KOTOR vs KOTOR 2

[2HF]

I don't like Star Wars.

I didn't watch them as a child, I was in my mid twenties when I watched the first one (yes, a new hope, I said the first fucking one alright, damn). I only watched it because I lost a bet and that was my punishment. I was not impressed.

With that out of the way, I hear tell that KOTOR is one of the greatest games ever made and I've been dying to give it a shot, but not enough to pay $10 for it.

KOTOR 2 is currently on sale for $5 on steam.

Should I purchase KOTOR 2 and will I get a good enough game to make me want to purchase KOTOR at full price or should I just wait and pray it goes on sale someday?

Will I miss anything in KOTOR 2 if I don't play the first one?

Does anyone have a KOTOR key they're willing to give away/trade?

 

[Auberon]

As Mister Avellone loves writing subvertive works. TSL deconstructs entire franchise, and that makes it awesome story. TSLRCM is mandatory mod to fix the bugs.

 

[Smooth Operator]

Why would you even try to play it if the entire subject matter puts you off, this isn't some sort of barely related dancing flail nonsense, these games are actually entirely about Star Wars so I can only imagine KOTOR for you would be like me playing Twilight games.

 

[shrekfan246]

But hey, if you hate Star Wars, you'll probably dislike the games.

I dunno, I think that depends on why OP doesn't like Star Wars, because from the sounds of it it's more that he just hasn't put in the effort to care about it rather than outright hating the very idea of the franchise.

With that out of the way, I hear tell that KOTOR is one of the greatest games ever made and I've been dying to give it a shot, but not enough to pay $10 for it.

You're hearing too much hype.

It's good, don't get me wrong, but certainly not that good, especially the PC version.

KOTOR 2 is currently on sale for $5 on steam.

Should I purchase KOTOR 2 and will I get a good enough game to make me want to purchase KOTOR at full price or should I just wait and pray it goes on sale someday?

Will I miss anything in KOTOR 2 if I don't play the first one?

Personally, I actually like KotOR 2 more than the first one. On release it was a buggy, literally unfinished game because LucasArts pushed it out to release before Obsidian had the chance to put everything in (like the ending, even), but on the PC there is, as the other poster mentioned, the Sith Lords Restored Content mod which adds in a whole host of cut content.

Whether or not you'll "get a good enough game" or not depends entirely on you, though. Do you not like soft sci-fi universes in general, or just the black&white goody-two-shoes nature of the Jedi vs. the Sith in Star Wars? Or do you just think George Lucas is a massive hack? The writing of the two games, especially 2, is far more nuanced than anything you'd find in the films.

Do you like Mass Effect? Or more to the point, old-school D&D CRPGs like Baldur's Gate, Neverwinter Nights, Arcanum: Of Steamworks and Magick, Fallout/Fallout 2, etc. KotOR and its sequel are the predecessors to the Paragon/Renegade moral bars present in the Mass Effect games, and the gameplay uses a modified version of D&D rules (probably 3.0 or 3.5, whatever was big around 2002 or so, but I don't know enough about D&D myself to say). In addition, in KotOR 2 you have the opportunity to sway most of the party members to either the Light or Dark side depending on your own alignment and the dialogue options you choose and you can eventually even train most of them to become Jedi/Sith themselves if you've influenced them enough.

In either case, it's worth bearing in mind that the games are relatively old now, and as such tend to require tinkering to get running in a stable state on modern hardware. KotOR 2 in particular tends to have random crashes even after applying all of the recommended mods, and their interfaces could stand to be more obvious. Also, they both have agonizingly long "tutorial" segments, but 2 is actually slightly worse in that regard, because without modding you'll be spending upwards of ten hours on an abandoned mining facility and a space station doing menial fetch quests over and over again, and you won't even have a lightsaber by the time you leave the space station. I'll admit it didn't really bother me the first time I played, so if you have the patience for really slow pacing in an RPG you might be able to stomach it as well. And I suppose the lightsaber thing isn't necessarily a problem if you don't really feel like playing heavy stereotypical Jedi, of course, but lightsabers do tend to be the better weapons in the games.

 

[2HF]

Why would you even try to play it if the entire subject matter puts you off

It doesn't "put me off". I don't dislike Star Wars, I just don't like Star Wars. There's a distinct difference.

Still, a good game is a good game.

I hate zombies but I loved The Last Of US (they were zombies, no matter how you dress them up).

If KOTOR can change my mind about Star Wars then fantastic.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

Why would you even try to play it if the entire subject matter puts you off

It doesn't "put me off". I don't dislike Star Wars, I just don't like Star Wars. There's a distinct difference.

Still, a good game is a good game.

I hate zombies but I loved The Last Of US (they were zombies, no matter how you dress them up).

If KOTOR can change my mind about Star Wars then fantastic.

well did you play dragon age? same type of combat just more clunky and not as deep. most people's beef with kotor 1 and 2 is with the gameplay, and it is definitely NOT for everyone. (personally i love the combat, it takes D&D rules and puts them in a real time setting (you still technically take turns but it's close enough that the combat is fluid.)

the stories are definitely a notch above your average story, and they are definitely two of my favorite games ever. that being said, i wouldn't remotely get mad at someone if they said they hated them, they are really specific RPG's and if you don't have a knack for star wars in the first place i can imagine it'd be hard to get into.


also quick warning: both games have somewhat of a long "intro planet"; once the game opens up to let you choose where you want to go, that's when the game reallyyyyy gets fun.

edit: while the 2nd kotor is my favorite of the two, you might spoil some stuff for the first game if you play the 2nd one first...so while i do recommend it, be cautious because it might ruin some stuff from the first one.

 

[shrekfan246]

edit: while the 2nd kotor is my favorite of the two, you might spoil some stuff for the first game if you play the 2nd one first...so while i do recommend it, be cautious because it might ruin some stuff from the first one.

Right, I completely blanked over that because my post was already rambling as it was.

OP, you won't really miss anything if you play KotOR 2 since it's not a direct continuation of the story from the first game, but you will spoil some things from the first KoTOR because a few plot points in 2 hinge directly on some of the twists from the first game.

Granted, the twists aren't necessarily all that subtle if you're a perceptive person, but you'll be able to see it coming ten miles off if you play KotOR after KotOR 2.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

edit: while the 2nd kotor is my favorite of the two, you might spoil some stuff for the first game if you play the 2nd one first...so while i do recommend it, be cautious because it might ruin some stuff from the first one.

Right, I completely blanked over that because my post was already rambling as it was.

OP, you won't really miss anything if you play KotOR 2 since it's not a direct continuation of the story from the first game, but you will spoil some things from the first KoTOR because a few plot points in 2 hinge directly on some of the twists from the first game.

Granted, the twists aren't necessarily all that subtle if you're a perceptive person, but you'll be able to see it coming ten miles off if you play KotOR after KotOR 2.

yepp, I just figured it'd be a fair warning, 1 is not a requirement for 2, they do a good job on bringing anything up to speed or any background info you'd need to know, but damn if it doesn't ruin stuff from the first game if you hadn't played it first.

OP I'd give you a code if I had one, but sadly I don't have an extra. If not on this steam sale the winter one is coming up soon, and I don't think I've seen a winter sale go by without both kotor's going on sale (the second one is obviously on sale now)

 

[An Individual]

I'm not a big fan of Star Wars either. I've seen them and as fairly mindless entertainment they're alright but I won't give them more than that. I picked up KOTOR basically because a lot of people were telling it me it was really good and I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. And as it turns out, I really enjoyed it. Easily one of the best Bioware RPGs ever made.

I later played KOTOR 2 because I'd heard similar good things about it. Not nearly as good. It features Kreia who is one of my favorite characters in any media I've encountered but she cannot carry that game on her own. My advise would be to skip KOTOR 2 and wait until you can pickup the first KOTOR at a price you deem reasonable. It's an older game so you'll probably see it on sale at some point.

Playing KOTOR 2 first will likely put you off playing KOTOR 1 (which is the superior game) and possibly confuse you since it references back to the events of KOTOR 1 on a number of occasions.

 

[Gizmo1990]

I like 1 over 2 but that is mainly because 2 was an unfinished buggy mess. I hear that the restored content mod fixes most of it but I still will not try it on principal.

 

[dangoball]

I'm a bit of a Star Wars fan but that stems from the games, not movies.

KotOR is a good game with a good story and some interesting characters. It's interesting to try both Light and Dark side playthrough (I usually play Light because I don't enjoy cruelty for cruelty's sake, but DS ending has some awesome moments).

KotOR2:TSL is also a good game with a good story and interesting characters. I don't think it has anyone as annoying and useless as Mission (personal opinion) so that's a plus. And it has HK-47 from the first game! Gotta love that rusty bag-o-bolts.

I actually like 2 better because story-wise they seem of similar quality (1 being a bit more StarWars-y) and gameplay got improved - all the skill are actually useful and upgrading items was greatly improved through crafting components and thanks to that ranged party members are actually viable as effective dmg dealers (gunslinger Jedi seems to be popular build on the internet).

So I would recommend getting both and playing them in order.

 

[00slash00]

I don't like Star Wars.

I didn't watch them as a child, I was in my mid twenties when I watched the first one (yes, a new hope, I said the first fucking one alright, damn). I only watched it because I lost a bet and that was my punishment. I was not impressed.

With that out of the way, I hear tell that KOTOR is one of the greatest games ever made and I've been dying to give it a shot, but not enough to pay $10 for it.

KOTOR 2 is currently on sale for $5 on steam.

Should I purchase KOTOR 2 and will I get a good enough game to make me want to purchase KOTOR at full price or should I just wait and pray it goes on sale someday?

Will I miss anything in KOTOR 2 if I don't play the first one?

Does anyone have a KOTOR key they're willing to give away/trade?

Of the two KOTOR 2 probably has a better story (and about a thousand times more bugs. Be aware that you're going to have to spend some time on pcgamingwiki.com in order to get it to run smoothly).

Here's the thing though, KOTOR has not aged well, visually or mechanically. I love Star Wars and finally played KOTOR about 3 years ago because everyone kept saying it's one of the best rpgs ever made and it was probably the biggest disappointment I've ever experienced in a video game. Simply put, everything it did really well back in like 2004, has since been copied and improved upon by dozens of other games. Some people loved the story but I found it extremely boring and somewhat predictable. If you aren't even a fan of Star Wars, I can't really imagine you getting much out of the story. Personally, I would suggest you just pass on the games completely, especially if you aren't a huge Star Wars nerd

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

Kotor 2: the steam edition is better than the boxed copy from what I can hear, and the restored content mod installs rather easily.

It is a great game, past the bugs: the story is good, it deals with the disparity between light vs. dark side, and how both in the end are mirror images of each other and that true mastery lies in the use of both, etc.

It's good because I would say that it is the most daring out of all the Star Wars games and even the media; picking either light side or dark side is not the standard good vs. evil moral choice nonsense, but rather, which option is more useful.

KoTOR 1 on the other hand, isn't so complex, but it is still a really good SW RPG: KoTOR just takes what KoTOR I did and improves it(combat is deeper, companions are more interesting as is their development(they change depending on your alignment) and the game just has more stuff going on in it).

Just bear in mind, that KoTOR II has to be played with the TSLRCM, it just fixes everything that was wrong with it on release.

 

[BrotherRool]

-snip-

I think most people have answered your questions already so they won't (I played KotoR2 before 1 and not only did it make sense but I much prefer the game. However I don't want to overhype it because it's only going to be great to a certain type of person), but I don't think anyone has actually linked the mod you need to install if you did buy KotoR2.

There is no reason not to have The Sith Lords Restored Content Mod [http://deadlystream.com/forum/files/file/197-tsl-restored-content-mod/] installed

Everything it puts into the game was meant to be there, it just wasn't finished for the rushed Christmas release. It completes loose ends, adds back cutscenes that make things make sense and just generally makes the game much less buggy and much more stable.

The creators themselves have approved it's creation. If you're a purist who likes to play games as they're meant to be on the first time through, you should still have this installed. It's less a mod and more a multi-year patch.

If you want more info you can read about it here
http://deadlystream.com/forum/forum/4-tslrcm/

 

[Imperioratorex Caprae]

Personally I felt KOTOR's story was more solid and TSL seemed off to me, even with the revisions. Obsidian has a habit of making halfway decent plots only to be killed by missing data or bugs. Sucks because they have all this potential which is wasted by shitty programming. But thats my opinion, and thus not fact. I just wish Obsidian would actually put out a game that doesn't crash or ruin saves or show a lot of potential and kick me in the nuts at the same time... (*cough* Alpha Protocol *cough*).

 

[Ishal]

I don't like Star Wars.

I didn't watch them as a child, I was in my mid twenties when I watched the first one (yes, a new hope, I said the first fucking one alright, damn). I only watched it because I lost a bet and that was my punishment. I was not impressed.

With that out of the way, I hear tell that KOTOR is one of the greatest games ever made and I've been dying to give it a shot, but not enough to pay $10 for it.

KOTOR 2 is currently on sale for $5 on steam.

Should I purchase KOTOR 2 and will I get a good enough game to make me want to purchase KOTOR at full price or should I just wait and pray it goes on sale someday?

Will I miss anything in KOTOR 2 if I don't play the first one?

Does anyone have a KOTOR key they're willing to give away/trade?

Something you should know, it depends on what exactly you don't like about Star Wars, but the guy who wrote KOTOR II also hated Star Wars. Or, at the very least, had some things that really rubbed him the wrong way.

Most things in KOTOR are explained in KOTOR II in one way or another. I recommend you pick up a copy of KOTOR II and try it out. If you don't like it, thats a shame, but it really is one helluva good story.

 

[Doom972]

KOTOR 2 is great if you add the restored content mod (haven't tried the restored planet one yet but I hear it's also good), but I recommend playing the original first. It'll probably go for $5 as well (maybe even less), and at that price I think you can take that chance. Regardless of being Star Wars games, the KOTOR games are great RPGs.

 

[2HF]

People of the world, hear these words (in your head, in your own voice I suppose).

One's disposition towards a thing is not a binary state. Everything is not love or hate.

I never said I hated Star Wars. I said I didn't like Star Wars. That means that on a scale from hate to love I fall into a mostly indifferent category.

Here's a better way of looking at it.

Love
Like
Don't like
Dislike
Hate

See how "Don't like" falls right in the middle? It might sound negative but it isn't. It sounds negative because "Don't dislike" is a stupid way to phrase the same sentiment.

 

[Pirate Of PC Master race]

I would give KOTOR "Oooook" level of recommendation. I think I might have been pretty easy to impress 3 years ago.

It seems like some people prefer KOTOR 2 over 1. Personally I wouldn't recommend KOTOR 2. It was like playing KOTOR without actual fun bits. Beginning of the KOTOR 2 certainly felt like someone pouring lukewarm butter on my face. Combat is certainly far better in 2. But with glaring sense of emptiness of KOTOR 2 combat can't hold the game together.

If you can swallow graphics and bugs(I only had like 2 throughout playing 1 and 2. But then I was using windows XP.) I think KOTOR is fine game. And for god's sake, buy HK-47 in Tatooine shop.