Kiiii's Arcade

Key · 05-31-2015, 10:23 PM

It's a day early, but...

It has begun! Throughout the entire month of June, I will be talking about Star Wars, but not about the movies, or tv shows or anything like that. We will be talking specifically about the Star Wars video games. I don't know quite yet how far back I will go in terms of the history of Star Wars games, but I do have a list of games that I want to touch on at least a little bit, especially the ones that I enjoy / have enjoyed a lot growing up. I'm also not going to try to talk about games that I haven't played just for the sake of having them be talked about due to their reputation, i'll probably only be talking about the games that I have personally sat down and played. I want each and every entry that I do this month to have some sort of personal connection to my gaming experience, so any game that has a reputation of being good, but is one I haven't played yet, will most likely not be mentioned this month. However, I will be sure to make note of those games so that I can track them down and play them myself. This will also not be just PC games, as I have played my fair share of Star Wars games on consoles, especially growing up. I'll do the best I can to remember my experiences with those games, but I can't promise a lot of long winded paragraph by paragraph entries. I'll do the best I can, but in the end, I just want to talk about Star Wars video games all month, and that's what i'm going to do. So sit tight, it's going to be a fun ride.

LoathsomePete · 06-01-2015, 12:03 PM

I was always pretty amazed at how many good-to-decent games the Star Wars license managed to have. Granted I haven't played any since KoTR2 and a lot of the ones I really like are from the '90's, but still I don't think any other franchise has had this much success in the video game medium.

If I had to pick my top 5 they'd be.

Star Wars: Rebel Assault
Star Wars Battlefront 2
Star Wars Republic Commando
Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars Tie Fighter

The Batlord · 06-01-2015, 12:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

Star Wars Tie Fighter

Never played that or the X-Wing game, but the third game, X-Wing vs. Tie Fighter, pretty much ruled my life for a good portion of my childhood. Best flight simulator I ever played (including Ace Combat). And when the expansion pack with the Super Star Destroyer came out? Oh, man.

And did you ever play the Dark Forces games? The first one was basically an excellent Doom knockoff, but after that it got amazing. I never played any of them after Dark Forces 2, but that was the first game that ever let you become a Jedi. The first time I ever got to use a lightsaber (in first ****ing person!), or use Force lighting, were some of the highlights of my video game career.

There was even an expansion to that game that let you play as Mara Jade, although it was an AU storyline where she had an alternate story from the Expanded Universe books. I don't even remember if she was the Emperor's Hand or just the pupil of Kyle Katarn (the protagonist from the other Dark Forces games).

LoathsomePete · 06-01-2015, 01:09 PM

I never played the Dark Forces games or the Jedi Outcast games, although I've heard the latter had really cool lightsaber combat.

The Batlord · 06-01-2015, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoathsomePete

I never played the Dark Forces games or the Jedi Outcast games, although I've heard the latter had really cool lightsaber combat.

You should totally go back and play Dark Forces 2. I don't know if it holds up by modern standards, but the live action cut scenes were awesomely cheesy (but still better than the new trilogy).

Key · 06-01-2015, 11:19 PM

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.

The Batlord · 06-02-2015, 12:26 AM

My favorite part of that game was choosing to annoy Bastilla. There need to be more games where you can choose to be a dick your NPC friends.

Key · 06-02-2015, 08:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Batlord

My favorite part of that game was choosing to annoy Bastilla. There need to be more games where you can choose to be a dick your NPC friends.

That was probably the most fun when doing a dark side path, is trying to piss off your allies as much as possible. Of course, in the second game, that became a much bigger deal in terms of your relationship with your allies.

The Batlord · 06-02-2015, 08:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ki

That was probably the most fun when doing a dark side path, is trying to piss off your allies as much as possible. Of course, in the second game, that became a much bigger deal in terms of your relationship with your allies.

I'm not even talking about being evil. At least with Bastilla, I seem to remember there being three basic response types: Light side, Dark side, and Light side but irritating. I'm a third option kinda guy.

The Batlord · 06-02-2015, 10:39 AM

Oh, and are you aware of the Knights of the Old Republic comics? They came around back in '93, and were probably the first time the pre-original trilogy Star Wars universe was ever explored. It's supposed to take place thirty years before the first KOTOR game (4000 years before A New Hope), and a lot of the stuff from the comics gets name dropped in the game. Like the whole Sith War that happened before Revan's time? That's what that was about.

I think I'm gonna do a bit on that in my comic journal.

06-01-2015, 12:03 PM	#132 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	I was always pretty amazed at how many good-to-decent games the Star Wars license managed to have. Granted I haven't played any since KoTR2 and a lot of the ones I really like are from the '90's, but still I don't think any other franchise has had this much success in the video game medium. If I had to pick my top 5 they'd be. Star Wars: Rebel Assault Star Wars Battlefront 2 Star Wars Republic Commando Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic Star Wars Tie Fighter __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

06-01-2015, 01:09 PM	#134 (permalink)
LoathsomePete Cardboard Box Realtor Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Hobb's End Posts: 7,648	I never played the Dark Forces games or the Jedi Outcast games, although I've heard the latter had really cool lightsaber combat. __________________ Last.FM 101 Albums That May Not Change Your Life, But I Really Like And You Might Too

05-31-2015, 10:23 PM	#131 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	It's a day early, but... It has begun! Throughout the entire month of June, I will be talking about Star Wars, but not about the movies, or tv shows or anything like that. We will be talking specifically about the Star Wars video games. I don't know quite yet how far back I will go in terms of the history of Star Wars games, but I do have a list of games that I want to touch on at least a little bit, especially the ones that I enjoy / have enjoyed a lot growing up. I'm also not going to try to talk about games that I haven't played just for the sake of having them be talked about due to their reputation, i'll probably only be talking about the games that I have personally sat down and played. I want each and every entry that I do this month to have some sort of personal connection to my gaming experience, so any game that has a reputation of being good, but is one I haven't played yet, will most likely not be mentioned this month. However, I will be sure to make note of those games so that I can track them down and play them myself. This will also not be just PC games, as I have played my fair share of Star Wars games on consoles, especially growing up. I'll do the best I can to remember my experiences with those games, but I can't promise a lot of long winded paragraph by paragraph entries. I'll do the best I can, but in the end, I just want to talk about Star Wars video games all month, and that's what i'm going to do. So sit tight, it's going to be a fun ride.

06-01-2015, 11:19 PM	#136 (permalink)
Key . Join Date: Dec 2010 Posts: 13,153	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.