Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords
Encyclopedia
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (KotOR II) is a role playing video game released for the Xbox
and Microsoft Windows
. The Xbox version of this sequel to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
was released on December 6, 2004, while the Windows version was released on February 8, 2005. It was developed by Obsidian Entertainment
and published by LucasArts
. The music score was composed by Mark Griskey
.
have been nearly exterminated by the Sith
. The player's character, a former Jedi Knight
exiled from the Jedi Order, is referred to as "the Exile" or "Jedi Exile." Throughout the game, the player's character, canonically a female, although the player can choose to play either sex, restores a connection to the Force while, with the help of non-player character
companions, trying to stop the Sith. The player makes choices that turn the Exile to either the light side or the dark side of the Force, and travels to six planets to either help or hinder the Republic's efforts to bring peace and stability to the galaxy.
that the character was forced to sever all connections to the Force, and the Jedi Council ordered the character exiled from the Jedi Order. As the game progresses, the Jedi Exile rebuilds a connection to the Force and creates unusually strong Force Bonds with other characters and places, while unknowingly sapping Force powers.
Among the characters who join the Jedi Exile are Kreia, who acts as the Exile's mentor in a manner akin to Obi-Wan Kenobi
or Qui-Gon Jinn
; pilot and former Sith assassin
Atton Rand; technician and Mandalorian War veteran Bao-Dur and his droid remote; the criminal droid G0-T0; and the Sith apprentice Visas Marr. T3-M4 and Canderous Ordo (now identified as "Mandalore"), both featured in the first game, also join the Exile's team. Other characters join the Exile's party only under certain conditions. HK-47
, who appears in the first game, joins the quest if the Exile collects and uses the parts necessary to reactivate it. The Wookiee
bounty hunter
Hanharr joins if the Exile is aligned with the dark side of the Force; Hanharr's competitor, Mira, joins if the Exile is light-aligned or neutral. If the player's character is male, Brianna the Handmaiden
can join the player's quest, while Mical the Disciple joins a female Exile.
Enemies include the criminals, Sith forces, and bounty hunters. New playable locations include war-ravaged Telos, a Telos bunker and the orbiting Citadel Station, Onderon and its jungle moon Dxun, Nar Shaddaa and Goto's orbiting yacht, Peragus, the starships Harbinger and Ravager, and Malachor V. Korriban and Dantooine from the original game are revisited, both now with ravaged buildings and intensified problems. The Ebon Hawk, the main character's ship in the first game, is also the player's transportation in this game.
's commercially and critically acclaimed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The change of developers came at BioWare's suggestion based on their familiarity with Obsidian Entertainment's previous work, as BioWare was busy developing Jade Empire
and started focusing on their own intellectual properties. Development on The Sith Lords started around the same time of Knights of the Old Republics Xbox release.
The Sith Lords was constructed using an updated version of Knights of the Old Republic' s Odyssey
game engine
, which Obsidian obtained from BioWare Company. BioWare also provided technical assistance to Obsidian's developers. New features include more combat animations and interface scaling.
Producer Chris Avellone
in an interview after the game's publication stated that he wished "there had been more time" to work on the game, and that a large amount of content — a droid factory, an entire planet, and other locations — was cut.
There are four official patches for the game. The second and third patch updated the quality of the movies and music while the first and fourth fixed gameplay issues.
gave the game an average rating of 85 out of 100, compared to 93 for Knights of the Old Republic. GameSpy called the Kreia character the "Best Character" of 2005. However, the game was criticized for being incomplete due to a rushed deadline.
In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die
.
Xbox
The Xbox is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Microsoft. It was released on November 15, 2001 in North America, February 22, 2002 in Japan, and March 14, 2002 in Australia and Europe and is the predecessor to the Xbox 360. It was Microsoft's first foray into the gaming console...
and Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Windows is a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft.Microsoft introduced an operating environment named Windows on November 20, 1985 as an add-on to MS-DOS in response to the growing interest in graphical user interfaces . Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal...
. The Xbox version of this sequel to Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is a role-playing video game developed by BioWare and published by LucasArts. It was released for the Xbox on July 15, 2003, for Microsoft Windows on November 19, 2003, and on September 7, 2004 for Mac OS X. The Xbox version is playable on Xbox 360 with its...
was released on December 6, 2004, while the Windows version was released on February 8, 2005. It was developed by Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian Entertainment
Obsidian Entertainment is an American video game developer founded in 2003 after the disestablishment of Interplay Productions' Black Isle Studios, for PC and console systems...
and published by LucasArts
LucasArts
LucasArts Entertainment Company, LLC is an American video game developer and publisher. The company was once famous for its innovative line of graphic adventure games, the critical and commercial success of which peaked in the mid 1990s...
. The music score was composed by Mark Griskey
Mark Griskey
Mark Griskey, born in 1963, is an American composer who is probably best known for his work for LucasArts Entertainment in games such as Star Wars: Jedi Starfighter and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II The Sith Lords, and scoring for many other popular video games.-Early career:Mr...
.
Story
The game takes place five years after the events of Knights of the Old Republic, in a time when the JediJedi
The Jedi are characters in the Star Wars universe and the series's main protagonists. The Jedi use a power called the Force and weapons called lightsabers, which emit a controlled energy flow in the shape of a sword, in order to serve and protect the Republic and the galaxy at large from conflict...
have been nearly exterminated by the Sith
Sith
-Sith:The Sith is a name applied to certain characters in the Star Wars universe. In the films they are the central antagonists. They are capable of using the dark side of the Force.-The Invention of the Sith:...
. The player's character, a former Jedi Knight
Jedi Knight
"Jedi Knight" may refer to:*Jedi, Star Wars franchise fictional character*Jedi Knights *Jedi census phenomenonSee also:* Star Wars: Jedi Knight series...
exiled from the Jedi Order, is referred to as "the Exile" or "Jedi Exile." Throughout the game, the player's character, canonically a female, although the player can choose to play either sex, restores a connection to the Force while, with the help of non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
companions, trying to stop the Sith. The player makes choices that turn the Exile to either the light side or the dark side of the Force, and travels to six planets to either help or hinder the Republic's efforts to bring peace and stability to the galaxy.
Characters and locations
The player chooses at the game's beginning whether the Jedi Exile is male or female. The Exile's back story reveals that the character served under Revan during the Mandalorian Wars and ordered the activation of a devastating weapon named the mass shadow generator at the climactic battle over Malachor V. The deaths that ensued created such a substantial "wound" in the ForceForce (Star Wars)
The Force is a binding, metaphysical and ubiquitous power in the fictional universe of the Star Wars galaxy created by George Lucas. Mentioned in the first film in the series, it is integral to all subsequent incarnations of Star Wars, including the expanded universe of comic books, novels, and...
that the character was forced to sever all connections to the Force, and the Jedi Council ordered the character exiled from the Jedi Order. As the game progresses, the Jedi Exile rebuilds a connection to the Force and creates unusually strong Force Bonds with other characters and places, while unknowingly sapping Force powers.
Among the characters who join the Jedi Exile are Kreia, who acts as the Exile's mentor in a manner akin to Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe. He is one of several primary characters in the Star Wars series. Along with Darth Vader, R2-D2, and C-3PO, he is one of the few major characters to appear in all six Star Wars films...
or Qui-Gon Jinn
Qui-Gon Jinn
Qui-Gon Jinn is a fictional character in the Star Wars universe, and a main protagonist of the 1999 film Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, portrayed by Liam Neeson. He also appears in the Star Wars Expanded Universe of comic books, video games, and novels...
; pilot and former Sith assassin
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
Atton Rand; technician and Mandalorian War veteran Bao-Dur and his droid remote; the criminal droid G0-T0; and the Sith apprentice Visas Marr. T3-M4 and Canderous Ordo (now identified as "Mandalore"), both featured in the first game, also join the Exile's team. Other characters join the Exile's party only under certain conditions. HK-47
HK-47
HK-47 is a fictional assassin droid from the 2003 video game Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, its sequel, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, and the Trials of Obi-Wan expansion pack to the massively multiplayer online game Star Wars: Galaxies...
, who appears in the first game, joins the quest if the Exile collects and uses the parts necessary to reactivate it. The Wookiee
Wookiee
Wookiees are a species of bipeds in the Star Wars universe. The most notable Wookiee is Chewbacca, a companion to Han Solo.-Inspiration:...
bounty hunter
Bounty hunter
A bounty hunter captures fugitives for a monetary reward . Other names, mainly used in the United States, include bail enforcement agent and fugitive recovery agent.-Laws in the U.S.:...
Hanharr joins if the Exile is aligned with the dark side of the Force; Hanharr's competitor, Mira, joins if the Exile is light-aligned or neutral. If the player's character is male, Brianna the Handmaiden
Handmaiden
A handmaiden is a female attendant, assistant, domestic worker , or slave.-Religion:Norse goddesses had handmaidens, . The biblical Mary referred to herself as "the handmaid of the Lord" in acceptance of becoming pregnant by the Holy Ghost.A man might use a handmaiden as a concubine to bear his...
can join the player's quest, while Mical the Disciple joins a female Exile.
Enemies include the criminals, Sith forces, and bounty hunters. New playable locations include war-ravaged Telos, a Telos bunker and the orbiting Citadel Station, Onderon and its jungle moon Dxun, Nar Shaddaa and Goto's orbiting yacht, Peragus, the starships Harbinger and Ravager, and Malachor V. Korriban and Dantooine from the original game are revisited, both now with ravaged buildings and intensified problems. The Ebon Hawk, the main character's ship in the first game, is also the player's transportation in this game.
Development
The game is the sequel to BioWareBioWare
BioWare is a Canadian video game developer founded in February 1995 by newly graduated medical doctors Ray Muzyka, Greg Zeschuk, and Augustine Yip. BioWare is currently owned by American company Electronic Arts...
's commercially and critically acclaimed Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The change of developers came at BioWare's suggestion based on their familiarity with Obsidian Entertainment's previous work, as BioWare was busy developing Jade Empire
Jade Empire
Jade Empire is an action role-playing game developed by Canadian developer BioWare and first published in 2005 by Microsoft Game Studios as a worldwide release for the Xbox. The later, two-disc Limited Edition contained extra content...
and started focusing on their own intellectual properties. Development on The Sith Lords started around the same time of Knights of the Old Republics Xbox release.
The Sith Lords was constructed using an updated version of Knights of the Old Republic
Odyssey Engine
The Odyssey Engine is a computer game engine developed by BioWare and has exclusively been used to create three dimensional computer role-playing games...
game engine
Game engine
A game engine is a system designed for the creation and development of video games. There are many game engines that are designed to work on video game consoles and personal computers...
, which Obsidian obtained from BioWare Company. BioWare also provided technical assistance to Obsidian's developers. New features include more combat animations and interface scaling.
Producer Chris Avellone
Chris Avellone
Chris Avellone is an American video game designer and comic book writer who worked for Interplay and currently works in Obsidian Entertainment.-Early life and education:...
in an interview after the game's publication stated that he wished "there had been more time" to work on the game, and that a large amount of content — a droid factory, an entire planet, and other locations — was cut.
There are four official patches for the game. The second and third patch updated the quality of the movies and music while the first and fourth fixed gameplay issues.
Reception
The game was generally well received by fans and critics alike. The game received high marks from several reviewers: 8.5/10 from Gamespot, 4.5/5 from Gamespy, and 9.3/10 from IGN. Based on 30 professional reviews, MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
gave the game an average rating of 85 out of 100, compared to 93 for Knights of the Old Republic. GameSpy called the Kreia character the "Best Character" of 2005. However, the game was criticized for being incomplete due to a rushed deadline.
In 2010, the game was included as one of the titles in the book 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die
Quintessence Editions Ltd.
Quintessence Editions Ltd. is a publishing company based in London which is the originator of the "1001 Before You Die" series. Typically, the titles in this series are intended as reference books. They are illustrated books authored by multiple contributors...
.