I'm greatly disappointed that, after having been given the opportunity to improve on one of the most highly rated games of 2003, Obsidian churned out an inferior sequel. These are my grievances:*
* Note that I played as a dark-side male, and perhaps some of the problems that I encountered are specific to the character type that I selected.
First, the beginning of the game is poorly paced. I cannot fathom why Obsidian decided to encumber the start of the game with a tedious escape scenario. Had I not played KOTOR I, I probably would have abandoned the game after hours of fighting mining droids, listening to holo-recordings, and learning all of the dull intricacies of Peragus station's security system.
Second, Obsidian's storytelling is inexcusably sloppy. It is as though someone went through the script and tore out every tenth page. For example, characters refer to Nihilus and the Ravager before anyone has explained that Nihilus is the masked Sith lord or that the Ravager is his vessel. Who repaired the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine? I killed all of the Jedi masters, and surely Kreia did not rebuild the Enclave for the sole purpose of having a conversation there.
What exactly does the Mass Shadow Generator do? Bao-Dur says that it is designed to restore Malachor, then later he says that it is designed to destroy the planet. Which is it?
At the end, Kreia predicts the futures of my party members, all of whom are presumably still alive. But I saw the Ebon Hawk fall into an abyss. Was my team not on board when I went to Malachor? If not, why not? And I've read that in the light-side ending, the Ebon Hawk looks undamaged, even though it was battered during the crash on Malachor.
The Republic's role in the game's events was never explained to my satisfaction. I managed to elicit from Atris the fact that she had a hand in the Republic's involvement, but it's still unclear to me why the Republic made transport of my character to Telos a high priority and why the Republic continued to monitor my whereabouts later in the game. I also do not understand why Republic ships destroyed Goto's yacht.
Throughout the game, I felt that uncovering the story was a chore. Instead of the plot revealing itself through the natural course of the game, I had to pry bits and pieces of the story from the game's characters through careful dialogue choices. I enjoy a good mystery as much as the next person, but a mystery does not require that the storyline be impenetrable.
Third, the story suffers from continuity problems. After I met with Goto, bounty hunters on Onderon tried to collect the Exchange bounty on me. But surely Goto rescinded the bounty after meeting with me. And after I visited the rebuilt Jedi Enclave, Atton informed me that the Handmaiden believed that Kreia had killed my character. But I had the Handmaiden in my team at the Enclave, and she was waiting for me at the exit after my confrontation with Kreia.
During one sequence, I saw G0-T0 destroy Remote, but immediately thereafter I saw Remote hovering around Bao-Dur.
Fourth, character development is lacking. For example, there are few opportunities to interact with Visas beyond the dialogue choices that are available as soon as she joins the party. Yet, near the end, she abruptly professes her love for my character. That's nonsensical. Obsidian focused too heavily on Kreia, at the expense of most of the other characters.
Finally, I am amazed that Obsidian had the audacity to reuse two locations and three party members from the original game. Evidently, Obsidian was not content to inherit all of the work that Bio-Ware had invested in the KOTOR game engine.
Second, Obsidian's storytelling is inexcusably sloppy. It is as though someone went through the script and tore out every tenth page. For example, characters refer to Nihilus and the Ravager before anyone has explained that Nihilus is the masked Sith lord or that the Ravager is his vessel. Who repaired the Jedi Enclave on Dantooine? I killed all of the Jedi masters, and surely Kreia did not rebuild the Enclave for the sole purpose of having a conversation there.
What exactly does the Mass Shadow Generator do? Bao-Dur says that it is designed to restore Malachor, then later he says that it is designed to destroy the planet. Which is it?
At the end, Kreia predicts the futures of my party members, all of whom are presumably still alive. But I saw the Ebon Hawk fall into an abyss. Was my team not on board when I went to Malachor? If not, why not? And I've read that in the light-side ending, the Ebon Hawk looks undamaged, even though it was battered during the crash on Malachor.
The Republic's role in the game's events was never explained to my satisfaction. I managed to elicit from Atris the fact that she had a hand in the Republic's involvement, but it's still unclear to me why the Republic made transport of my character to Telos a high priority and why the Republic continued to monitor my whereabouts later in the game. I also do not understand why Republic ships destroyed Goto's yacht.
Throughout the game, I felt that uncovering the story was a chore. Instead of the plot revealing itself through the natural course of the game, I had to pry bits and pieces of the story from the game's characters through careful dialogue choices. I enjoy a good mystery as much as the next person, but a mystery does not require that the storyline be impenetrable.
Third, the story suffers from continuity problems. After I met with Goto, bounty hunters on Onderon tried to collect the Exchange bounty on me. But surely Goto rescinded the bounty after meeting with me. And after I visited the rebuilt Jedi Enclave, Atton informed me that the Handmaiden believed that Kreia had killed my character. But I had the Handmaiden in my team at the Enclave, and she was waiting for me at the exit after my confrontation with Kreia.
During one sequence, I saw G0-T0 destroy Remote, but immediately thereafter I saw Remote hovering around Bao-Dur.
Fourth, character development is lacking. For example, there are few opportunities to interact with Visas beyond the dialogue choices that are available as soon as she joins the party. Yet, near the end, she abruptly professes her love for my character. That's nonsensical. Obsidian focused too heavily on Kreia, at the expense of most of the other characters.
Finally, I am amazed that Obsidian had the audacity to reuse two locations and three party members from the original game. Evidently, Obsidian was not content to inherit all of the work that Bio-Ware had invested in the KOTOR game engine.
* Note that I played as a dark-side male, and perhaps some of the problems that I encountered are specific to the character type that I selected.
