Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II – The Sith Lords Review

2004’s Knights of the Old Republic 2 was made by a different team than you might expect. While the original KOTOR was made by the legendary Bioware, the sequel was made by Obsidian.

That understandably made many gamers and Star Wars fans anxious. Would this game have the same quality and innovation of the first game? Or, worse yet, would it be a cookie-cutter copy and offer nothing new?

Fortunately, we’ve got all your answers. Keep reading to discover whether this game is worth playing 15 years after it was released.

Dungeons and Krayt Dragons

Many people pick up these KOTOR games for the first time and expect them to play more like Force Unleashed. If that’s what you’re expecting, then I have some bad news.

Despite the fact that you directly move your character around, combat is a lot less direct. You don’t personally swing your lightsaber or zap out some Force lightning: instead, you hit a button and cross your fingers.

That’s because this game is a lot like Dungeons and Dragons. Specifically, it was built using the same engine as Wizard’s old Star Wars RPG. That means your attempts to do everything from attacking foes to persuading strangers are decided by virtual rolls of a D20 die.

This RPG influence stretches to character design, too. You can create your own character by putting your limited amount of points into traditional RPG qualities like dexterity, strength, and charisma. And you can top it off by choosing from character classes that inform both your roleplaying and how you approach combat.

One fun addition to the mechanics of the first game is the upgrade system. You can constantly find upgrades for various armor pieces, blasters, and lightsabers. Therefore, the traditional RPG glee of looting a body is heightened: not only might you find something new, but you might find something that makes your favorite weapon even cooler!