Star Wars: KotOR II Reviews

With LucasArts and Obsidian's Star Wars: KotOR II officially hitting store shelves, four more websites have published reviews for the game. The first is over at GameSpy with an overall score of 4.5/5:
Despite these flaws, there's no denying KotOR2's greatness. It has more of what made the first game so outstanding and contains several improvements over its predecessor. For fans of the first game, this is a nearly perfect sequel. For newcomers, it's an excellent RPG in its own right. With its brilliant story, engaging gameplay, awesome characters, impeccable voice acting, and great replay value, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords is sure to grab you.

The second is at 1Up with an overall score of 7.5/10:
Many people learned with KOTOR I to take the bad with the good, a rule that'll serve them well when playing through The Sith Lords. The bad is still there and no better than ever, but the good shines through more clearly than before. Net shift: Light Side gain.

The third is at TeamXbox with an overall score of 9.2/10:
When it all comes down to it, if you loved the original game then you're going to love KotOR II. If the slower pace of the RPG genre didn't tickle your fancy the first go around (not mentioning any names, Shock), then you aren't going to enjoy this one either. There are times when the story of KotOR II seems head and shoulders above that of the first game, and other times it just chugs along like a bad novel. Luckily there are far more highlights than lowlights and even though there is a lot of familiarity due to the use of KotOR's game engine, Obsidian has made enough changes to warrant The Sith Lords being called a sequel. Sorry Fable, this is the RPG of the year on the Xbox.

And the fourth is at GamePro with an overall score of 4.5/5:
This story emphasis is the reason why KOTOR (and, yes, its sequel) still seem so original in the console landscape. Too many Japanese RPGs include tons of fighting at the expense of a believable plot and characters. KOTOR II bucks the trend by making every battle a natural progression of an engaging story--and just like the first game, it's a story you'll want to play twice, just to see how much insidious fun being a Dark Jedi can be. Even if you missed the first game, give this one a shot--it's a totally refreshing RPG experience.