitive.

Gameplay: The game starts out with a pretty seamless but helpful tutorial on the controls, menus, and environment. Quickly, you are introduced to your inventory screen, menus, quest-log, etc. Combat is also introduced within the first 10 minutes. Combat is quite fun and is the best blend of turn based and real time that I have ever seen (you have a blast when you seen 2 characters going at it with vibroblades). Quests are varied so far, but I won't really mention any specifics so as not to spoil anything. Since all of the reviews I have seen have played a 'dark' character, I decided to play 'light'. You can tell that playing as a chracter who gravitates toward the light side will be more beneficial as far as experience goes, due to the fact that your 'good' actions tend to give you more xp, where as the bad action (which might just be ignoring a situation) will give you no xp at all. I have run across a few puzzles which were fun, and a few mini games as well. The nice thing about the mini games and puzzles, so far, is that they make sense and don't seem to take you out of the game world, but rather seem to add depth to it.
Cosidering all of these factors and the fact that I was about to call in sick today to play (just too d**m much work to do!) I give this game a whole-hearted 9.5/10.

Enjoy!

**Ninja Scroll** · 07-17-2003

Nice impressions yall.

Im gonna wait until dis weekend to see if anyone like Circuit City or Best Buy will be running any good ads ala gift cards or something for KOTOR.

So did you create your own character & name him or did you just use da default character?

btw, what kinda TV are you gaming with yall? I got a Sony 46'inch HDTV Widescreen and interested in knowing it's performance.
Also, does it support HDTV to begin with?

Oh, oh, .. and I think I will have to try and find some time to play dis game too. Im having a hard enough time trying to find time to play Splinter Cell which btw im just getting into and I bought it da day it came out last November!:o

**SkoalMint** · 07-17-2003

Originally posted by yall
Combat is quite fun and is the best blend of turn based and real time that I have ever seen (you have a blast when you seen 2 characters going at it with vibroblades).

Nice write-up yall. My concerns about the combat scheme is probably the main thing that has kept this game off of my "must-have" list. I have never been a fan of turn-based combat games as I prefer to feel like I'm actually involved in the battle. Any more details you can give on the combat would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks :maxy:

**yall** · 07-17-2003

Originally posted by Ninja Scroll
Nice impressions yall.

Im gonna wait until dis weekend to see if anyone like Circuit City or Best Buy will be running any good ads ala gift cards or something for KOTOR.

So did you create your own character & name him or did you just use da default character?

btw, what kinda TV are you gaming with yall? I got a Sony 46'inch HDTV Widescreen and interested in knowing it's performance.
Also, does it support HDTV to begin with?

Oh, oh, .. and I think I will have to try and find some time to play dis game too. Im having a hard enough time trying to find time to play Splinter Cell which btw im just getting into and I bought it da day it came out last November!:o

I used the random name generator, which actually came up with some cool names. I used one of the premade kits (scout) just to see what it was like. You can totally customize you characters though.

My tv is a Sony 32'' HDTV and the game runs in 480p, but to be honest, its hard to really notice a difference.

As far as you concerns go SkoalMint, I hear ya. I don't mid turn-based combat, but it can get tedious quickly. The nice thing about KOTOR, is that is doesn't 'feel' turn based. For example if I give my guy a command to execute (ie fire a rapid shot with my Ion Blaster) as he is about to perform it, if I decide I'm not positioned well enough, I can move the character, in real time just as you would in Halo or Brute Force and then perform the action again. Also you can pause the game re-equip, heal-up with medipacks, use sheilds, stimulants, or do pretty much any inventory action, with no penalty to your combat actions. I think most people will like it.

**thrAsher** · 07-17-2003

How is the game on loading times? I know that a lot of the cutscenes are there to mask loading, but are there a lot of 'hiccups' in the gameplay? I mean, is it seamless, or does the game go to a loading screen when you enter a building?

**yall** · 07-17-2003

Originally posted by thrAsher
How is the game on loading times? I know that a lot of the cutscenes are there to mask loading, but are there a lot of 'hiccups' in the gameplay? I mean, is it seamless, or does the game go to a loading screen when you enter a building?

There are some load times when entering new areas, but they aren't all that bad. I was looking over at the www.gonegold.com forums, and there were a few guys complaining about framerate issues, but I must be honest, I haven't seen any worth of mentioning. I'm usually pretty critical of bad frame rates and long load times, but so far I am pleased.

**DZNUTZ** · 07-17-2003

Originally posted by SkoalMint

Thanks :maxy:

someone thinks their posting at www.thedirtydozenclan.com

**Ninja Scroll** · 07-17-2003

Originally posted by yall

I used the random name generator, which actually came up with some cool names. I used one of the premade kits (scout) just to see what it was like. You can totally customize you characters though.

My tv is a Sony 32'' HDTV and the game runs in 480p, but to be honest, its hard to really notice a difference.

So da create a character is pretty deep, eh?
Tell me dis. Is da talking in real time, or do da characters talk in comic book form with bubbles over there heads?
If it's real time how do they call you by your customized name?

Also, is there a difficulty setting, or is da game straight up?

Oh, ... and how is da fighting system?

Forgive me, I aint get caught up in da hype of dis game, so I aint do no research on dis game dat much!

**yall** · 07-17-2003

Originally posted by Ninja Scroll

So da create a character is pretty deep, eh?
Tell me dis. Is da talking in real time, or do da characters talk in comic book form with bubbles over there heads?
If it's real time how do they call you by your customized name?

Also, is there a difficulty setting, or is da game straight up?

Oh, ... and how is da fighting system?

Forgive me, I aint get caught up in da hype of dis game, so I aint do no research on dis game dat much!

Character creation is deeper than most RPG's (especially consol RPG's).

The talking is a zoomed in camera shot of the dialogue that occurs. Ie you go to talk to an NPC and it will handle the conversation almost like a cutscene. Also, as much as I know you would like to hear someone call you 'XBA's official Ninja', they won't use your name in conversation.

Fighting is sweet, but its hard to give much more detail than what I said before. I bet you'll like it though. If you are unsure, rent it tomorrow, but I'll warn you right now, you might be p*ssed-off because you'll have wasted the money on renting it.... cause you'll wanna go right out and buy it!

Oh and one more thing, for you guys thinking of buying vs. renting, Blockbuster is doing their rent a game for 30 days deal again this summer.

**XBOX MSSC** · 07-17-2003

Originally posted by yall

Character creation is deeper than most RPG's (especially consol RPG's).

The talking is a zoomed in camera shot of the dialogue that occurs. Ie you go to talk to an NPC and it will handle the conversation almost like a cutscene. Also, as much as I know you would like to hear someone call you 'XBA's official Ninja', they won't use your name in conversation.

Fighting is sweet, but its hard to give much more detail than what I said before. I bet you'll like it though. If you are unsure, rent it tomorrow, but I'll warn you right now, you might be p*ssed-off because you'll have wasted the money on renting it.... cause you'll wanna go right out and buy it!

Oh and one more thing, for you guys thinking of buying vs. renting, Blockbuster is doing their rent a game for 30 days deal again this summer.

How far are you? I may need you help. I'm stuck trying to kill the leader of the hidden beks(?). Am I supposed to kill him ?

**Brevity** · 07-17-2003

Its very good, I like.

**Kortiz** · 07-17-2003

So far....so good. The game has lived up to my expectations.

**JR Alberda** · 07-17-2003

I got it and played about 3 hrs so far. My initial impressions are good, but I am finding it hard to get on with the mission. I headed down to the lower level on Tarsis but I got killed quick so I loaded back up and went to the cantina. I just want to get on with the story but I guess I need to get more xp.

BTW I got the game at FutureShop here in Edmonton. Had to grab it from a box behind the desk, hehe, get them to box it. It was $65 canadian, plus in a special deal for an extra 10 bucks I got Turok Evo. I think I will pawn it (probably get $20) and thereby reduce the price of the game by 10.

Game should get good soon, but it is really just an RPG tide over until Fable gets out I figure, along with POTC.

My thoughts.

Graphics: Good but not the outstanding graphics you see in the Fable highlights, although Im only on the first city.

Sound: Great even without surround, I have stereo bookshelfs for now and the sound of Ships roaring by is phenominal, I found myself looking away from the tv to see the ships, hehe stupid me.

Gameplay: Good, dont like the areas that are 1' up and i cant move over them. Fighting is done well, from the preview i thought they would run up to eachother and use blasters from 2' away, but they pull out melees or go hand to hand. Do show dodging etc thats good. Wish I could strafe while firing.

hard to find quest triggers, wish team members would give ideas of where to go. Carth doesnt give any help.

Controls: once again the clipping is an issue, wish running into people would knock them down and upset them, but no. More cinimatic angles in sword fights would be nice concidering they fight on thier own anyway.

Overall I would give this title a 8 out of 10 initial, and most of the 2 lost points could be made up if the plot turns out to be good and go somewhere. So probably around 9/10 in the end.

**Seawolf X** · 07-17-2003

I bought KOTOR at gamestop today and had a chance to play it for 3-4 hours, It's a good game, not great(from what I have played so far into the game) but still Is definately worth buying. I had to turn my xbox off because of the xbox skipping and finally freezing the game for good, so I had to turn It off. I LOST MY WORK BECAUSE OF IT THOUGH! Well, only happened to me once. So yeah, Its still a good game.

**selowitch** · 07-18-2003

KOTOR is very engaging and fun, esp. if you are a big-time Star Wars fan like me. The dialogue is superb, and the combat system is a refreshing change from all that twitchy shoot-'em-up stuff.

I can tell I'm going to enjoy this one!

**yall** · 07-18-2003

Originally posted by XBOX MSSC

How far are you? I may need you help. I'm stuck trying to kill the leader of the hidden beks(?). Am I supposed to kill him ?

I'm actually working with that guy. Perhaps you have chosen a different path.

**CharlieHustle** · 07-18-2003

i actually just killed that big ass monster in the sewers. It was pretty easy, i just killed it from afar. And got a ton of EXP from it. My plan is to go light side the first go round, which is costin me a ton of money and time, but it is fun as hell.

**thrAsher** · 07-18-2003

My first impressions are all good ones.

Graphics: Decent, but not stellar. Menus look great and are done well. Relatively easy to navigate. Character models aren't fantastic, but better than a lot of Xbox games. Taris looks pretty flat, but there are lots of NPCs milling about, and ships flying around in the atmosphere. Lots to explore, so far. The Sith look awesome in their armor, very medieval. Lightsabers and weapon FX are done pretty well.

Gameplay: This is not a twitch-fest, and fighting takes some thought. So far, it seems like they do alright by themselves, but I'm just at the beginning stages in Taris. Not a whole lot of fighting so far. The menus pop up fast and smooth, and saving takes seconds. You are not taken out of the game for long loads or saves at all. I haven't seen any framerate drops yet, but even with them, I cannot see it affecting gameplay outside of an aesthetic perspective. Not being able to look up and down w/ the camera is a bit of a bummer, but not that big of a deal. The option to turn off the auto-pause is one I will definitely be using once I've gotten used to the game.

Sound: BioWare got it just right. So far, every NPC I've encountered speaks to you in full dialogue. Some are even pretty long winded, especially the aliens. All the Star Wars sounds are perfect, and some of the music is pretty humorous, while fitting the situation (i.e.: casino music while playing Pazaak, or the subdued techno at the Sith party). The sheer amount of spoken dialogue is really the most impressive aspect, IMHO.

Altogether, I'm giving KotOR an "A". When the Live! content comes around, and if the story remains compelling, a big fat "+" will probably have to be tacked on.

**RudedogX** · 07-18-2003

Damn you all!

This game is sold out all around my area!

**thrAsher** · 07-18-2003

Originally posted by rudedogX
Damn you all!

This game is sold out all around my area!

Man, I was at Game Stop here in Albucrazy yesterday and they had over 2 dozen copies.

BTW, best dam game store EVER! (At least here.) I didn't do it yet, but they're offering a sick 11x17 Soul Calibur II poster if you reserve the game, plus you get a 50+ page book of SCII artwork when the game comes in!!! Not a bad deal for 5 bones. I'll probably have to go reserve mine today, now that I think of it.