Oct. 2003 -- Star Wars

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

Ken Gagne

Platform : Microsoft Xbox, Windows
Publisher : LucasArts
ESRB Rating: Teen
Game Rating: 8.9

It is a time of civil war... but much longer ago than you'd expect.

Four thousand years before Luke Skywalker would face Darth Vader, the Republic is under siege. Revan and Malak, heroes of the Mandalorian War, have seized control of the fleet to lead a Sith force against the Jedi Order. In this third-person role-playing game (RPG), players will explore the Force and decide the fate of the galaxy.

Surprisingly, players do not immediately assume control of an all-powerful Jedi, but instead play a lowly scout, scoundrel, or soldier. Knights features a highly customizable character generation and progression system, rarely seen in console or story-driven RPGs. Attributes such as strength and dexterity, and skills that include demolitions, cybernetic implants and persuasion, can be increased as suits the player. If you're overwhelmed by such statistics, Knights will recommend progressions for your character, taking precise decisions out of your hands.

Though the protagonist is human, players will meet and be accompanied by a variety of well-known alien races, including Wookiees, Twi'leks, and droids, each with unique strengths. A party member could repair a discarded droid to provide backup, while another hacks into a computer terminal to overload nearby power conduits.

Each character can also play a different role in battle, where they attack with both ranged and melee weapons. Combat turns are transparent so as to appear to occur in real-time. Similar to Baldur's Gate, the action can be paused to issue commands and patterns to each combatant. It takes some getting used to to see a constant flurry of blaster fire, swordplay, and martial arts, and to not think of Knights as an action game.

It is instead a role-playing game, as evidenced by the constant storytelling and the consequences of the player's participation. Different actions and responses can be chosen, some of which may produce the same outcome, but the illusion of agency keeps players involved; plus,one never knows when one will fall to the light or dark side. It is often easier and more lucrative to play a reckless, selfish mercenary, but earning Dark Points will transform the player into a force of evil, both physically and in capabilities.

Should a fatal or unwise decision be made, it is easy enough to undo. The game can be saved anytime, the safety of the headquarters accessed from almost anywhere, and character "deaths" are only until the end of the battle. Despite these safeties, the game is no cakewalk, with many puzzles, side quests, and difficult encounters to overcome.

Though the time is long before filmed Star Wars events, and during a war and with characters invented for this outing, the setting is stillfamiliar. Technology has not changed, and players will return to the Skywalker home world of Tatooine and see for the first time the Wookiee world of Kashyyyk. Each world is bustling with activity and graphical detail, familiar yet alien.

As with most Star Wars games, the aural component is important and impressive. All dialogue is spoken, regardless of the alien language, though foreign tongues say in ten words what subtitles say in two.

Knights of the Old Republic flexes the versatility of the Star Wars franchise with an offering that is neither the usual action game nor flight sim. Gamers who are accustomed to those genres and can't reconcile the far-off galaxy with careful character development and investigation may be put off by the relatively slow pace, but others will find the depth and breadth of this galaxy comprise a forceful adventure.