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I think I would be telling the truth if I were to say that I have never finished a proper, beard-growing, goblin smashing, simulated dice rolls RPG. I don't mean the console version of Baldurs Gate; I mean the real thing. It's not that I didn't like them - on the contrary, I loved them - it's just that after a while the spark goes and you begin to wonder if the game does actually have an ending, or whether it just keeps randomly adding story until you die or go insane trying to complete the thing.
This is where Knights of the Old Republic comes in. This is officially the first time I have completed a fully fledged RPG; and no sooner had I done so, I started from the beginning and kept going. What's more surprising is that it's not just on the PC, but also the Xbox - a console, of all things. So how did this game do it? What has it done so differently? After all, it's basically Baldurs Gate repackaged as a Star Wars game with fancier graphics; you've got your 'warrior class' (the soldier), your 'archer' (gun slinging Han Solo type), and your 'Wizard' (Jedi/Sith, using the force). You've got all the usual stats; strength, dexterity, wisdom, intelligence, charisma and so on. Combat is determined the same way - 'D10 + strength modifier + dexterity modifier' etc. The quests are the same; 'rescue my husband from generic baddie', 'kill this leader of a group', 'retrieve this item from enemy infested area' etc, etc, etc. So far, it's the same. But then you start to get things that really set it apart. Obviously there's the fact that it's set in the Star Wars universe - I'm not going to comment too much on that other than by saying it's very well balanced. It retains the Star Wars feel most of the time, while simultaneously telling a wholly original and involving story. There are twists and turns to the narrative all over the place; with one in particular which you will see coming a mile off, but still be surprised when it happens. The story is well paced and ends at a sensible time - after about forty hours of playing you can finish the game and feel happy. Then there's the 'dark/light side' points system. You have to consider everything you do, everything you say - because at any moment you might take a couple more steps towards the dark side for a sentence you said foolishly in the middle of a conversation. Then you'll go out and look for someone to help so you can regain the light side points...if you want to be a good guy, that is. The points are tallied separately from all the levels and experience points, and when you start reaching the extreme dark/light status, funny things happen to your character. I'm playing through the second time now as a Dark Jedi, and the more evil I get, the more my goatee develops. It's the first game that I know of which actually admits that goatees are evil. These dark/light side points change the story - there are still some key moments you come to, but the game plays very differently the second time around, depending if you play light or dark. The fights are genuinely breathtaking at times. Sword fights are intense affairs, with parrying, dodging, and plenty of metallic 'clinks' and lightsaber 'tchs, tchs, tchs...woooommph, wooooomph...' Oh yeah. This game was made by people who love games. And Star Wars. It's just obvious. You end up constantly looking for fights so that you can see it again - and get that little bit better so that eventually the fights look choreographed. And if you don't like to fight, just use the force to choke someone. In fact, I couldn't possibly tell you everything that makes this game such a joy to play. It would take far too long. There's the way in which the graphics are so beautifully created. There's the way in which all the members of your party gain experience at the same time, whether they're with you or not; letting you choose a party you're comfortable with, without feeling obligated to use someone you don't like. There's the fact that the voice acting is some of the best I've ever heard. There's the thousands of lines of dialogue that you may never use because they just wanted to let you choose the direction of the conversation and thats all. In fact, there's little to fault it. I suppose there's the fact that it is occasionally a tad buggy - freezing at inopportune moments. Also, there's sometimes TOO much dialogue; the game forces you to keep talking to your party by making some quests that are only accessible when you've talked to one of your team for what seems like forever. It would have been nice to be able to buy a speeder or something that allows you to cover long distances -without it worlds can even seem too small because you think 'there's a whole world to explore and I'm confined to one small city'. But other than that I'm genuinely at a loss to fault it. In short, this is one of those games that you will remember fondly and use in your future arguments as an example when you tell people that games aren't what they used to be. Roll on downloadable content and you've got yourself a game that's easily as essential as Halo and Vice City, in my opinion.
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