Like most BioWare games, you don't play this for innovative interfaces or groundbreaking gameplay features. Combat and controls are very basic. Graphics only aged so-so. The stock voice clips for "alien" language and the animations are clunky. Even the Gay Option, a BioWare staple, is very low-key by modern standards.
What you play this for? Take everything that can make you Squee! about Star Wars, especially the Star Wars Legends, triple-distill it, let it age to a nice, mellow finish, then start pouring shots. It's frankly the best damn Star Wars film that never made it to a big screen. It's got the massive sense of history, the MythologyGags, the cool ship, the planets to explore. And add BioWare's talent for characters with top-notch voice acting. You may love or hate your party members, but they sure won't be forgettable. Sure, they're as archetype as any Star Wars crew, but that's the entire point. Even then, they find ways to play with the archetypes. The three Jedi party members have different ideas about the Order, the Code, and the Force, each seeing a different side of it. The most "conventional" Jedi is very brittle and questioning her path. (She is DEFINITELY going to remind some folks of what Rey would have been if she were found by the prequel-era Order) The second has a horrible past and psychological issues the Order is not helping whatsoever, but she finds what peace she can in the Jedi Code. The third is...an odd man and a glorious Troll, who has his own reasons for coming along, trying to redeem himself for a terrible mistake he made during Exar Kun's War. Your "hotshot pilot" is a troubled, grieving man who wants a reason to be your Lawful Good voice of conscience and right whatever wrongs he can. Your "scoundrel" is a naive teenager who wants to see the best in everyone. The big Wookiee is painfully shy, and the badass Mando mercenary is Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life and too full of stubborn pride to admit it. It's really going to take several play-throughs, mixing and matching party members, in order to get the best and full story out of everyone.
And BioWare uses the creative freedom they got with the setting extremely well; doing more to explain the Sith in six minutes than Lucas bothered with in six films, laying more groundwork for the Mandalorian culture, giving us an origin story for the Sand People, glimpses into the ancient history of the GFFA with the Rakata...oh, and the biggest Wham Line since the reveal of Luke's paternity.
Bottom line: Accept the dated aspects as a limitation of 2003, but play this for the storyline, the characters, and BioWare's knack for cranking the best parts of a setting up to eleven and flying as much as possible past the radar system for a satisfying cinematic experience.
Despite the dated aspects, still the best Star Wars film never made
Like most BioWare games, you don't play this for innovative interfaces or groundbreaking gameplay features. Combat and controls are very basic. Graphics only aged so-so. The stock voice clips for "alien" language and the animations are clunky. Even the Gay Option, a BioWare staple, is very low-key by modern standards.
What you play this for? Take everything that can make you Squee! about Star Wars, especially the Star Wars Legends, triple-distill it, let it age to a nice, mellow finish, then start pouring shots. It's frankly the best damn Star Wars film that never made it to a big screen. It's got the massive sense of history, the MythologyGags, the cool ship, the planets to explore. And add BioWare's talent for characters with top-notch voice acting. You may love or hate your party members, but they sure won't be forgettable. Sure, they're as archetype as any Star Wars crew, but that's the entire point. Even then, they find ways to play with the archetypes. The three Jedi party members have different ideas about the Order, the Code, and the Force, each seeing a different side of it. The most "conventional" Jedi is very brittle and questioning her path. (She is DEFINITELY going to remind some folks of what Rey would have been if she were found by the prequel-era Order) The second has a horrible past and psychological issues the Order is not helping whatsoever, but she finds what peace she can in the Jedi Code. The third is...an odd man and a glorious Troll, who has his own reasons for coming along, trying to redeem himself for a terrible mistake he made during Exar Kun's War. Your "hotshot pilot" is a troubled, grieving man who wants a reason to be your Lawful Good voice of conscience and right whatever wrongs he can. Your "scoundrel" is a naive teenager who wants to see the best in everyone. The big Wookiee is painfully shy, and the badass Mando mercenary is Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life and too full of stubborn pride to admit it. It's really going to take several play-throughs, mixing and matching party members, in order to get the best and full story out of everyone.
And BioWare uses the creative freedom they got with the setting extremely well; doing more to explain the Sith in six minutes than Lucas bothered with in six films, laying more groundwork for the Mandalorian culture, giving us an origin story for the Sand People, glimpses into the ancient history of the GFFA with the Rakata...oh, and the biggest Wham Line since the reveal of Luke's paternity.
Bottom line: Accept the dated aspects as a limitation of 2003, but play this for the storyline, the characters, and BioWare's knack for cranking the best parts of a setting up to eleven and flying as much as possible past the radar system for a satisfying cinematic experience.