Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (Mac) Review

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(More customer reviews)Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is one of the most advertised and well-reviewed video games of all time. Among it's myriad other achievements, it garnered 2003 Game of the Year from Computer Gaming World, PC Gamer, Amazon.com, and others (...).
Set an even longer time ago, none of the traditional Star Wars characters appear in this title. Starting this fresh new adventure is easy thanks to drag-and-drop installation from the now-standard Aspyr installation window. It's going to take time though - KotOR is Huge! It comes on a DVD instead of a regular compact disc and maxes that out at 4.27GB. So be sure to check your system against the requirements.
When you first start the game you'll have to wade through character creation before you see anything but a glimpse of the antagonist. But don't worry; once your character is created and you begin the epic, you'll be welcomed by the traditional Star Wars fanfare, though an original score will accompany the adventure. The game features new characters and places, but like the music, it is recognizably a part of the Lucas universe most of the time.
The game is, simply put, the first full-fledged Star Wars role-playing game for PCs and consoles. It is based on the newest Dungeons & Dragons rules - for better and worse. On the one hand, the rules of the most popular RPG ever are robust and well rounded. On the other hand, they show through the interface and are not a perfect marriage to the Star Wars universe.
The rules have been well adapted and fit skills such as repair and persuasion, feats such as blaster marksmanship and melee combat, and even force powers. By choosing from the limited character types you will find that most aspects of the Star Wars universe can be experienced through this game. Your decisions in the game even affect whether you lean toward the light or dark side of the force, eventually leading to a decision to work for good or evil. Along the way you can customize your abilities, skills, and even force powers.
But that is also where the complexities of the engine start to show through. Initial character creation and subsequent upgrades can take a lot of time for a gamer looking for a simpler RPG experience. To their credit, the developers do include a button that will automatically select recommended upgrades for your character to minimize the labor for such players.
Of course Star Wars is an action-filled franchise and so combat is one of the most important parts of the game. It is not handled as elegantly as some RPGs I have seen, but there are a lot of attack options. Each time you encounter an enemy the game will pause automatically and pop-ups will allow you to select a target and attack for your main character. When you resume, your attack will be carried out along with any other tasks you assign (such as using a medpack to recover health after a hit or a force power to disable your opponent).
Along with combat and several mini-games you will spend a lot of time with D&D staples. Exploring, trading, and conversing with non-player characters are all very important in this game. Unfortunately, your view of the beautiful sights is hindered because you cannot look up or down.
Interaction with other characters is handled better. Most of the dialog is actually recorded so you get to hear conversations instead of just reading them - that does a lot for the cinematic feel the game takes on when the rules aren't showing through. The choices you make in your conversations have an effect on the game too. That's important in an RPG and too rare in computer games.
I won't give away any of the plot, but it is worthy of it's inspiration. The game is beautiful and sounds great too, but it performs poorly on some systems. On my 1.2GHz iBook, I often found video jerky and movement controls intolerably erratic despite exceeding the requirements.
Despite such technicalities, Knights of the Old Republic is an awesome science-fantasy role-playing experience. If you are a Star Wars fan who enjoys the basic RPG dynamic, this game is going to be great for you! If you prefer fast-paced action and less administration in your game, buy Jedi Academy, also from Aspyr, instead.

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It is four thousand years before the Galactic Empire and hundreds of Jedi Knights have fallen in battle against the ruthless Sith. As the last hope of the Jedi you must lead a band of freedom fighters in an epic struggle to save the galaxy. Can you master the awesome power of the Force on your quest to save the Republic? Or will you fall to the lure of the dark side? Hero or villain savior or conqueror...you must choose wisely as you alone will determine the destiny of the entire galaxy!System Requirements:Mac OS X 10.2.8 or later PowerPC G4/G5 1GHz or faster 256 MB RAM 4 GB free disk space 3D Graphic Acceleration required (ATI Radeon 7500/nVidia GeForce 2 or better 32 MB of VRAM) DVD drive required to install and playFormat: MAC X10.2.8 OR LATER Genre:ENTERTAINMENT Rating:T - Teen UPC:618870106601 Manufacturer No:10660

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