As an early Star Wars-themed game, the reputation of "Knights of the Old Republic" can be described as quite explosive among veteran players. The game was developed by BioWare and is a follow-up to Neverwinter Nights, and the story is set 4,000 years before the Star Wars films, the Old Republic before the Battle of Yavin. Created with the new Odyssey Engine, it can be said that in 2003, the 3D graphics were closer to maturity.
Although this is a Star Wars title, it still has the same approach as BioWare, and it has quite a lot of depth, like the rules of a Dungeons & Dragons RPG. It is obvious that the later Mass Effect, some gameplay and systems of Dragon Age are all from the samurai of the Old Republic.
And the second-generation plot that was launched 18 years ago is to describe the five years after the end of the first generation, but because the protagonists are different, the events that occur are different, so you don't have to worry that you won't be able to understand the plot of the second generation if you haven't played the first generation. The Samurai of the Old Republic 2 was transferred to Obsidian Entertainment for development, and most of the members of this production team came from the Black Isle Studio, which once developed the Requiem of Exotics, and after the dissolution of the Black Island Studio in 2003, Obsidian Entertainment immediately produced its first work - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 2. As a result, the quality of this work is very high, and it is called the strongest Star Wars game masterpiece at the time.
The protagonist of the game is a generation of Jedi knights who have appeared in the past - Mitra Surik, but because of the high degree of freedom in this game, players are required to tailor a unique protagonist. Therefore, players can help the protagonist customize their gender, shape, and class. The professions are Jedi Consul, Jedi Sentinel, and Jedi Knight.
At first, it will feel dreary, as the setting is set inside the spaceship Ebon Hawk, which has been badly damaged and the crew is either dead or has only half a life left. The game requires the player to control the T3-M4 robot and start repairing the ship's engine. The first and first chapters spend a lot of time in the interior of the spaceship, with little chance of getting outside, but once the player controls the main character, you will feel the best feature of this American role-playing game, which is the sense of substitution, which allows the player to almost immerse himself in the environment, interact with the whole world, and change everything.
Although this is a sci-fi game, players don't have to worry about not being interested in sci-fi and not being able to fit in. Because the moral perspective and choice power it brings are the same as the real world as we know it, with light and dark forces, depending on the choices made by the players in the dialogue, good or bad, and gradually move towards the camp of good or evil.
The causal relationship will also be presented in the plot, as if this is a martial arts world, with many chivalrous heroes roaming the rivers and lakes and dominating the troubled times. It's just that the adventure location has been changed to outer space, and the costumes and scenes have been changed to the style of a space opera. Character cultivation and development with a high degree of freedom allows players to carefully study and figure out the attributes and skills of the characters. You will find that there are several ways to "open a door" in the game, such as using brute force to burst the door, or using wisdom to open the lock, or even enhancing the hacking ability to hack into a nearby console to open the door.
The most interesting thing is that you can occasionally see the wreckage of robots lying on the ground in the game scenes, and you can choose to repair them to get some benefits, or even just blow up the robots to make the explosion affect nearby enemies. The way to enter a battle is the same as Baldur's Gate, where the player pauses and gives the player the order to start the battle.
Although the fighting process is in the form of orders, but the Samurai of the Old Republic 2 can also be regarded as a very real-time role-playing work, especially the action of holding a knife and a lightsaber is full of martial arts aesthetics, showing somersaults, jumping and slashing, and blocking actions, players can also choose multiple combos and powerful attacks to control the enemy. There are many different NPCs and allies to meet on this journey, and the companions are also extremely important, not only to control them, but also to develop their abilities and change equipment.
The races of your companions can't be limited to humans, there will be Zabulaks, Mandalorians, and all the Star Wars species you know. Each partner may have a disagreement with each other due to background factors, but players can unite them through persuasion and eloquence. You'll also have the opportunity to develop romantic relationships with your teammates and use your leadership skills to help them more.
The disadvantage compared to the first generation is that the part of the late second generation is a little rushed, so it has become not very complete, but I think the playability, gameplay, and exploration of the Samurai of the Old Republic 2 are still very high, and there are many ways to play that can be tried repeatedly, such as props made with a workbench and a laboratory table. And the development of the plot will be based on the male and female genders of the protagonists, the light and dark forces, and there are some slightly different story directions, and the ending will also have several results according to the player's gameplay. This choice-oriented feature alone is enough to keep players trying the game several times.
And although the picture may seem a little old now, after all, it lacks the resolution of the widescreen, but it is still very tasteful in style, Lucas Arts release, it can definitely have the texture of Star Wars, such as music, dubbing, art design, and atmosphere are very high-level, so to this day, "Knights of the Old Republic 2" is still a must-see masterpiece for Star Wars fans.