Forum affecting opinion of KOTOR 2?

[Slink Saberknocker]

I for one made a point NOT to get close to any Forums prior to playing K2 - as I had accidently stumbled up on the revelation in K1 prior to reaching that point in the game....arrrrrrgh!!!

 

Without getting overly picky, after completing K2 my initial take was:

 

1. The overall quality of the game was okay - I had very few bugs that I noticed.

 

2. Many of the larger aspects of the story itself were messy to say the least. I don't need a dev to spell everything out, but a general idea of what was going on would be nice.

 

3. Some worlds seemed much more complete than others.

 

4. Many of the characters were underdeveloped - particularly the Sith Lords and Atris - which after being plastered on all of the promo stuff all year was surprising.

 

5. The ending was inexcusable. Not because it left me "hanging".....but because it was totally hacked and left me more confused than anything else. An open ended story leaves you thinking....."hmmm, I wonder what's next"....K2 left me thinking "that's it!?!....WTF???"

 

Simply put, I really think that Obsidian got overly ambitious with the story and would like to believe that if they'd managed their time better we would've gotten a deep and provocative tale. Yes..I place the blame at Obsidian's feet as they already had the engine and knew the timeframe when they took the job.

 

K1 wasn't overly complex in its story or structure, but what was done was done very well and with a level of polish that made for a very enjoyable experience. K2 gave me the impression that it was born of good intentions, but was allowed to get a little out of control during the process.

 

I enjoyed K2 in pieces, but as a whole it was a letdown. Not due to what I read in the Forums, but due to its chaotic framework and the simple, gaming masterpiece that it was being compared against.

[Tel Aviv]

I would certainly never refer to KOTOR as a masterpiece. In some ways TSL is a vast improvement over the original, in others not so much, but I enjoyed the overall complexity much more.

 

For every muddled happenstance (i.e. the awkward reunion of the remaining Jedi) there was a moment of sheer brilliance, that first dialogue with Atris being a prime example. In fact dialogue overall was a vast improvement over KOTOR, the exile is given the chance to be a fully fleshed out protagonist with depth and history. History! A fantastic approach to the past, the fact that we never SEE the conflict, we can only hear it from different perspectives and make our own judgments. I think it an enormously effective tactic, drawing the player in, forcing us to think and to question.

 

As for undeveloped characters, the depth (of lack there of) of Nihilus and Sion is to be expected given the overall theme of secrecy. To some extent they are decoys for the real antagonist whose depth and motivation put a thuggish Malak to shame. And Atris, oh Atris. To be honest we are given plenty of allusions towards her character and her feelings towards the exile, past and present.

 

Though flawed you have to admire TSL's subtlety and the regard it extends towards the player, allowing us to actually think and deduce as much as we like, as opposed to being told.

[Panther]

I think the reason why is so confusing.. is because they try it to leave an open role play.. in other words.. is lots of ways to focus you character and get into different roles..

 

you can:

 

- Be the good guy that helps every one and hates no one...

- Be the good guy that hates the Jedi and all there teachings...

- Be that bad guy that hates every one..

- Be the bad guy that try's to manipulate people.

- Be neutral and do as much evil as you do good.

 

etc...

 

All that is good because it makes the game very re-playable.. but it makes the Ending very confusing.

 

If anything.. they should need to add few more Endings.. but.. I think the game still pretty good.

[Slink Saberknocker]

I would certainly never refer to KOTOR as a masterpiece. In some ways TSL is a vast improvement over the original, in others not so much, but I enjoyed the overall complexity much more.

 

For every muddled happenstance (i.e. the awkward reunion of the remaining Jedi) there was a moment of sheer brilliance, that first dialogue with Atris being a prime example. In fact dialogue overall was a vast improvement over KOTOR, the exile is given the chance to be a fully fleshed out protagonist with depth and history. History! A fantastic approach to the past, the fact that we never SEE the conflict, we can only hear it from different perspectives and make our own judgments. I think it an enormously effective tactic, drawing the player in, forcing us to think and to question.

 

As for undeveloped characters, the depth (of lack there of) of Nihilus and Sion is to be expected given the overall theme of secrecy. To some extent they are decoys for the real antagonist whose depth and motivation put a thuggish Malak to shame. And Atris, oh Atris. To be honest we are given plenty of allusions towards her character and her feelings towards the exile, past and present.

 

Though flawed you have to admire TSL's subtlety and the regard it extends towards the player, allowing us to actually think and deduce as much as we like, as opposed to being told.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

In rereading my post, I didn't do justice to the good things about TSL....including as you mentioned some of its shining points:

 

1. The characters overall were conceptually great.

2. Most of the worlds were very interesting and well done.

3. The global story and sense of anticipation were handled well....I liked the exile and his backstory. Kreia was also a great character - trying to figure her out was one of the best aspects of the game.

4. The different missions where you controled alternate members of your party was great...albeit not entirely orginal.

 

There were some great, strong points to the game. I'm more of an RPG type however and having a complete, coherent story with a great conclusion are things I personally enjoy. TSL was ragged in these areas IMO.

[Andkat]

Not to mention the massivley improved items. You can now actually select item upgrades rather than having predefined bonuses. There are greater quantitie sof upgradable armor and weapons, and, in the case of lightsabers, a greater quantity of upgrade slots. Jedi robes are now actuallly possess palpable benefits, as opposed to the prior game (excluding the Qel-Droma, Starforge, and Darth Revan's Robes).