First Impressions: KotOR 2

It took me somewhere in the neighborhood of 45 to 50 hours to finish the first Knights of the Old Republic, so it is with a bit of trepediation that I have embarked on a return journey into the same world, in the form of Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords. I'm sure that some will snicker at my KotOR playing time, so let me state now that I am a leisurely player. I like to explore the nooks and crannies, seeking ways to improve my character and uncover the secrets and surprises left by the developer.

I am now about five hours into KotOR 2, and in a position to deliver to you my first impressions.

First off, it is not surprising that the preponderance of the game interface is more or less intact. There are a few minor enhancements, but as this is a follow-on to Bioware's smash hit, developed by another party (Obsidian), I was not expecting any major changes. Sith Lords is basically an expansion pack.

And this is a good thing. The UI for KotOR was very functional for an RPG, and easy to use.

The first difference that I have noticed is that there are frame rate issues. These may have existed in KotOR, but I did not notice them then. These issues are especially obvious in area where there are force fields.

The audio is definately not as good as the first game. Some times the critical dialog volume is much lower than it should be. The voice acting is, at times, subpar. Some passages of dialog within the same conversation were obviously recorded at a different time as other passages, and the effect is a bit jarring if you pay attention to such things. Each of these issues serves to remove the player from the submersion into the game.

This last item can be viewed as either a good or bad thing, depending on your outlook. My thought is that it is more good than bad.

Whereas the plot in KotOR was very adept at pulling you along to the next stage, each section was pretty much distinct. In Sith Lords, the plot progression is very smooth, and there is less distinction betweek sections. This leads to a pronounced "Just One More" (JOM) effect, causing me to stay up far later than I really should.

The JOM Effect was one that I first noticed as such in the original SimCity and has been present in the Civilization games and every Sid Meier game that I have played. The effect is that I get pulled further into the game, minute-by-minute, until it's suddenly 4am and the next day is wrecked.

Although it appears that there is a lot of bitching here, I am enjoying the game and look forward to many more hours of whacking things with a sword of light.