Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (PC)

Based on the d20 role-playing system, Knights is set four thousand years before Episode 1, at a time when Jedi are plentiful. The ever-present war between the dark and light sides of the Force is the centrepiece of the story, focusing on a pair of ex-Jedi, Revan and Malak, who fell to the dark side after a mysterious journey to an unchartered edge of the galaxy. Players also get an insight into the training process of both the Jedi Academy and the Sith.

Like the Baldur's Gate series, you are free to create the game's central character yourself: male or female, combat-focused, stealthy or tech-focused, it's up to you. For this reason, your character is, amazingly, the only one who has no voice actor. In a novel move, you'll get to switch classes mid-game during your Jedi training, so with this and the AD&D-like d20 character statistics system, there's lots of potential for varied character builds. If you don't fancy getting your hands dirty with the numbers, an auto-level-up button will take care of the choices for you. However, half of the beauty of appreciating just how tailored to suit you this game can be lies in the fact that you can precisely tune your character, from his main attributes, to his skills, to his Jedi Powers, and even to the head visors he wears and the (modified) weapons he uses.

BioWare has always tried to provide multiple paths through its games, and Knights is ceratinly no different. As your character develops, you'll be able to make many choices about how to handle the people and puzzles the game puts in your path. The game even keeps track of your responses and changes your appearance to suit your behaviour, quite reminiscent of how Deus Ex so marvellously did 3 years ago. Although the large-scale plot is the same whether you choose good or evil, the way that small-scale situations play out is very different and as such, very satisfying. You'll find yourself finishing a particular sequence one way, and then restarting to see the other side's outcomes, and then trying out all the grey decisions in between. Both sides have many unique situations and conversations; the dark sided options produce the best jokes, however a light-sided stance has more satisfying quest outcomes.

The interface is a little unusual, but works excellently and comes very naturally after about an hour's play. It uses the WASD layout for moving forwards, backwards and rotating left and right, while the mouse isn't used for freelook, but kept as a pointer for selecting icons and on-screen objects. Smart keyboard shortcuts are included for icons and dialogue options too. The only problem is that the inventory management is a little hard to get used to after a while, becoming very cluttered with items you've picked up earlier and had little or no use for since: a minor point however, and items can be sold at the numerous traders you'll come across for credits anyway.

There's already a patch out to solve some issues with one particular Intel motherboard chipset, and users of ATI graphics cards have also reported some problems. Knowing BioWare, though, it'll be quick to stamp out any other issues that arise, however having played the game with the 1.1 patch installed, I can say that it ran as smoothly and as stable as the most stable games I've played and with everything turned up, looked an absolute treat. The install is large (4 GB), but once installed, it doesn't require juggling of its four CDs - you'll use the same "Play" CD throughout.

It's about time the PC-owning world got to see what all the fuss was about. The graphics look great, the interface works a treat and the additions, while minor, fit well. Clearly a lot of work has gone into making the game feel like it was meant to be on PC. As someone who's not usually into to RPGs, I feel quite qualified to say that you don't have to be an RPG fan to enjoy this. You don't even have to be a Star Wars fan. But if you're a fan of thoroughly enjoyable games, games that remind you why this is your hobby in the first place, you won't be able to avoid being smitten by Knights. It's the best PC game since Deus Ex and as most gaming publications will tell you, easily the PC game of 2003.

Apart from the hugely popular Jedi Knight series, Lucasarts has had difficulty in scoring another hit with its Star Wars franchise since it wound up the X-Wing games. The new films just weren't as popular as the originals, and neither were the games based around them. So this game hits you like a blast of fresh air. An inspired partnership with Bioware (who brought us the excellent AD&D game Neverwinter Nights) has produced a new, well presented and well developed game that will keep you playing well into the midnight hours. So, what's involved?

Your character serves the Republic, four thousand years before Anakin Skywalker can even spell "Lightsaber". Following a devastating war with the Mandalorians, an almost Nietzschian warrior civilisation, the Repblic is triumphant - until the great Jedi Knights who led the fleet, Malak and Reban, return from the galactic rim as Lords of the Sith. A third of the remaining fleet turns to the dark side immediately, a huge number of Republic worlds and forces are suddenly lost, and many Jedi are turned to the forces of evil. Caught unawares, and reeling from the ferocity and surprise of the attack, the Republic must depend upon the valour and sacrifice of the remaining Jedi Knights, and on one in particular - Bastila, whose skill of Battle Meditation can be the difference between victory or total annihilation. And it's your job to keep her out of the Sith Lords' clutches...

Coming from Bioware this is a roleplaying game very similar to Neverwinter Nights; the character progression system is very much built on the 3rd edition AD&D model and as such anybody who has played similar RPGs will pick up the basics in about half an hour flat. But better still, it's in glorious, full-detailed third person, so no miniature, generically modelled characters running around the game (except Jawas). The screen itself runs a little like the venerable Final Fantasy series, with the player being able to directly control a single character at a time (the maximum two companions being run according to the script you choose for them). In combat it's a simple matter of select your enemy, select what you want to do to them, or to yourself, and let rip. And repeat as necessary whenever your enemy drops, or if you want to do something else, such as change your weapons, activate a personal shield or throw a grenade.

The graphics are well developed, too. For a four gigabyte install they ought to be, and the huge use of disk space is easily explained by the quality of the landscapes and locations as well as the party's detailed character models (which will change along with every piece of kit you equip them with, a nice touch). The expanse of rolling sand dunes, and the dusty cluttered streets of Anchorhead on Tatooine just go to show that the place never improved much over a few millennia, and the polished, sky-reaching spires of Taris only serve to hide the pit of degradation that is the undercity. It's still recognisably Star Wars, but it's now set in a few new locales, and you may feel like a sigh of relief, given previous games' trend of constantly (re)treading in the footsteps of the films' (sometimes wooden) characters...

The sound is also pretty good; apart from your own dialogue, every sentence you hear is spoken out aloud. Yes, all of it. Which means that you're never talking to the usual obligatory-mute-RPG-fill-in characters that normally make up half an RPG's cast. It also keeps you guessing which characters are going to be more important than others in the scheme of things.

Your compatriots aren't dull either. As the story goes on, you will have the opportunity to talk to them and learn a little bit about what makes them tick. They have their own personalities and if you behave in a way they disagree with, expect them to say so - and since their guidance can sometimes be useful, it pays to listen. Actually getting your party together isn't a simple matter either - RPGs are no longer just, "You see Fred. He joins your party". No, now they will join you either as a result of your actions, or for reasons of their own, and as such they aren't just there as cannon fodder. And their presence in your current group can sometimes open new opportunites for adventure...

But the best part of all, which I just HAVE to mention before I hit my maximum word limit, is the equipment. In a truly inspired move, and with evidence of AD&D's and Deus Ex's influence, many items of your characters' equipment are customisable. Yep, that custom designed lightsaber is within your force-enabled grasp, so if you want to be a Mace Windu lookalike, no problem; and your blasters and armour and Vibro-weapons can all be tinkered with to give extra added value and added destruction. Those extra points of damage, that fine-tuned balance and those extra critical hits can make the diffence between drinking sancerre or eating dirt when the dust of battle has cleared, and it's well worth all those minutes spent at the workbench. Finding the components can be tricky though, but they are worth a few minor quests on their own...

Overall this is a spectacular game. Probably the best RPG since Fallout 2, which was ahead of its time (see review). You will almost certainly be up at unsociable hours still playing it. The only gripes I can mention are the level 20 character limit, that you can't multiclass voluntarily, and the few times it's kicked me out of the game into Windows again (although this is probably just my PC playing up). Other than that, this game is easily worth the whole Five Stars, and I fully expect it will also scoop the GOTY award from several PC Gaming publications.

I'm a huge RPG and Star Wars fan, so when i first heard about this game, I was visibly drooling, and it does not disappoint! As is always the case with RPGs the plot must be gripping. KotOR has oodles of plot, not samey backtracking, re-hashed plot, but vivid engrossing plot that leaves you begging for more. It's like playing a really good Star Wars novel that has gaps for you to write yourself. KotOR also has multiple possibilities due to the light side/dark side meter; and, unlike many other games that have tried this, offers equally incredible and fulfilling gameplay whichever you choose, not just a shadowy variation on the other.

The gameplay is wonderfully smooth on a system with the recommended requirements, and the graphical engine is a year's supply of chocolate in terms of eye candy. The voice acting is well implemented and the sound effects are very pleasing, whether it be the zing of blaster fire, or the low-key hum of a lightsaber.

The characters are well structured, and you genuinely want to get to know some of them and discover what happens to them as the story progress. i have to come back to the plot because this really is art, and proves that RPGs are so much better with professional scriptwriters on hand. I cannot stress enough how much fun this game is. It will move you, excite you and make you laugh. Yes, there is some genuinely funny stuff here, much of it in the form of a assassin droid you will meet halfway through who's descrption of his past assignments are wonderfully understated. But enough of me talking, do something that will make everything else irrelevent for several months and go and buy this game. The reviews can only give it to you in words, you have to go check it out for yourself and believe me, you'll regret it if you don't.

Go save the universe, and may the Force be with you ;-)