Rhifox

Played this game for 4-5 years now, even though I've always hated the gameplay itself. First 3-4 years I was part of a great RP community on Europe-Chimaera, but that mostly fizzled out due to drama, and I never felt that Starsider RP matched it (primarily because Starsider RP happens in Mos Eisley for the most part, which is where all the newbs start, so you have the huge problem of having to deal with idiots trying and failing to RP). The last 2 years I've spent on Starsider purely in the OOC sense doing space PvP. It's probably the only good game mechanics in SWG. It's not the same as X-wing/TIE Fighter but it's still great for what it is. Overall the game itself mostly sucks, but unfortunately it has some good parts in some good communities and the space PvP, and the new storyteller tools. But the quests, ground game mechanics, and terrain (it looks good, but the devs just hit the 'randomize' button so it looks very unprofessional, the cities especially) destroy what could have been a good game.

Mainly wish that there was at least an option to play as a female character. It's pretty well acknowledged that there is a female gamer market these days so it's a shame when widely hyped games, as this will be, don't have the option for a female character. Never played Fable or The Witcher for the same reason. I was interested in the engine (always been a fan of Force Powers over the Lightsaber), but probably won't be getting it. Especially if it isn't released for the PC, consoles are too expensive and don't have enough good games anymore to be worth it. Would much prefer KotOR III (provided LucasArts doesn't butcher it again with unrealistic release dates).

Problem with the places is that very few are actually good all the way through, and a lot of the ones that are bad have very powerful parts later on down the line. Unknown World sucked for the most part, but the confrontation with Bastila at the very end and then the reunion with the crew (especially when DS) are probably the best moments in K1 (at least for me), so I rate it as my favourite planet. Same issues with lots of other planets. I never liked the whole Khoonda and exploration of the underground Jedi ruins on Dantooine in K2, but the conversations with Vrook and the climax with Exile/Kreia/Jedi Masters at the ruins at the end of the game make up for the other parts. Overall, Korriban in both games was very good. Unknown World in K1 was good for the reasons mentioned above, and the Leviathan was also a great 'planet' due to the deep dialogue scenes present on it. In K2, the better planets are Nar Shaddaa (albeit it can drag on in some places... most of the 'get influence with/against the Exchange' part before the plot actually starts), Dxun, Onderon (albeit, I hate how if you side with Vaklu, the game assumes you're full DS. I really wanted to have more of a verbal battle with Kavar, and be able to debate that it's better for the planet to leave the Republic (as Kreia says, staying with the Republic will erode their customs and traditions), and, if possible, leave him alive, or at least tell him I don't want to kill him), and Dantooine. Telos I also liked mainly due to the Atris confrontations at the beginning and the end of the game.

1st: Kreia. Extremely deep, with great lines and a great voice actress. There's really not a whole lot that you can say. Even if you hate her, you can't just ignore her. The best characters are the ones who will leave an impact no matter if you ultimately like them or hate them, and that's how Kreia is. She made KotOR II what it is, and even with the cut content, I consider KotOR II better than I simply because of her and her relationship with the Exile. The game could have had only her as a supporting character and it would have been just as good. TBH, though, I don't feel the other main characters were really all that great. T3 was amazing for his supporting role, as was HK, but as with KotOR I and even with their original counterparts in the films, they serve purely as supporting characters, great at what they do, but being fairly limited in what they can provide. After the droids, Canderous was perhaps the only truly worthwhile character, IMO, but even then his role was diminished compared to K1. Atton I personally hated, I felt he had bad lines and a dry voice actor, and as a replacement for Carth (who comparatively had good lines and an amazing voice actor), I just couldn't feel for him as the 'main male'. It always felt like he was trying too hard to be stereotypical scoundrel. Plus he just looked dumb, IMO. His best elements were his backstory and the plot point that he was a rare non-Jedi who could face Jedi (even Kreia) and actually resist the Force--that was something I liked about him. I wouldn't necessarily say he's a 'bad' character... I just never really liked him, personally, and felt too much of the plot focused on him despite him not really being center screen material. And again, as he was essentially replacing Carth as the lead male NPC, he just really, really couldn't fill the shoes (Carth was by far my favourite character from K1) Beyond the above, there was Visas, Bao, and GO-TO. GO-TO suffers from dwindling in role when he joins the party... he was a great NPC and I love the debate the Exile has with him on his yacht. But once you get him as a character, he loses most of his philosophical role (especially when compared to Kreia) and just starts saying the same stuff over and over. Bao... was a good concept, but poorly executed. He's good when he speaks and gets involved but he rarely does. Maybe it's just the way I play the game, but he seems to have very, very little to say, compared to all the other characters. I wanted to get more out of him, but he rarely had any dialogue from what I saw. Visas just... was boring to me. She felt, essentially, like she had no role aside from being an emotionless servant (which is something even Kreia reminds you of). For the most part I just wished I could have killed her when she boarded the ship instead of keeping her alive, and rarely even acknowledged her presence after the initial conversation trees. A character who is so submissive that she says 'My life is yours.' when you talk to her doesn't really strike me as a very meaningful character. Optional Char Poll: If I could have voted for two, I would have picked both Mira and Hanharr. But since I have to make a choice, I'd say Mira simply because she's more 'human' than Hanharr and thus more viable in more situations. Hanharr is great to talk to from a philosophical standpoint but as soon as you finish getting his story out of him, he isn't really useful anymore. He's very much a background character despite how deep he is, at least for me. Mira on the other hand, while perhaps not as deep, is the most 'real' character in the game, IMO. I considered her even more down to earth than Atton. In a game with as much philosophy and darkness as KotOR II, you need that anchor and I felt Mira provides it. She's also K2's only down-to-earth morally good character (like Carth and Mission were in K1)--IE, she's as good as you can be in the real world, unlike Mical's philosophical-but-naive form of good. I really wish there was a way to get both Mira and Hanharr because I think both are great characters, it's a shame you have to choose between them. Mical is also good, however. He wasn't as developed because he was a late addition, but what's there is good. He's like GO-TO and Atris in that he provides a political backdrop to debate the overall impact of the Force and the Republic with-- in fact, he's probably the closest thing to having a 'good' Atris character. I love debating with him about the Jedi and the Republic, and perhaps the thing I dislike the most is the fact that I lose influence with him all the time because my character usually doesn't agree with his beliefs. Having never played a male character, I don't really have much to say about the Handmaiden. She seems like a good character when you get to talk to her at Telos, but I don't know much of her beyond that. Overall, I felt that the supporting cast of K2 was much, much weaker than the supporting cast of K1. Kreia carried the game on her shoulders, but the rest of the characters were rather drab for the most part and the game would have lost very little even if they would have been cut, unlike K1 in which most of the characters were equally important and meaningful for the game and the plot.