new kotor 2 info (and some old)

[*Atris*]

( i copied this from an xbox magazine)

 

 

 

Large improvements to the character’s facial animations are being made this time round. This isn’t going to be all that noticeable or important during the fighting but it should make a massive difference when it comes to the sections where you’re chatting to someone else. Emotions expressed in text form are one thing, but it’s always good if you can see them as well. It should also mean the character models, as a whole, are a lot more refined this time around.

 

 

 

 

 

We suspect that you aren't in fact the last Jedi alive, but to begin with your situation is far from rosy. Especially, if you've got a Sith Lord (or lords) to contend with. You can start guessing on where this is going now if you want, but not surprisingly, the story is being kept well away from prying eyes, so we'll just stick to the facts for now. Fact one, this story is set five years after the original KOTOR, Revan has disappeared and you (the lone Jedi) begin the game crash landing on the Peragus Mining Facility.

 

You'll find the opening very swift this time round in comparison to the previous title. An optional tutorial section runs on the ship prior to the crash for those that haven't played the game before, but if you skip this you're straight into the adventure. Since you begin the game as a Jedi you even get to pick a few force powers, before the game has begun, during the character creation phase. A feature no doubt many will appreciate as the learning of force powers was where the original really started to shine.

 

In addition to the force powers you also now get character specific abilities. It's not known at the moment whether you can pick one of these for yourself during character creation, but the developer did talk about one of the characters, Atton - the scoundrel element of your group. Atton is able to get to his feet again after a killing blow has been dealt. This only works if you have other party members standing, but it's features like this that should force you to think a little more about party selection.

 

As well as Atton (who you meet at the mining facility) other party characters confirmed consist of your mentor Kreya, the familiar robot companion T3-M4 and Mirra. By the time your first area is done, you'll have a full party of three to accompany you. Sadly, you cannot take more party members out with you, but the total team complement does now number ten. However, this number does not reflect all the characters that can be added to your team.

 

This isn't as complicated as it sounds. Some of the main characters and storylines you come across throughout the game change drastically, depending on how you answer some questions asked by Atton, during the opening section of the game. One of the biggest queries we had when we heard about KOTOR2 was whether or not you'd be able to use your game-save from KOTOR? Well, no, you can't, but this is where 'the Atton quiz' comes in. He will ask you about the events from the ending of the first game and depending on how you answer, the following story structure and characters you meet will change. Quite clever really.

 

Okay, now you can start speculating about characters from the original game making an appearance. There's no reason why this quiz technique couldn't be used at later stages in the game to figure out what had happened to other characters in KOTOR. The developer has already hinted that some familiar faces will appear and there's a strong possibility of revisiting some of the planets featured in the previous game. Whether this means new areas or not, who knows, but the fact that download content has been promised from early on (not nine months later) you can draw your own conclusions.

 

If you haven't experienced the first game, then you should consider this little quiz idea a recap of events. On the other hand, if you have played KOTOR you're going to feel right at home playing this game. The look and feel of game is very much the same and lots of KOTOR features are making a comeback. These include the evil HK droids (which are now protocol units), space walking in the ugly big suit, swoop racing, turret shooting sections and so on. Suffice to say; whatever you loved from the first game is in here. This, of course, also includes the now legendary, light/dark side points.

 

This time round there is a much clearer light/dark side split on the gameplay, but the option is still open to flirt with both sides throughout. In fact, the only time you're required to commit will be, like in the first game, right at the bitter end. To ensure a slightly less disappointing climax, this time the developer has chosen to set up two different ending trees depending on how you play through the game, one for light and one for dark. The idea being, that no ending should be black or white. Your light/dark side swing-o-meter has also been refined to take into account the changing attitudes of your party members.

 

Your party members are a lot more important this time round and you'll find that at numerous points in the game you get a lot more side quests that are character specific. Some of these will be obvious or built into the main story thread, but you'll also find that there are a lot of hidden quests. Some of which will require having a certain character in your party at a certain time, and others that will be even more complicated to unearth.

 

For example, if a character in your party has a high Treat Injury skill/force power then this could lead to a new side quest. How? Well, the skill level each character possesses now has a direct affect on the gaming environment. So taking the Treat Injury skill for example, the higher the skill the higher your efficiency with med pack use on others, as well as yourself. Also, if you're talking to a doctor, you'll have different dialogue options depending on your skill level. All of which can lead to new hidden side missions.

 

We have been told that there are over 60 new skills and force powers in this game, as well as all the force powers on offer in the previous KOTOR. This might seem a little bit foolish on the part of the developer, but there's nothing silly here, all of the force powers are based on the Star Wars universe. So if you've read the comic books, cartoons, novels and so on you're sure to find some familiar, or at least recognisable, powers here.

 

New powers we've seen so far include Force Confusion, which force's enemies to attack each other and Force Sight, which allows you to see through doors. The latter turns the screen into a hybrid of the usual thermal imaging technique seen in other games. The difference being that characters on the other side of the door with force powers will glow according to their alignment and strength. This makes sense really because if you are a powerful Jedi at the end of the game you are going to know if there's a Sith Lord or two behind two inches of door.

 

As well as the new powers another huge change with the character customisation is the inventory screen. Regardless of how many hours you had logged, this was a complete nightmare in KOTOR, a nightmare that should not be repeated in this game. Everything has been streamlined for ease of use and item allocation shouldn't take more than a few minutes to sort out. In addition, each character can now carry two weapon sets, which can be rotated at any time. This is a great help, if only for providing the ability to alternate between ranged and melee configurations mid-battle.

 

The combat is, as before, a mixture of turn based and real time. A lot more effort has been put into the animations this time round so that (in theory) the combat won't be anywhere near as repetitive as it was in the first game. Basically, this means more variety in the standard moves and some improved choreography on the set pieces. Hopefully, this means we'll now get some epic lightsaber battles more than worthy of the Star Wars licence.

 

As you might imagine we were huge fans of the original KOTOR, but we genuinely believe that The Sith Lords is going to surpass anything done before. This would normally go without saying, but since this isn't being developed by BioWare (creators of KOTOR) you can consider this is an early recommendation. A 'don't worry' if you will. But then there's no reason why you should worry, BioWare has supplied Obsidian with the game engine, building tools, character information/models and so on. This may have a new developer but it's the same game and we can't wait to see what secrets are held within its walls.

[Sivy]

it's getting increasingly difficult not to have too high expectations for kotor II. every time i read something on sith lords it keeps sounding better and better.

who knows, maybe it will be better than the first. if it is then it's going to be undisputed best game ever.

[Keito]

I think Kotor 1 is one of the best games ever, so if Kotor II is better than the first part, it could be indeed the best game ever made.

[Clemme w/Stick]

Originally posted by Siv

it's getting increasingly difficult not to have too high expectations for kotor II. every time i read something on sith lords it keeps sounding better and better.

who knows, maybe it will be better than the first. if it is then it's going to be undisputed best game ever.

 

What he just said. I got nothing more to add, even though I catually took the time to read through all that.

 

-Clemme

[Prime]

Originally posted by lowiej

As you might imagine we were huge fans of the original KOTOR, but we genuinely believe that The Sith Lords is going to surpass anything done before. This would normally go without saying, but since this isn't being developed by BioWare (creators of KOTOR) you can consider this is an early recommendation. A 'don't worry' if you will.

Music to my ears.

 

Originally posted by Siv

it's getting increasingly difficult not to have too high expectations for kotor II.

I couldn't have said it better.

[Venom750]

dito

[Thanan]

KotoR II is definately shaping up to be a good game :-), seriously looking forward to it