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Star Wars - KOTOR Rated, Raved

Thanks to IGN Xbox for their full review of Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, the ravenously-awaited Xbox RPG from BioWare, which has gone gold and ships on the 16th July (Wednesday) in the U.S. The review gives the game 9.5 out of 10, and concludes that KOTOR is "..an outstanding game because it covers every single angle in terms of audience expectations. It's got enough Star Wars to satisfy the fans and enough pure fun to draw in people who normally wouldn't get into role-playing games. You'll see this on several Game of the Year nomination lists." There's also a mini-review at Unlimitedlives.com which is similarly effusive, if a little brief.

58 comments

  1. Here's hoping.... by unclethursday · · Score: 3, Interesting
    That all the delays actually did make it better. I don't trust IGN, myself. But I'll consider buying this title if some of my friends say it's decent.

    Lord knows I need something to play in my Xbox other than NHL 2K3 right now, since otherwise it's gathering a lot of dust.

    Thursdæ
    Soviet Russian First Psoter?

    1. Re:Here's hoping.... by Aliencow · · Score: 1

      Get Moto GP 2 ! I never liked Bike games, but this one is awesome !

    2. Re:Here's hoping.... by JFMulder · · Score: 1

      Go to GameSpot then. The review talks more about the roughs spots of the gaming. It's still an excellent review, but they talk more about some issues with the storyline (not revealing spoilers) and things such as the frame rate issue.

    3. Re:Here's hoping.... by unclethursday · · Score: 1
      Since I've become an editor at Games Are Fun, I actually try and not read reviews of games I may get for review purposes before I know if I'm reviewing them or not.

      Much like avoiding Microsoft's "Shared Source" contamination, this helps me avoid contamination from other people's reviews entering mine, even if unwillingly.

      Thursdæ

    4. Re:Here's hoping.... by JFMulder · · Score: 1

      Since I've become an editor at Games Are Fun [gamesarefun.com]
      Shameless plug, heh? ;-)
      I'll check it out.

    5. Re:Here's hoping.... by unclethursday · · Score: 1
      Yes and no. Sure, hits are good, we like hits, so yes it's a shameless plug in that respect.

      But, like I siad, if I read other reviews on games I may end up reviewing, I may inadvertantly put things from those reviews in mine, or worse yet, already have the game pre-judged by the time I get it (either good or bad).

      Think of it as saving myself from contamination; just like the Open Source movement says to stay away from Microsoft's "Shared Source" initiative, since they could become contaminated and accidentally (or purposefully) put MS code into their Open Source projects.

      Thursdæ

    6. Re:Here's hoping.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Lord knows I need something to play in my Xbox other than NHL 2K3 right now

      There's this game called Halo you might check out. I've heard it's pretty good.

  2. Commentsedness by Decaffeinated+Jedi · · Score: 5, Funny
    From the review wrap-up:
    There's more real Star Warsedness in this game than in the last two movies combined...
    Warsedness: best word ever! DecafJedi
    --
    DecafJedi
    my weblog: apropos of something
    1. Re:Commentsedness by phamlen · · Score: 1

      "Commentsedness" - Sounds vaguely Gollum-like, I think. Visions of Gollum as a twisted jedi knight come to mind...

      "We hates the dark side. Hates it!"
      "No, we loves the dark side! We finds your lack of faith disturbing! "

  3. This is odd by Mupp252 · · Score: 1, Redundant

    "Wow, it's getting a little chilly in here."

    -Satan

  4. Let's Hope by Jonsey · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Let's hope we don't get another stinker of a SW: Game.

    Remember when they were so good? Dark Forces. Dark Forces II: Jedi Knight. Tie Fighter. What happened to the good ol' Lucas Games engine? Hell, DotT, Sam & Max, Indy Games, Full Throttle! (Yes, a new one is coming, but... why not 4 years ago? : p )

    --
    I assert that my comment is only my opinion, not that of any employer, past, present or future.
    1. Re:Let's Hope by Decaffeinated+Jedi · · Score: 2, Informative

      For what it's worth, there's also a new Sam and Max game on the way. And it looks pretty spiffy, too. Also, let's not forget the classic Monkey Island series. And Grim Fandango.

      --
      DecafJedi
      my weblog: apropos of something
    2. Re:Let's Hope by FiberOpticMayhem · · Score: 1

      I miss Full Throttle. I still have it but I can't get any sound to work :(

    3. Re:Let's Hope by space_jake · · Score: 0

      One of my favorite Lucas Arts games is definately Zombies ate my Neighbors. Now that game was a classic.

    4. Re:Let's Hope by Matchstick · · Score: 3, Informative

      The creators of all those games have left lucasarts a long time ago. Steve Purcell's involved with LucasArts' new Sam and Max game; however, Tim Schafer (having started his own company) has nothing to do with Full Throttle 2. Guess which game looks cool and which one looks crappy.

      It doesn't really make sense to blame (or praise) LucasArts for games done by other development houses. They supply the IP, but in the end the designer is responsible for making a game fun.

      Disclaimer: I work for Tim.

    5. Re:Let's Hope by Jonsey · · Score: 1

      Disclaimer: I work for Tim.

      And I envy that.

      --
      I assert that my comment is only my opinion, not that of any employer, past, present or future.
    6. Re:Let's Hope by eaadams · · Score: 1

      the people making the new luftwafe game are the people behind xwing vs tiefighter etc...

  5. PC port. by aculeus · · Score: 3, Informative

    I'm just glad they have a PC port planned as I don't own an x-box. I don't plan to get one either.

    1. Re:PC port. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You go girl.

    2. Re:PC port. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I would never buy an Xbox just for that.

      Wouldn't it be logical to assume that the XBox development platform is DirectX, DirectPlay, Direct Whatever, so porting it to the PC wouldn't be that much more difficult?

    3. Re:PC port. by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Yeah. I sure am glad that Bungie planned a PC and Mac port for Halo, too.

      I know, bad example.

      --

      There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
    4. Re:PC port. by DaveCBio · · Score: 1

      Porting to PC is actually not as easy as it sounds. The hardware variants alone make it a difficult taks.

    5. Re:PC port. by dj_paulgibbs · · Score: 1

      It's not a port. A port implies a conversion from one system to another; this isn't the case. KOTOR was/is being co-developed on PC and Xbox at the same time.

      The reason KOTOR is out now on Xbox, and not on PC for another few months, is that it has one of those "Xbox exclusive" licenses which run for a few months.

    6. Re:PC port. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Except halo was originally planned only for pc and mac, hell, it was SHOWN AT MACWORLD, where's the game microsoft, you bastards?!?

  6. It's gotta be better than Galaxies by bluethundr · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I've been awaiting KOTR for a good long time, but after the enormous initial let-down of SW Galaxies, I can only say I'm not holding my breath. I've always loved RPGs and I've always loved SW, so the two just seem like two great tastes that taste great together; hence Galaxies & KOTR.

    The character creation on Galaxies is actually pretty good. But, for me at least, that's where the fun ended. The physics models, simply put, make calling this game any more than BETAware an act of hubris and wishful thinking. See a table, chair, other character? I'm willing to suspend disbelief in Lucasland, but can't at least my character be corporeal? Can't he at least be a stumblebum and bump into things once in a while instead of doing the Casper the friendly ghost routine all the time?

    The missions are tedious, dull and more often than not are broken. I had one mission that was waaay out on the outskirts of the 'main town' of the planet I was on. Trudge, trudge, trudge, trudge....trudge, trudge...are we there yet?...trudge and trudge some more. UNbelievably tedious. To make matters WORSE...the graphics break! I assume it's not a driver issue, because the graphics work fine when you are in the city, but if you go out really far it just seems like you just sort of walk off the map and the graphics start going so wiggy it is actually difficult to see yourself -OR- your enemies. Not only that, but you finally get to where you're going and actually see the thing you are supposed to shoot, sometimes gets a cursor prompt (allowing you to attack) and other times NOT.

    Galaxies, much as it pains me to finally admit this to myself and the world, is an enormous terd-burgler. Will I waste my money on KOTR? Bet your ass! It simply CAN'T be worse than Galaxies!!! If that makes me a 5ukkor, so be it.

    --
    Quod scripsi, scripsi.
    1. Re:It's gotta be better than Galaxies by Danse · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      Will I waste my money on KOTR? Bet your ass! It simply CAN'T be worse than Galaxies!!! If that makes me a 5ukkor, so be it.

      Yep, you're a "5ukkor", and the primary reason that these bastards get away with releasing such crap to the public. Thanks to people like you that buy whatever they toss to you, they will continue to release crap.

      --
      It's not enough to bash in heads, you've got to bash in minds. - Captain Hammer
    2. Re:It's gotta be better than Galaxies by gearheadsmp · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Personally, I'm going to wait patiently for Sony & Verant to debut the PS3, whatever it may be, as the current PS3 may not be production-ready when 2004/5 come around. Why? Because they ported EQ to the PS2, and EQ gameplay on the PS2 is more refined, albeit with PS2 graphics. I'm betting they'll wait for the PS3 before they port it, because the PS2 has a very dated GPU, and it just wouldn't do Galaxies justice. And of course by then, Galaxies will hopefully have been fixed up.

    3. Re:It's gotta be better than Galaxies by eaadams · · Score: 1

      yea galaxies is coming for the xbox allready bud

    4. Re:It's gotta be better than Galaxies by gearheadsmp · · Score: 1

      And also to the PS2, according to this.

    5. Re:It's gotta be better than Galaxies by starlabs · · Score: 1

      It will be better than Galaxies. For many reasons, the main being that it's developed by Bioware.

      Bioware is responsible for the Baldur's Gate series of games, and of course Neverwinter Nights. Don't forget about MDK2. All these games got from decent to very good reviews.

      They also did a mech game years ago called Shattered Steel. That was an ok game.

  7. gamecube? by sirmikester · · Score: 0

    any word on a gamecube port? I'm poor and don't have enough money for both systems :(

    --
    In linux libertas
    1. Re:gamecube? by Iscariot_ · · Score: 1

      This game was mostly financed by Microsoft, so there will be no other ports besides the PC version. (Windows only.)

  8. Bioware by Stachey · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Bioware have an impressive back catalogue of rpg's. Give them a wicked license and an immersive world that we are all familar with...and well it's got to be a winner:/

  9. I wonder.... by SnowDog_2112 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Has anyone asked Bioware how they like their money hats?

    (Ok, so it's not an X-Box exclusive, but it's still funny).

    --
    Not representing or approved by my company or anybody else.
  10. Microsoft screws us again.. by darkmayo · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Is there no end to there treachery....

    First it was Halo.. which should have been the sweetest Multiplayer FPS for the PC.... nope.. Xbox gets it

    Now its Blizzards Starcraft :Ghost and Star Wars Knights of the Old republic...

    I am just waiting to hear Halflife 2 and Doom 3 being Xbox titles first as well.....

    --
    "I am a kernel in the linux army"
    1. Re:Microsoft screws us again.. by Morologous · · Score: 1

      In other news, Duke Nukem Forever has announced it will be shipping to stores July 21st as an exclusive X-Box title!

    2. Re:Microsoft screws us again.. by optimistic · · Score: 1

      I don't think you have to worry about HL2 being an X-Box exclusive, there would be rioting in the streets.

    3. Re:Microsoft screws us again.. by Radius9 · · Score: 1

      I mean this in all seriousness, Doom3 has been announced as an XBox title. We'll see if it comes out first on XBox, then on PC, but as far as consoles go, I do believe it is exclusively XBox.

    4. Re:Microsoft screws us again.. by Mike+Hawk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Hypocrisy!

      The rate of complaining about Halo (a Microsoft PUBLICATION) being XBOX "exclusive" is far greater than the amount of complaining about GTA3 and GTA:VC (not SCEA publications) being PS2 "exclusive". To complain about only one just because one hates Microsoft betrays one's motives and allows everyone to see the amount of logic that went into your post.

      Noone complains when Zelda is exclusive to Gamecube...

    5. Re:Microsoft screws us again.. by BigKato · · Score: 1

      You're right Hawk. And why are some of you guys worried about HL2 and DoomIII being on the XBox? It's pretty well known they're coming out on PC before the Xbox. The graphics may not be up to snuff with the new GeForce and Radeon rigs but hey, more people have XBox's than top of the line videocards that cost over $300. That said, I'll probably buy both games for the PC rather than XBox.

      --
      So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past.
    6. Re:Microsoft screws us again.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yah, it sucks that GTA3 and Vice City were never released on the PC.

    7. Re:Microsoft screws us again.. by Mike+Hawk · · Score: 1

      They were, but not at the same time, the same pattern that Halo is following.

      AC's don't really think things through, do they?

  11. In Startling news... by tprime · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Microsoft, in cooperation with LucasArts, announced that the PC version will be released for the PC on schedule. As an added enhancement to the game, the player character has been changed from human to Gungan.

    "...We are just giving the people what we decided that they want" announced George Lucas.

    --
    http://www.tomandemily.com
  12. Sounds very promising... by TalMaximus · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Xbox appears to be doing the one thing that has kept me going back to Playstation systems. I bought a Playstation for Final Fantasy VII, and I bought a PS2 for Final Fantasy X (and Timesplitters 2). I like in-depth RPG's and now with KOTOR, along with the up-and-coming Fable, it appears the Xbox is starting to release games that are designed with nice RPG gameplay, along with some new features as well. This game, and IGN's review only give me another good reason to purchase an Xbox somewhere down the road. Not to mention Halo, and Halo 2. IGN reviewed Galaxies in a somewhat negative fashion and did not beat around the bush when revealing that Galaxies has been somewhat disappointing after expectations. I've trusted most of their reviews up to this point so I definitely take notice when they give a game a 10 in any category and a 9.5 overall.

  13. Cannon Shmannon by August_zero · · Score: 1

    IMHO, the Starwars line of games has never failed to disappoint in all but a few cases (rogue squadron) just as the recent films have done nothing but underwhelm. But even me, the eternal starwars cynic is looking forward to this release. It looks like they did all the right things, the most important being distancing themselves from the known cannon, and placing the story during a time span that they feel free to be creative with.

    I may be in the minority in this, but I personally get annoyed when all Starwars games offer me are the same few planets extensively chronicled in the earlier films. The universe and the mythology is what is great about the series, not Hoth, ot Tatooine or any other place. I like to see what developers can come up with when they take the feeling of the story and run with it. I know what happens in the movies, now tell me what didn't happen in the films.

    KOTOR seems to be doing just this.

    --
    On Wall Street they say "buy low, sell high" On the pad we say, "buy high, sell high" Isn't that somehow better?
    1. Re:Cannon Shmannon by unclethursday · · Score: 1
      IMHO, the Starwars line of games has never failed to disappoint in all but a few cases (rogue squadron) just as the recent films have done nothing but underwhelm.

      I think the Rogue Squadron games have been some of the best SW games, recently. Better than the prequel games, by far, and not a huge glitch-fest like Galaxies.

      YMMV, of course, but I've found most SW games recently to be lacking, with the Rogue Squadron games being the glimmer of hope on consoles. Now, what I REALLY want is a port of Sega's Star Wars Arcade game that was out a few years back in the arcades.....THAT would be suuuhweeeeet.

      Thursdæ

    2. Re:Cannon Shmannon by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Um, I think you misunderstood the quoted text you replied to.

    3. Re:Cannon Shmannon by unclethursday · · Score: 1
      After re-reading it, I think you are right. I did mis-read the post. I should not try and reply when I'm ready for bed....

      Thursdæ

  14. Too bad by M3wThr33 · · Score: 1

    This isn't going to help overseas. The XBox needs more traditional japanese RPGs if they want to appeal to more than just Americans.

  15. Bioware's website by dewie · · Score: 3, Funny
    I love the poll on Bioware's website:

    Have you ordered Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic online?
    • Yes! I can't wait!
    • Not yet, but I will!
    • No, I'll buy it at the store!


    That's Pure Comedy Gold(TM).
    --
    Jurisprudence Fetishist Gets Off On A Technicality --theonion.com
  16. I hope it as good as they say..... by Dr+Reducto · · Score: 1

    I have mine paid in full and want to go get it ASAP. It is everything I ever wanted to do in life: Become a Jedi. Unfortunately, it uses DnD 3.5, but oh well.

  17. Starcraft: Ghost by n0wak · · Score: 1

    Uh, S:G is multi-platform... so don't involve Microsoft with that one, that's all Blizzard.

  18. Unlimted Lives Review by Jiles · · Score: 1

    Reading that review made my intelligence drop by about 2 (I now only have a +1 modifier D:). I didn't think it was humanly possible to mindlessly fellate the developers that severely, but it seems that I was naive in that respect.

    At least the IGN review was informative and (slightly) balanced, much better than the 'OMG!!11 BIOWARE R TEH GODS OF TEH ROLEPLAYEINGE GAMEZ OLOLOLOLOOLO =DDDD' of the Unlimited Lives one. Press like that only appeals to cretins and 14 year olds (oddly the apparent target audience for Fallout: Enforcer.

    Who am I kidding, I'll likely buy the game anyways. I sure hope it's a damn sight more interesting than the NWN OC.

  19. Microsoft screws us again.. Or Standared /. FUD by LordYUK · · Score: 1

    "Is there no end to there treachery....

    First it was Halo.. which should have been the sweetest Multiplayer FPS for the PC.... nope.. Xbox gets it"

    Well, not entirely true... the PC version will be out, just not yet.

    "Now its Blizzards Starcraft :Ghost and Star Wars Knights of the Old republic..."

    Oh yeah, lets REALLY talk out of our ass here. Blizzard has stated that its NOT an Xbox exclusive, but the Xbox one LOOKS the best, so they use it for the demonstrations. As for SW KotOR, look at LA before you go getting pissed at MS. They dont want the competition with SW: Galaxies, so the PC version is being pushed back. Also note, the PC version will have an extra planet, and from screenies I've seen, will look better.

    "I am just waiting to hear Halflife 2 and Doom 3 being Xbox titles first as well....."

    Yeah, right, because ya know, HL 1 was an Xbox exclusive, and D1 and D2 were Xbox only.

    Heres an idea... You want to play Zelda, get a GC. You want to play KotOR right NOW, get an Xbox.

    Consoles have always had "their own" games, and I dont see it changing any time soon.

    --
    This is my sig. Its pathetic.
  20. Gamespot Review of KoTOR by empedocles · · Score: 2, Informative
    Gamespot has reviewed KoTOR and gave the game a 9.1 and their Editor's Choice award.

    "It's apparent from playing Knights of the Old Republic that a remarkable amount of effort, work, and talent went into this game. It's one of the only Star Wars games to truly make you feel at times as though you're a key player in and a part of this unique and beloved sci-fi setting. You'll get to do all the sorts of stuff that you've seen and enjoyed in the Star Wars movies, and you'll get to emulate any of your favorite characters' personalities and actions over the course of the game. You'll also experience a much more morally complex version of Star Wars than what you get from the movies. Along the way, you'll find a few aspects of the game that you'll wish were better, but that's mostly because the vast majority of Knights of the Old Republic is so exceptionally good. You don't need to be a fan of Star Wars or of RPGs to appreciate all the impressive qualities of this game--but if you are, all the better."

    The Stone Age didn't end due to a lack of stones

  21. buy an xbox and quit crying. by sw33tjimmy · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Heaven forbid a company look after it's own interests. Treachery? It really bugs me when people think the world (or MS in this case) owes them something.

    --
    Get Virtual.
    1. Re:buy an xbox and quit crying. by ratfynk · · Score: 1

      Ya buy an xbox ms is still losing money on them. For every xbox sold I hear they lose several bucks. If you are enough a sucker to fall for the .NET part later and put it on line and pay monthly or anual fees to MS then they might make money. Everbody buy an xbox and mod it, do something usefull with it like high speed vector scientific work. What would be a hoot is if Linux scientific work became possible with clusters of xboxs then MS might contribute something usefull back to the world that alows its monopoly. If the ms dream of a MILCHCOW of internet gaming occurs then we might as well forget about the internet all together, band width will go up in price not down! Kensian economics predicts exactly this fact. I seriously doubt that anymore than about 25 dollars a month for gaming is in the budget for extra bandwidth. The whole Xbox online gaming thing will be great at first then the howling of business at the cost of bandwidth will put an end to the venture.

      --
      OH THE SHAME I fell off the wagon and use sigs again!