Hi, everyone. I've been reading this forum for quite a while now, and finally, I think I should voice out my opinion in this whole KotOR vs SWtOR discussion here. First of all, I'm a pure console gamer, and I always see PC gaming as a big hassle, what with the installations and patching and tweaking and compatibility of hardwares... And, I'm a big fan of console RPGs, which incidentally, are all from the land of the rising sun. So, ever since I first started trying out KotOR, I was instantly hooked. Now I have no idea about what the hell D20 means back then, but the game sure feels familiar with the console RPGs, but with a lot more depth in it. The storyline shines out with the multiple choices you can make, giving the player certain feel of immersion and involvement in the whole story.
So naturally, I looked forward and highly on TSL. The gameplay improved a lot, and the storyline was even more gripping, at least to me. The cut contents and glitches do annoyed me from time to time, but overall, I feel that the whole game will be a much better improvement in all sectors when compared to KotOR, if only OE could've been given ample time to finish it. And that leads me to the anticipation of K3, like many people out there.
The announcement of SWtOR really hit me hard. I admit that I really hope K3 is announced. I don't really mind how the developers scripting the storyline, but I do want to continue the gameplay that this franchise has offered. It represents a very nice departure from the standard console counterparts.
I am not a big fan when it comes to SW. I enjoyed the movies, but never played any of the SW-themed games. I never read any of the SW-related books (I don't really like reading, anyway). I merely treat SW as just another science fiction, albeit an interesting one. But KotOR franchise brought me into this new 'world', I may say so myself. I began picking up more interests in it, such as reading wikis and forums such as this. In my point of view, the mere mention of SW leads me to KotOR, then the developers (BioWare & OE), then LA, then dear Mr George himself.
So, what does the announcement of SWtOR meant to me then? I take it as dear George himself is just plain jealous of the success of the KotOR storyline, to the extend of wanting to ruin it badly so that it will not be anywhere more popular than the stories he had came up. He produced the original trilogy and the prequals, but the storyline of the KotOR franchise was written by people other than him, after his approval, I think. So, the mere thought of this franchise's storyline more popular than his own might have ticked him off to kill it before it gets the chance to be completed in a trilogy cycle. To me, the KotOR game gave me the feel of 'using lightsaber, force powers like a jedi' and 'movie-like' experience, and frankly speaking, I prefer watching all the cut-scenes and listening to the dialogues in the game more than those official movies.
Why did I come to this speculation? The fact that SW fans went outrage over what dear George did to the 'Re-Mastering' of the original trilogy got me thinking. On top of that, he simply cooked up his own version of some of the characters in the prequals so that all those books regarding character background in the prequals looked like being alienated (Jango Fett, anyone? and that full-of-make-up doll queen?) Not to mention that LA denied OE's request of releasing a 'content patch' for TSL.
All these got me thinking: dear George seemed to me a person that likes to control tightly when it comes to his IP. The other SW games, in my opinion, falls in between the stories he came up with (battleground, jedi knight, etc), so it's ok for him. But not KotOR. In my opinion, KotOR storyline, up to TSL, has every potential to over-shadow any of dear George's stories, so I can only imagine now what would it be like if TSL were to be given ample time to finish and K3 were made.
I never played MMO. Never a fan of the genre. It's a totally different beast compared to KotOR, IMO. I can't say it sucks, because WOW makes more $$$ than most / all other games, but I do agree that MMO is not a suitable platform for solid and engaging story-telling like KotOR. SWtOR IMO, is like a prequal to SWG, what with the features and gameplay similarities, as far as I learned till now. So, to me, KotOR is dead. RIP KotOR. The only thing I look forward to at the moment is TSLRP. If anything, I will blame KotOR's death on dear George himself...
Thanks for reading, and I apologize in advance if I made any mistakes in my ranting. I'm a noob in SW universe and I wrote all that entirely from my point of view.
