I admit it, I'm a GAMER,..are you?

[PeacefulWarrior]

Almost every image in this thread has been linked or uploaded correctly.  COnnection speed, having your browser up-to-date among other things can affect how the images are displayed.

Squeek, you said you "Have heard much bad things about this game..." about Knights of the Old Republic???  It has recieved raving reviews from almost every critic and, like I mentioned before, people are going out to get the Xbox just to play it.  Although some people have surely found legitimate reasons not to like it, it seems obvious that by and far this is a very well made game with amazing graphics and solid gameplay.

Here is some info about it:

Reviews from gamers themsleves:

Finally after 2 years it has arrived. This is a truly rich RPG the xbox needed.

Job well done. BioWare has done it again. They have made another RPG that has caught the appeal of the public. Lucas arts made a good choice in letting them develop this game.

With their new game " Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic". A game set four thousand years before Episode 1 you will have the force to command. In either following the path of the lightside, or the path of the darkside is up to you, the player and the creator of your character. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic gives you hours upon hours of game play, which seems like a never-ending struggle between good and evil. There is a lot of character dialogue in which you choose what your are going to converse in with the A.I. characters and other members of your party. This also determines how the characters will respond to you during the conversations


So lets get started.


When you first pop in the disc. You can now create your character of 3 classes and either male of female. The classes are scoundrel, (which usually relies on their stealth and persuasive skills to get through.) the second one is scout, (people who are good with knowing their surroundings and have good awareness.) and lastly you have the soldier,

(They claim he has no equal in combat.) Then you can make your character male or female.

You start of on a capital cruiser that has been bombarded and attacked by the sith. You have to escape the ship and aid one key character in this whole plot. Once you have left the ship via escape pod, you crash land on a planet called Taris, which has a planet wide quarantined and there is no way to get off the planet with out being melified in to a million pieces by the sith capital ships orbiting the planet.

You wake up and it seems you are just another republic soldier who was on that ship and swore an oath to protect and girl named Bastilia. She is a Jedi and is key to helping the republic in their battle againsed the sith. Later on you team up with her and 8 other party members to find star maps that lead to the star forge. Which is key to supplying the sith with their unlimited arsenal of weapons, ships and supplies.

After teaming up with the other party members, you embark on your journey to become a Jedi and either save the galaxy or dominate it. Like creating your character with 3 classes, when you become a jedi there are three classes again to chose from, there is the jedi guardian, jedi sentinel, and the jedi councilor. Chose between any one of the classes and the effect will be slightly different in the game. Again, this game lets you customize your characters and your party members to the maximum, which is a good option to have I a game of this caliber.

Knights of the old republic is easily a good 40-50 hours long and you will be visiting planets and key locations of the star wars locals like Kashyyyh home planet of the wookies, the desert world of Tatooine, Dantooine where a jedi academy is rumored to be on this planet, Then there is some newly added planets like the water world of Mamman, and the sith planet of Korriban where there is a sith academy.

On each of these planets there is the main quests and there are side quest. For example you can be and arbiter for a murder case to finding a cure for a deadly disease, or even helping other characters out wile on the planets. But you probably wont even do all of the side quests because you mostly will be concentrating on finding the star maps.

Inevitably along the way you will face your grand foe and his henchmen in different location and the occasional Dark Jedi.

Well its pretty obvious that you will have to asses force powers later on in the game, if you are a jedi following the light path, if you want darkside powers like force lightening and force grip, they will cost more force points than lightside powers like cure and valor. Then it goes for the people following the dark path except it's backwards.

In this game there are a lot of mini games. There is swoop racing which is similar to pod racing except you are using swoop bikes instead of pod's, then there is a game called Pazzak. This is basically a card game similar to 21 and blackjack. The first person to 21 wins or you can bust you deck by going over. Then there is a mini game where you set a destination to another planet and along the flight you get attacked by sith fighters and you have to defend your ship from them by blasting 6 of them out of the air before you can make the jump to hyper speed.


The game has good game play and its long. The combat system could be better but I like it like this its turn based. But real-time would have been better.

The sound is a bit glitchy at times but hardly noticeable. the graphics indeed is the best part of the game and the cut scenes in the game are outstanding. The only minor thing is the lip sync is a bit off. But all in all the value of the game is good. The cost of the game is regular price and they even throw in a strategy guide and you get the bundle 20% off and this is at EB. I tilt the game towards a ten cause I think I think this game is amazing i played both ends of the game, The light path and the dark path.


This game has come a long way. From being announced 2 years ago at E3 2001, I was watching the live xbox conference and when I saw the clip of this game I was in aw. I put my money aside for this game right away and I got my money's worth it. From the quality of the game you can see the there was a lot of work and effort put into it and all I can say is if you love RPG's get this game. Of your love Star Wars, get this game. You don't have to be a fan of either to appreciate it but if you like one of the themes that's its either rpg's, or star wars get this game. It is a must buy.


And may the force be with you.


By: Bernard Lorde

By Jedi_Master_Bernard  [POSTED: 2003-08-29 11:16:30]


This is a truely great RPG. The fighting is the best I've ever seen in my life! This best part is when you use a lightsabre against another lightsabre, it's flawless! But the other thing is the cast of characters in this game. They are all so unique in their own way. My favorite character is the droid who enjoys killing things. It's just plain fun to hear the characters reactions to what you say. You can also have complete control over what alignment your character is. It's really fun to just goof around and mess with people than being a goody-goody, but it's totally up to you. This is one of the best games I've ever played next to the Final Fantasy games for the Playstaion!
By Wyatt963  [POSTED: 2003-08-21 20:22:23]

For a console lacking in the RPG department, Star Wars: Knights of The old Republic (KOTOR) couldn't come at a better time. BioWare (Developer of Everquest fame) pulls through for Microsoft's console with a hit to Star War's fans and other Xbox owners alike. KOTOR certainly gives the Xbox another "AAA" game. Its story, gameplay and graphics are all something to be desired in other games. And gives Western RPGs a decent shot at competing with the likes of Final Fantasy.
KOTOR was announced with a very interesting gameplay element, the ability to make your character follow the Light Side (Good) or the Dark Side (Bad). This is what attracted gamers (Such as myself) to KOTOR. This element gives the player much more freedom in the game, rather than following a set story line. That this element exists however, might not be the best part of the deal, but rather how it is implemented.

Throughout the game, the player is given options, whether to do or say something good or bad. For example, on the first world, a civilian is being harassed by a group of thugs, you can either help him for free, or help him, then threaten to kill him unless he gives you all his money. Obviously, one leads to the Light Side, the other to the Dark Side. It is also emphasized that doing things the way of the Light Side will be harder than the Dark Side way. Like, in your quest to find an item, a large monster blocks your way, you can poison the water, which will ruin the planets water supply forever, or you can find another way around. Choices like these even lead up to which ending you get, or even what kind of clothing, powers you can use.

But this isn't limited to your main character, all of the people in your party (You can choose up to three from a total of nine.) have the Light/Dark side meter. Some characters are dark, light or neutral when you pick them up on your quest. Your relationship with these characters depends on how you react to their stories, or whether you are on the Dark/Light side.

You are also given the option to pick what type of class you want your character to be (Scoundrel, Scout or Soldier) whether you want it to be a him or a her and what type of stats it should have. There about ten different faces to choose from, however, as you progress through the game, your characters complexion will change depending on which path you choose. Also, the game generates Star Wars type names, so that the player isn't limited to having a name related to a character in one of the Movies.

The gameplay is extremely solid, the difficulty never gets too hard, and rarely gets too easy. If the player listens to the instructions given, they shouldn't have too much of a problem grasping what do to. However, it might be a bit confusing to most people. Up until the end, I found no problems with the game, however I felt the last level was a bit weak, and I experienced some type of bug where my character had no head. It didn't affect the gameplay itself, but just looked a little funky.

There are more than a few weapons and armor to choose from. And you might want to specialize your characters for melee or ranged combat. However, the lightsabers are certainly the best weapon (No surprise there). You can even customize your lightsaber, such as changing the color, or adding different affects (Stunning your enemies, deflects blaster bullets better, does more damage, is more focused). You can also get everything from heavy battle armor, to Jedi Robes (Sorry guys, no Darth Maul-like robes). I did not really come by any guns that made me want to pocket my lightsaber however. Some of the higher-grade weapons and armor are upgradeable, which saves you from having to buy new ones that often.

Of course, being a Jedi and all, your character will get the ability to use Force Powers. Some of these are Dark/Light side specific, like Darth Vader's famous "Choke" ability. You can also throw your lightsaber for ranged attacks. How many and how powerful these Force Powers are depends on your character's type and level.

The graphics are solid as well, though not top-notch for the Xbox. Everything from character models, to environments, to particle effects are nicely done. The sound fits a Star Wars game very nicely, but isn't something your going to remember down the road, probably because you've heard the various Star Wars themes already.

The game was certainly worth the fifty or so bucks you'll be investing in it. I am currently working through it a second time on the Dark Side. I beat it in about 54 hours, though that could be the product of leaving my Xbox on all night once or twice. I'd say it will take 30+ hours to beat the first time through for most people. Also remember to save often, as I have died and lost more than an hours worth of work more than once, but, a neat feature to fix that, is if you go into a different area (Where it has to load.) after fifteen minutes of being in that area, it will automatically save for you. All in all, BioWare did a very nice job for this stellar Star Wars RPG.


By ProletarianRevolution  [POSTED: 2003-08-20 15:40:58]


-----------
OFFICIAL REVIEW (Gamespot):

 

GameSpot Score  
 

 




9.1
superb




About our rating system »


 Difficulty:
Medium

Learning Curve:
about 1 hour





GameSpot Review  

Canadian developer BioWare is well known for producing high-quality role-playing games, thanks to its successful Baldur's Gate series, and offers up what is in many ways its finest such game to date in Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. LucasArts wisely delegated the task of producing a deep and involving Star Wars-themed RPG to BioWare, which has done a remarkable job of making Knights live up to the Star Wars name. In fact, Knights arguably lives up to the Star Wars name better than any other Star Wars property in years, including the last two theatrical films. The game's greatest accomplishment is its focused yet open-ended plot progression, which gives you the freedom to play as either a morally good or evil character, or shades in between. The struggle between good and evil is of course central to Star Wars and manifests itself extremely well throughout this outstanding game. For good measure, Knights features hours and hours of top-notch voice-over (all the dialogue is spoken), so you'll certainly be impressed by how different characters respond differently to you but also by the sheer size of the game.



Knights takes place thousands of years before the Star Wars films, but you'll recognize a lot of the technology.
The Xbox needed another great RPG--one that was more accessible than last year's great but sometimes-bewildering Morrowind--and it's finally here. Those who've played BioWare's computer RPGs--either the Baldur's Gate series or last year's Neverwinter Nights--will recognize the influence of those games on Knights of the Old Republic. In fact, the main difference between the gameplay of Knights and BioWare's previous games is superficial. This one is played from a third-person perspective and thus resembles a 3D action adventure game rather than one of BioWare's older isometric RPGs.

Other than that, gameplay is similar. You create a main character and then explore many different areas, interact with many different characters, settle many different disputes, solve many different puzzles, and engage in plenty of combat. Combat appears to be real-time but actually uses a turn-based system "under the hood" just like Neverwinter Nights, which means your character's statistics and attributes (and your strategy) make all the difference, and your personal reflexes and hand-eye coordination have no bearing on the outcome. Most importantly, Knights is very different from the typical console RPG in that you'll always be an active participant in the storyline, rather than a passive observer. You don't just read, watch, and listen to a lot of text, cutscenes, and dialogue--your character is constantly invited and required to make difficult decisions, and that's ultimately the most entertaining, impressive, and rewarding aspect of the game.



You'll meet a wide variety of interesting characters in the game, a number of whom will join you in your journey.
Knights of the Old Republic actually takes place thousands of years before Star Wars Episode I, though you'll still see many of the same sorts of alien creatures and technology in the game that you probably associate with Star Wars. The story begins in the midst of a power struggle between the Republic and the Sith, an evil imperial power that's encroaching on Republic space. Your character seems to be just another Republic trooper, and at the beginning of the game, you manage to avoid certain death as your spaceship is attacked and destroyed. Your escape pod lands on a world that's been put under quarantine by the Sith, so your first order of business is to find a means of escape, and also to find out what happened to Bastila, a gifted young Jedi who is key to the Republic's war efforts and who also managed to flee your doomed ship. Later, you'll be charged with uncovering the secrets of an ancient relic called the star forge, apparently the key to the Sith's seemingly limitless supply of weaponry.

You'll end up visiting a number of key Star Wars locations, including the wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk and the desert planet Tatooine, in what's by all means an adventure of epic proportions. The game's main storyline isn't remarkable and eventually boils down to squaring off against your standard bad guy, and the main plot twists along the way don't really seem plausible. But you'll encounter so many great little subplots and characters along the way that this really won't matter. You'll investigate murders, become a bounty hunter, resolve cultural disputes, find a cure for a deadly disease, take sides or play both sides against each other in various ambiguous conflicts, and find out how life really treats both citizens of the Republic and followers of the Sith. There's just a lot to see and do in this game, and it'll last you a good 40 hours or so from start to finish, yet you'll never see all that the game has to offer if you finish it only once.


 
 

GameSpot Review  

It may seem strange, but Knights of the Old Republic actually uses a slightly simplified version of 3rd Edition Dungeons & Dragons rules both for combat and for character generation. So despite the obviously different setting, fans of BioWare's D&D-themed games will be in relatively familiar territory here. Your main character starts off as a male or female soldier, scout, or scoundrel. These three basic classes roughly correspond to D&D's fighter, ranger, and rogue. The soldier is straightforward but very strong and begins with proficiency with various types of weapons and armor and gains the most vitality points per experience level. The scout is slightly less tough than the soldier but gains more skill points per level, allowing him or her to do such things as repair droids, pick locks, and disarm land mines. The scoundrel is physically the weakest class but can disappear from sight using special cloaking devices and can then inflict great damage if he or she catches a foe unaware. The scoundrel is also best suited to talking his or her way out of situations where the other character classes might have to resort to violence. Your choice of gender also has a bearing on some of the situations.



Will you choose the light or the dark side?
It's not spoiling anything to point out that you eventually gain access to Jedi powers. In turn, there are three different Jedi classes available, which emphasize either the Jedi's prowess with a lightsaber or his or her Force powers--or a balance of the two. Force powers are basically like magic spells, allowing you to do such things as stun opponents, knock them down, and choke them, as well as heal yourself and use the Force to persuade characters to see things your way. Some powers are inherently light-inclined, while others are dark-inclined, and though Jedi characters may gain access to any Force power as they gain experience levels, powers that match a Jedi's moral alignment can be used at a lower cost in Force points (which steadily recharge, allowing you to use your powers continuously).

The game does a fine job of letting you customize your character and his or her companions. Nine different characters will join you over the course of the adventure, and you'll be able to travel with up to two of them at a time. Most every character has an interesting story to tell that unfolds as you converse with him, her, or it over the course of the game, though some are developed better than others. The most entertaining of the bunch is probably HK-47, who's like a homicidal and slightly insubordinate C-3PO. As you and the others gain levels, you develop your abilities by choosing from a wide variety of skills (repair, stealth, persuasion, and so on) and combat feats (critical strike, two-weapon fighting, toughness, and so on).

Ultimately, the 3rd Edition rule system works quite well for the game and makes for an experience that seems consistent with the Star Wars mythos, namely that Jedi are extremely powerful, and conventional weapons are practically useless against their lightsabers and their Force powers. However, a few things don't quite make sense, such as how your strength statistic (as opposed to your dexterity) is tied to your proficiency with a lightsaber, and how ranged weapons generally seem too weak, offering practically no advantages over melee weapons since it's easy to close the distance with a gun-toting opponent. Also, much like in 3rd Edition D&D, fighter-type characters in Knights of the Old Republic can become overpowered to the point where they're virtually unstoppable. If you focus on building up such a character, you'll find that most of the combat in the game will be rather easy at the default difficulty setting, though you can crank it up to make your enemies stronger.



Blasters, grenades, and melee weapons are available--but nothing beats a good old double-bladed lightsaber.
Combat looks dynamic, and at a glance, you could mistake Knights of the Old Republic for an action game. You'll see characters firing away with their blasters, while those armed with melee weapons such as lightsabers will perform a variety of close-combat moves. Characters dueling with such weapons will block and feint, looking for openings in their opponents' defenses. It's all clearly inspired by the dramatic lightsaber battle at the end of Episode I and also resembles the outstanding lightsaber battles in last year's shooter, Jedi Knight II.

Despite appearances, though, the combat is really just a series of statistical checks, just like D&D. Your character's "to hit" rating, determined by his or her class, level, and weapon, is added to a random 1-20 dice roll and compared against the opponent's defense rating. If the to-hit roll is greater, you connect and deal damage. Your characters will automatically attack any foes nearby until either you or they are all dead, so in some cases, you end up simply watching the fight unfold. You'll only need to intervene to use healing kits or stimulants that boost your combat abilities, as well as Force powers and such, or maybe to prioritize targets. You can pause the action at any time and easily queue up specific orders for all your characters, but you can usually get away with just looking after your main character and will rarely need to micromanage things (your party members will lag behind once in a while as you're running around, but it's not a big deal). Generally, the combat is exciting to watch and paced nice and fast. You needn't worry if one of your characters falls in battle--he or she will simply get up once the fighting is over, though you're tossed back to the title screen if your entire party goes down.


The combat and the dialogue are the two main elements of Knights of the Old Republic. Other than those activities, you'll find yourself running from place to place, but you'll have little interaction with the environment other than being able to open footlockers and other objects containing goodies. You can sometimes hack into certain computer systems, but this is all done in text and isn't very interesting. Loading times between areas can feel a little long, especially when you have to backtrack--fortunately there's an option to instantly return to your hideout or ship if you're not in a dangerous area. Some of the environments are pretty big, but most aren't, and a mapping system clearly shows where you can and can't go and what the points of interest are in each area. There's also a very clear record of all the quests you have pending (and all the quests you've completed). As such, you'll probably never get lost in the game, though at the same time, you might feel a bit confined by where you can and can't go. Fortunately, the game opens up later on, allowing you to freely travel between planets and accomplish numerous tasks in whichever order you please.



Hours of expertly done voice-over help make character interaction incredibly engaging throughout Knights of the Old Republic.
Knights of the Old Republic also contains several minigames: You can gamble by playing a fairly entertaining card game that's similar to poker, you can compete in simple drag races on swoop bikes, and you can man the turrets of a spaceship to shoot down enemy fighters from a first-person perspective. These are all simple diversions, however.

As mentioned, character interaction really is the best thing about Knights of the Old Republic. There's a lot of dialogue in the game, all in full speech, and if you listen to all of it rather than read it (you can turn subtitles off), the game will probably last hours longer than it could otherwise. The dialogue is well done, and many of the game's characters are well defined. Most all of the numerous subquests in the game are suitably justified and present you with more than one viable solution. You'll constantly be able to choose between good and not-so-good solutions--early on, for instance, you can rescue a man who's being hassled by bounty hunters. Do you then offer to pay the dues he owes so that the poor man may live without fear, or do you threaten to mug him for his last remaining credits?

Knights lets you play as a really nasty character if you so choose, and that's certainly part of the fun. It's also an interesting aspect of gameplay, considering a big part of the theme is how Jedi constantly run the risk of falling to the dark side--indeed, you'll probably often be tempted to see what happens if you pick the evil dialogue options rather than the good ones, if only because most RPGs simply don't let you make these types of decisions. Certain key points in the game will play out very differently depending on the decisions you make, creating lots of replay value. LucasArts also promises that downloadable content in the form of new weapons and other items will be made available via Xbox Live later this year.

The graphics in Knights of the Old Republic aren't the game's strong suit. Some important aspects of the visuals are handled very well--specifically, the lightsaber combat looks dead-on, though you won't see any forearms getting chopped off or anything. Effective use of bump mapping and environment mapping can be seen on some of the aliens and their shiny armor or slick, oily skins. Many of the environments also look quite good, though some of the others are plain and lacking in detail. Character models are relatively simple, and their lip-synching and facial expressions don't always look quite right. You'll also notice that some character models will repeat often throughout the game--you'll encounter a number of different characters who all share the same face. The frame rate of Knights of the Old Republic also doesn't hold up, and it can frequently bog down in combat or whenever a lot of characters are around. Furthermore, the occasional cutscenes using the game's 3D engine tend to look downright crude, which is disappointing considering how impressive some of the game's production values are. Knights is a good-looking game overall, but it's easy to find fault in its visuals when the other aspects of the game are so well done.



Knights is both an outstanding RPG in its own right and an excellent tribute to the Star Wars source material.
Some of the audio is what you'd expect from a Star Wars game, though Knights deserves credit for featuring a mostly original (yet very subdued) soundtrack, which is a nice change of pace from the ubiquitous John Williams score. But the high quality and sheer quantity of the voice acting are exceptional. Alien characters even speak in convincing alien languages, though you'll pick up on the fact that the alien voice-over actually repeats often. Overall, though, the professional voice cast does an excellent job with the material, delivering believable performances, and this really enriches the gameplay experience. Not only does Knights of the Old Republic have some of the most voice-over of any game to date, but it also has some of the best.

It's apparent from playing Knights of the Old Republic that a remarkable amount of effort, work, and talent went into this game. It's one of the only Star Wars games to truly make you feel at times as though you're a key player in and a part of this unique and beloved sci-fi setting. You'll get to do all the sorts of stuff that you've seen and enjoyed in the Star Wars movies, and you'll get to emulate any of your favorite characters' personalities and actions over the course of the game. You'll also experience a much more morally complex version of Star Wars than what you get from the movies. Along the way, you'll find a few aspects of the game that you'll wish were better, but that's mostly because the vast majority of Knights of the Old Republic is so exceptionally good. You don't need to be a fan of Star Wars or of RPGs to appreciate all the impressive qualities of this game--but if you are, all the better.


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By Greg Kasavin, GameSpot  [POSTED: 07/15/03 06:07 PM]


Video Review  

[Nerezza]

There is a small error concerning Gamespot that affects a few people. I knew the solution but being captain procrastination, I waited until now to fix it, when I've all but forgetten how to.

[PeacefulWarrior]

A few more screenshots from KOTOR:

[PeacefulWarrior]

Hardcore's Hardcorner:
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

By Hardcore

Are you hardcore?

When Hardcore asks "Are you hardcore?" Hardcore wants to know if you're ready to take the hardest path to victory. If you're looking to get the most kills in any given game, be it Soldier of Fortune II or WWE RAW 2 or Fairly-freakin'-Oddparents. If you never take the easy way out of any situation. If you've never used a cheat code unless it meant smaller bikinis, flying kidneys, or maybe both. If you know that there's really only one difficulty setting—difficult as all hell.

If that's you, you came to the right place. Here in Hardcore's Hardcorner, we're going to show you the most challenging—and if at all possible, carnage-inducing—ways to play the best Xbox games.

If You Only Knew the Power ...
Right. First up, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (if you already figured that out from the title, give yourself a peanut). Of all the games on Xbox right now, there are few if any that give you these kind of hardcore choices.

First, you've got the choice between light side and dark side—are you going to help the Jedi save the galaxy, or side up with the Sith? From what you've read, you probably think Hardcore's going to recommend dark side. And you're right. But you don't necessarily have to follow that path, the light side can be just as challenging as the dark side in its way. Maybe more so—in a galaxy at war, folks are always suspicious and spoiling for a fight, which makes it a little easier to slide into evil. But we're going dark here simply to rack up the body count.

Oh, and there might be some minor spoilers ahead for the game. Deal with it.

Am I Evil?
KotOR's storyline is pretty involving whichever way you go, so if you haven't got the stomach for some of the following, go running back to the Council and let them send you out for Force donuts.

Wipe them out. All of them. There's usually a dialog-based way to attack (or prompt an attack from) many quest-spouting NPCs, especially those you would normally befriend when playing a soft and cuddly light-sider. Insults lead to injuring. You'll be missing out on a few heroic quests that net XP, and a few items those characters might have given you won't get given. As a servant of evil, you'll need to make up the difference with slaughter, prying the items and experience from their cold, dead appendages. See? Balance to the Force, baby.
If they could be turned ... So you say you've racked up the dark side points with abandon, but your Jedi pals are still all up in your face about protecting the innocent and not eating them and stuff like that? Bring 'em over to the quick and easy path (or so that lying Obi-Wan said) by giving them as many Dark Side powers as you can.
Walk away from the light. When it comes to you, "give in" to the Dark Side. Dark side force powers are going to be violent and aggressive by their very nature. So, even though light side powers are often the ones that enhance your fighting skills and restore health, don't chicken out! Resist the desire to take the Cure power or Force Valor; those will only slow your slide into darkness. Wait for Drain Life, a higher-level dark side power that restores your health while Lestat-ing those points away from your enemies. Until then, rely on equipment for defense and healing. You'll have more credits as a dark-sider from all the corpses you'll be picking over, so stock up on energy shields, battle stimulants (you're going to become a stim junkie, accept it) and medpacs.
Keep one hand free. Yeah, Darth Maul had a double-bladed lightsaber, and ooh, ah, wasn't that cool, Johnny Fanboy? Sure, but it's a little tired. Hardcore dark siders specialize in the Dueling feats and leave the Two-Weapon fighting to Bastila and Carth. You'll have better attack and defense scores, but miss out on the extra attack per round. That means longer, more satisfying one-on-one fights, but it also means you'll have to be a lot more choosy when it comes to saber crystals.
Play dress up. Early on, you'll have a chance to nab some Sith armor. To see how everyday folks react to the silvery Sith (and spook 'em a little, maybe even into attacking you) keep wearing the armor or put it on Carth, just to give the "haircut" the heebie-jeebies. People on Taris can be the most gullible people in the galaxy.
Quick and Easy, My Butt
As Hardcore has repeated over and over, the difficulty setting can only do so much in terms of ratcheting up the challenge. Keep the following in mind if you want to be not just evil, but hardcore evil.

Choose a strength and stick with it. Don't take the default attribute settings when building your character, that's for unimaginative suckers. In KotOR, your stats are divvied up into physical stats (Strength, Dexterity, Constitution) and mental stats (Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma). Strength affects melee and lightsaber attacks, Dex will give you better defense and skill with ranged weapons—guns and grenades. If you try to raise both evenly, you're not likely to reach your maximum deadly potential. As a rule of thumb, soldiers should max out Strength and keep Dex low (Dexterity-reducing armor will make up for it) and scoundrels should do the opposite. Scouts can go either way. And whatever class you choose, no dark-sider should start with a Con below 12, you'll need the VP for all the fights you're going to start.
There's hardcore, and there's stupid. Don't be stupid. Only an idiot goes into a vibroblade duel with a hold-out blaster. There's challenging, and there's suicidal. Remember, hardcore players meet challenges and succeed.
Auto-pause, or not-a-pause? There's two schools of though on this one—setting the auto-pause options to stop at the end of each combat rounds gives you amazing fine control in combat and the chance to change your mind in mid-fight, especially when the Wookiee fur starts flying. It's a very direct and, yeah, hardcore way to play. But Hardcore prefers the added chaos and difficulty—remember, this is about challenge, junior—of the free-flowing game. And if you get in a really tight spot, it ain't like the white button's fallen off the controller. Just pause already and stop whining.
A load of poodoo. Finally, and this is almost as controversial as the auto-pause issue—do you save after every fight and before each challenge? Or do you bull through and accept the consequences, even if it means missing a quest. Well, yes and no. Personally, Hardcore saves and reloads for two and only two things in KotOR—duels and swoop races. These are special cases that are more like athletic competitions. And if you ain't competitive, you ain't hardcore. On the other hand, Hardcore never reloads a "botched" conversation. For one, ain't no such thing, all conversations in KotOR have some result (even if it's not the result you're looking for, to coin a phrase) and two, there's just no challenge if you can go back and make things turn out another way. What're you, Marty Mc-freakin-Fly?
You Got a Problem with That?
You probably have your own opinions on what's hardcore and what ain't. This is more than turning the difficulty to eleven, Johnny. Hardcore's a method, not a setting, and what Hardcore tells you ain't always the only way. If you think you're so smart, Hardcore wants to hear from you, if only to make fun of you or steal your ideas. Send you hardcore tips to hccorner@hotmail.com. Hardcore might even credit you, but don't count on it.
Hate mail's also welcome. Hardcore can always use a good laugh.

Yours in gaming,
Hardcore

[Kazbadan]

There are little original and creative games now. But i think that that it´s starting to change. Ghos Master and Ufo aftermath (not particulary original but certainly different) are some games that will change that.

Since i don´t have any good game to play, i started again playing Deus Ex. Great game! The story it´s amazing, very deep and atractive. It seems that i´m really living in that cyberpunk like world!

What about system shock 2? I´m trying to get that one. I heard that it´s very good too....and scares!

BTW: Can you give me some advice about good terror games? Games that have a good story and can really scare you?

[Squeek]

I get soul calibur II tomorrow.  I'm gonna just melt when I see it there on the shelf and just glare at it for hours before even buying it.

Really, this has to be the most supreme of video games I have ever seen.  I thought Soul calibur I for Dreamcast was good.  In this one, they've chosen to animate EVERYTHING on the character seperately.  Previously, the wind always blew on the character from wherever they were facing, that has changed.  Their hair used to be bundled up, that has changed.  Their scars, their weapons, the background... EVERYTHING is better now.

Not to mention the fact that I get to play as Link.  Link is just... supreme.  I hope that Kilik has been made better... He's so cool.

~Squeek (I'm done ranting, gimme the friggin game!)

[Nerezza]

BTW: Can you give me some advice about good terror games? Games that have a good story and can really scare you?

I assume you want PC games. Try:

Clive Barkers Undying
Silent Hill 2
American Mcgee's Alice
Sanitarium
Aliens Vs Predator 2(Marine Campaign)
System Shock 2

[PeacefulWarrior]

Greetings Kazbadan,

First of all, if you liked Deus Ex, here are some screenshots from the new version of Deus Ex for the Xbox: Dues Ex Invisible War:
(by the way, some of the pixels look jagged because the images have been resized)




Although I don't play them myself, here are some good horror games coming up (and some that are already released):

Silent Hill 3 (ps2):






THE SUFFERING (PS2 Action Horror):



Shade: Wrath of Angels (xbox):

[Nerezza]

I recommend Silent Hill 3, only if you've played Silent Hill 1. Unless you don't mind missing half the story.

[Squeek]

WELL NOW.  I seem to have gone to Circuit City today.  Lo and behold, I spotted a game on the shelf that I had read about, and just had to make the purchase.

Screw that talk.

I BOUGHT SOUL CALIBUR II

Anybody that rates this game ANY less than 10/10 or 5/5 or WHATEVER should seriously just give the game back.  They don't deserve it.  This game is everything I thought it would be AND MORE.

First of all, the 3 "secret" characters are not secrets.  That was a great little add-on for me, as I hate unlocking stuff.

Second... wow.  The opening FMV was IN-FREAKIN-CREDIBLE.  I've had this game for like 2 hours now... WOW.

Seriously, this is a must buy, if you are looking for sweet looking graphics and animation.  I would have bought it just for the intro, it is that astounding.

This is the GREATEST fighting game of ALL TIME.  It may have even won some other crap too, but for sure, this is the one.

~Squeek

PS - Link is so much better than Spawn

[PeacefulWarrior]

Congrats Squeek!

I know how it feels to buy something that you've really wanted for a while.

Soul Cal II does look incredible and I have only heard wonderful things about it.  Many had said that it would have been difficult to improve on an already amazing title but it appears they have done just that.  I have only played the demo on a Gamecube but I did thoroughly enjoy that, even though I was a but frustrated because I didn't know any moves other than the simple hack, slash and block.  The animation looks great, such as the flowing hair and the fact that the character animation looked flawless...and I did notice that the backgrounds were rendered with great detail and gave the game a certain level of depth that is often lacking in fighting games.  The only other fighting game with such amazing visuals is DOA3 for the Xbox, that game, just like SCII, has very tight graphics (have you seen it).

I am planning on renting it for my Xbox, so I will let you know how it goes...

Hey, for those of you interested, GTA3 and GTA Vice City will be released for the Xbox as a bundle...I know I shouldn't play the game because it really is dispicable, but I am excited to rent it and play the #&*# out of it.  Despite all of the gratuituous violence, etc. it is a very fun game to play.  I just think it's terrible that kids play these games, I mean young ones, it really does corrupt their minds and sends the message that violence is ok.  Anyway, I sound like a total hypocrite so I should just keep mum, but I think I have a point...

Also, I recently read that the third-gen consoles are likely to be released between fall of 2005 and into 2006... and for the PC users, direct X 9 games are going to start coming out very soon and they are going to be amazing (e.g., Half-Life 2)

Until next time!

[Kazbadan]

Hi peacefullwarrior, thanks for the tips. About deus ex, if haven´t play it you don´t know what you are loosing! It´s a little old but it remains an important reference in the video games world.

The new deus ex for xbox it´s beatiful! Unfortunatly i don´t have xbox, only play pc. But i heard something on a new deus ex on the forge! And besides, i will have a better (would it be?) between sept-october: ufo aftermath. NOt now, but latter i will try to put some images here.

[PeacefulWarrior]

DIsney skating? Yes siree!:






Xbox news:
Xbox 2 May Come in 2006?
Third-party execs say console makers are still mum on exact release period.

September 05, 2003 - During a presentation at a Credit Suisse First Boston conference in New York, Activision President Ron Doornink told reporters the next generation of consoles may come as late as early 2006.

The systems are two to two-and-half years away (late 2005 to early 2006), he explained, adding that all three console manufacturers, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony, have yet to reveal concrete data to third-party publishers.

"There's very little information that we've received thus far from the first parties," he said. "It's still awfully early and we're getting very little confirmed through (console manufacturers)."

That said, if Sony Computer Entertainment America remains consistent with its previous launch dates -- which occurred in September 1995 and October 2000 -- then gamers should expect to see PlayStation 3 in fall 2005. Given SCE's problems with its ambitious "cell" chip design for PS3, however, the date could be pushed back.

Recently, Nintendo has said it is working on a successor to the GameCube and that it doesn't plan on giving its competition a headstart in the upcoming console wars. Which would be a change for Nintendo, given its safe-but-not-so-smart strategy of being last to get out the gate.

Microsoft officially has not revealed its cards, but it's become clear the company's long-haul strategy is to use the first Xbox as a testing ground for a better future console (presumably called Xbox 2). All three manufacturers are expected to deliver more powerful machines pushing extensive online features.

Chief executive of Electronic Arts Larry Probst said he expected by year's end to know whether the new systems will appear in 2005 or 2006.

We'll have more on the looming console wars in the near future.

GTA for THE box:



PC stuff:
Empires: Dawn of the Modern World:

[Squeek]

MAN... If you're just gonna rent Soul Calibur II, good luck.  I've been at it like 5 days straight... I cannot make much of any progress in Extra Weapon Master mode.  Crap... It's so impossible...  Like... take the most impossible scenario you can think of.  Now multiply that by 10.  That's level 1.

Gosh... I'm never gonna finish this game.  Argh.

~Squeek

PS - If you DO rent the game, DO NOT just mash the start button or whatever at the beginning.  Sit there, and marvel at the GLORY of the intro FMV.

[Bob251]

Geez, I've waited awhile to respond to this.  I'm a gamer fanatic here.  Been playing for....can't remember how long, but I knew I wasn't more than three feet tall [].  Anyways...

Today, I play mostly PC games, although this is due in part to my lack of a PS2, Gamecube, or X-box (evil).  I play mostly FPS and RPGs, but every once in a while I play the good 'ole action/adventure games.

I'm not sure if these have been mentioned before, but Tribes 2 is a great FPS to go play on-line.  Sure, in the classic version, there's not a whole ton of weapons and vehicle (there's only six), but the real action comes in the different mods available.  Makes it a great game.

And, if you're looking for what is so far a very intriguing storyline, I suggest the Legacy of Kain series of games.  One should really start with Blood Omen, then Soul Reaver, then Soul Reaver 2.  And the soon to be released, Legacy of Kain: Defiance.













Ok, I think I got the images in there correctly (thanks Squeek [])

[PeacefulWarrior]

From the upcoming game "Chrome" for the pC:





XVIII for PC and ALL consoles (taking cartoon violence to a whole 'nother level...):

[Nerezza]

Wow, I've heard about XIII for some time now but that's the first time I actually saw pictures. It sort of reminds me of the old sega game comix zone.

[PeacefulWarrior]

Beyond Good and Evil is the upcoming multiplatform third-person action game from Ubi Soft. The game has been in development for the past few years in the French developer's studio in Montpellier, France, under the watchful eye of Michel Ancel, whose work on the Rayman franchise provided Ubi Soft with one of its first bona fide hits. We recently had the opportunity to visit Ancel and his team to get a look at the game's development firsthand and have come away impressed. Beyond Good and Evil is shaping up to present a compelling experience that offers a complete package of impressive graphics, strong audio, and solid gameplay, all anchored by a unique story.



Jade is the star of Beyond Good and Evil.
Although the preliminary bits of story information that have trickled out on Beyond Good and Evil's plot have seemed to be fairly standard, there's quite a bit more to the game's tale. The title follows the adventures of Jade, a young woman from the planet Hyllis, who becomes involved in a rebel movement to expose a conspiracy within Hyllis' government that's tied to attacks on the planet by a mysterious alien force. At the start of the game you're thrown into things, as you take control of Jade while she attempts to fight off an attacking horde of aliens. However, in the wake of the attack, Jade is contacted by a rebel group, after being declared a hero by Hyllis' government. According to the rebels, all is not as it seems in the government. The rebels tell Jade stories of mysterious shipments of humans being, sent by the government, to parts unknown. They ask Jade for her help in discovering just what is going on. Although skeptical of the seemingly tall tales of conspiracy, Jade eventually sets out to investigate the odd goings-on in her planet's government and ends up getting considerably more than she bargained for. Fortunately, she won't be taking on her quest alone, as the game features a quirky extended cast of characters who offer support over the course of the adventure. You'll meet the first of such character's in the game's opening battle, when Jade is assisted by her "uncle" Pey'j, a pig-man. The other key member of her support network is Secundo, a virtual assistant in her PDA, who offers information and attitude on her adventure. As you progress through the game, you'll find even more colorful folk who will help and hinder Jade on her quest to solve the mysteries of Hyllis.



The planet Hyllis is a vast, detailed world.
The twists and turns in Beyond Good and Evil's story are reflected in its gameplay, which starts out simple but ends up being something else altogether. At its core, Beyond Good and Evil is a story-driven, mission-based action game. Your first fight, at the start of the game, and the subsequent exploration segments that follow offer a good, albeit partial, idea of what to expect. Your time in the game will eventually be divided between exploration, combat, stealth, and vehicle sequences--with some minigames thrown in for good measure--that all blend together pretty well. You're eased into the various types of gameplay slowly, which should keep players from being overwhelmed when they start the game. (This is a good thing.) Beyond Good and Evil features a good measure of GTA III-style freedom that encourages you to explore Hyllis. Following your introduction to combat in the game's opening, you'll spend some time exploring and interacting with the people and creatures that inhabit Hyllis. This intro sequence also introduces you to one of the game's more unusual gameplay elements: Jade's camera. You're asked to help collect information on the wildlife of Hyllis, for a local museum, by snapping shots of the animals and insects that you come across in your travels. As you collect shots, you'll digitally transmit them back to the museum, and they'll wire you cash for your troubles. However, later in the game the camera takes on an entirely new use in the stealth sequences. You'll be able to use it to fire discs that can be used to trigger unreachable switches, or you can use it to make noise to distract guards so you can sneak past them.

Another, less portable, gameplay element is Jade's hovercraft, which serves as her primary means of transport around the waterways of Hyllis. You'll be able to upgrade the ship's propulsion and weapons systems by using your hard-earned cash. Then you can access more areas of the large planet. The hovercraft sequences range from basic travel segments, where you perform simple tasks like navigating to different locations, to combat sequences that find you facing off against some fairly large sea creatures. Finally, you'll be able to play assorted minigames, over the course of your travels, by talking to various locals who offer a change of pace from the main game. While you're pretty free to tackle Jade's adventure at your own pace, the game will help keep you on track by providing you with prompts from Segundo and by showing you newscasts from the local news that will bring you up to speed on current events and point you in the right direction.



Beyond Good and Evil features a variety of gameplay styles.
While the various elements of gameplay may sound pretty involved, given the variety of things to do, Beyond Good and Evil's control mechanics are shaping up to be quite user-friendly. The same basic set of context-sensitive controls that you'll use when exploring will transfer to combat and the piloting of Jade's hovercraft. Combat is especially nice, thanks to a fluid and smoothly animated battle system that offers a great deal of freedom when taking on multiple enemies.

The graphics in the ambitious game are shaping up very nicely, thanks to the team's decision to devote a large chunk of the game's budget strictly to research and development of technology. As work on BG&E's technology progressed, some of its core elements were sent to Montreal to serve as the foundation for Ubi Montreal's upcoming, stunning new entry in the Prince of Persia series. The technology used in both games, called the Jade engine, is flexible and very powerful. It allows the development team to let their imaginations run wild. Artistic freedom is being put to good use by a team that has drawn inspiration from a variety of different media outside of games. The end result is a striking, detailed world that is quite immersive. You'll notice Hyllis has its own day and night cycle, as well as its own weather system, as you go about your business. Your exploration will also let you take in the richly detailed environments that are teeming with life. You'll find very little about Hyllis is static in Beyond Good and Evil. Just about any area you'll find yourself in will have people or animals going about their daily business--which goes a long way toward bringing Hyllis to life. The game's assured sense of style and place manages to sell you on a world where humanoid animals and people live together in relative harmony, alien attacks notwithstanding.



You'll find an eclectic variety of characters in the game.
From a technical standpoint, Beyond Good and Evil brings Hyllis to life by making use of a generous polygon budget that's complemented by striking visual effects. While the game's unique art style is a bit cartoony, Jade's character model makes use of a good number of polygons and offers an impressive amount of expression in her face. The other characters in the game aren't quite as well done, although their animation manages to convey an equal amount of personality. The environments in the game are stunning and offer broad vistas that are paced with little details. The cities in the game follow suit, with the aforementioned activity and slick designs that show off their unique architecture. The game's impressive lighting and particle effects system do an excellent job of enhancing the visuals on display, offering a host of little touches that add a nice layer of visual polish. In addition, filters on the camera give certain sequences in the game a very surreal, dreamy look that complements the action.



Preview  

Speaking specifically on each console, the powerful graphics engine was made to take advantage of each platform's strengths and to offer the best visuals possible. As a result, the game looks quite outstanding, across the board. The PlayStation 2 version, which presented the greatest performance challenges to the team, is shaping up very well. The game features a generally high frame rate with just a few inconsistencies that are currently being optimized to ensure solid performance. The GameCube, Xbox, and PC versions are shaping up just as well and feature a few more technical bells and whistles, due to the unique strengths of each platform.



Beyond Good and Evil is looking impressive across all platforms.
The audio in the game is still being fine-tuned, but we were able to get a taste of what to expect in the final game. Jade, Pay'j, and the rest of the game's cast all feature capable voice acting that suits the visuals very well. The voice in the game will also be used to provide audio cues--prompting you with hints and tips on what to do and where to go if you spend too much time doing nothing. The sound effects are still shaping up but should offer a rich experience. Aside from your standard assortment of sound effects for gunfire and characters running, the audio in BG&E will feature ambient sound, to bring the gameworld to life, as well as a dynamic soundtrack to complement the action and cutscenes. In terms of exactly how the audio will fare on each platform, the team is currently aiming to make the most of what each platform has to offer, so GameCube and PlayStation 2 owners can look forward to Dolby Pro Logic II support, while Xbox owners can get their receivers ready to pump out 5.1 sound.



Beyond Good and Evil is shaping up to be a strong original title.
From what we've seen so far, Beyond Good and Evil is shaping up to be a strong original title in Ubi Soft's fall lineup. While we're suitably impressed with the game's striking visuals and tight gameplay, we have to say it's the rich story that has us most pleased. Beyond Good and Evil is currently slated to ship this fall for the GameCube, PC, PlayStation 2, and Xbox. Look for more on the game in the coming months.

[Squeek]

SQUEEK HERE AGAIN!

I'm here to give you MORE Screenshots of Soul Calibur II!!  Who'd've thunk it!


This is Astaroth charging a huge attack against Sophitia (Yes, she is in this one, despite the fact that her sister is too.)

Now we focus JUST on my favorite character.... KILIK!  Kilik is way too cool for this game.  He's 23 now, and still rockin.  His Rising Pheonix move (characterized by his "standing" on top of his staff) has been replaced, but you can still perform it, just not in a throw move.



Crappy camera, cool screenie.  This would be before the fight, when the combatants say a few words to each other...to agitate each other.  After the fight, the winner gets to say a few things to the downed enemy.



Aww he's getting hit... But it's by his best friend.  That makes it OK.



Just for the ladies.  Us guys will just marvel at the amount of time it took to code all of that.



One of his throw moves.  This would progress into the person on the staff (taki) being slammed to the ground with the staff up right next to her, then Kilik spinning 360 degrees on the staff and ending up kicking her with both feet at once.  It only hurts for a little while. []

If I could take screenshots, I would take better ones than these.  Particularly the intro, which is the coolest thing ever.



Too bad he got blocked.  That looks sweet.  I wish I knew how to do that [|)]

~Squeek

[PeacefulWarrior]

Thanks for the shots, good stuff!

I am excited to play it!
-Dan

[Squeek]

As you should be....

Who did you play as in the first one?  Just saying because they eliminated Edge Master, Inferno, and Siegfried as playable characters.  So if it was one of them, it isn't anymore! []

~Squeek

[Bob251]

Nightmare.  Because it's so easy to be cheap with Nightmare.  I even beat a friend who knew almost all the special moves for all the characters with Nightmare, using only basic moves.  It's THAT easy to be cheap.

[Squeek]

Ehh... Sure.  I know you can be cheap with him...  But he's slow as anything.  If I block just one of your attacks, or Guard Break it, you're screwed.  One attack from me and you're gone for the whole match.  

I memorized everyone's moves, so I know when one of them is going to sweep low and when one will cut high.... So I can pretty much know when to block every move.

GO KILIK!

~Squeek

[PeacefulWarrior]

I like Kilik too.

[LogoRat]

This is what i do at my free hours