This review contains spoilers
I loved KOTOR 2 as a kid. I could never decide which I preferred between this and the original, but, as an adult, the answer is definitively: the original. I'm currently going through my collection to hit all these titles that I loved and haven't played in years. I'm really learning which games are timeless and which aren't. This ain't it.
I no longer own an original Xbox, so I figured the 360 would be the natural choice to play my original disc. I'm thinking that may have been a terrible mistake. I encountered countless and constant audio glitches. Loud, abrasive bits of sudden static on menu screens and music patching in and out or missing entirely. The frame rate was absolutely abysmal. If there were multiple enemies on screen, we're talking single-digit dips. If you happen to be holding the directional stick during one of these dips, the game sometimes caught up all at once and I found myself on the complete opposite end of the map from where I was. I also encountered one or two sudden freezes and had to restart. I don't remember -any- of this as a kid, so I'm fairly confident in blaming the 360. You may have a completely different experience on PC or Switch or something, but this was ugly.
I wish I could judge this game as its own entity, but unfortunately, sequels don't work that way. I hated the opening levels of this game. The Peragus Mining Facility is viciously boring, as well as Telos, the first main level outside of the tutorial. It made me yearn for the first level of the original game, Taris. A sprawling metropolis divided into three distinct areas because of class warfare. There were fun mini-games, plenty of interesting side quests and followers, and a rousing climax before you're set loose on the galaxy. Telos was bland to look at and bland to play. I thought it was interesting to revisit Dantooine and Korriban, even if there wasnt much going on. The final parts of those levels, preparing for a fight versus mercenaries and a confrontation of your past and values, are really the only bits worth remembering. I thought Nar Shadaa was a pain in the ass. Unnecessarily labyrinthian level-design and long back-and-forth treks for mundane quests. No thanks.
One of the main differences of The Sith Lords to the first game is the Influence system. And I -hated- it. To be truly effective, it seems completely contingent on when you acquire a follower and if they just so happen to be in your party at the right time, in the right place. When the time came to explore a planet of my choosing, I decided to go with the sequential order they were listed on the Star Map. Apparently, this is the least efficient way to make use of the game's systems. It took me to Korriban first, which nearly everyone agrees should be last and Nar Shadaa very late, which everyone agrees needs to be done as soon as possible. One of strongest aspects of this franchise is the characters and exploring their backstories through progression and conversation. In the original, you could get new exposition after leveling-up or completing a chapter of the story. It felt like a reward back then. I couldn't wait to get back on the Ebon Hawk and talk to every character to find out more. The Influence system robbed me of that. I never learned anything at all about Mira, having acquired her on Nar Shadaa late into the game and never encountering any opportunities of Influence on her character afterwards. It'd be one thing if each moment of moral choosing was programmed to affect EVERY character, but it isn't. You need a -certain- character at a -certain- moment and it prevented me from connecting with any of the characters on a deeper level. Except Kreia.
Kreia is the saving grace of this entire game. Her voice acting is fantastic and her arc is.....the only one I got to experience actually. (Aside from Visas, whose whole story and emotional climax they shoe-horned into the last few minutes before you confronted her master.) I loved how cryptic and knowledgeable Kreia was of The Force. Her insights into your character and the way she guides, nurtures, and manipulates you through the game should endear everyone to her. I found myself making decisions solely to please her. Her disdain for the stringent moral dichotomies of Force followers, Jedi and Sith, hearkened back to themes they explored with Jolee in the first game, but they felt so much more realized and important here.
Everyone really praises the story up and down, but I don't think I was as impressed as all that. I don't quite see what all the fuss is about. I really loved the fact that there is a narrative explanation for the fact that you get stronger by "killing hundreds of people" and that there is a reason why you influence your followers so fully. The "wound in the force" nature of your character and their abilities is very intriguing as well. To be disconnected after severe trauma, it sounds like sci-fi PTSD. Very powerful idea to explore. Ultimately, it fell a little flat for me. As you confront Darth Traya in the endgame, you learn that she hates that the Force can seemingly exert it's will on the lives of individuals and guide them where it so chooses. It's her desire to rid the Universe of it's influence so people can be free to live the lives they choose. I love that for a villain, but a little plant-and-payoff would've been nice. At no moment prior to this did I ever gather that Kreia HATED the Force. She always spoke of it in hushed, reverent tones and seemed eager to teach you as much about it as she could. Never a bit of dialogue like "distasteful as this is, it is quite useful". It kind of blindsided me. Ah well.
The titular Sith Lords were a bit of a mixed bag. Darth Traya being the best of them. Darth Nihilus seems like he was never fleshed-out more than being a general concept with a spooky mask. Just a less interesting, evil version of your own character in terms of his abilities. I liked Sion okay, I was reasonably pleased with the frequency he showed up and his character design. I liked his final fight as well, where if you could persuade him of certain notions through dialogue, you "eroded his will" to continue, affecting his stats. That was a cool idea.
I wish a lot of things about this game had been different. I wish Obsidian wasn't put under such crunch to get it done and had been able to refine and polish the script and gameplay to the sheen it deserved. I don't know if I'll play it again. Maybe. Definitely not on 360.
I no longer own an original Xbox, so I figured the 360 would be the natural choice to play my original disc. I'm thinking that may have been a terrible mistake. I encountered countless and constant audio glitches. Loud, abrasive bits of sudden static on menu screens and music patching in and out or missing entirely. The frame rate was absolutely abysmal. If there were multiple enemies on screen, we're talking single-digit dips. If you happen to be holding the directional stick during one of these dips, the game sometimes caught up all at once and I found myself on the complete opposite end of the map from where I was. I also encountered one or two sudden freezes and had to restart. I don't remember -any- of this as a kid, so I'm fairly confident in blaming the 360. You may have a completely different experience on PC or Switch or something, but this was ugly.
I wish I could judge this game as its own entity, but unfortunately, sequels don't work that way. I hated the opening levels of this game. The Peragus Mining Facility is viciously boring, as well as Telos, the first main level outside of the tutorial. It made me yearn for the first level of the original game, Taris. A sprawling metropolis divided into three distinct areas because of class warfare. There were fun mini-games, plenty of interesting side quests and followers, and a rousing climax before you're set loose on the galaxy. Telos was bland to look at and bland to play. I thought it was interesting to revisit Dantooine and Korriban, even if there wasnt much going on. The final parts of those levels, preparing for a fight versus mercenaries and a confrontation of your past and values, are really the only bits worth remembering. I thought Nar Shadaa was a pain in the ass. Unnecessarily labyrinthian level-design and long back-and-forth treks for mundane quests. No thanks.
One of the main differences of The Sith Lords to the first game is the Influence system. And I -hated- it. To be truly effective, it seems completely contingent on when you acquire a follower and if they just so happen to be in your party at the right time, in the right place. When the time came to explore a planet of my choosing, I decided to go with the sequential order they were listed on the Star Map. Apparently, this is the least efficient way to make use of the game's systems. It took me to Korriban first, which nearly everyone agrees should be last and Nar Shadaa very late, which everyone agrees needs to be done as soon as possible. One of strongest aspects of this franchise is the characters and exploring their backstories through progression and conversation. In the original, you could get new exposition after leveling-up or completing a chapter of the story. It felt like a reward back then. I couldn't wait to get back on the Ebon Hawk and talk to every character to find out more. The Influence system robbed me of that. I never learned anything at all about Mira, having acquired her on Nar Shadaa late into the game and never encountering any opportunities of Influence on her character afterwards. It'd be one thing if each moment of moral choosing was programmed to affect EVERY character, but it isn't. You need a -certain- character at a -certain- moment and it prevented me from connecting with any of the characters on a deeper level. Except Kreia.
Kreia is the saving grace of this entire game. Her voice acting is fantastic and her arc is.....the only one I got to experience actually. (Aside from Visas, whose whole story and emotional climax they shoe-horned into the last few minutes before you confronted her master.) I loved how cryptic and knowledgeable Kreia was of The Force. Her insights into your character and the way she guides, nurtures, and manipulates you through the game should endear everyone to her. I found myself making decisions solely to please her. Her disdain for the stringent moral dichotomies of Force followers, Jedi and Sith, hearkened back to themes they explored with Jolee in the first game, but they felt so much more realized and important here.
Everyone really praises the story up and down, but I don't think I was as impressed as all that. I don't quite see what all the fuss is about. I really loved the fact that there is a narrative explanation for the fact that you get stronger by "killing hundreds of people" and that there is a reason why you influence your followers so fully. The "wound in the force" nature of your character and their abilities is very intriguing as well. To be disconnected after severe trauma, it sounds like sci-fi PTSD. Very powerful idea to explore. Ultimately, it fell a little flat for me. As you confront Darth Traya in the endgame, you learn that she hates that the Force can seemingly exert it's will on the lives of individuals and guide them where it so chooses. It's her desire to rid the Universe of it's influence so people can be free to live the lives they choose. I love that for a villain, but a little plant-and-payoff would've been nice. At no moment prior to this did I ever gather that Kreia HATED the Force. She always spoke of it in hushed, reverent tones and seemed eager to teach you as much about it as she could. Never a bit of dialogue like "distasteful as this is, it is quite useful". It kind of blindsided me. Ah well.
The titular Sith Lords were a bit of a mixed bag. Darth Traya being the best of them. Darth Nihilus seems like he was never fleshed-out more than being a general concept with a spooky mask. Just a less interesting, evil version of your own character in terms of his abilities. I liked Sion okay, I was reasonably pleased with the frequency he showed up and his character design. I liked his final fight as well, where if you could persuade him of certain notions through dialogue, you "eroded his will" to continue, affecting his stats. That was a cool idea.
I wish a lot of things about this game had been different. I wish Obsidian wasn't put under such crunch to get it done and had been able to refine and polish the script and gameplay to the sheen it deserved. I don't know if I'll play it again. Maybe. Definitely not on 360.