Only just finished downloading the ME3 extended cut and haven't actually had a chance to play it yet. It was obvious they weren't actually going to change anything though because that would make them look bad, so I've had pretty low expectations all along.
woodaba said:
2. What is the most egrecious case of character derailment you have ever encountered? By this I mean a character completely changes their outlook and personality with little development in service of the plot. Commander Shepard in the final moments of Mass Effect stands out, big time, but the golden turd simply must go what they did to JC Denton in Deus Ex: Invisible War. I'm... not even going to say how many things were wrong with that.
One of the ones I think was handled the worst actually comes later on in KOTOR, so in case anyone doesn't know it's coming...
...it's the way Bastila flip-flops to the dark side and back after being captured by Malak. Though I guess in this playthrough she probably won't be turning back?
I've already got the footage recorded, the problem is the choice is, as yous said, very spoilery, and I didn't want to do a choice that would exclude people who have not played the game before. So, I just went with what I think people would have gone for. Hopefully my choice doesn't get me lynched...
I've already got the footage recorded, the problem is the choice is, as yous said, very spoilery, and I didn't want to do a choice that would exclude people who have not played the game before. So, I just went with what I think people would have gone for. Hopefully my choice doesn't get me lynched...
This has really been the perfect storm of delays. Photobucket being a pain in the ass, the update itself being loooooong, and having to start all over again. TWICE. But, that's all out of the way, I apologize for the lateness, and I hope you enjoy this update.
Oh, and if you haven't played KoTOR before, DO NOT LOOK AT THE REPLIES BELOW THIS ONE. I'm serious. Spoilers ahoy.
Last time, we finished our business on Kashyyyk and set course for Korriban, ancient homeworld of the Sith and a protracted field day for Dark-Side characters.
However, as we drop out of hyperspace, we run into a little trouble...
With this development, Carth and Bastila rally the crew, and they meet in the center room.
"This is your chance to avenge the deaths of your family!"
"Oh, quiet you."
"I'm sufficiently badass to evade Karath's guards."
"A droid would have the best chance. HK-47 could come rescue us."
"What if the Sith disassemble you before your reserve power supply kicks in?"
"Okay...we don't have time for anything else. Let's do it!"
Soon...
"We found a droid in the cargo bay. It matches the designs of our Assassin Droids. It has been deactivated, and the memory has been wiped."
Elsewhere in the ship...
"Do you see him when you touch yourself, Carth?"
"SHUT UP, VAREN!"
"My son died too, but, that isn't important enough to mention."
...that's a really creepy smile...
"Hey, moron. See the face? I'm not even out of my twenties, yet I look like I've been around since the friggin' Dawn of the Jedi. I'm not exactly devoted to the light."
"History? What are you talking about?"
"What the hell are you talking about?"
"What...really? You'd really do this for me? Wow! Gee whiz, Mr. Karath. You're the best!"
This guy has obviously never read Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
"What? Revan and Malak were both Jedi! They were trained at the Academy! You already know where the academy is!"
"Oh, FUCK YES! THIS IS AWESOME!"
DUN DUN DUNNN!
"Eh. I never liked them anyway."
"...you really don't know me, do you?"
One of the weirdest things about this plot twist is the fact that it happens entirely offscreen. Its a major plot point for the rest of the game and the sequel, and we never see Dantooine ever again. It reeks of cut content, and reduces the impact of the reveal by, once again, telling rather than showing.
"I was thinking that I would shove a lightsaber into Malak's face. Mix things up a little."
"YES! MORE! MORE! THIS IS AMAZING!"
"Come on! Again! Again!"
Unfortunately, we have to censor the next thirty seconds, in order to prevent this presentation from gaining an Adult Only rating. Once Varen is...er...finished...Saul continues.
Soon, we pass out. Some time later, we regain conciousness.
"Blah, blah, blah. Don't you ever get tired of being so preachy?"
"Eh. Maybe he was lying."
Ah, of course. The Force: all purpose Plot-Device for a lazy writer's needs.
"I'm not afraid of that guy! In fact, I think he's pretty cool."
"Ha! Idiot. The only reason I stayed silent was to watch you suffer."
"How mentally fucking deficient are you? I have done nothing but berate and belittle you throughout this entire fucking journey, and you think we shared a bond? Go die in a fire."
"Oh, fuck you."
Meanwhile, in a nearby room...
"Badass Statement: Guess who's back, meatbags?"
In this little segment, we actually PLAY as HK-47 in his quest to rescue Varen and Co, from their electrified prison.
Before we set off on that mission, we take our time to reprogram and repair a nearby droid to help us.
With our new droid sidekick (let's call him Clank), we set our into the Jail Block to search for the rest of the Ebon Hawk's crew.
The enemies of this floor are basically cannon fodder. One, maybe two, hits will take down your average mook here. We don't even need Clank most of the time, though he's fun to have around..
Clank joins in on the fun when we are ambushed from behind in the middle of the fight.
On the corpse of the fallen guard, we find a passcode for the brig. However, before we go there, we check out the nearby security room.
As expected, it's filled with mooks.
With the guards dead, we take the opportunity to hack into the nearby console.
Via the Security Console, we can access many different wonderful things, including...
...an feed of the barracks, featuring Sith troops standing around doing nothing. Geez, from the "party" on Taris to this, the Sith grunts are really...boring.
We also download the area schematics of this floor to make it easier to get around.
Our objective is clearly indicated, but unfortunately, we are unable to access the detention area just yet, because the door is locked and we lack the computer spikes to access it. We're just going to have to explore a bit more, starting with the Brig, which needed to be separate from the detention of the facility because...reasons.
Upon heading to the brig, we see a group of Rodians locked inside. Upon freeing them however...
...we are helpfully informed by the 4th wall that they are Insane Rodians, and they attack on sight.
They are squishy, like all meatbags, so deep-frying them with our wrist-mounted flamethrower is pretty damned effective. Jango Fett, eat your heart out.
With the lunatic Rodians throughly toasted, we can direct our attention to the next cell.
This Rodian is signifcantly less insane. We hope.
"Query: Who are you?"
"Suspicious Query: What do you mean by "rare" goods?"
"Shocked Realization: You are a smuggler!"
"Pained Diagnostic:The grammar! The grammar! Grammatical error tolerance overload! Reconfigurating...How can you help me?"
Wait...ICE breaker...the hacking device from Deus Ex? WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT. Well, we know that Bioware has a track record for (ahem) "taking inspiration" from that game...
The endings to ME3 and Deus Ex the 1st are identical.
Destroy the Aquinas Hub - Destroy all Synthetics
Join the Illumatti and Control the world - Control the Reapers
Merge with HELIOS - Merge Organic and Synthetic life
Yeah, great "artistic integrity" there, Bioware /rantover
...so I think we can write it off as coincidence and not as the two taking place in the same universe. But, someone totally should do a KoTOR and Deus Ex team up. Hell, they did it for the X-men and Star Trek, so why not this?
"Query: Wouldn't the Sith confiscate something like that?"
"Initiating Disgust Protocols."
Hey, at least it isn't as bad as the guy in Dragon Age who swallowed a key. Keys were pretty friggin big in medieval times! It would be like passing a ruler through your bowels.
...now that your lunch is all over your screen, lets continue.
"Feigned Concern: What about the rest of your crew?"
I can't tell whether this guy is callous dickhead or if Rodians are just... like that. Unlike series like Star Trek and Mass Effect, the culture of the various species is never really explored to any significant degree. You get the odd exception, like Iridonians/Zabrak or the Sith Purebloods, and even the Rodians, but their culture is very much "past-tense", they have fully acclimated to Galactic Culture by the time the movies roll around, and you usually get a few tidbits about each race but by and large it is less racial culture in Star Wars and more organizational culture. I guess its because all the various species have all sort of blended together. I find it rather fascinating; it is something rarely seen in Sci-Fi, as far as I know, yet its one of the least talked about things in the Star Wars universe. Hell, even Star Trek, which was supposed to be all about a united future and working together (until JJ Abrams got his lens flare seared hands on it anyway), it was only really Humanity that was that, at least in the Original Series.
...where was I?
"Resigned Agreement: Very well, meatbag. Prepare for release."
And off he goes, likely to be shot by the nearest Sith Guard. Poor little guy really didn't think this through, did he?
We return to the security console, ICE breaker in hand.
Hooray! How it's time to rescue Varen and co.!
Upon logging into the computer, we find it unlocked, unguarded, and all ready to free Varen and the others. Man, Sith security is really lax.
Woah, woah, woah. Hold the fuckin phone. This line seems to imply that the Leviathan is actually a Republic Ship! Yeah, because dark lighting, torture chambers, and Sith Symbols really scream "republic". Unless, Carth was previously on the Sith's side? Could that be the Revelation that the title of this update is ominously referring to?
...no. No it isn't.
"Let's get our gear and blast our way to those bridge controls!"
"Hey, you're not going anywhere without me!"
"I'm planning on shooting my way out. Mix things up a little."
"Good. Get to the equipment room, grab what you need, and get going."
"I still want my gear back. Let's go."
Carth and Bastila get their gear back immediately, but we need to ruffle through these lockers to get our stuff back. I'm just asking for a little consistency here, people!
Fortunately, we find it fairly quickly, and soon, we're off to the bridge!
Just as we reach the elevator, we are contacted by Canderous.
Upon arrival, we are immediately confronted by some more Sith Grunts.
These guys are a little more challenging than the ones HK fought on the previous floor, but not by much.
This area is basically one big gauntlet until the Bridge. Not really due to the level design, but because the teammate AI always insists on running about a mile ahead to punch a Sith Grunt in the face that had no quarrel with us at that moment.
"DAMMIT BASTILA! STAY! HEEL!"
Finally, when the AI is quite finished making my life a lot more difficult than it has to be, we come across a computer console.
As with the last area, we download some area schematics to make naviagation a little easier.
We have a pretty clear run to the bridge, however...
Damn. We're gonna have to find another way in.
Nearby, we find a room FILLED with nothing less than...
Yeah. Security is ramping up, to say the least.
Once the Dark Jedi are dealt with, we discover a door in the room. Thanks to Varen's less than savory skillset, we are able to pick the lock (don't ask) and behind it, find...
Another passage to the bridge! Specifically, an Airlock.
Unfortunately, we don't happen to be carrying space suits on our person at the moment, so we'll have to go look for some.
We set a course for the armory.
Once again picking the non-existent lock, we break into the armory.
...something tells me that putting mines in an armory filled with guns and explosives is a bad idea.
Thankfully, on the far side of the room, we find what we have been looking for.
We loot quite a lot of weaponry from the armory as well, mostly to sell off to the nearest trader.
Returning to the airlock, its time to go for a Spacewalk!
Oh god...these things look familiar...
Yes, it turns out that the space suits initiate bullet time in much the same way the underwater suits do! Yay! Without the added benefit of pretending you're a Big Daddy! This was SUCH a good design decision, wasn't it?
After entering the next airlock and removing our space suits, we have a straight run to the bridge.
With those guards dead, nothing stands in our way between here and the bridge.
Except the door. I guess that maybe stands in our way.
[HEADING=2]Update 32: Revelations Part Two[/HEADING]
And thus our battle with the Admiral begins. While this is a challenging fight, it's not as hard as it first appears. Its difficulty comes not from Karath himself, but rather, the fact that we begin the fight surrounded by Dark Jedi. I found that the most successful strategy was hammering Saul, and, by extension, the two Dark Jedi beside him, ignore the Sith Soldiers for now, and have Bastila and Carth fight the Dark Jedi behind us.
Once the Admiral goes down, we can focus on his lackeys.
As we land the final blow on Karath's men...
So says Derpy Carth.
"Take your time, Carth. Make him suffer for what he's done to you!"
"Okay, he's dead. Family avenged. Sexual frustrations in check. Can we go now?"
"Whatever this is about, Carth deserves an answer. And so do I! Start talking, Bastila!"
"I suppose you're right, Bastila. I don't think our levels our high enough to beat Malak now, we need to go before he gets here."
And with that, we start looting!
Seriously, who the hell just carries around that kind of money?
Unfortunately, a couple of Sith Soldiers rudely interrupt us. We send them on their merry way with a healthy blast of lightning. To the face.
After that, we access the nearby console.
"Yes! I'm not leaving this place: we can just take it for ourselves! Fly around the galaxy, blowing up planets with our massive dreadnought! Fuck yes!"
"...shit."
"Alright, fine. Have it your way."
With that, we leave the bridge, and begin to make our way to the Hangar deck.
Unfortunately, more enemies have spawned since we have last been here.
Among the standard troopers, we also find a few Dark Jedi scattered throughout the halls.
With that explosion, our path to the elevator is clear.
One we reach the floor, we are once again contacted by our Mandalorian pal Canderous.
We go to do that, but, a door opens, revealing yet another group of Sith Troopers.
Further on, the last vanguard between us and the hangar bay faces us.
Varen used liberal amounts of Force Lighting and choking.
It's Super Effective!
"Ah...never have I been so happy to see that flying hunk of shit before in my life."
Up ahead, we see an ominous red, which is never good. Ever.
...told you... 0_0
Err...just imagine Carth shooting at Malak, and Malak reflecting them with his lightsaber. Malak then force pushes Carth to the floor. Let's also imagine I don't suck at screencapping.
What a hearty laugh! Malak is such a jolly old soul.
"What the hell are you talking about?"
FLLLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASHBAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK
Now that I have summarily ruined the dramatic levity of this moment, let's talk about it for a second.
So, yes. In case that flew right over your head, it turns out, that Varen, is actually Revan, the Dark Lord of the Sith, Hero of the Mandalorian wars, and Mask enthusiast. Which anyone could have realized if they rearranged the letters of her name for a second.
This is one of the all time great twists in Video Games, in the same way that the revelation that Darth Vader was Luke Skywalker's father was a incredibly shocking reveal back in the day. But, Bioware understands what M.Night Shyamalan does not: a good twist does not come out of the blue with no previous foreshadowing, a good twist should make you think "Oh man, how did I miss all those clues!" And there certainly were a lot of clues. In fact, pretty much every single thing the Jedi Council said was a clue. Unfortunately, again in the same manner of Empire's twist, it is now as well-known as "It was his sled!" at least among RPG fans.
But enough pointless rambling. Lets continue.
"W...what? I'm....Darth Revan? How is that even possible?"
"UNFORTUNATELY, THEY MADE A CRUCIAL MISTAKE. YOU WERE DRIVEN COMPLETELY INSANE BY YOUR MENTAL RE-CONDITIONING, TURNING YOUR PREVIOUS RESERVED, PERHAPS EVEN REASONABLE, PERSONA INTO ONE OF A COMPLETE MADWOMAN."
"But...that makes no sense! Why wouldn't they simply kill me?"
"How would they even capture someone as powerful as Revan...me?"
"But why did you betray...your master?"
"...Bastila, is this true?"
"Well...tried to, at least."
"But...the memories I have...where do they come from?"
"You've been lying to me this whole time, Bastila!"
"You used me, Bastila! You're no better than a toolbox like Carth!"
"Hey!"
"Shut up, Carth."
"And that worked out splendidly, didn't it?"
"Triumph, Malak? You seem to forget that I'm still alive! I'll kill you, tear your flest from your bones, and reassert myself as the one true ruler of this galaxy!"
"Frozen...good. They'd only get in my way."
And so, it begins! Revan VS Malak! Master VS Apprentice! Captain Psycho VS Major Baldy! Who shall win? Who shall come out on top? This is gonna be awesome!
...or it could be a boss battle as easy as Marauder Shields. I'm serious: this is one of the easiest boss battles in the entire game. Malak hits hard, to be sure, but his pitiful life bar and low defense means that a few well-placed powers will end him incredibly quickly.
And then...this happens.
HE RUNS THE FUCK AWAY.
Are you serious? THIS is the asshole you've hyped up this entire game to be this awesome villain? This is like fucking Harbinger in Mass Effect 3, who is the MAIN FUCKING VILLAIN of the entirety of the previous game and 99% of the current one, and then appears in a FUCKING CAMEO at the very end, and doesn't even get any lines in the Extended Cut! No! Fuck that. Marvel Comics have this thing where if their villain Doctor Doom does anything stupid or out of character, then the writers can just say "Oh, no it was a Doom-Bot all along! The real Dr.Doom couldn't be that stupid!" Cheap, but it works. So thats what I'm saying Malak is here. Its not the REAL Malak. Just a Malak-Bot.
Ignoring Bastila and Carth, we immediately give chase.
Oh, awesome. Now Malak-Bot is Morpheus.
No difficulty boost here, Malak-Bot is just as easy as he was before.
...and here comes the stupidest and laziest moment in the entire game.
And...there we have it.
In the very first update, way back through the mists of time to January, I mentioned that there were two very similar heroic sacrifices in this game, and both of them were lame. The first sucked because Corporal Tutorial had NO chance against Darth Bandon. He would have been cleaved through in seconds, making his sacrifice utterly pointless. This...is dumb for a whole mess of different reasons. I could buy that Bastila could hold her own against Malak, at least long enough to let Carth and Revan escape, and the scene by itself is well written, and, in better context, pretty powerful. BUT...keep in mind, we just kicked Malak's ass with ZERO difficulty. Bastila sacrificed herself to stop someone as threatening as James freakin Sunderlannd. This severely undermines the gravity of the scene, and makes the whole thing feel pointless.
...the rest of this level is great, so I guess I can overlook this, but it does annoy me.
"I'm not about to leave her there! I wan't my revenge!"
"Her sacrifice was already in vain, but fine. I guess."
"There she is!...wait, why is there no shileding on the Hangar Bay doors? Shouldn't we be blown out into space?"
"DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT RIGHT NOW GO GO GO GO"
Unfortunately, the Sith don't just let us go, and we're forced to take to the ship's cannons to fight off the fighters.
With the Not-TIE Fighters sufficeientlly fought back, we steal our way back into hyperspace...
"Where's Bastila?"
"We have to go back! For entirely scrupulous reasons that have nothing to do with revenge!"
"Say one word and you're dead, Carth!"
"Small bits. A few dreams and visions."
"Shut up, Carth."
"Blame the Jedi Council for this, not me!"
"Oh, get over yourself already!"
KoTOR II: LOL NO IT WAS REVAN ALL LONG BITCHEZZZZZ
"Finally! You get it! I'm evil! God, at least ONE person understands. What about you, Jolee?"
"What do you think, Canderous?"
D'awww.
"What do you have to say, HK-47?"
"...is it love? And does it have anything to do with the fact that you're glowing?"
"Your homing system...what's that?"
"You mean... Revan?"
"Well, that makes a lot of sense, actually."
"Not that you can see any under these ridiculous sunglasses."
"Oh, yeah, T3-M4, I almost forgot you existed. Are you with me?"
"Well, Carth. Are you going to sit down and shut up now?"
"The airlock is thataway, if you wanna take your only other option."
So, Veterans and Newcomers to KoTOR, what did you think of the titular Revelations contained within these juicy spoiler tags? Did you see it coming? Was it painfully obvious? Did it blow your mind (<- i'm in this camp)? Did you react with ambivalence? Or were you one of the unfortunate souls who was told the Revelation before you reached this part?
So, Veterans and Newcomers to KoTOR, what did you think of the titular Revelations contained within these juicy spoiler tags? Did you see it coming? Was it painfully obvious? Did it blow your mind (<- i'm in this camp)? Did you react with ambivalence? Or were you one of the unfortunate souls who was told the Revelation before you reached this part?
Without wanting to sound like a smartarse I pretty much saw it coming the first time I played the game - they'd been setting Revan up as a major character (of indeterminate gender) the entire time, skirting around what exactly happened to him/her in the end, and if they were going to usurp Malak as the main antagonist they really would have had to have done it before this point.
So that only really left the player character, whose background has never really been established despite all the cryptic comments from the Jedi... I dunno, it just fit. It was still pretty cool to have my suspicions confirmed though
So, Veterans and Newcomers to KoTOR, what did you think of the titular Revelations contained within these juicy spoiler tags? Did you see it coming? Was it painfully obvious? Did it blow your mind (<- i'm in this camp)? Did you react with ambivalence? Or were you one of the unfortunate souls who was told the Revelation before you reached this part?
I was also blown away by the twist in story when I came across it. This game came out (quick google search) in 2003. I was 10-11 when I played this game so I couldn't pick up on the clues they left, so it came as a complete and utter shock. To me, it what made this game go from being good and fun, to being amazing and something wonderful. In all fairness, this game, and a large part this twist, is what made me fall in love with Bioware and RPGs in general. Since then, the thing that I want in a game has always been a good story.
...I still think KOTOR 2 is better in every convievable way. In fact, I can't even play 1 anymore without remembering how much better 2 was (and yes, before you ask, I do use the restored content mod).
Actually, my only problem with KOTOR 2 (and one of the problems I have with 1) is that if you try to follow a philosophy similar to Jolee or Kreia, that is, keeping your 'force' meter roughly in the center, the games actively punish you for it. This is most egrigious in the cave on korriban in 2.
...I still think KOTOR 2 is better in every convievable way. In fact, I can't even play 1 anymore without remembering how much better 2 was (and yes, before you ask, I do use the restored content mod).
Actually, my only problem with KOTOR 2 (and one of the problems I have with 1) is that if you try to follow a philosophy similar to Jolee or Kreia, that is, keeping your 'force' meter roughly in the center, the games actively punish you for it. This is most egrigious in the cave on korriban in 2.
I agree with pretty much everything you say. I do think KoTOR II is better in every single way, though I still think the original is a great game in its own right.
In regards to the morality system, thats something that is endemic of pretty much every Bioware game. You are routinely punished if you don't go all Light/Paragon/Open Hand or Dark/Renegade/Closed fist. I maintain that morality gauges are exceedingly dumb, after all, how good or bad someone is should not be so easily quantifiable. Games like Dragon Age, and later Obsidian games are a step in the right direction, with influence measuring the results of a player's actions numerically rather than just saying "YOU ARE 10% MORE EVIL."
I think Mass Effect improved it by at least decoupling the scales (and then making them almost completely irrelevant in ME3). In the KOTOR games there may have been one or two times where I would've liked to choose a Light or Dark side option that went against the grain of the rest of my playthrough, but taking the penalty dissuaded me.
It blew my mind. I was maybe 14 at the time. I don't really pick up on clues all that well. Really though the twist kind of ruined the Light side for me. I mean it just felt like the jedi won(in the mind programming, of course they win the war(well they win but they lose as shown in kotor 2) if you go light side).
[HEADING=2]Update 33: The Fresh Princess of Korriban[/HEADING]
Last time, we learned that we were, in fact, the Sith Lord Darth Revan, only with a lot less memories and a lot more crazy. We barely managed to escape the Sith vessel Leviathan intact, and have begun our way to the final planet on our destination list, Korriban.
Ok, I lied. We're not heading to Korriban just yet, we're stopping off at the old space station orbiting Yavin. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. No, no! Not the belt, daddy! Not the belt!
...
...
...please forget you read that.
"What's going on, ugly vendor dude?"
"I think you guys better leave."
"[Force Persuade]Leave. Now."
The Trandoshans flee. But, true to their word, they'll be back.
Suvam has some more equipment, but nothing for Jedi, and everyone else is already reasonably well-equipped anyway. No more detours: it's tome to go hunting for our last Star Map. However, we have a quick chat with the crew before we set out.
"So...I was your original owner?"
Aww. The big lug does care.
"Wait...you find it distressing?"
"Am I much like the old Revan? I mean, the old me. God, this is confusing."
"So...why all the "meatbag" references?"
"So, Malak was the original meatbag? I like that idea."
"Do you know anything about the Star Forge?"
"So, what can you tell me about Malak?"
"Keep that in mind for when we inevitably meet. This ship could do with some entrails. Could brighten up the place. Do any more repairs need to be done?"
"Soon, HK. Soon..."
We go have a chat with Jolee, seeing as the rude intervention of the Harbinger cut short any conversations we could have had with the guy.
"So, why are you here?"
"So you wanted a ride on my ship?"
"If you don't want to answer the question, Old Man, just say so."
"I choked my mother to death at the age of five. At least, that's what I remember. Ugh, this is going to take some getting used to."
"Did you annoy this person endlessly too?"
"Never heard of him."
"Oh, geez. This is gonna be one of those allegorical stories designed to teach me a lesson, isn't it? Bastila has enough of those to fill Deep Thought's head." (look it up, kids!)
"As boring as this story?"
"Are you fucking kidding me?"
"And...what does that have to do with you coming with me?"
Jolee fucking rocks. That's all I have to say. Let's move on to our old pal Carth.
"So...you ready to talk about this...thing?"
"Get on with it then."
"Must not have tried hard enough. I can hate people for looking at me funny. People I hate tend to die. Via lightning."
After being dumped with a metric fuckton of foreshadowing, we finally set course for Korriban.
Before we disembark, we have another chat with Jolee.
"Y'know, you never did say why you wanted to come with me."
"Are you always going to be this elusive?"
"You looked pretty happy there to me."
"I'll admit... for all its flaws, Kashyyyk was home enough. But when you came along with your big destiny before you, I couldn't help but be intrigued."
"You know what my destiny is?"
This is obviously foreshadowing for the Revan reveal, but since we're already past that, it just seems rather weird.
"Wait, tell me more of what you see."
"Nomi? Who's Nomi?"
"So, you're along as some kind of observer?"
With that, we disembark onto Korriban. To be honest, I'm glad we all voted this planet for last, as it makes more sense and changes the most with the Revan reveal. Plus, Bastila decides to hide on the ship if you go there before the Leviathan, so nothing of value was lost. However, as we leave the Ebon Hawk, we are accosted by an unfamiliar individual.
"I am the Dark Lord of the Sith!"
"Who are you?"
"You're with the Exchange!"
"Get to the point - how did you know who I am?"
"Sources? What sources?"
"How does this involve you?"
"Let me see these items."
"I'll go check it out."
"Well, he is officially on my "Persons who know too much and I should probably murder at some point" list."
With that, we continue on into Dreshdae proper.
"Jedi come here often, do they?"
"So I imagine."
"You know of the Ebon Hawk?"
"[Force Persuade Again]You really don't need to collect the fee."
Boy, he looks nervous, doesn't he? I guess I would be too if someone raped my mind like that.
Just inside, we come across this group.
"Why? What did they do?"
"Kill them. I don't care."
With that wanton murder done with, we continue into Dreshdae.
"What sort of merch do you offer?"
"Why so?"
If that were the case, half the football supporters in this country would be Sith Lords...
Down the hall, we find a bunch of Sith students loitering about.
"You really wanna go there, mate? You really want to pull the Sith card?"
"You can TRY to kill me. You'd fail, but you can try."
Canderous' hair is not amused.
"Such impudence! Do you know who I am? I am Darth Revan! The Dark Lord of the Sith! Watch your tongue, or I'll tear it out!"
"I'm not joking! Stop it!"
"I'm going to murder them. I'm going to murder them so much."
Further on, we find a Czerka supply shop.
"What does Czerka do here on Korriban?"
"Um...are you alright? Your eyes appear to have...broke."
Outside the shop, we find another unsavory individual.
"Yeah, the Ebon Hawk is my ship."
"Hand what over? What are you talking about?"
"Davik's dead. Left him under a pile of rubble back on Taris. I stole the Ebon Hawk from him."
"I could look for it."
Seeing as it's nearby, we run back to the Hawk.
With the spice retrieved, we return to Lurze.
"I've got it right here, bug-face."
"You tryin' to stiff me? I don't work for Davik, remember? I want more."
"That's better."
"I'm always interested in more credits, especially if the money is as easy as this."
"Make it 3000 and we have a deal."
"What happens if I open the box?"
"Well....that is certainly...foreshadowy."
"Just tell me what it is, and I won't open it!"
"No! I can't, under Storywriting Convention No. 65."
"Where is this Motta?"
"Alright. I'll do it."
With that done, we speak to the exchange agent our friend in the hangar bay mentioned.
"Ziagrom says you sell...specalist...items."
"I'm glad you've seen the light."
"Ha ha! Fat chance."
Sadly, he doesn't really have anything all that useful to us, so we use the spice credits to stock up on medkits and leave Dreshdae. All in all, it was really more of a corridor than a settlement, to be honest.
And here's Korriban. Lovely, innit? Truly picturesque. This is a world that just screams "Yes! I want to live here! I just love ridiculous rock formations, arid badlands, and a severe lack of water."
We go to enter the Sith Academy, however, we are accosted by a familiar face upon our arrival...
"Er...do I know you?"
A brave front...but, unfortunately, she snaps like a twig.
Despite this display of our awesome power, we are denied entrance to the Sith Academy, and, by extension, the rest of the planet. We're going to have to gain entrance to the Sith Academy the old fashioned way: signing up. Fortunately, an opurrtunity has presented itself in the cantina...
"So, you know what I am."
"Who are you?"
"What if I said I was already Sith?"
"Try higher. What about Revan?"
"Dammit. I'm going to murder the next person who doesn't believe me. But you can get off scott free. For now."
"Yeah, go on."
"Yes. Twice. The second one wasn't quite as thorough."
"[Force Persuade Yet Again}Yes. You want to let me into the Academy."
"Yes. I'll become a Sith. Again. And I'll wipe the floor with the lot of you!"
"Companions? Ha! They are slaves, nothing more."
"Yes, I am."
And with that, we are taken to the Sith Academy. Hijinks to follow, I do assure you.
Question Time! This update, we saw some lines obviously intended for players who had not uncovered the truth behind their identity yet. This left the lines feeling rather awkward and out of place, foreshadowing for events that have already occurred. My question is, does this bother you? Is it an acceptable sacrifice to allow the Player to tackle the content in the order they wish? Or do you prefer an experience that is carefully constructed to avoid this kind of thing?
Question Time! This update, we saw some lines obviously intended for players who had not uncovered the truth behind their identity yet. This left the lines feeling rather awkward and out of place, foreshadowing for events that have already occurred. My question is, does this bother you? Is it an acceptable sacrifice to allow the Player to tackle the content in the order they wish? Or do you prefer an experience that is carefully constructed to avoid this kind of thing?
Sorry, took me ages to get a chance to actually finish reading!
Personally I didn't notice too much of it, but I think in general I'm happy for there to be a few rough edges if it's in the name of player choice. It's really horses for courses though - it's a great in a game like this, but linear and constructed suits others much better.
[HEADING=2]Update 34: What, you thought I was gone forever?[/HEADING]
...well, I sure gave you that impression. Between my less than glamorous but really fun holiday to the sticks, and the recent release of the final version of the Knights of the Old Republic 2 Restored Content Mod (which you have to go and play RIGHT NOW if you are able), I've been gone for far longer than I am comfortable with. I hope I didn't piss too many of you off, and if there any of you out there that still enjoy this series, then I hope you'll stick with us a little while longer.
Last time, we were admitted into the Sith Academy on Korriban, an event that I am certain will not lead to any mishaps or mischief.
Whoa...what's with all the tats, bro? This guy is proper street, homies.
...I'll never do that again, sorry.
"I know that the Sith are powerful. A force to be reckoned with. Nowhere near on the level of me, but, hey, what are ya gonna do?"
Well, I guess it was ok...but sith-level? You're easily impressed, Uthar. I've seen more evil enthusiasm from the Conservative Party's youth branch.
"I know more than you could possibly imagine, fool. I will drown the galaxy in my fury. But...I suppose I can donate a portion of my valuable time to your posturing."
"You heard the lady! Let's gather as many pretentious Christopher Nolan movies about magicians that we possibly can! Go go go!"
"Unless you have any other talents. Then I suppose you could go to a community college, or something."
With that, we are ushered to our new quarters, that basically consists of a corner, without walls or doors, containing of a bed and...nothing else. Just outside, we meet Yuthura again.
"Your favorite prospect?"
"At least someone here is smart. Well, as smart as people that aren't me are."
"Absolutely."
"What's so important about this tomb?"
"That master on the end is the catalyst for why that's the first time you've said something to me that hasn't irritated me, Carth. Keep it up."
"You want me to kill Master Uthar?"
"Pupil against master. Sounds familiar."
"And what's your part in this?"
"How do I know this isn't some test?"
"Alright. I agree."
"I wanna know more about these ruins on the surface. And any Star Maps they may contain."
"Is there any way to enter the tomb of Naga Sadow?"
"CARTH! Get the Hawk. I'm going to finish my conversation with Ms. Ban. Have you ever met Darth Revan?"
"No, I mean Barry Revan, who runs the butcher shop down the road. OF COURSE I MEAN DARTH REVAN YOU FUCKING NIMROD."
"So...Hypothetically speaking...if you two were to meet...you wouldn't recognize her ravishing beauty if it stared at you right in the face?"
"Bollocks. Goddamn my past self."
Oh, Irony. Thy name is comedy. And also Irony. But mostly comedy.
"Do you think it's possible that Revan might still be alive?"
"That's all I have to say on that subject."
"Soooo... It's in my contractual obligation as a CRPG heroine (that's a laugh) to ask you about yourself. So... yeah."
"Yeah, 'spose not. Can you tell me more about the Code of the Sith?"
Before you ask, yes, I do know that off by heart.
Yes, I am a sad bastard.
"Nah, I think I'll let the narrator explain it. He gets off on getting up on his soapbox and explaining retarded Star Wars Expanded Universe crap."
Well, you get off on torturing people. On the ladder of societal contempt, I think that's slightly less accepted than your accusation. (ahem)
So, yeah. The Sith code isn't technically "Do evil shit because it's fun to do evil shit". It basically boils down to using the power of your emotions to break free of the shackles the Jedi Order places on a force-user, and rise anew as your own person, using the force to exert your rightful position as a superior being because of your birthright. For me, that all sounds well and good until we get to the whole "racial superiority" thing. I'm not a huge fan of how the Jedi Order basically brainwashes and indoctrinates children into believing their crap. The Sith, rather, just say "Let loose! Do what you want! Do anything you like without restriction or consideration of morality, society, and the others around you!"
...putting it like that, the Sith Doctrine sounds a bit live Objectivism, no? I could definitely see Ayn Rand as a Sith Lord, myself.
"So...you mentioned you were from Sleheyron."
"I just want to know more about you, that's all."
"Uh...Canderous...what the hell is Varen doing?"
"I think she's being...pleasant. It's weird and frightening to me."
"The Jedi? Those pansies? What happened?"
"Oh, alright. Spoilsport."
I'd just like to point out that we are now officially The Most Evil Thing in Existence, courtesy of the Arbitrary Morality Scale-O-Matic.
Elsewhere in the dormitories, we meet up with an old friend from Dreshdae.
Apparently, a took a screen shot the split second before the subtitles came on. Yes, really. I'm amazingly good at being rubbish, apparently.
"I remember you from the colony. You seem alright, though you'll not get the chance to train over me."
"I challenge you to a duel."
"Rrr. But...but...you have to duel me! You're trying to become a Sith as well!
"And what way is that?"
"Why haven't you brought it to Uthar yet?"
"It's guarded, isn't it?"
"Maybe I could help you get it?"
"[Mind Rape]Because you WANT to work with me."
"See you there, idiot."
In another room, we find another student. I'm beginning to sense a pattern...
"So are you, obviously."
"Who are you?"
"You better treat me with respect! I am Darth Revan! Dark Lord of the Sith! Bow down before me!"
In another room...you know the drill.
"Is something wrong?"
"Are you sure?"
"I can't persuade you to tell me?"
"Damn right, son. Wait, are you saying you're not a Sith?"
"Well, how do you mean it then?"
"[Force Persuade]You WILL tell me."
"If it doesn't feel right, maybe you shouldn't be here."
"Leave, obviously. You're not ready to be a Sith. You'll wind up dead."
"Heh heh heh. Sucker."
Later, we meet up with Uthar to discuss Sithy stuff.
"I know the Code of the Sith."
"Passion."
"Strength."
"Power."
"Victory."
"My chains are broken."
"True."
"Well...that was fast."
And so properly begins one of the coolest scenarios in RPGs. Uthar basically gives you free reign to be the biggest asshole possible, and you are rewarded for it. The stuff you can do on this planet is completely diabolical. And completely awesome.
So, we start off by heading to a nearby interrogation room.
"What are you trying to do?"
"How do you drug him?"
"Malak's cutbacks have really been hitting us torturers hard, ya know?"
"You want me to try it? I'm bound to be better than you, incompetent bufoon."
"[Force Persuade]You want to tell me where your cache is..."
"Hmm. Impressive. Let's see how long it is before I break you."
After injecting the mandalorian with a high dose of the truth serum, the Mandalorian becomes a little more suggestive to our commands...
"Oh, really? [Force Persuade]Tell me where your cache is. Then, you have my permission to die."
"Oh, are you now? We'll see about that!"
"You have NO IDEA what a "true Sith" even is, boy. Come on! Let me teach you."
The incredibly shocking outcome of the fight is our victory. With the oppurtunistic bastard now lying in a pool of his own blood, we head back to Uthar.
But first, we decide to sample the local gladitorial combat.
Excited by the prospect of murder, we interact with the nearby console to try to set up a fight.
That sentence sums up this entire planet. And it's awesome.
"This should be fun!"
With that pointless time-wasting done, we continue on to Uthar.
"I know the location of the Mandalorian weapons cache."
"It's hidden on a trap door on his ship. Y'know, I would have expected that to be obvious, but I guess you people are all morons."
"I'll be on my way."
With everything that we can do in the Academy done, we head out to the meat of this planet...
Next Time: Hordes of bat monsters, ghosts, insane robots, and pie.
One of the above will not be featured in the next update.
Question Time! What is your favorite Bioware game? Although they aren't regarded with much fondness by quite a lot of gamers all over the internet, there was once a time were Bioware were once regarded as the princes of the western role-playing game, producing quality title after quality title until they fell to the same fate as Origin Systems and Westwood and were devoured by the insatiable beast known as Electronic Arts. For me, it's probably a straight run between this game, and the Mass Effect trilogy. Yeah, I know it's a cop out, but so much of the appeal I find in the Mass Effect games comes from how they link together. I'm one of the few who ranks Mass Effect 3 as their favorite game in the series, despite the crappy ending, because of just how well done the send-offs to various characters were.
For my money it's still the first Mass Effect game - it had a heap of flaws, obviously, but it also had a nice tight cast and story. I like the later two games a lot too, but the first one just takes it.
Great to see another episode in this LP I'm looking forward to the coming installments, I've only ever played this planet light-side and I've forgotten most of that too, so I can see some good evil laughs coming up
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