One of the best RPGs of the early 2000s, yet plagued by a lame storyline, low difficulty and technical glitches.
That's not to say Knights of The Old Republic is a bad game. The sheer size of the world to explore and the dozens and dozens of quests to tackle are probably enough to persuade any fan of either RPGs or Star Wars to play the game. In your travels, you'll be able to visit worlds like Dantooine, Kashyyk or Korriban. Each one will offer dozens of NPCs to interact with - wookiees, twileks, hutts, humans and many other species. All professionally voice-acted creating a very authentic Star Wars feeling to the environment.
The quests are probably the most satisfying aspect of the game, as the vast majority of them lend themselves to multiple solutions shifting you towards either the light side or the dark side of the force. Your choices will make visible and drastic impact on the world determining the raging conflict between the Jedi and the Sith that has engulfed the old republic. Characters that will join your party also offer their life-stories and personal quests allowing you to develop a stronger feel for who they are.
Unfortunately, and this is the game's biggest disappointment, the main story line is very lame compared to the rest of the game. It's a cliche story of a civilisation long gone extinct, wiping out all of their creation, save a master weapon (found by the Sith of course) and a set of maps scattered all over the galaxy revealing its location. Very conveniently all perfectly intact waiting for you to uncover. To add insult to injury the main villain is a cheap Darth Vader copy, it's hard to understand why the roles of Malak and Revan were not reversed in the game. As it stands, it's impossible to feel any respect or fear of Malak who never steps out of the shadow of his former master. Some of the characters can also become quite annoying. The first Jedi you meet is an indescribably spoilt brat with delusions of greatness, that will immediately make you want to cut off her head and join the Sith. Unfortunately, she turns out to be the republic's last hope or some such, so you'll be stuck travelling with her instead.
The game's character system based on the d20 rule set allows an amazing rendition of a Jedi character. Aside from the usual primary characteristics and skills you'll be able to choose many interesting star war-esque feats and powers. Anything ranging from the mastery of the light-sabres through mind control to Jedi speed or force lightening. If you can imagine Jedis using it, it is in all probability in the game. This combined with the game's combat graphics makes for some very captivating sword play and colourful force spells. Unfortunately, and here comes the second major problem of the game, between your light-sabre and command of the force, nothing can really stand against you and setting the difficulty to the highest level does not make events any better. By mid game, you'll be tossing aside hordes of droids, sith masters or bosses without breaking much of a sweat. This detracts considerably from the experience.
Bottom line: Even-though Knights of The Old Republic doesn't quite reach the gaming greatness of the likes of Baldur's Gate, it offers an enthralling journey to the Star Wars universe, full of memorable character, beautiful worlds, cinematic battles and lots of moral dilemmas to ponder when solving quests. A must play for RPG or Star Wars fans!