Is KotOR worth playing before KotOR2?

Oh come on. This is such bull shit. This isn't something the internet made up. Anyone who played the game clearly felt the moment when Obsidian ran out of time. The enormous amount of stuff left on the disc is evidence enough that they planned so much more.

That doesn't mean the end was incomplete which has been the charge for 8 years now. People like to keep saying it no matter how incorrect it is.
 
You gotta play dark side in KOTOR 1. The entire point of the game is to get through enough boring fights to earn another chance to be a dick. Then at the end of the game you get to be the biggest dick in video game history.

Both games have a ton of boring shit but it will be a lot less boring in the first game you play. The planets in KOTOR SUCK compared to the second game so you may as well start with the first game.

Funny, I thought the exact opposite. In KotOR 2, with the exception of Onderon they all just blurred together to me since each one just oozes with despair and is colored in a different shade of grey. In the first game each planet you visit is very different from the one before it and the game comes up with lots of very unique adventures that were simply not there in the sequel. From slight horror elements, to defending yourself at court, to investagitations, finding some dimension prison that you leave by solving riddles, dragon hunting etc. I looked forward to the adventure. Whereas the second game just felt creatively bankrupt in that area and I looked forward to knowing more about my party members instead.
 
This about levelling up in KoTOR1. After gaining the Jedi power, do you level up once as a jedi followed by your class (scout, scoundrel and soldier) with the sum of the two different levels being capped at level 20?
 
No, you just change class when you become a jedi and continue leveling from whatever level you were. I think I ended up level 6-7 when I hit Dantooine.
 
Funny, I thought the exact opposite. In KotOR 2, with the exception of Onderon they all just blurred together to me since each one just oozes with despair and is colored in a different shade of grey. In the first game each planet you visit is very different from the one before it and the game comes up with lots of very unique adventures that were simply not there in the sequel. From slight horror elements, to defending yourself at court, to investagitations, finding some dimension prison that you leave by solving riddles, dragon hunting etc. I looked forward to the adventure. Whereas the second game just felt creatively bankrupt in that area and I looked forward to knowing more about my party members instead.

Pretty sure the only grey area in KOTOR2 is Nar Shadaa. Well and the
exploding spaceship
but it's a fucking
exploding spaceship
so what more do you want. I was more offended by the combat in the first game. Trudging through the sewers killing dumb animals. Trudging through the forest killing dumb animals. Trudging through desert tombs killing dumb animals. The underwater sections for god's sake. I actually liked the dialogue trees better in the first game (just the dickish things you could say and the responses you get) but almost everything in between made me fucking hate playing that game. Also you're not even a goddamn Jedi until you get to the shitty parts, where in KOTOR2 the combat picks up when you get to the most interesting parts of the game.
 
Guys while this KoToR topic exists please someone help me on this ..

How is the Xbox version of KoToR 2 ? Does it run well on the 360 via BC. All the things about the game being "incomplete", is it THAT broken on the console as well ?
 
Guys while this KoToR topic exists please someone help me on this ..

How is the Xbox version of KoToR 2 ? Does it run well on the 360 via BC. All the things about the game being "incomplete", is it THAT broken on the console as well ?

Both KOTOR games run better on the Xbox than they do on the Xbox 360.

With that said, you might find it a little laggy by today's standards.
 
Guys while this KoToR topic exists please someone help me on this ..

How is the Xbox version of KoToR 2 ? Does it run well on the 360 via BC. All the things about the game being "incomplete", is it THAT broken on the console as well ?

I played it for a bit on the 360 and it ran decently, but it had odd problems with the music. Bothered me enough that I dug out my xbox.

The xbox version is great without all the mods though, so as long as you can deal with the music problems it should be alright. Well also the loading times suck and there's a section towards the beginning of the game where you constantly shift between areas and it can get a bit annoying.

I'd go for the PC version though if you can't play it on an original xbox. My piece of shit laptop can run it fine, so I think most computers out there shouldn't have much of a problem.
 
Yeah, I tried all those mods.

Unfortunately, the game doesn't care what I'm doing.

It still tries the same thing and fails. I know you guys tried, but it makes me mad that Valve would sell a product that doesn't work on a pretty standard setup.
 
I basically bought an Xbox for KotOR and ended up being extremely bored (and didn't finish it). Never played its sequel.

Thankfully Ninja Gaiden existed to justify my purchase.
 
KOTOR 2 did have a better story and characters and writing, but the it was such a technical clusterfuck that I cannot in good honesty recommend it to anyone over KOTOR 1 if what you want is not just a great story/characters but a complete game as a whole.

I'll take a good game with a good story over a game with great story but with many signs of an unfinished product.
 
Yes, why? One of the best revelations in games.

Also, HK-47.

Observation: HK-47 was the single most humorous character in KOTOR and KOTOR II.

Chastising Remark: Why argue Meatbags, they're both good games. Just accept it
 
Pretty sure the only grey area in KOTOR2 is Nar Shadaa. Well and the
exploding spaceship
but it's a fucking
exploding spaceship
so what more do you want. I was more offended by the combat in the first game. Trudging through the sewers killing dumb animals. Trudging through the forest killing dumb animals. Trudging through desert tombs killing dumb animals. The underwater sections for god's sake. I actually liked the dialogue trees better in the first game (just the dickish things you could say and the responses you get) but almost everything in between made me fucking hate playing that game. Also you're not even a goddamn Jedi until you get to the shitty parts, where in KOTOR2 the combat picks up when you get to the most interesting parts of the game.

KotOR 1's palette was definitely livelier. And it actually evoked a sense of adventure. Big game hunting, Wookie rebellion, Jedi Detective, Sith Academy. Those are all the things you get to do in the game. The story actually ebbs and flows. Whereas KotOR 2 is very upfront about what you're trying to do.

And KotOR 2 had its own fair share of dumb animals.
 
Depends on how much time you have going in -- if you are limited, skip it, since both stand alone as stories and 1 wasn't as good was the 2nd one. If you have time, however, it's worth checking out. Just don't be compelled to min-max the system in 1, since it's painful to try to keep yourself at level 2 or 3 just to put those levels into jedi classes later.
 
So what are the options for playing at higher resolutions? I recall with the widescreen fix you got stuck with large horribly stretched hud elements. Would just upping the resolution be a better option?
 
Just finished Kotor 2 with the restored content mod so want to give my thoughts on the game. I thought it was pretty good and found it's take on the force and overall darker story to be pretty interesting. I didn't think the execution was all that great however and by the end of the game you could tell the story was being rushed and interesting characters like Kriea become just another video game cliche and many of the characters just didn't feel fleshed out or had purpose being in the story. In fact the whole game just felt rushed and empty. The worlds were also far less interesting than those in Kotor 1, but what really soured the experience were moments where the game would make you play as another character. Seriously fuck that shit. I built these characters to fit specific roles and then the game just throws you into a situation your not fit for, just ughh, when I'm playing an rpg I only what to be controlling my character. Good game but the original is vastly superior.
 
Kotor 2 better than Kotor 1? Neogaf.

KotOR 1 is a basic and shallow story which contains a cackling villain who goes "muahaha" and wants to destroy everything for the laughs. The game gives the player two roleplaying paths; one is of an angel who will murder a group of thugs to get rescue a kid's candy, the other is of a maniac who'll stuff the candy down the kid's throat and choke him.

KotOR 2 is significantly more intelligent and mature, and a quite different take on the Star Wars universe. It explores the nature of the Force, and of a person's quest to prove that will of the individual can be greater than the will of the Force. Instead of creating the Light Side-Dark Side dichotomy, the game teaches the pc to make decisions envisioning consequences of those decisions long into the future.
 
KotOR 1 is a basic and shallow story which contains a cackling villain who goes "muahaha" and wants to destroy everything for the laughs. The game gives the player two roleplaying paths; one is of an angel who will murder a group of thugs to get rescue a kid's candy, the other is of a maniac who'll stuff the candy down the kid's throat and choke him.

KotOR 2 is significantly more intelligent and mature, and a quite different take on the Star Wars universe. It explores the nature of the Force, and of a person's quest to prove that will of the individual can be greater than the will of the Force. Instead of creating the Light Side-Dark Side dichotomy, the game teaches the pc to make decisions envisioning consequences of those decisions long into the future.

Kotor 2 definitely explores interesting themes but the actual plot of the original I feel is superior. Simplicity isn't necessarily a flaw in storytelling, but what are flaws is when a story feels rushed and unfinished, which is what kotor 2 is.
 
KOTOR >> KOTOR2, there is really no contest.

Except to the Obsidian fanboys who overrates everything they do, you can identify them because they are the same people that tries to claim Alpha Protocol and Dungeon Siege 3 as good games.
 
I played KOTOR back when it was released on the original Xbox. Loved it. Dearly. One of the best games I have ever played. I was glued to the screen for hours and hours. I even saved the game at the end right before the "light side/dark side" choice just to be able to experience both endings. I thought it was fantastic. An amazing adventure. When KOTOR 2 was released I hit the game store in the morning. Took the entire day off University (as in bailed) just to be able to play the game. I gave KOTOR 2 about eight to ten hours and I have to be honest here; I thought the game was terrible. A massive drop in quality from KOTOR. That entire first planet (it's on some kind of space station right?) was this vapid, void and empty complex of nothingness.

Nothing happened. You just roamed around aimlessly. A friend of mine told me to persevere. "The game gets better" he said. And it never did. It was a technical mess. The codebase was a disaster. Glitching all over the place. I could kind of see rays of light that indicated an interesting story and characters but the game was just so damn tedious and boring I really didn't care about following the dialogue or story. It was just one hell of an unfinished mess of a game. A massive letdown from the original KOTOR. From following this thread I can see I'm in the minority here but I honestly can't see how you can play both games and feel that KOTOR 2 is superior. You feel the drop in quality within hours of booting up KOTOR 2. I don't care if they couldn't finish the game.

The game was no way near the quality of the Bioware-produced KOTOR. My advice to the OP is to forget KOTOR 2 altogether. Just play the original KOTOR and forget that it even has a sequel.
 
Stuff in KotOR II that's not in the first KotOR

- Force powers right from the beginning of the game
- Enhanced item upgrades
- Influence system
- Ability to turn companions into Jedis
- Stances
- Prestige classes
- More variety in equipment

Am I forgetting anything? Not that it matters, I'm just a blind fanboy and the only thing KotOR II does better is writing. And even that's debatable!
 
KOTOR >> KOTOR2, there is really no contest.

Except to the Obsidian fanboys who overrates everything they do, you can identify them because they are the same people that tries to claim Alpha Protocol and Dungeon Siege 3 as good games.

What a great argument. You even put an extra > in there for emphasis.
 
Just finished Kotor 2 with the restored content mod so want to give my thoughts on the game. I thought it was pretty good and found it's take on the force and overall darker story to be pretty interesting. I didn't think the execution was all that great however and by the end of the game you could tell the story was being rushed and interesting characters like Kriea become just another video game cliche and many of the characters just didn't feel fleshed out or had purpose being in the story. In fact the whole game just felt rushed and empty. The worlds were also far less interesting than those in Kotor 1, but what really soured the experience were moments where the game would make you play as another character. Seriously fuck that shit. I built these characters to fit specific roles and then the game just throws you into a situation your not fit for, just ughh, when I'm playing an rpg I only what to be controlling my character. Good game but the original is vastly superior.

How in the world is Kreia a cliche?

ut what really soured the experience were moments where the game would make you play as another character. Seriously fuck that shit. I built these characters to fit specific roles and then the game just throws you into a situation your not fit for, just ughh, when I'm playing an rpg I only what to be controlling my character.
I liked that because it gave the companions some screen time, and changed up the gameplay a bit. Although I don't think they should've let you control Mira before she joined the party; doesn't make much sense otherwise.

Stuff in KotOR II that's not in the first KotOR

- Force powers right from the beginning of the game
- Enhanced item upgrades
- Influence system
- Ability to turn companions into Jedis
- Stances
- Prestige classes
- More variety in equipment

Am I forgetting anything? Not that it matters, I'm just a blind fanboy and the only thing KotOR II does better is writing. And even that's debatable!

They made combat super easy. It was already easy in KotOR 1, and in KotOR 2 you can keep spamming force storm whirlwind and never run out of force points. Not to mention the ridiculous level cap at 50, which might as well be no level cap.
 
KOTOR's story might have been shallower and sillier but it was fun and adventurous and that's what I want from a Star Wars game.
I think this is pretty true. KOTOR feels more adventurey while KOTOR2 feels more like an RPG. Up to you which one you prefer.

I always thought KOTOR was much better too but I replayed the sequel recently and it was ALOT better than I remembered.
 
KOTOR >> KOTOR2, there is really no contest.

Except to the Obsidian fanboys who overrates everything they do, you can identify them because they are the same people that tries to claim Alpha Protocol and Dungeon Siege 3 as good games.

Dungeon Siege III is crap. Alpha Protocol has bad gameplay but great writing, characters, dialogue and best of all C&C. Kotor 2 just blows the generic Star Wars story of Kotor 1 away. Bioware could never deconstruct Star Wars or D&D the way Obsidian or Chris Avellone has done much less create a character that is as well written as Kreia.

Even as a child I found Kotor 2 to be amazing with all the missing content it was the game to make get into PC gaming because how much it meant to me.
 
I played KotOR II years ago and I enjoyed it a lot, it was my first experience on a WRPG and it was fantastic.

I got KotOR months ago and I played it for a few hours and got bored.

Take that as you will...
 
How in the world is Kreia a cliche?

I felt her character arc towards the end of the game just felt kind of thrown in there because hey it's a video game and video games need final bosses for the player to fight. Kreia is a much more interesting character when she makes you question your morality and ways of thinking, as opposed to just being a standard final boss. The whole game just had no satisfying resolution to anything. The story just made too many jumps in logic and circumstance for me to say it's better than the original and many story threads and character arcs just felt rushed and unfinished. Again it's a good game and I enjoyed the moral ambiguity and the themes of the game, but as far as delivering a satisfying and complete plot the original is vastly superior. But lastly and somewhat unrelated I'm always a bit puzzled when people take this "well this game has this certain feel and this other game has this other feel, therefore game A is terrible and game B is amazing." Can't we enjoy both for what they bring individually and try to avoid all the hyperbole that gets thrown around when discussing games?
 
KOTOR >> KOTOR2, there is really no contest.

Except to the Obsidian fanboys who overrates everything they do, you can identify them because they are the same people that tries to claim Alpha Protocol and Dungeon Siege 3 as good games.

Shows how little you know. I've never seen an Obsidian fan prop up DS3 as anything other than a solid game that was Obsidian's first really bug free game.
 
Yes, I think KOTOR 1 is a better game than KOTOR 2. It's actually finished, and I enjoyed the storyline more. I did enjoy KOTOR 2, but yeah, the ending unfolds entirely too quickly, and it's really hard to beat the twist of the first game's story. The OP knows the twist already though, so some of what makes KOTOR 1 special will be lost to him, but I still remember having my mind blown playing through it the first time about 10 years ago. It's probably the only time that's happened for me playing a game.
 
I felt her character arc towards the end of the game just felt kind of thrown in there because hey it's a video game and video games need final bosses for the player to fight. Kreia is a much more interesting character when she makes you question your morality and ways of thinking, as opposed to just being a standard final boss. The whole game just had no satisfying resolution to anything. The story just made too many jumps in logic and circumstance for me to say it's better than the original and many story threads and character arcs just felt rushed and unfinished. Again it's a good game and I enjoyed the moral ambiguity and the themes of the game, but as far as delivering a satisfying and complete plot the original is vastly superior.

That's not why you fight her at the end. It was the final test of the Exile's apprenticeship. On Malachor she's at her full strength, and she intended to test her powers against the Exile's because all along the game her goal was to make the Exile a powerful Force user whose will is stronger than that of the Force. And she also needed the Exile to be powerful because she wanted him to go after Revan into Unknown Regions. She was even happy that she was defeated because that marked the success of her quest.

Also, she's never concerned about morality of the Exile's actions.
 
That's not why you fight her at the end. It was the final test of the Exile's apprenticeship. On Malachor she's at her full strength, and she intended to test her powers against the Exile's because all along the game her goal was to make the Exile a powerful Force user whose will is stronger than that of the Force. And she also needed the Exile to be powerful because she wanted him to go after Revan into Unknown Regions. She was even happy that she was defeated because that marked the success of her quest.

I understand but I still feel it's counter intuitive to her teachings throughout the game that in order to best her and eclipse her you just do a standard lightsaber fight. I felt that while ya my character got stronger and more powerful, he didn't become wiser or reach an epiphany.
 
KOTOR >>>>> KOTOR II

The above represents the most powerful argument presented thus far due to the quantity of '>''s.

Actually, one's answer to the question of which game is better depends upon one's preferences, interests, goals, desires, intentions, etc. It's entirely subjective, in other words. It is thus rather silly to cite reviews as some sort of objective criteria of superiority.

For me, KOTOR's varied settings were far more fun to explore, its characters more enjoyable, and its story superior. Regarding the 'complexity' of characters and story, I will simply say that I think that increased complexity isn't necessarily better, no more than the increased complexity of a guitar virtuoso's work is necessarily more enjoyable than simpler musicians.
 
I understand but I still feel it's counter intuitive to her teachings throughout the game that in order to best her and eclipse her you just do a standard lightsaber fight.

Huh, how is that counter intuitive to her teachings?

I felt that while ya my character got stronger and more powerful, he didn't become wiser or reach an epiphany.

But the Exile did. All the major decisions he takes are what makes him. How he dealt with the Jedi Masters, how he treated the companions or turned them into different roles. The epiphany is that the Exile is an individual who made all those decisions with his free will. It is about the Exile.
 
The first Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic was a better game. For one thing, it was a complete whole rather than most of a game and a blip for the ending.

Knights of the Old Republic 2 was absurd in a lot of places. I remember thinking, "Wow, what a quick and easy way to diminish the grandeur and importance of the Jedi," when I got to turn the non-robot characters into Jedi. Because, hey! becoming a Jedi in Knights of the Old Republic 2 is about as difficult as putting on your socks.

Everything about the game felt throwaway or half-assed: the stupid mute evil Jedi, the reused planets, fighting a series of floating lightsabers at the end, and the wall of text sequence where the main character got to ask "And then what happens to X?" for all the sidekick characters. Oh, and that horrible wound in the force theme the developers kept trying to hammer home without actually ever explaining.

The sequel was not bad, but I don't understand why people think it's a better game than the first. As to the question posed, the first game should be played first as it introduces a lot of great characters and worlds that are used by the sequel.
 
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