Buy This Windows Based CD-ROM Game Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!
Cast: Jennifer Hale, Raphael Sbarge, Rafael
Ferrer, John Cygan, Kristoffer Tabori, Kevin Michael Richardson, Courtenay
Taylor, Cat Taber, and Ed Asner
Featuring The Voices Of: Andre Sogluzzo, April
Stewart, Bill E. Martin, Brian George, Cam Clarke, Carolyn Seymour, Charity
James, Charles Dennis, Dan Hagen, Daran Norris, Ethan Phillips, Frank Welker,
Gregg Berger, Grey Delisle, Hillary Huber, J. Karen Thomas, James Horan, Jason
Marsden, Jess Harnell, Jim Ward, Kevin Schon, Kimberly Brooks, Kristoffer Tabori,
Liz Marks, Lloyd Scherr, Michael Gough, Nathan Carlson, Neil Kaplan, Neil Ross,
Nick Jameson, Pat Fraley, Pat Pinney, Paul Amendt, Rino Ramano, Phil LaMarr,
Robin Atkins Downes, Robin Sachs, Simon Templeman, Steve Blum, Sumalee Montano,
Tomara Phillips, and Tom Kane
LucasArts Producer: Michael Gallo
Bioware Core Game Designers: David Faulkner,
Steve Gilmour, Casey Hudson, Drew Karpyshun, James Ohleen, Preston Watamaniuk,
and Derek Watts
Bioware Executive Producers: Ray Muzyka and Greg
Zeschuk
Languages: English Stereo Sound
Packaging: Four-Disc Jewel Case Within A
Cardboard Box
Sound: Stereo Sound
Year of CD-ROM Release: 2003
Home Video Distributor: LucasArts Entertainment
Company
ESRB Rating: T – Teen (Video Game Violence)
Reviewer: Mark A. Rivera
Four thousand years before the fall of the
Galactic Republic, the Jedi Knights serve the galaxy at a time when the Republic
was still in its prime and their numbers proliferated throughout the galaxy in
the thousands. However the ever-expanding prosperity of the Republic was
challenged by a group of banished Jedi who turned away from the light side of
the Force and serving others and started a malevolent cult based on fear, anger,
control, and despair. They served no one, but their own ambitions and were
masters at manipulating others into doing their bidding, often without the
knowledge of the subject doing so. They were so vile that trust could not even
kept among them. A weakness that would eventually lead to their almost complete
extinction. These Jedi called themselves the Dark Lords Of The Sith.
In the wake of the conflict between the Jedi and
the Sith united by Exar Kun and Ulic Quel-Droma, a band of dangerous warriors
known as the Mandalorians had launched a devastating attack along the Outer Rim
Territories. The Jedi Knights Revan and Mallak defied the will of the Jedi
Council by using brute force against the Mandalorians openly instead of seeking
a more peaceful end to the dispute first. When it was discovered that the Jedi
had uncovered lost secrets of the Sith on the planet Korriban, Revan and Malak
left the order and Revan became Darth Revan, Lord Of The Sith. Malak was his
apprentice. However through a long and costly battle, the Jedi defeated Revan,
but not before Malak escaped and began a new campaign of revenge against the
Jedi Knights.
This is where Windows based CD-ROM players will
find themselves in the eagerly awaited role-playing game “Star Wars: Knights
Of The Old Republic.” “Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic” is in many
ways similar to “Star Wars Galaxies: An Empire Divided” in that the player
actually develops his or her own character from a selection of roles that
include a smuggle, bounty hunter, gambler or even a Jedi and then in a
non-linear fashion develop the character in the direction of the light side or
dark side of the force throughout the game. Besides the obvious difference in
the expanded universe timelines in which the games take place, “Knights Of The
Old Republic” does not require an Internet connection to play and is somewhat
less flexible than “Galaxies.”
After generating a character, the player will
immediately find his or herself in a “Combat Display” that gives optional
access to the created character portrait, information on vitality and force
points and upon facing an adversarial force, the player enters combat mode after
choosing an item or power to use in the fight. The keyboard controls take a bit
of time to learn so my advice is to keep the keyboard map found within the
instruction manual by your side at all times. There are various attributes, and
points gained by completing game levels. Players can also place wagers in the
game through the galactic card game “Pazaak,” which adds a completely
different dimension to the game since now the chance is not the typical gamble
of combat, but literally the luck of the draw from the cards. Other challenging
environments include space battles and swoop racing. Talking is also an
important part of the role-playing experience since fighting alone will solve
not every test. The storyline and gaming interface has been specifically
engineered for Windows based PCs with exclusive new features and special
locations like a trading area where users can get different weapons, armor and
clothing items.
Planetary environments include Dantooine,
Kashyyyk, Korriban, Manaan, Tatooine, and Tarris. The instruction booklet is 73
pages long and as noted before, is something players will need to keep beside
them while exploring the game. “Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic” is a
co-production of LucasArts Entertainment Company and Bioware. The soundtrack
score by Jeremy Soule is excellent and matches well with the traditional
Williams score from the movies. Additional information on “Knights Of The Old
Republic” can be found line by visiting www.swkotor.com.
Among the voice talent participating in the game to bring “Knights Of The Old
Republic” to life are Ed Asner, Ethan Phillips, Michael Gough, Phil LaMarr,
Robin Atkins Downes, Robin Sachs, and Tom Kane.
The game is spread out across four CD-ROMs and
the graphic and sound quality of the game is terrific, but I have to ask
LucasArts, with most PC owners upgrading to PCs that feature a DVD-ROM drive,
why not just release this game and future releases as a Windows DVD-ROM? The
extensive hardware requirements a Windows based user with any operating system
higher than Windows 98 also makes me wonder if the developers are aware that
odds are if the player has Windows XP, they probably have a DVD-ROM drive so
again why not take a chance and see how the PC gaming market reacts?
“Star Wars: Knights Of The Republic” is a
must for any “Star Wars” gaming fan and is also another step closer to what
I see as the eventual interactive movie like experience that will probably
become commonplace in less than ten years. “Star Wars: Knights Of The
Republic” is available on CD-ROM now for Windows based PC users at retailers
on and offline from LucasArts Entertainment Company.
© Copyright 2003 By Mark A. Rivera
All Rights Reserved.
Buy This Windows Based CD-ROM Game Now By Clicking On The Icon Below!