Does KOTOR hold up today?

[frozentundra123456]

What a weird thread. KOTORs 1 and 2 are some of the best games I've ever played, a opinion fact I thought was shared by every gamer ever born. A followup KOTOR 3, of the same quality (after patching KOTOR 2, of course), would absolutely make me

Yea, I never could understand why they did not make KOTOR 3. I understand that they wanted to make an MMO and have a cash cow for years and years like WOW, and perhaps did not want a single player game to take away attention and resources from that, but now that TOR has been out for a while, it would still seem to make sense to make a KOTOR 3, but apparently no publisher is interested. A shame really.

 

[norseamd]

Yea, I never could understand why they did not make KOTOR 3. I understand that they wanted to make an MMO and have a cash cow for years and years like WOW, and perhaps did not want a single player game to take away attention and resources from that, but now that TOR has been out for a while, it would still seem to make sense to make a KOTOR 3, but apparently no publisher is interested. A shame really.

well i garentee you that obsidian is interested

and i am sure that paradox interactive would have no problem publishing such a title

seems ea has all rights to any star wars games that are not on mobile or maybe browser games

 

[mikeymikec]

seems ea has all rights to any star wars games that are not on mobile or maybe browser games

My first thought in response to this was "what idiot gave EA the rights to the Star Wars games?", then "ah yes, the idiot who sold LucasArts to EA"

I would feel very conflicted if another proper KOTOR game was released ('proper', ie. not MMO) with EA calling the shots.

 

[norseamd]

My first thought in response to this was "what idiot gave EA the rights to the Star Wars games?", then "ah yes, the idiot who sold LucasArts to EA

well that would be the book that many hardcore star wars fans would say but there is no truth to that at all

suppose you could blame him indirectly but then you would have consider that him directing the sequel trilogy might be less worse

these disney star wars movies might turn out far worse than anything george lucas has ever made even if he already destroyed the whole star wars universe

 

[Pr0d1gy]

Canon: Jar Jar Binks, midichlorans, "hold me like you did under the moons of Naboo", "NooooOOOOOOoooooOOOOOooooOOOO!!!!!!!"

KOTOR 1 and 2 have great stories, better than episode 1-3. I don't care whether or not this year's retcon leaves them as canon or not.

Well now, easy there Dave. While I agree KoTOR 1 might be the greatest video game story ever made (easily the best non movie Star Wars story), I don't think you can necessarily say 1 AND 2 are better than the story of Vader's decent into madness.

The gameplay is more modern than most would expect from a game that old, but it is still dated. That withstanding, the story is incredible and that alone makes a game infinitely replayable. KoTOR1 is one of the best games ever made, no question.

 

[akahoovy]

For me it doesn't hold up so well. It's not the graphics or story, but the fact that most Bioware games just feel like the same game with a different skin. There's been some differences but they normally boil down to the same thing. The same level path and choices are the same through out most of their games, not to mention the same 2 NPCs joining you when you grind the level. I know a lot of people love Bioware, and it's not they're a bad company, I just know exactly what I'm getting.

This is how it is for me. I've played enough Bioware games to know what they're doing, which is EXACTLY the same experience for me and reading Stephen King, since I've read so many of his books and short stories. The thing is that there are certain ones that just attract me more.

 

[DaveSimmons]

KOTOR 2 is not Bioware though, it's Obsidian.

KOTOR 1 has some Bioware cliches, but the setting, art and sound design, characters (except Carth) and fun of bashing things with a lightsaber make it easy for me to overlook them.

 

[Red Storm]

Funny, I was about to make a thread about KOTOR thanks to the Steam sale. Great game that's still fun to play today.

 

[mmntech]

Both KotOR games have a decent story. The first one is more a classic Star Wars adventure, while The Sith Lords is a bit more philosophical. It can get pretty dark at times too.

Canon: Jar Jar Binks, midichlorans, "hold me like you did under the moons of Naboo", "NooooOOOOOOoooooOOOOOooooOOOO!!!!!!!"

KOTOR 1 and 2 have great stories, better than episode 1-3. I don't care whether or not this year's retcon leaves them as canon or not.

The prequels read like bad fan fiction, don't they. :awe:

I think there's some debate over what's canon and what's not. Wookieepedia seems to think it's anything post-Jedi. Meaning that Heir to the Empire isn't canon but KotOR is. Which makes sense, because it's an era they're probably not going to touch.

 

[Revolution 11]

KOTOR 2 is not Bioware though, it's Obsidian.

KOTOR 1 has some Bioware cliches, but the setting, art and sound design, characters (except Carth) and fun of bashing things with a lightsaber make it easy for me to overlook them.

Could you call KOTOR 1 story elements as Bioware cliches though? KOTOR was one of the first games by Bioware with their full set of formulaic plot elements if I am not mistaken. It would not be a cliche until Mass Effect or Dragon Age, where each element had been repeated at least 3 times.

 

[norseamd]

Canon: Jar Jar Binks, midichlorans, "hold me like you did under the moons of Naboo", "NooooOOOOOOoooooOOOOOooooOOOO!!!!!!!"

The prequels read like bad fan fiction, don't they.

compared to a 70s teen nerd wet dream?

a average kid discovers he has all powerful magical abilities and is swept up in a quest to save the galaxy along with one of the last of the good jedi. along the way he is captured by a giant invincable space station and fearsome dark jedi and escapes said space station with a miracle and then proceeds to destroy the said space station with his own tiny personal craft and his own magical abilities.

sound like good writing?

 

[Revolution 11]

The devil is in the details.

Because the whole concept of Star Wars was silly before any of the movies were made. It is execution that matters.

The prequels actually had more sophisticated core concepts but Lucas either sold out to make more toys or forgot all the talent he had decades earlier.

 

[Twitchy]

KOTR was definitely worth it for me too, however if you've got an Ipad, they recently ported it over pretty well. Fun time.

 

[futurefields]

Episode 3 > Kotor 1 & 2

 

[Wingznut]

Episode 3 > Kotor 1 & 2

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Even he disagrees.

 

[AV1611]

Kotor has more awesome sauce in it than episodes 1-3 all together.

AV1611

 

[mikeymikec]

well that would be the book that many hardcore star wars fans would say but there is no truth to that at all

suppose you could blame him indirectly but then you would have consider that him directing the sequel trilogy might be less worse

these disney star wars movies might turn out far worse than anything george lucas has ever made even if he already destroyed the whole star wars universe

I didn't actually say (or think of) George Lucas when I posted that.

 

[norseamd]

I didn't actually say (or think of) George Lucas when I posted that.

ah

sorry

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

For me it doesn't hold up so well. It's not the graphics or story, but the fact that most Bioware games just feel like the same game with a different skin. There's been some differences but they normally boil down to the same thing. The same level path and choices are the same through out most of their games, not to mention the same 2 NPCs joining you when you grind the level. I know a lot of people love Bioware, and it's not they're a bad company, I just know exactly what I'm getting.

Dude, I feel the exact same way. Like everything after NWN is the same game, just a different skin.

Finished playing Jade Empire this weekend and it was just Mass Effect in Asia. Same sort of dialog, good/evil choices, romance options, etc. Not saying it was bad, just really stands out how similar their games are.

 

[Topweasel]

The devil is in the details.

Because the whole concept of Star Wars was silly before any of the movies were made. It is execution that matters.

The prequels actually had more sophisticated core concepts but Lucas either sold out to make more toys or forgot all the talent he had decades earlier.

Actually, watch A New hope without rose colored glasses. He got lucky with it because he used such great actors for Obiwan and Tarkin, made an eleventh hour decision to redo all of Vader's lines with Jones', and that Ford had such great charisma. It was a new tail and used tech and styles rarely seen at that point. Deserved all the praise he got for it. But you could see from Fisher and Hamils acting and some of the other dialogue that Lucas couldn't really direct. The original trilogy is so strong because he handed his storyline over to other directors and they did a great job and cemented it as a top notch franchise.

The problems (outside Jar Jar) that you see with Ep 1-Ep 3, including Christensen's acting (seen him in other movies and he isn't that bad) are things that stick out in ANH if you let yourself see it. He wasn't ever a skilled director and had no vision for his actors execution. He should have handed of Ep2 and Ep3 like he planned. But the D guild threatened to kill membership to any director who got involved because of the lack of starting credits.

 

[JamesV]

Actually, watch A New hope without rose colored glasses. He got lucky with it <snip>

What he really got lucky with, was the soundtrack. I saw some doc where they said the first time Lucas heard any of it, was when it was done and they were recording it.

That music is iconic because it is so good, and without that, it would have been a lesser movie... the music in the initial moments where the text scrolls was just fantastic.

 

[QuantumPion]

I'm normally an RPG junkie but when I tried to play KOTOR 1 a few months ago, I got bored and quit it half way through. And that is saying something for me since there are very few games I do not manage to finish once I start. I'm not even one bothered by older graphics, except for the very early low-poly 3d era. The game was just boring.

 

[sweenish]

No accounting for taste.

 

[Nebor]

I played it last year and it was as amazing as it was the first time around. The music, the scenery, the character development and the choices are all great.

 

[Topweasel]

What he really got lucky with, was the soundtrack. I saw some doc where they said the first time Lucas heard any of it, was when it was done and they were recording it.

That music is iconic because it is so good, and without that, it would have been a lesser movie... the music in the initial moments where the text scrolls was just fantastic.

There is a reason that Spielberg basically has Williams do all of his movies. Honestly I know there are other good movie composers out there. But nothing last as long as Williams work.

I really really really hope that JJ at least keeps Williams involved as a consultant on the new one even if he uses his go to guy Giacchino.

Edit: Looked around a bit. Didn't know they had already confirm that Williams is going to compose at least 7.