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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
LukeG writes "Despite the many impressive efforts in recent years of Lucas Arts Entertainment, a 'definitive' Star Wars game has not been forthcoming. Yet in 'Knights of the Old Republic', Bioware may have found the genre and approach most likely to satiate many fans' appetites. Read all about this fabulous role-playing game, in this brand new preview."
This game WILL satiate your appetite...
The expression is "I could NOT care less." Think about it.
It's because they're tring to emulate the temptations of dark side of the force....if you want to play, you must give in.
a 'definitive' Star Wars game has not been forthcoming.
I guess the author of this post never played TIE Fighter on the PC. One of the most amazing games I've ever played, and I think my opinion matches the general concensus.
It often makes the Top 10 in "best games of all time lists". I think it may have been in the top five in one of those lists which appeared in a print PC gaming magazine several years ago.
OtakuBooty.com: Smart, funny, sexy nerds.
perhaps the best thing to come out of Episode I was one of the last production pinball games, Star Wars Episode I Pinball 2000. totally cool tech (Pinball 2000 is the name of the pinball tables containing a video monitor in the back), a fun playfield and very, very few Jar Jar noises. :)
Williams knew how to make 'em.
Cretin - a powerful and flexible CD reencoder
Am I the only one who's missing old Lucas Arts games? I spent years on Full Throttle, Sam & Max Hit The Road, Day Of The Tentacle and Indiana Jones's Fate Of Atlantis!
Trollem mirabilem hanc subnotationis exigiutas non caperet
Article Reads:
A not-so-long time ago, in a galaxy not so far away, gamers throughout the planet longed for the ultimate Star Wars experience; it would have to be one that immersed them directly in the world they longed to be part of, and in such a way that it would provide hours upon hours of gaming bliss. That experience, sadly, has remained elusive. However, just when all of the would-be Jedi were about to give up to the dark side, a magical triumvirate consisting of three of the most powerful light side icons was formed. First to appear was LucasArts; the organization ran by the master of all Jedi (whose force power was beginning to wane in the world of gaming). Second, the master of all things operational, Lord Gates, created the grand machine on which the elusive experience may be created. Thirdly, there was BioWare, a rogue group of scoundrels that have repeatedly proven themselves experts in the field of RPG creation. It would seem, on the surface, to be a union of medichlorians foretold by the prophets. However, the answer to whether the fruit of this union becomes the most powerful Jedi in the universe or just another fallen hero turned Sith Lord is an answer too cloudy to be foretold.
May 2002 has come and gone, and taken another E3 with it. It was at this yearly convention that gamers got their first real glimpse of BioWare's highly anticipated RPG Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. From the reports received back from the Bothan spies sent to the trade show, it looks like this one has got all the right ingredients to make not only one of the best RPGs ever, but the definitive Star Wars title.
It will take players to a time about 4000 years prior to the tales told in the films, during a period in which the Jedi and the Sith numbered in the thousands, and were locked in an epic struggle. Players assume the role of a human (players' parties consist of three characters, which can include humans, droids, Twi'leks, Wookies, etc) Jedi, whose decisions and actions not only affect his future (players can become Sith if they act too evil), but the outcome of this conflict on a much grander scale. The specific details of the storyline are still being kept quiet, but the developers assure that it involves stopping the Sith at all costs.
Players start out by building their character to spec, and then set out on the adventure which will mold and shape said character based on deeds and actions. The player sets the beginning skill points and combat feats, but different skills and abilities are added as the game progresses. BioWare has mentioned that quite a lot of painstaking detail has been presented in the game, and players will even be able to construct their character's lightsaber (which is a fundemental skill of any padawan), instead of just picking one up "weapon-up" style. The clothing and armaments of said characters will appear on their model no matter how you choose to dress them, and their appearance will affect how you are perceived by others. Even the most philanthropic Jedi will not be trusted if he walks through an environment wearing a black cloak, etc.
Speaking of environments, KOTOR will offer a universe spanning ten different worlds, which includes familiar favorites as well as completely new ones. Expect to travel to such places as Tatooine, the Sith world of Korriban, the Jedi Academy on Dantooine and the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk. The player's home will be the Ebon Hawk, a familiar-looking predeccessor to a certain famous Corellian smuggler's "fastest hunk-o'-junk" in the galaxy. Players will be able to "live" inside the ship, interact with others, and even fly her about during certain challenges. Think of the Ebon Hawk as the "100 gil" per night Inn that you take with you everywhere you go (for purposes of explaining its role within this massive RPG). It can also act as a storage depot for the extra items you or your Wookie are finding a little too cumbersome to lug around.
Their will be a wide array of weapons (most of which are still under wraps with the developer), but lightsabers, blasters, bowcasters, and vibro blades have been assured. The story is one of epic proportions, the stuff one would expect from a BioWare RPG, the combat is going to consist of real time, rule based combat, and the character's development is directly related to the outcome of choices and actions. An interesting aspect of the game is that to add replayability, certain areas are only open to certain types of characters... in short, a fully angelic Jedi is not going to be able to get into highly Sith populated areas and vice versa. The next play through would warrant a more evil upbringing of the character to become welcome there.
What would a good RPG be without tons of mini-game side quests? Well, not a really good one after all. KOTOR won't disappoint in this regard, either, as the developers have included many mini games throughout the world, some required to progress through the main story, and some purely optional. They've been quoted as saying that they like to use mini games in places where one would normally just be watching a cutscene, so its execution sounds a bit innovative and welcome from the start. Also, all the in-game dialogue text will be spoken by character voice as well, an excellent feature that has only become possible of late (with this generation's hardware) because of the sheer amount of dialogue a typical forty hour RPG would require. Expect to be completely enveloped in the Star Wats universe.
Any character within your party can be controlled, and the AI will take over for the other two in the meantime. Players may switch from character to character at will. Saving progress is an anywhere, anytime system... providing the player is not in a situation of impending danger at the time. Saving in the midst of a "boss" battle will be right out.
The Xbox and PC versions will be identical in terms of gameplay, but there will be obvious control differences. BioWare has claimed that the whole title from beginning to end will be "longer than your typical console RPG, but not quite as enormous as Baldur's Gate 2", so expect a solid forty+ hours of saber swinging, force pushing, Sith Lord bashing, no Jar-Jar goodness when the Xbox version streets this fall.
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In the continuing Bioware tradition, I think we can expect to see this game sometime around 2006.
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Hmm . . . I'm sure I'm jumping on a crowded ship, but I thought that I'd add my two cents.
Tie Fighter
This game created an immersive atmosphere, had some impressive graphics and cutscenes for a game that came on five floppy disks, and (along with the add on) utterly wrecked my first joystick. It was called the 2nd best game of all time by PC Gamer not too long ago; I don't think that it should be so abruptly forgotten.
Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight
PC Gamer called this the best game of the year when it came out, and it really was a keeper. It didn't have the best graphics, but I really liked how well it integrated the force powers and lightsabr into the game. I kicked the asses of quite a few UT and Quake gurus because I used my force powers wisely and just didn't barge into a room. A great 3D shooter that worked well within the SW universe.
I also think that it's also pretty impressive how LucasArts worked with the fan community to create homebrew levels for these two great games. I think the only area where LucasArts has perhaps fallen short is in the creation of a SW strategy game (or perhaps an adventure game, which would be cool given how good LucasArts is at adventure).
Perhaps there is no single definitive SW game, but most would agree that there are at least two really strong contenders.
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I am an expert in electricity. My father held the chair of applied electricity at the state prision.
Hrm. X-Wing? Better yet, TiE Fighter? LORD were those 'definitive.'
Or the Dark Forces/Jedi Knight series? JK2: Jedi Outcast is an AMAZING game. I love online saber dueling.
Vintage computer games and RPG books available. Email me if you're interested.
What about X-Wing* (for flight sims) and Dark Forces (for FPS's)? Both were pretty stellar at the time of their releases and are still fun as heck to play.
I loved naming the pilots and getting the wacky pictures in X-Wing: Asskicke, Shamu...
And what about the intro movies?
Adm. Ackbar: "Werr arr Runnder rattak by impirrial forcres! Begrin evasive manrurvers! Rawch the Rex-ring riders!"
Hell I still say that to this day and it still kills me.
*In truth I thought TIE Fighter was even better than X-Wing even though it was just kind of a cut and paste. I preferred the thrill of flying the fast and fragile TIEs around slaying things with your wingmen. As far as I can remember the wingman in both games was topnotch.
What is music when you despise all sound?
What does that mean? In what strange direction are they taking the Star Wars universe? I can't wait to see what the Slash Application is, and what the Jedi will have to do to stop it.
But most importantly, will I be able to choose to play as either the Server or the Served?
And I've never seen a preview with source code to the game either. Anyone know what this does?
"I am a cipher, a cipher, wrapped in an enigma, smothered in secret sauce" -Jimmy James
I beg to differ, the star wars MUX i played in higschool was very definitive..until i got kicked off for not playing in character by stealing a tie fighter and killing everyone in the bar on tatooine.
Er and then getting kicked off perminantly when i created a character described as "someone who steals spaceships and kills people on tatooine"
The best part was that once you get kicked everytime you try to log on with your character the room you appeared in was "block of carbonite"
It's the wireframe arcade machine, where you blast the Ties, shoot the tops of towers, then hurtle down the trench to release your photon torpedoes and blow up the Death Star.
Kids today. Pah. Why, this 20 year plus classic is still being aped in the first level of Star Wars:Rogue Leader II game for Nintendo GameCube. I know - I have that game, have played it, 'quite' like it but not as much as SuperMonkeyBall. Which itself...err...'apes' Marble Madness. Another ancient arcade machine.
Kids. Pah. And again I say...Pah!
Cheers,
'Grumpy Old Uncle' Ian
I may be wrong, but from what I've read, Verant seems to be taking steps to prevent SWG from having some of the most glaring problems in EQ. Hopefully they'll implement things like multi-spawn dungeons (a la Anarchy Online) so that we aren't stuck with those kinds of issues.
My pet peeve with Verant is that they've resorted to lazy game design techniques in EQ - rewards are always at least 5 levels too late for the level you need to be to accomplish the task, meditation/healing time with no alternatives such as potions... These are all there simply to make the game longer. They could keep us hooked by providing more compelling content, but instead they chose to just make us sit. I suppose it's an ok decision from an economic standpoint...
The attitude seems to have changed in the last few months, though. They're not trying quite as hard to tell me I'll enjoy the game more if they make it more difficult to progress.
Personally, I'm looking forward to the more open-ended nature of SWG. I just want to buy a little plot of land, run some vaporators, have a few droids to call my own...
What does this have to do with the article? Nothing. But I couldn't read the review because it's been /.ed already.
Slashdot comments... splitting hairs since 1997.
I thought the idea of an RPG is that you get to play different roles. I'm inferring from this preview that you only get to be a Jedi or Sith, with extra capabilities supplied by a a couple of AI henchmen.
I'm not sure how this is significantly different from a team game of Jedi Knight 2. I mean, it's fun running around swing a saber and using Force Grip and all, but in an RPG, wouldn't it be more fulfilling to have a range of options? The henchman/familiar system in Neverwinter Nights is great, but who'd want to play it if you only got to be a wizard?
Also, one of the things that's really pissing me off about Eps 1 & 2 is that all of the protagonists are either Jedi, comic relief, or (admittedly rather tasty) sweater meat. Contrast with IV-VI, where Han doesn't get to use Deus ex machina. In fact, the hyperdrive breakdowns are, to my eyes, a nice play on how we've become tolerate of "and with one bound, our hero was free" solutions. While Luke's off being an icicle or getting in touch with his inner midichlorian, the real grunt work is done by Han and Chewie, by Leia and Lando, and even good old Wedge, who, please note, manages to not get bitchslapped by an AT-AT, and without the benefit of midichlorians at that. For me, this is the dramatic strength of IV-VI, and, be honest, who did you want to be when you played Star Wars as a kid? Han or Luke? Be honest now. ;-)
If you were blocking sigs, you wouldn't have to read this.
Agree wholeheartedly.
For about a month I heard buzz about this great game called Morrowind, which was available for both the PC and Xbox. My desktop PC had just met a long-overdue retirement (read: was reloaded with a fresh install of everything and shipped off to my aunt, where it replaces the Cyrix 150-based box I sent her a couple years ago), so I either had to put together a new kick-ass PC or buy an Xbox.
Well, the PC would have run about $700, whereas the Xbox had just been slashed to $200. I felt a little dumb buying a second modern game console -- I already have a PS2 -- but I just couldn't justify dropping $500 more on a general-purpose box to do the same thing.
Morrowind rocks, by the way. Now if I could only get a few more hours inserted into each day for playing time...
Every year during my review, I just pray the words "slashdot.org" aren't mentioned.
You want a Star Wars RPG? Look no further. Contribute if you can.
I respectfully disagree. The key focus of the entire original series (note that this covers the original three movies) was a single man nailing one good shot with the help of a friend and taking down an empire by hitting the right chink. And the original movie had the purest form of that... the battle plans are carried through to the scarred and worn remaining X and Y wing pilots, and the new guy who used to hunt wamprats back home takes out the key position. It's an old old story of the local kid becoming a grunt and using the power (of god, of purity of valour, of simple bravery, of his connection to the land, of gift of birth, of the Force) to do what needs to be done. The crux, the action of the story is that act... and it's always a single shot, with assistance, that takes out the bad guys. The friend and the hero trade off, but that shot is the moment of glory.
So, what captures that? I respectfully submit that in 1983, a vector graphic cabinet rumbling "The Force is with you... always" captured the simplicity of that moment. After all, it *is* the Star Wars Video Game, and we were all high on the latest installment, wondering when Episode VII would come out. The battles in the original series of movies were simple - nameless and faceless stormtroopers piloting nameless and faceless tie fighters that swarmed after the rough and tumble good guys. They each made their run, and the home town kid makes good.
You can go on about the temptation of Luke, but how is that a good videogame? Toss it in an RPG, and we know what is coming. Change the storyline, and it's merely a story set in the same universe. I liked Tales from Jabba's Palace, sure, but it wasn't Empire. To capture the movies *themselves*, you need action - everybody knows the plot and characters. If you "add" to them (with A wings or extra missions on new planets), you're making a good video game - but you beyond "capturing the movie". When you play Star Wars, making run after run at the Death Star, you're being Luke Skywalker taking down the Empire. And, in the end "Luke, Han and Leia take down the Empire" is the entire story. And every kid wants to be Luke, Han or Leia.
As I said at the beginning, this all applies only to the 'first' three movies. The prequels are fragmented in message, theme and character. Rather than hinting at a greater universe populated by various factions, they show it. And that dulls the movies in terms of sharp, simple story. Luke and Han nailed the reactors through good piloting (even without the Force, Luke was a great pilot), but Anakin "Oops'ed" his way through his first *two* engagements (the pod race and the space battle). It's kinda hard to want to put yourself in the place of someone who "accidently" wins.
I dunno - maybe a button masher with lots of FMVs would capture Ep. I. :)
--
Evan
"$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien