Reviews VideoGame / Knights Of The Old Republic II The Sith Lords

Bright and Shiny vs. Dark and Inventive

The dichotomy between original KOTOR and KOTOR II could be summed up very roughly as KOTOR is to A New Hope as KOTORII is to The Empire Strikes Back.

Which is the better GAME? KOTOR has brighter, cleaner visuals and is more consistently entertaining. KOTOR is by far the MORE FUN of the two, and more obviously loyal to the "traditional" Star Wars mode.

KOTOR II is something very much different and the story stays with you, even if the drabness of the game occasionally becomes tedious. KOTOR II takes chances with the Star Wars universe, and feels richer and more mythical. Kreia is one of the more fascinating video game characters I have ever encountered.

One of the real downsides of original KOTOR is that Malak is such a weaksauce villain - little more than a boring Vader clone. KOTOR II on the other hand does something different - Darth Traya, Darth Nihilus, and, in some ways, Darth Sion are interesting takes on the idea of the Sith. Traya with her wisdom and, I would say, lack of absolute conviction in the Dark Side, Nihilus who is bizarre, dangerous on a cosmic scale, and nigh-on Lovecraftian, and Sion who, unlike Malak, could be read as a very subtle take on the Vader idea.

The way that KOTORII plays with the Light vs. Dark dichotomy is fascinating, and much more effective than previous EU attempts to justify the idea of a "Gray Side" of the Force. KOTORII even makes KOTOR retroactively richer by expanding our view of who Revan was and what his goals were.

I maintain that, had the original vision for KOTORII been completed, it would be the greatest work of the entire EU.