Appeared : Nov 2003
Developer : BioWare
Distributor : LucasArts
Official Web Site : LucasArts
My opinion : I was literally blown away by this game.

Game Menu		Character creation		A Cantina

Kotor is a game I waited for a little while before venturing a purchase. I waited because I wanted to read about it the forums and review sites before committing myself to it. It must be said, Star Wars games have been a bit of let-down in their majority. My Star Wars gaming history includes such titles as X-Wing (great in its time, but unplayable today), Dark Forces, Rebellion, Alliance and Force Commander, and of all those, Dark Forces (old as it is today) and Alliance are by far the best examples of the Star Wars universe - until KotoR that is.

Yes, I finally bought the game when I saw that reviews everywhere were quite positive. And boy am I glad I did !
The irony is that LucasArts did not even make the game - it took another developer to capture the essence of the Star Wars gaming experience.
But nevermind, this game is just great. Check it out here.

Character Improvement		Jedi Combat		The Jedi Council

Is there anything you say against this game ? Well, you could find a few minor nitpicks. Some review sites cited the slow start - and it is really slow. I logged a full nine hours of game play (in game, mind you, not counting game save reloads) before I could get off Taris, which is the first planet you can explore. Endless wandering around, many Cantina Arena combats and lots of picking stuff up and jogging off to stores to sell the useless stuff.

One thing that really tiked me off at first was the notion that a sword could hold off a lightsaber in combat. Yes, Bioware undoubtedly did not want you hanging around with a lightsaber from the start, so you can only play with metal swords until you earn your Padawan status. Fine, but what is the excuse for swordplay ? The Star Wars univers seems to have totally forgotten the merits of good old lead bullets spewed from a machine gun. I cannot imagine anyone in his right mind taking on blaster-toting grunts with only a sword. Unless you are a Jedi, of course.

But really, this is nitpicking. After all is said and done, KotoR is a great game, a mix of First Person and Role-playing with a gripping storyline and great sidekicks. If you are at all interested in the Star Wars universe, give it a try !