Yes, i'm starting this whole thing off by talking about one of the best Star Wars games I have personally ever played. My first playthrough of this game was on the Xbox when it was released back in 2003, and i've recently played through it a few more times on the PC version, even though the PC version isn't as great of an experience as the Xbox version, mostly due to resolution issues. Anyway, what makes Knights of the Old Republic so great? Well, i'll go ahead and jot down a couple of things that really made this game the remarkable piece of art that it truly is.
First off, "RPG" grabs you by the neck and gets you excited right away, yes, I mean the term "RPG". When I first heard about this game, reviews told me that this would be a Star Wars themed role playing game, and I was automatically hooked. I mean, seriously. What could possibly be better than a Star Wars Role Playing Game, it really doesn't get much better than that. I remember back then when I first started playing this, I wasn't a huge fan of the "choose your own dialogue" setup that the game had, but over time I sort of grew to enjoy that type of play style more and more. It was unique at the time for me, and it was something I would just have to get used to. Along with that, the combat system was also something I would have to grow to enjoy more and more, and of course, I did. I found myself actually trying to creatively choose my attacks and figure out combinations that worked for my class, and that in itself was a lot of fun. A lot of learning was being done through my first play through because although I was sort of familiar with the role playing style of gaming, this one was certainly different than anything I had played before, but it was worth it.
The next thing I want to point out is how fantastic the soundtrack is in this game. I know I know, this is music related, but you can't expect me to talk about the best parts of this game and not mention at least some of the music, can you? You can? Well, i'll make it simple then. I want to talk about one song in particular that really stood out to me as being one of the best songs in the game. I believe I have talked about this one before, but it goes to the theme for the planet of
Manaan:
The song captures pretty much everything you would need to know about this planet, with the water flowing and the waves crashing. You really get a feeling of calmness with this music, when your on the planet itself. Sort of lets you sit back and look out to the sky and just wonder what's beyond where you are. It lets you just take a moment to remember everything you've done throughout the game to get to the point that you are, whether you chose the dark side route or the light side route. I personally did a lot of reflection on this planet, and I did actually make some changes to my actions that I felt would fit my play style better during playthroughs. It's interesting how a simple calming song can do that, but it can.
Now, how could I talk about Knights of the Old Republic without talking about any of the characters? That's right, I can't. I'm going to talk about one in particular, because this one character always stood out to me as being one of the coolest designed characters in the game...
Yep, I chose
Darth Malak. I think this has got to be one of the coolest looking villians I've ever seen in a video game, and that's mostly due to the fact that his mouth is basically covered permanently. I can't even imagine what it'd be like to have to live your life with your mouth permanently blocked off like that. Though, I suppose that's where ones anger can come from to get a better feel for the dark side, amiright? No? Ok, well I tried.
He's cool. He's certainly got the look of a sith lord that i'd imagine a sith lord character that i'd control would look like. I'd either go with that, or i'd do what
Darth Revan does, and block off my face entirely, bringing on a mysterious look.
Knights of the Old Republic, in simple terms, is truly a remarkable game. It's not every day we get a game like this, and for it's time, it really set some new ground rules for games to come after it. I don't know exactly where i'd put this game on my list of favorites, but i'll tell you that it comes close to number 1 if I were to make a list for experiences i've had with games. Even though it's been a long time since my first play through, I still remember it like it was yesterday. I remember clear as day trying to figure out the right dialogue that would fit my play style whether I was going for the dark side or light side, and I can remember how I felt when I failed to choose the right choice. It wasn't easy back then. If you haven't played this game and you've been wondering if it's worth it? Play it. It's worth your time. You'll get so wrapped into the story and character development that you just won't know what to do with yourself.