Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

The Basics:
Platform: Xbox and PC (PC reviewed)
Developer: LucasArts
Price: $35-45 (as of 5/1/04)
ESRB rating: T-Teen (13+)

Summary: A "forcefully" fun experience with a few "dark-side" pitfalls.

Note: Positively, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic encourages thinking skills and demonstrates how actions can influence a person's character. However, the game does not just reinforce positive behavior; rather, it rewards both positive and negative behavior in different ways. Nonetheless, the game does not focus exclusively on violence to solve all situations-communication and negotiation skills are also critical. Parents should be aware that there are some minor sexual elements, and they may wish to address the quasi-religious philosophy of "the force" in regards to their personal beliefs.

Further Breakdown:

Overall rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Best for ages: 14+
Playability: Controls are easy to master and easy to understand
Graphics: Excellent
Entertainment value: Very good. The game is fun to play with ample opportunity for replay.
Educational value: Some. Players develop critical thinking skills, and reading is required
Reading Level: 8+ A fair amount of reading is required, as all of the player's responses are in text form.
KidScore Rating

Ages 3-7: Red
Ages 8-12: Yellow
Ages 13-17: Green
Violence Amount: Yellow
Fear: Yellow
Illegal/harmful: Yellow
Language: Green
Nudity: Green
Sex: Yellow

Review:
Few fantasy worlds have been explored as much as George Lucas's Star Wars universe. Five movies, with another one on its way, multitudes of books and dozens of video games have been created about this fantastical galaxy far, far away. Fitting in neatly is Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic; a video game tale that lets fans of Star Wars live out the life of a Jedi knight.

For those less familiar with the Star Wars universe, Jedi knights are masters of the "force" channeling energy drawn from all things to do their bidding. Depending on their actions, Jedi can be drawn to the light-side (good) or the dark-side (evil). Knights places a fair amount of emphasis on the balance between the light and dark-side of the force and the influence it has on the player's character. As players go through the game they are presented with many decision-making opportunities. Choosing actions that are benevolent and kind will draw players to the light side, but actions that use power and strength to dominate will draw players toward the dark side. Sometimes the situations are very realistic. For example, in one part of the game there is a group of people who have decided that all alien species are bad and should be eliminated (a diversity/genocide issue). Players are presented with an opportunity to disagree with this behavior and gain light-side points, or agree and gain dark-side points. This concept is something parents may wish to consider. From the game's perspective, neither the light or dark-side is necessarily portrayed as "better;" rather, they are viewed as simply different ways of playing the game. Although the player can clearly see the difference between good and evil, both actions are "rewarded" equally by giving the player points.

A significant amount of the game is designed to resolve situations in a peaceful way - through dialog, or by providing alternative solutions. However, players can influence this by their decisions, and additionally, there are multiple occasions where combat is presented as the only option. During fighting scenes, the player can command several characters that are within their control. The player can pause the fighting at anytime to change weapons, use artificial stimulants to increase their fighting ability, or alter fighting tactics. Not particularly bloody or gruesome, victims simply fall to the ground when defeated, and eventually fade away.

The overall play of the game harkens back to earlier years of video games, with a style somewhat similar to old text adventure games or Pick-a-Path® books. The game is almost literary in its depth. In fact, reading is reinforced, as players respond to computer controlled characters by reading through several dialog options on the screen, and then choosing the one that best fits their goal. Through these choices, players can influence the path of the story to a degree. Nonetheless, the overall game is still quite linear, with major choices that are unalterable. Not to be conquered quickly, the game weaves missions, character storylines and overall Star Wars themes into an interesting story that is fun to play, but one that will take a long time to conquer.