KOTOR 2 Gamespot preview

[Vympel]

Link

- Set five years after KOTOR (contrary to original reports that it'd be centuries later)
- Ebon Hawk is still your primary mode of transportation
- T3-M4 is still around (screenshot)
- Other familiar faces will be there (please God, no fucking Carth Onasi, just Canderous please)
- Your character was/is a Jedi whose 'gone astray' or 'out of touch' and lost their proficiency with the force

Anyone know anything else?

[neoolong]

Wait, does that mean you play as the same character from KOTOR? Because the Hawk is kind of his/her ship. Same with T3.

[Stofsk]

- Set five years after KOTOR (contrary to original reports that it'd be centuries later)

Really? I heard first (in the other thread, not this one) that it would be 5 years after.

- Ebon Hawk is still your primary mode of transportation

A ship is a ship is a ship... it really doesn't matter to me. However, we do know the Jedi have a starfighter - albeit several thousand years into the "future" - so if they put that element there I would be welcome to it. A mini-dogfighting game. It doesn't have to be mind-boggling. But if they go through the effort of putting a gunner mini-game, then they can surely make the shorter leap and put in a dogfighter mini-game.

- T3-M4 is still around (screenshot)

Yeah. Here's hoping he actually says something this time.

Actually, I'm hoping that he becomes a "artoo" type character, assuming there will be a KotOR 3 and 4 etc. He (it) always manages to survive and find new masters, like Artoo. He doesn't need to talk actually - but I hope hope HOPE the writers will do something with him, like he's carrying a secret file on the Sith. And think about how or why he would be carrying that for a second... (it's to do with the ending of KOTOR 1, which I suspect the evil ending will be the official one, though it doesn't really matter)

- Other familiar faces will be there (please God, no fucking Carth Onasi, just Canderous please)

I think you're prayers will go unanswered. Carth I'm sure will be back. But as what, that's the question...

I want to see Bastila again.

- Your character was/is a Jedi whose 'gone astray' or 'out of touch' and lost their proficiency with the force

Interesting angle, though sounds similar to the Revan idea with the exception that at the start of KOTOR 1 you don't have any Jedi classes.(I wonder if that's true here?)

Anyone know anything else?

I don't know for sure, but I'm hoping this time the viewpoint character will be female. Although we probably won't get it.

Some things I want to know:

* which ending was official? They each have different implications: if the "evil" ending is official then Revan will be the one behind it all, and he will be insanely powerful; while Bastila (assuming she wasn't killed) may be the one who get's "redeemed". If the "good" ending is official then Revan may have been killed, or his death may be the whole cause of it all, and Bastila may be the villain. God I hate this speculation stuff. It's getting confusing.

* Where are all the characters? Obviously I can wait and play, but some ideas that I hope will bear fruit: HK47 gunning for your arse. Having a highly accomplished assassin droid after you is SCARY. The writers can't pass this one up. Carth being humiliated, just because. Canderous being a rebel General a la Han Solo in Endor - c'mon, you know this makes sense. T3 having more to do with the story to the point of being integral, similar to Artoo in ANH. Bastila either being the leader of the Sith or the Jedi. She deserves it. Zalbaar, like T3, having more to do with the story. I would like it if Revan was terminated at the end of KOTOR 1, or becoming "one with the force" or some shit - just because by the end of KOTOR 1 he's too powerful to either be a villain or hero.

* Having a twist the likes of KOTOR 1 would be no mean feat. But I hope they try for something different.

* I mentioned this in the other thread, but who cares - I want the gameplay to follow a more "we don't the situation, so we're sending you out to investigate" scenario rather than "THE SITH ARE KILLING US ALL" thing. I don't know how to phrase that better. I'd much rather have a "phantom menace" feel than a "new hope" feel, just to do something different.

On the other hand, it looks like the writers are going for the "empire strikes back" feel. In which case my above point is just a load of gibberish.

*I'm jumping up and down in anticipation for this thing.*

[neoolong]

I want to see Bastila again.

I think she needs to have sex with the new Jedi chick. Perhaps with the new player character.

[Stark]

Not the 'Jedi who has lost their powers' thing again. Christ. Reset-To-Level-001-Mechanism ahoy.

[Stofsk]

Not the 'Jedi who has lost their powers' thing again. Christ. Reset-To-Level-001-Mechanism ahoy.

I agree with you that it has become a cliche - and one I never really thought well of to begin with, and I believe the dread KJA came up with it - however this game is in the preview stage. Previews can get things wrong. They (the developers) might change it, or put a twist on it, or something. Nothing at this point is necessarily set in stone.

May I just ask: Do you even like the game to begin with? Or are you looking for reasons to bitch and whine?

[Vympel]

Not the 'Jedi who has lost their powers' thing again. Christ. Reset-To-Level-001-Mechanism ahoy.

I think I've said it before, but I would much rather you start the game as a Jedi Padawan, of perhaps, 15-18 years of age, set up some story elements, maybe a tragedy or something, and then fast-forward to when you're about to become a Knight (cool opportunity to see the Jedi Trials).

Anyway, there's unconfirmed information on the gamesport forum (see the link) that 1 year after KOTOR, Revan returned to the Unknown Regions (purpose unknown), that HK-47 would be returning, and some other stuff. But because no source was provided, I didn't see fit to post it.

I'm extremely glad that so many former Black Isle people are involved. Obsidian Entertainment could really make a name for themselves.

I want to see Bastila again.

I don't- at least, not as a party member. You're not Revan, so she'd just be an unecessary distraction. She's not 'your' interest anymore (if you're playing a bloke).

Characters I want to see again as party members:

Canderous
HK-47
T3-M4

That's it. No Jedi from KOTOR (to many uncomfortable level inconsistencies- they'd all be Level 20 the moment you'd meet them, if it were to make any sense...), no Carth. Carth's a wanker.

[Vympel]

From the Lucasarts blurb:

Cameo appearances from memorable characters of the first game enhance the continuity and story flow through this unique time period.

and

Five years after the events from the award winning Knights of the Old Republic, the Sith Lords have hunted the Jedi to the edge of extinction and are on the verge of crushing the Old Republic. With the Jedi Order in ruin, the Republic?s only hope is a Jedi Knight struggling to reconnect with the Force and is faced with the galaxies most dire decision: To follow the light or succumb to the dark side?

Bloody hell, you'd think that the amount of Sith Revan put to the lightsabre, they wouldn't be a problem.

[Stofsk]

Bloody hell, you'd think that the amount of Sith Revan put to the lightsabre, they wouldn't be a problem.

Sith are like Movie-Ninja: inherently disposable, and they breed like rabbits.

Personally I don't get that whole "Sith resurgance" thing. I can only hope it's hyperbole that the marketing people have come up with and has little to no bearing on the plot of the game. If it is a Sith resurgance then I sure would like to know where the fuck they were 5 years prior when Malak could have used them. A further thought occurs: the "Sith" in KOTOR 1 were a "philosophy" not a race; perhaps the Sith in KOTOR 2 are that race. It makes sense: they aren't connected with Revan or Malak, they were thought destroyed millenia ago (and people can get these things wrong, so...), and like the other Sith they're arseholes. Kinda works out alright.

[Ghost Rider]

Likely not the race given they died and were slaughtered by the Sith Jedi.

I'm more hoping for no hidden unknown super races...I can take Sith as supervillains given the 99% of RPGs has the super villain element, and after the near 2 decades of playing them, I don't expect War and Peace from them.

[Stofsk]

Likely not the race given they died and were slaughtered by the Sith Jedi.

Really? What the hell happened? I know nothing of this.

I'm more hoping for no hidden unknown super races...I can take Sith as supervillains given the 99% of RPGs has the super villain element, and after the near 2 decades of playing them, I don't expect War and Peace from them.

At this stage I think it's too early to tell what the hell is going on.

Perhaps the Sith weren't totally defeated at the end of KOTOR 1. Yes, the Starforge was destroyed and the Alliance fleet won the battle - but as Vympel is fond of saying, you can win the battle but lose the war. Perhaps this is the predicament we find the galaxy in at the start of KOTOR 2. Essentially, the bad guys strike back. After all with the help of the Starforge the Sith gained territory and fielded an army and fleet that could allow them to stand up to the Republic. The heroes may have destroyed the SF - but by that stage it's possible the Sith weren't significantly set back by it's loss.

[Ghost Rider]

Likely not the race given they died and were slaughtered by the Sith Jedi.

Really? What the hell happened? I know nothing of this.

Buried under much EU is that the Sith were a race, and literally were just minding their own business...in come the first exiled Jedi. They(Jedi) decided to use their powers to basically make the Sith into slaves and intergrate them on every level.

Pretty much 1-2000 years later we get the Tales of the Jedi of the Republic Wars.

I'm more hoping for no hidden unknown super races...I can take Sith as supervillains given the 99% of RPGs has the super villain element, and after the near 2 decades of playing them, I don't expect War and Peace from them.

At this stage I think it's too early to tell what the hell is going on.

Perhaps the Sith weren't totally defeated at the end of KOTOR 1. Yes, the Starforge was destroyed and the Alliance fleet won the battle - but as Vympel is fond of saying, you can win the battle but lose the war. Perhaps this is the predicament we find the galaxy in at the start of KOTOR 2. Essentially, the bad guys strike back. After all with the help of the Starforge the Sith gained territory and fielded an army and fleet that could allow them to stand up to the Republic. The heroes may have destroyed the SF - but by that stage it's possible the Sith weren't significantly set back by it's loss.

True, like I said I'm hoping for no new...up-em pop-em hidden races.

Though I want to see some hints of what happened since the way you went through them you pretty much killed each of their heads...it's not like 2nd Lt Jerrod is going to be as effective as Malak.

[neoolong]

From the Lucasarts blurb:

Cameo appearances from memorable characters of the first game enhance the continuity and story flow through this unique time period.

and

Five years after the events from the award winning Knights of the Old Republic, the Sith Lords have hunted the Jedi to the edge of extinction and are on the verge of crushing the Old Republic. With the Jedi Order in ruin, the Republic?s only hope is a Jedi Knight struggling to reconnect with the Force and is faced with the galaxies most dire decision: To follow the light or succumb to the dark side?

Bloody hell, you'd think that the amount of Sith Revan put to the lightsabre, they wouldn't be a problem.

Not necessarily. Not all the Sith are force users, and if your remember Manaan you have recruiters out there signing up mercenaries and whoever wants to be a Sith. It is conceivable that they are still out there, unless there was some death squad actively looking for them all after you took out the Star Forge.

Oh, and Jedi Academy managed to make it believable that your player character started out low in the way of the Force, hopefully they come up with a believable reason here.

[Vympel]

Link

New Preview.

One of the most interesting things we discovered about The Sith Lords' intro is that, while the game won't actually read your save from the original KOTOR, Obsidian will use an old-school method to have the storyline in The Sith Lords reflect the way your story in KOTOR played out. Conversations with Krea and other characters in the early part of the game will let you provide the game with information on what happened in your own particular game of KOTOR, and this will ensure that your experience in The Sith Lords reflects those events.

Nice.

[Stofsk]

The Sith Lords will start out by offering you two mysteries to solve, depending on whether or not you choose to play through the in-game tutorial (which is folded into the storyline). If you choose to play the tutorial, you'll take control of T3-M4, ancestor to the R2 units we all know and love. Your job will be to make your way around the Ebon Hawk, which has apparently gotten quite an ass whooping, and repair the ship's damaged systems. As you do this, you'll be able to piece together some of what's happened.

First bolded: all I can say is, good. It looks like they're gonna start the game with a different mindset.

Second bolded: I really want to see this in-action, and it gives T3 something to do. Plus the "solve the mystery" thing appeals to me.

[neoolong]

Wow you get your force powers stolen. What do they use the staff of Ragnos?

[Vendetta]

May I just ask: Do you even like the game to begin with? Or are you looking for reasons to bitch and whine?

You should see the Obsidianent forums.

Bitching and whining is the national fucking sport there.

Especially about anything even vaguely connected with Bioware. Hell, they're bitching about Dragon Age already and they've only announced the fucking name... It really makes me despair of the fate of western RPGs, cause any time anyone does make a game, the self professed fans of the medium are just going to whinge and cry about it. Hell, the average user of, say, Bungie.net might have all the communicative ability of the average seven year old, but at least they're hyped about the game coming out...

[Vympel]

Wow you get your force powers stolen. What do they use the staff of Ragnos?

It doesn't say that. All it says is that you're out of touch- for what reason, it's unknown. In all liklihood, you feel the force, you know you do, you're just not very good at it.

[Vympel]

What's Dragon Age?

[Vendetta]

New PC RPG from Bioware.

Just been announced.

[Vympel]

Unofficial FAQ:

+http://forums.obsidianent.com/index.php?showtopic=639

[Stofsk]

Wow you get your force powers stolen. What do they use the staff of Ragnos?

It doesn't say that. All it says is that you're out of touch- for what reason, it's unknown. In all liklihood, you feel the force, you know you do, you're just not very good at it.

Another interpretation is that you've suffered the d20 term "level drain," which basically is an attack designed to take away your levels. In game mechanics terms. What this might mean in terms of plot/story, your character has simply been weakened for some reason - use of the Force, which used to come quickly or easily, has now become harder. What you could do before you can't do now. And so on.

[Dartzap]

In the Faq that Vympal Linked to, it mentions your going to two planets that we KNOW were BDZ'ed before and during KOTOR

[Vympel]

In the Faq that Vympal Linked to, it mentions your going to two planets that we KNOW were BDZ'ed before and during KOTOR

BDZs (an Imperial Starfleet, btw) weren't referred to, or seen- just massive bombardment. We know for a fact that Telos wasn't BDZd, Carth mentions his return their to look for his son IIRC.

[Ghost Rider]

In the Faq that Vympal Linked to, it mentions your going to two planets that we KNOW were BDZ'ed before and during KOTOR

BDZs (an Imperial Starfleet, btw) weren't referred to, or seen- just massive bombardment. We know for a fact that Telos wasn't BDZd, Carth mentions his return their to look for his son IIRC.

Just to reaffirm this train of thought.

Carth goes back to Telos for survivors, something that doesn't occur in a BDZ.

And also with Dantoonine was still an inhabitable planet in ANH. Something that every reference to a BDZ is not really going to happen, given that Caamas is more economical to find and terraform a new rock then try to revive a BDZ world.