ken the great

Why is it artificial? The difficulty settings are just an attempt by the developer to balance out the differing skill levels of the players. And the game is meant to be played with up to three characters. If it was meant to be played with only 3 characters, then you wouldn't get the option to go with just one character.

There are a ton of item upgrades. I'm only a few hours into the game and I've already found new hilts and a new blade option for the vibrosword. The different upgrades give different bonuses. Some may give damage bonuses while another will give a to-hit bonus. Also, it is a nice touch to be able to create a security tunneler, computer spike or medpac if you are running low and there isn't a shop nearby. It could definately be useful in some of the areas.

Well, the human eye sees at 30 frames per second, so anything less than that will not appear to be live motion video. As for the graphics, the Xbox version is definately not as sharp as the PC version of KOTOR1. I expected this, so it isn't a big deal. I just wasn't ready for how big the differnce would be. The Xbox is definately capable of better graphics than what is being presented. That said, the graphics are quite acceptable and I have not experienced any stuttering yet. The load times aren't too bad, about equal to the PC load times for KOTOR1 if you had the graphics settings jacked up. I'm only 3 1/2 hours in and I am enjoying the game immensely. Your skills seem to matter this time. You get extra dialogue options if your various skills are high. Persuade seems to be really important this time around. I definately had "one more turn" syndrome last night.

Obligations...... " (and I hope that they are not being forced to endure that horrid place)

Has anyone checked the dreaded LucasArts forums to see if the information is posted there? Maybe the devs are paying more attention to those forums than these.

It seemed like many of the aliens, especially Twileks, said that line when you spoke to them.

Aw man! I missed the troll. I love playing with trolls.

It doesn't really matter if the devs think it is ready or not. Since Lucas Arts owns the property, they decide when and how the game is released. The devs have very little control over this decision.

I don't think it is off topic. It is pretty typical of a new game release. Full merchandising usuually occurs between the third and fifth day after release. These days, most companies don't want to hassle with release date snafus, so they ship things on the release date. They ship some UPS/FedEx overnight and the rest go in the regular shipments that arrive within 2-4 business days. BTW, ampulator00, it doesn't help anyone in your area if nobody knows where you live. Being sold out for 200 miles in west Texas is different from that same situation in Ohio.

You should ask them to hold a copy for you. Most EBs will hold a copy for you so that you can pick it up later. That way you don't have to worry about them selling out before you get back to the store.

They probably didn't drop the ball. Many retailers won't even ship a game to their stores before the release date. Electronics Boutique (aka EB Games) is notorious for this practice. They don't want some high schooler in Topeka, Kansas selling the game early. So, to solve that problem, they ship the game to the stores on the release date. Also, many retailers want to provide an advantage to online purchasers, so they ship games to the online purchaser on the same day they ship to the store. They make more money with an online purchase than an in-store purchase. Damn right! Halo 2 had 1.5 million pre-orders and sold 2.5 million units on day 1. PC and Xbox combined, KOTOR2 will be lucky to equal Halo 2's pre-orders, much less its day 1 sales. It has been out for precisely 2 days. I don't think the retailers were lazy. I just think KOTOR is being treated like any other holiday release. It will sell well, but it's not a blockbuster compared to Halo 2, Half-Life 2, the Sims 2 and World of Warcraft. And that's LucasArts fault. Had they held to their guns and released both versions in February, there would have been better buzz around this game. Instead, it's getting lost in the holiday shuffle.

This thread is a hoot! This whole distribution problem has been an issue for at least 10 years. Release dates are not the street dates. The street date will vary from retailer to retailer. Some will have it on the shelves the day of release. Others will usually have it on the shelves within a day or two. And some will take a number of days to get the game on the shelves. It'll be there when it gets there. By this weekend, every major retailer will have some on the shelves and will be selling it. Gamer Tuesday/Thursday/Whatever Day are built around the advertising cycle. Many stores like Best Buy and Wal-mart will hold back a street date to coincide with advertising releases. Also, many of them will hold it a couple of days to ensure most locations across the country have it in stock on the same day. High schoolers in a games shop are idiots. Most of them are just warm bodies looking for a discount on their next Shooter/Figher/Sports purchase. They don't care about RPGs. Managers like hiring them because their friends tend to show up and buy games from that shop. If you want to get good information from a games shop, go in before 3 pm. You will usually get an adult and frequently that adult will be the manager or assistant manager. Get to know that person and you will get solid information in the future. Games with high community expectations go through this exact cycle. We never think the game stores give our passion enough attention. We always bitch about it. Just be patient and the game will probably be in your hands by this weekend.