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Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (video game)

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"KOTOR" redirects here. For the Montenegrin city, see Kotor.
This article is about the video game. For the series, see Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (series).
Star Wars: Knights of The Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic PC box cover
Developer(s)BioWare
Publisher(s)LucasArts
Designer(s)David Falkner, Steven Gilmour, Casey Hudson, Derek Watts, Drew Karpyshyn, James Ohlen, Preston Watamaniuk
EngineOdyssey
Platform(s)Xbox, Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X
ReleaseXbox Microsoft Windows
Genre(s)Action RPG
Mode(s)Single-player

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KotOR) is a role-playing game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. It was released for the Xbox on July 15, 2003, for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003, and on September 7, 2004 for Mac OS X. The sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords, was developed by Obsidian Entertainment at BioWare's suggestion[1] as BioWare wanted to focus on their own intellectual properties. Jeremy Soule wrote the soundtrack score for the game.[2]

Gameplay

This game's system is based on Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Roleplaying Game, which is based on the d20 role-playing game system derived from the Third Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules. Combat is round-based; time is divided into discrete rounds, and combatants attack and react simultaneously. However, the number of actions a combatant may perform each round is limited. While each round's duration is a fixed short interval of real time, the player can configure the combat system to pause at specific events or at the end of each round.

The alignment system tracks actions and speech—from simple word choices to major plot decisions—to determine whether the player's character aligns with the light or dark side of the Force. Generosity and altruism lead to the light side, which will make the player's skin appear vibrant as well as light blue mist surrounding their feet, while self-serving or violent actions will lead the player's character to the dark side, which will alter the character's appearance, turning their eyes yellow and their skin gray and scarred.

Non-combat interaction with other characters in the game world is based upon a dialog menu system. Following each statement, the player can select from a list of menu responses. The dialog varies based on the gender of the main character.

Story

The game takes place 4,000 years before the rise of the Galactic Empire. Darth Malak, a Dark Lord of the Sith and Darth Revan's former apprentice, has unleashed a Sith armada against the Republic. Malak's aggression has left the Jedi scattered and vulnerable; many Jedi Knights died in battle and others swore allegiance to Malak. The game opens with the player's character, whom the player can choose a face and be either male or female awakening aboard a Republic ship under attack by Malak's forces.

After escaping the ship and landing on Taris, the player's character gradually gathers companions and pieces together his or her past while attempting to stop Malak's forces. While taking refuge at the Jedi Academy on Dantooine, The character learns to be a Jedi and the group discovers a "Star Map" and learns of the "Star Forge"–the probable source of Malak's military resources. But the Star Map is ancient and its files corrupted–the group can only access a portion of the map's memory. The Star Map mentions other planets across the galaxy - Dantooine, Manaan, Tatooine, Kashyyyk and Korriban, and the group surmises there might be similar Star Maps on those planets that will help them piece together more information about the Star Forge. In searching for these maps, the main character's actions and speech influence whether he aligns with the light or dark side of the Force.

Characters and locations

File:Kotor 11.png
Fazza's Hunting Lodge on Tatooine
Further information: List of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic characters

Eventually joining the main character's quest are the Jedi Bastila Shan; Grey Jedi Jolee Bindo; veteran Republic pilot Carth Onasi; Mandalorian mercenary Canderous Ordo; assassin droid HK-47; the Twi'lek teenager Mission Vao and her Wookiee companion Zaalbar; and utility droid T3-M4. Juhani may join the party if the protagonist follows the light side of the Force, otherwise she will be killed in a fight with them. Antagonists include bounty hunter Calo Nord, crime boss Davik Kang, Sith Admiral Saul Karath, Sith Master Uthar Wynn, Sith apprentice Darth Bandon and Darth Malak.

Action takes place on the planets Tatooine, Dantooine, Kashyyyk, Korriban, Manaan, Rakata Prime, and Taris; aboard the cruiser Endar Spire and Saul Karath's Leviathan; and on the Star Forge space station. A space station near Yavin is a playable location in the PC version of the game and is available to Xbox players via download from Xbox Live. Travel between these locations happens aboard the freighter Ebon Hawk, which is also a playable location.

Anthologies

The game was re-released as part of the Star Wars: Best of PC collection in 2006 as a limited release. The collection is no longer in production, but still is available in stores.

Reception

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic received strong praise, along with high critical acclaim. KotOR won numerous awards, including Game Developers Choice Awards' game of the year, BAFTA Games Awards' best Xbox game of the year, and Interactive Achievement Awards for best console RPG and best computer RPG.[14]

KotOR has seen success as the game of the year from many sources including IGN, GameSpot, Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, GMR Magazine, The Game Developers Choice Awards, Xbox Magazine, and G4.[14] According to the review aggregator Metacritic the PC version received an average score of 93 based on 33 reviews.[15] Interactive Achievement Awards awarded it for Best Story and Best Character Development.[14] IGN gave KotOR additional awards in Best Sound (Xbox category), Best Story (PC category), Xbox RPG Game of the Year 2003, PC RPG Game of the Year 2003, Xbox Game of the Year 2003, PC Game of the Year 2003, and Overall Game of the Year 2003 across all platforms. In 2007, IGN listed it at #27 on its list of the Top 100 Games of All-Time.[16]

At the 2004 Game Developers Choice Awards, HK-47 won the category of "Original Game Character of the Year".[17] In 2007, the plot twist in KotOR was ranked number two in Game Informer's list of the top ten video game plot twists of all time[18] and number 10 on Screwattack's "Top 10 OMGWTF Moments".[19]

The game is also part of The Xbox Platinum Series/Classics for sales in excess of 1 million units.[20]

The Los Angeles Times listed Knights of the Old Republic as one of the most influential works of the Star Wars Expanded Universe.[21]

One of the criticisms of the game is that it can involve extensive back-tracking. That is, the player has to make frequent, time-consuming, in-game trips back to a previous locations along passages that have already been explored and cleared.[22]

References

  1. ^ Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords Developer Interview 2. GameSpot. 2004-05-08. Retrieved 2007-08-22.
  2. ^ Jeremy Soule's official website
  3. ^ Gillen, Kieron. "EuroG KOTOR Review". EuroGamer. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  4. ^ Kasavin, Gref. "Gamespot KOTOR review". Gamespot. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  5. ^ Stapleton, Dan. "GRadar KOTOR review". GamesRadar. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  6. ^ Boulding, Aaron. "IGN KOTOR review". IGN. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  7. ^ Reiner, Andrew. "GI KOTOR review". GameInformer. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  8. ^ Padilla, Raymind. "GameSpy KOTOR review". GameSpy. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  9. ^ "CVG KOTOR review". ComputerandVideoGames. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  10. ^ "Metacritic Rankings". Metacritc. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  11. ^ "GameRankings KOTOR". GameRankings. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  12. ^ "MobyGames KOTOR ranking". MobyGames. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  13. ^ Fox, Fennec. "GamePro KOTOR review". Gamepro. Retrieved 2009-04-10.
  14. ^ a b c "Critical Acclaim". BioWare. Retrieved 2007-03-30.
  15. ^ "Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (pc: 2003): Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2009-02-22.
  16. ^ "Top 100 Games of All Time". IGN. Retrieved 2008-03-06.
  17. ^ Inside the 2004 Game Developers Conference - Event Coverage
  18. ^ Game Informer Issue #168 April, 2007
  19. ^ http://www.gametrailers.com/player/36111.html
  20. ^ "Xbox.com Platinum Hits: Adventure/Role-Playing Games(RPGs)". Retrieved 2007-10-26.
  21. ^ "Star Wars' expanded universe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2008-05-07. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  22. ^ Byrne, Edward (2004). Game Level Design. Charles River Media. p. 117. ISBN 1584503696.—interview with Harvey Smith
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