It is 4,000 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!

A few years ago, Darth Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith, and his apprentice Darth Malak, uncovered a strange artifact known as the Star Forge. What it does, no one but the Sith know. The Jedi Order managed to defeat Revan with the help of a young female Jedi named Bastila, but they failed to capture Malak, who is now the new Dark Lord of the Sith. Now Malak is trying to unlock the hidden powers of the Star Forge to conquer the galaxy, and you have to help Bastila and her crew put a stop to him once and for all.

The overall graphics are okay, but nothing too special or Xbox worthy. Characters sport stiff animations and awkward movement. Someone can be standing facing you, then suddenly face the other way for no reason. Character models repeat way too often. All Rodians look exactly the same, as well as Quarrens, Hutts, and Sand People. This happens with human males and females too. It seems everyone's related.

The CG cut-scenes look surprisingly bad, reminding me of the grainy Sega Saturn days. Many sequences are recycled too, so you'll see the same starship fighting over and over. Why Bioware didn't spend more time on the CG is beyond me.

But not everything's bad in the graphics department. Background graphics are pretty sweet, though, almost making you forget about the robotic character movement. The lush forests of Kashyyyk look alive, the desert of Tatooine looks just like in the movies, and the underwater research lab of Manaan makes me feel like I'm watching Sphere. Lightsaber blades look really cool, as well as blaster shots and flying sparks.

Every Star Wars game has nice sounds and music. Swoop bike engines, blaster shots, clashing lightsabers, Wookiee growls, it's all crystal clear and sound just like in the movies. There is a lot of original music in the game, but it's nothing compared to John William's classic Star Wars themes that play occasionally.

The best aspect of this game's sound is the outstanding voice acting. Every human character has a different voice (or so it seems) and the dialog is not stiff or dull. There is so much dialog you would have to play the game several times, with different party members to listen to everything! It's all very impressive. Voice actors include Ed Asner (The Mary Tyler Moore Show), Phil LaMarr (Mad TV), Jennifer Hale (Power Puff Girls), Ethan Phillips (Star Trek Voyager), among others. Aliens like Hutts and Ithorians have cool-sounding dialects, but they're repeated often. Rodians are particularly annoying to hear. It's still fun to listen to all that gibberish.

You'll spend most of your time speaking to people. You'll be asked questions and you'll have multiple answers to choose from. Depending on your answers your character will gain light or dark side points. This affects the people you meet, items you get, and missions you can choose. Many characters will ask favors and give you special items if you're good to them, but the dark side will tempt you with answers such as "How about I kill you instead?" or "Give me that item for free, jabroni, or I'll go postal on your candy ass." Well, you get the point. Asking the right questions, and giving the right answers will get you information and access to many things, places, and characters. Too see how deep the character development is simply ask your party members how they feel each time you complete a mission. They'll almost always have something new to say.

Battles are not turn-based, like traditional RPGs. Whenever you spot an enemy the game pauses, giving you the option of engaging the enemy or ignoring it. (Keep in mind Bioware also developed Baldur's Gate) Once you decide to fight, your character will automatically run towards the enemy and attack it on his own. You select which type of attack, but many of your character's moves are random. You can equip and unequip weapons and armor anytime during battles, which is very helpful. If your enemies are far away you should use a blaster, but if they get closer you can swap your blaster for a lightsaber and inflict greater damage.

As you fight and complete certain tasks you are awarded experience points that you use to level-up your characters. You can level-up your attributes yourself, or choose auto level-up from the options menu. By gaining certain items you can upgrade your armor and weapons too. Once you acquire lightsabers you can change their colors and attributes to suit your needs. Becoming a Jedi will also enable you to use Force commands, like stunning your opponents, shooting lighting and disabling droids.

Having so much freedom makes KOTOR seem huge, and it is. It took me 35 hours the first time through, and I didn't complete all of the side quests. You start the game on planet Taris, but once you get the Ebon Hawk ship you'll have access to Dantooine, Korriban, Kashyyyk, Tatooine, Mannan, and more. Star Wars fans will enjoy finally seeing Dantooine, which was mentioned by Princess Leia in Episode IV, and Kashyyyk, which is Chewbacca's homeworld.

Besides walking, talking, and fighting, there are other diversions to find in KOTOR. You can play a card game known as Pazaak. It's easy to get into, and you can earn plenty of credits by challenging people around the galaxy. Then there are the swoop races. You can race swoop bikes on Taris and Manaan to earn experience points, and respect. So, weather you're racing, playing cards, or just trying to complete every light and dark quest in the game, you'll always have something fun to do.

It's Star Wars! Any insights into the life of the Jedi before Episode I is exciting for me. It is a time where the Sith are not a myth, and they do not hide from the Jedi. They walk among us, and are killing Jedi and anyone friendly to the Republic like it's going out of style.

Even if you're not a Star Wars fan, Knights of the Old Republic is a game no RPG fan or Xbox owner should miss. If you are a fan, well buddy, be sure to keep a pair of clean underwear nearby, because the geek in you will surely soil his/her pants.

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