What makes a masterpiece different from a success?

 

There's a metric of 'success' and 'failure' that the whole world operates off, a balancing act of extremes, heights and calamitous pits. In some cultures that metric can be a mountain range soaring and diving over the years in an ever-unravelling panoramic tapestry; and down here in England it tends to something more of a one-way plane. You're either going up or you're going down and ain't nothing going to change that trajectory once it's set. But what if I were to tell you there's a tiny bit more nuance within the ranges of the successful and the unfortunate than just 'red' or 'green'. There are degrees, there are distinctions. And a masterpiece may not necessarily be a success, nor is a success automatically a masterpiece. Would you ask me to elaborate? I sure hope so because... that's what I'm going to do. That elaboration thing. Got it? Cool. Please read.

We've all got our games that we love for the success that they are. Playing Fallout 4 during that first year of release was a total blast of genuine decent first person combat, a fresh wasteland wonderland to tear into little pieces and a seemingly endless barrage of side-game content to keep me preoccupied until the star blinked out. There are people currently throwing their weight behind Suicide Squad Kill the Justice League and declaring that their favourite game of the year. And many of the Call of Duty games earn barrels of players in their first few months being alive. Such are the marks of success', to some degree. But what do all of these examples have in common that stops them just short of being true masterpieces? Think on it for a bit, we'll circle around later.

Masterpieces rank among the types of games that must be recognised, regardless of your affinity towards them or not. Fallout New Vegas will forever be called upon as a paragon of it's genre type, Deus Ex is considered one of the best games of all time, Diablo 2 has never gone a year without being mentioned within the game design space, Devil May Cry 3 is a touchstone for action gaming as a whole. These are the sorts of products that almost stand out in their defiance, and though their comparison up against the previous examples could be construed as being 'unfair', you only perceive such under the acknowledgement that the games I'm talking about are in a league of their own. And I suspect these examples might greater illustrate the point I'm angling towards.

Out of every Star Wars game ever released, there is only one that I would consider an actual masterpiece, and breaking it down will unveil the etymology I employ behind that specific designation. The Force Unleashed was a well received title that dropped in the era of Shonen anime becoming popular in the west, which was indeed one of the inspirations behind it's conceptualisation. Nowadays it seems a bit dated and self indulgent, particularly the once-cool, now stupid-looking scene where the protagonist pulls a Star Destroyer out of space with his mastery of the Force alone. The Fallen Order series is a breakdown of the formula and setting that only really works because of the ground work laid by the Souls genre of games and general boredom with the core aspects of the Skywalker narrative- so squeaking out more story from the spaces between still holds some vague interest. (Just check out all of the latest Disney Star Wars shows.) Knights of the Old Republic, on the otherhand, relies largely on itself.

I mean it is a Star Wars game, obviously, and benefits from that brand- but the game is not largely beloved for it's connection to that larger franchise. Indeed, KOTOR does a lot of things to distance itself from Star Wars in all manner except for thematic. It abandons the core story, forsakes all memorable characters and setting and throws itself squarely into the realm of an original cast in a new time period with a thematic resemblance to the universe we know but distinct elements. It tells a new narrative, familiar but with twists far removed from anything core Star Wars could pull off, and it introduces a deceptively approachable but surprisingly complex Dnd style gameplay system backing it all up. It is a masterpiece not because it came at the right time and borrowed the right elements, but because it soared on it's own impressive merits.

What makes a success an increasingly rare and applauded worthy instance in todays age is the near inscrutable fact that they need to be timely. Video games capture the moment's zeitgeist and weaponizes that to their distinct advantage; which means they have to be the right kind of en vogue from the moment that they drop. As games are becoming more bloated and requiring longer development times- that starts to become increasingly rare. Just look at this year alone- two live Services coming out years after that genre-type has been deemed horrendously overstuffed. They might have been timely when production began, but now they're relics. What could have been success two years ago are now remnants of a brushed over past. Failures for their timing alone.

But when a success today could have been a failure yesterday, can that really be put on the same sort of pedestal as something that is timeless and pervasive? Can the industry trend setters, who forged their own path and laid bricks in their respective wake, be as well loved as those that followed alongside the beaten path and found similar plaudits? And does the difference between one and the other even matter in a world where either can be as successful as the other? Afterall incredibly influential games sometimes get brushed into the background despite all that they achieve- just look at Vanquish's slide mechanic that every third/first person game with a half decent moveset either uses or has a worse version of! Where's that game's remaster?

So if we're going to try and put labels where none should probably exist, we can pretty safely give the title of 'Success' to games that are timely and that of 'Masterpiece' to games that are timeless- with the added knowledge that neither is mutually exclusive from the other. There's a reason why my Nintendo Switch is loaded up with a whole bunch of Nintendo only exclusives and Kotor 1&2 and Baldur's Gate 1&2. Some ideas shine beyond the dim of age. They'll still be people discovering those games decades from now and remarking on their role in the shaping of entertainment even in the time when everyone is digitally hooked up to their total-immersion VR pleasure domes that are really just the cucoon milking eggs from prophetic sci-fi case study 'Skynut'- mark my words.

A Larian KOTOR, eh?

 Dare to dream

So with all the praise and love flying this way and that for Larian and their success, few are asking what is next for them after the age of Baldur's Gate is done. It is an unasked question, likely because so few of us want to admit there will come a day when Baldur's Gate is updated no more. This isn't a Hello Games situation, they aren't gonna squat this one for the next decade. Personally I'm also driven by a general distaste in Larian's homebrew franchise, which appears to be their next area of focus. But there was one out there who proposed the obvious, and in doing so opened up a world of possibility I was too closeted to even consider. A former Bioware writer posited the idea of Larian picking up the duties to bringing a Knights of the Old Republic 3 into the world and I have to say, that is a mighty fine proposition to set in the sand! That is the kind of idea that can set hearts racing, pulses quickening and maidens a-fainting. Because if any game out there needs the touch of masters- it's KOTOR.

Of course, KOTOR has not exactly been in the best of places in recent years and months. Ever since the franchise was brought roaring back into the eyes of the public with the reveal of the Remake, it seems to have been misfortune after misfortune for the Star Wars Swansong. The KOTOR 2 Switch port got it's flagship modded content restoration update scrapped, the team signed up to work on the Remake found themselves kicked to the curb and it seems active development has ceased leaving the development a corpse waiting in someone's desk cabinet. It's not happening. What we KOTOR fans need, really, is a miracle worker to stoke some life back into the brand. Honestly, throw KOTOR 3 my way and I'll forget about the hurt feelings residing from the KOTOR Remake debacle. If there's one thing I want even more than to see the story I love remade, it's to see it continued respectfully. (Respectfully! The Old Republic MMO made so many dull narrative choices after the immense lay up that KOTOR 2 set up for them...)

The switch would actually make some bizarre sense given the fact that the original Baldur's Gate franchise was, likewise, a Bioware property before making it's way to Larian's hands. And in a strange mirror of this proposition, Bioware were also the one's who went on to give up the reins of the original Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic to Obsidian for it's sequel. On one hand that is just a convenient mirror image of the past, and in another light it's also keeping a tradition of making each new entry of KOTOR be developed by a new team each and every entry. And you know what, I don't actually dislike that idea. Perhaps that will be what keeps that series of games feeling uniquely special when compared to every other Star Wars series like it. I've always been a fan of competing visions working towards the same goals- and Larian could certainly bring their own spin on things.

The original Knights of the Old Republic felt like it was designed with a resounding love for the original trilogy of movies to heart, wherein the true end goal was to replicate the same basic formula of those films without resorting to a shot-by-shot retelling. (Like what Disney would end up doing when they got their hands on it.) Of course there was some pretty large subversions thrown in there too, that we love KOTOR for; but it was that familiar, workable, framework which built the trust of the audience enough for those special narrative beats to even matter. There's no point in telling us that everything we know is not as it seems if we never cared about what we were told to being with. That is uniquely KOTOR 1's strength, and that is what Bioware successfully brought to the table. All and all, KOTOR is a pretty by-the-numbers RPG, it's the heart and the setting that sprinkles something special on there.

KOTOR 2, on the otherhand, was put together by the Obsidian team- veterans of Black Isle Studios who had gone through games like the original Fallouts and Wasteland before that. Which is to say, they'd gotten enough of the bare basic RPG and wanted to make something a bit more interesting and out there. KOTOR 2 was a rushed game, and that shows very much on it's shortcomings, but underneath the odd expedient plot point there is an expertly penned and weaved narrative that touched even further into the fantastical imagination of what Star Wars could be then any property had done before or since. I would have loved to see what that vision of the Star Wars universe could have become if it was given the chance to walk. But if we're in the habit of passing it off to the next team, well then I think Larian could give it a shot as well.

I'm just trying to figure out what would be their unique 'hook' which would define their design process as distinct from everyone elses. The Baldur's Gate cast is known to be pretty well loved by the public, perhaps creating a cast of deep and well rounded characters could be their KOTOR's call to fame, but I suspect I know what would really get them excited. What Larian would be obligated to do, simply for being involved with another legendary franchise, would be to go balls to the walls again trying to create an expansive web of an RPG with choice and consequence oozing out of every wall panel. The kind of experiment which could have easily bankrupted the entire company if it didn't go to plan. That would have to be what makes KOTOR 3 unique. A narrower scope made up of dozens more branches than is really feasible.

Narratively it would be a very interesting time for Larian to join up too. Because if we are to pick things up directly where KOTOR 2 left off, we would be seeing the brand new threat from across the otherside of the universe that the KOTOR 1 protagonist left to try and delay. The threat that, according to some perspectives, was what Revan was preparing the galaxy for when they started the Sith empire. (And I hope it's more interesting than what TOR ended up saying it was- just a big group of Sith from the otherside of the galaxy- lame!) Although I have to admit that when it comes to making lore, Obsidian would absolutely be the best team to put to task over here; (POE 1 and 2, and Tyranny, demonstrates they haven't lost that deft touch of theirs) a focused narrative with a clear threat would certainly slide right into Larian's wheelhouse for writing. Perhaps a collaborative effort, then?

As for Disney, they have gone so far as to publicly acknowledge the fan love for Knights of the Old Republic and the red hot desire for a remake, even after all the blundering about in the dark. And Disney has been known to give in to fan pressure before. Usually when it comes to fan-casting decisions, but I bet some guidance in the scattergun that is Star Wars wouldn't be shrugged off if people pester them long enough. And what better way to introduce the Old Republic era of content back into the fold than with a brand new game, developed by masters, which brings the era home with players? It could be a whole new way of franchise building than what Disney are used to, provided they are META enough to respect the narrative of a game as content. (Jury's still out on that one, depends on whether or not those rumours about a Fallen Order adaptation are true. Please don't be true.)

There is another aspect to this that I've been avoiding, probably because it's the most prickly one. Because you see, the balance of power isn't really the same as it was anymore. We've been treating this as though Larian would be reverential and honoured to be given such an opportunity, but after putting out a game like Baldur's Gate: this team is on top of the world. It would have to be the Star Wars rights holders coming grovelling to the feet of Larian to get a project like this off the ground, and given their strange fascination with their subpar home grown franchise; (I swear I get more dismissive of Divinity with every blog) Larian would probably turn them down. So we can live in our dreams as much as we want but the truth is- there likely won't be a Larian KOTOR game anytime soon if ever. Shame though, they'd have knocked it out the park- I'm sure!

Please, don't adapt KOTOR

 See sense!

Recently there was a quote doing the headline rounds by one Drew Karpyshyn, author of 'Darth Bane' and 'Revan', senior writer for 'Knights of the Old Republic' and a lead writer for Mass Effect 1 and 2. This veteran talent in the very foundations of modern western RPGs, as well as Star Wars expanded universe literature voiced in a Reddit AMA how he doesn't want to see film adaptions of KOTOR or Mass Effect. Now we've discussed the problem with a potential Mass Effect adaption before, but the KOTOR angle seems to have rustle a few fresh jimmies. After all, we are all currently in the middle of the great resurgence of Star Wars, a period where any and everything from the Legends lore which was considered interesting or inspired is getting repackaged to fit in Disney's brute force 'plan' for the Star Wars franchise future. Why not bring what is often referred to as the single best Star Wars story every told into that esteemed pantheon?

He went onto to specify he wouldn't want an adaptation which follows the exact beats of the game because linear narratives are told differently to branching narratives and there is so much story in KOTOR that most of it would have to be gutted to make it into a theatrical runtime. Now I actually agree with his sentiments utterly, however I disagree with his reasoning; because as many have pointed out such provisions would not preclude a potential developed TV show, and I absolutely think there shouldn't be a KOTOR show either. Now let me just preface this by saying I'm not saying this because I think KOTOR is a bad story, or that it's world doesn't belong on the big screen. In fact, I think the Old Republic comics would make for a decent adaptation; or they could make something wholly new. (Imagine that!) But KOTOR, the original video game, should stay in it's medium for the integrity and strength of the story that it tells. 

Now I'm not going to ram down your throat affectations about how infallible and untouchable the KOTOR narrative is, because I don't believe that at all. In fact, I think that KOTOR is actually a very straightforward and foundational story at it's core that could easily have been used as a major springboard for a whole new frontier of the Star Wars franchise if creative talents were more centralised when it first came out. Now they are, and it makes sense that people are wondering if that missed opportunity can be seized, in the embers of the Skywalker saga and the ruined jumpstart of the Sequel series of events, we need a new spark to shake things up totally and move Star Wars beyond it's crumbling and dusty confines. I agree, we need a new voyage to embark on in the Stars before everything becomes the 'Tatooine adventures'; but KOTOR can't be it. At least not in the way that Disney would frame it.

At the centre of KOTOR, and the beating heart of much of it's fanfare, is the story of Darth Revan and the mysteries surrounding him/her. (Which I continue to consider mysteries, because I don't accept The Old Republic's butchering of his/her narrative as a legitimate 'evolution') Now of course the huge spoiler is a big reason for this, and I'm going to need to talk about that spoiler so if you haven't played KOTOR to completion than take this opportunity to go and do that and then come back. Okay? Has it been around about 50 hours- you played it yet? Good. So the player turns out to be Darth Revan and that's one of the reasons why this story has such a hold on people all these years later. It introduced a completely distinct Star Wars universe to the one we knew, filled it with unique and new legends, and then revealed us to be one of those legends in the flesh, thrusting the audience directly into the tapestry of the story before they ever knew what was happening.

Of course that sort of experience is going to rub-off a sense of 'ownership' on that character for the players who lived his shoes, and that's both the beauty of this twist as a narrative device and it's biggest crutch when it comes to the mutability of that story. The immersive and interactive nature of a full blown, 50 hour RPG is required in order to build that personal connection to the player character so that the shocking blow of learning your own past can land with such a splash. KOTOR even plays around specifically with RPG tropes in order to obfuscate and set-up it's narrative, dropping players into a prototypical 'bystander who is thrust into the spotlight' scenario just like every videogame fantasy story ever told had done so beforehand. This throws the player off the scent from suspecting their own intentionally vague background so that the twist can creep up on you out of nowhere! And again, it's a trick that's only going to work on an audience familiar with the tropes of games.

A movie going audience, or TV watchers, have a totally different mental repertoire to address and assess with when it comes watching these sorts of stories, and if you think they're going to fall for the 'stranger shows up on ship and becomes the unlikely hero' subterfuge you're on a different planet. Especially given the current state of Star Wars where everyone important is someone's uncle or niece or granddaughter. No matter what you do, there's no way to replicate that interpersonal attachment with the character of Revan that players have but for a passive audience. They just can't connect with a story in the same way behind that barrier of a silver screen, to the point where they actually embody the person and relate personally to them.

Which isn't to say that I think the character of Revan his/her-self is unadaptable, I hasten to add. If anything, Final Fantasy 7 Remake showed us deftly how you can take a character who is meant to be an avatar to the player and distance that relationship with an imbued voice and personality, but enrich that same character through that new personality as long as it matches the spirit of the original character proposition. (Part of Cloud's background is designed with metacontextual hooks as well, which allows that character to attach closely with a gaming audience on their level.) And on the other end of the spectrum; The Halo Show demonstrates exactly what happens when you try to actively distance yourself from that connection so hard that you end up creating a character which is nothing like the source. I do think Revan as a character can exist, and maybe even develop, on the big screen. But their origins must remain in gaming for that story to remain as special and deep rooted as it has for all of these years.

There will obviously be some Old Republic content coming our way, Revan has already been officially canonised into the Disney Star Wars scripture through way of a novel, as well as the upcoming KOTOR remake. If Disney wants to play this right, they'll respect the KOTOR remake as the avenue through which the story of Revan is told and not try to 'legitimise' that story through a movie adaptation. (Which would, in turn, delegitimise the game.) Will that limit the spread of that story to people who play the game or at least surround that world; yes, it absolutely will. But if Disney are smart they'll bite that easily swallowed bullet and plan accordingly. So for the love of integrity don't denigrate and eradicate the underlying strength of KOTOR out of that vampiric thirst for more content- and fans need to stop encouraging them!

I hate: Tusken Raiders

 I hope they don't come back. Screw their numbers.

No, this isn't a backwards stab at one of the most lamentable lingering plot-threads in the recently ended and decently bloated 'The Book of Boba Fett' series, although why I'm at it: those guys really did drag the show, didn't they? I mean sure, they were supposed to serve some sort of role in teaching Boba how to work in a tribe, in turn showing us how the big bad Fett lion became a mewling house cat for the latter length of our season. But lacking any sort of baseline for the person who Boba Fett was, the transformation felt entirely and utterly devoid of consequence, making these walking carpet salesmen feel like catalysts to pointlessness and mediocrity. But that isn't why I gripe myself with their entire race, much as it must seem like that case. No, my indignations run deeper and fouler, because I hate video game Tusken Raiders.

That must seem pretty general to you. 'Video Game' Tuskens? Which ones? They've been adapted any number of countless times in so many different games it's wont to make your head spin; surely I can't mean to make a statement as meaninglessly sweeping as to declare them all the worst of the worst! Except I can, and I do, very much so. I hate all Tusken Raiders in every game they're in. And I admit that it's unfair. There's no rot so deep that it touches each and every iteration of them- that would be impossible. What I'm about to discuss, for example, has no bearing on their Lego Star Wars incarnation. (At least, not exactly, but they do show up quite frequently in the level they star for.) But it's an issue of such frequency that their presence now imbues me with the expectation that they are soon to wrong me. And what is my great cause for concern? Simple: They're OP as heck!

I know that Star Wars has always found itself infatuated with the idea of the weak prevailing over the powerful, from rebellions to teddy bears, so it shouldn't be too surprising to see that a race of tribalistic sand-people that largely shun the technological bars that dictate the entire rest of the Star Wars universe tend to be unrealistically savvy battle opponents. That's a given for a George Lucas species. But these Tusken's, in most every one of their games, are just demons. They shatter the difficulty curve whenever they show up, rewrite the combat standard, bring home the sweaty palms and distressed brows. Tusken Raiders absolutely wreck shop, and I cannot stand them. Why should nomad tribals be able to haunt me across Star Wars games like this? When will it stop!

Perhaps the first time I really noticed it was during the original Star Wars Battlefront, where their people hold the unique position of being one of the only non-combatant factions who simply inhabit a certain map and are allowed to capture and hold territory completely for their own. They terrorise the Dune Sea map and their weapon holds the dubious honour of being one the highest damage output rifles in the game, capable of one-shotting you on the highest difficulty. They spawn endlessly, forcing the real conflict to try and continue around them, they hold enough prowess to take the entire map if only their programming would allow them to leave the areas around the Sarlacc pit, and they turned my defence position into rubble countless times with sheer indomitable force. I'm not ashamed to say that they ran me out of that area of the game for life, I've never tried to capture their Command Posts in the years since I was a child playing their poxxy levels. Thus was the first time I realised that these tribal were more than just troublesome.

Next I vividly recall that feeling of an injustice being made upon my person during my first time playing the classic: Jedi Knight Academy. As every Star Wars property must do at least once, there is a mission where you visit Tatooine. Because for a backwater, no-where planet with nothing of consequence on it whatsoever, it doesn't half seem to attract the fate of every significant player in the Star Wars Galaxy, does it? I can't remember why you have to go there, I don't remember much of what the mission held. All I remember is the hell that was trying to clear the parts of the level invested with Tuskens, for their sheer damage output rivalled that of the many full-blow, card carrying, Crimson saber wielding, Sith your go up against throughout the game. This time it was their Gaffi sticks that I feared, for they seemed to possess the power to pass through my invincible light blade and gut me like a fresh-hung fish in the Butchers. There was none of the intense, back and forth duelling which characterised the other power melee duels that Jedi Academy seemed to excel at. None of the dangerous dance of death, ducking and diving around deadly daggers. It was just boom: you're dead. You meet a Tusken, it kills you. (Best keep your distance!) For a game that seemed to fuel the power fantasy of being an incredibly versatile Jedi, this single mission turned that dial to the exact opposite end, where I was feeling as green and gangly as a fresh spat-out Undead in the waking hours of my Dark Souls playthrough.

Of course, there's no way I could talk about overpowered overlords without bringing up the single greatest Star Wars game ever made. That's right, Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic features it's own share of Raiders, and they're just as bad as ever. Populating, where-else, the Tatooine level; these cretins prove to be the single most consistently troublesome threats in every playthrough I do. Key reasons: they're resilient, hit hard, come in packs- oh, and they ambush the living daylights out of you the second you touch the sands. It's almost laughable for the fools at Arrakis to be afraid of their petty Sand worms, when the true reapers of the sands wear baggy curtains. I cannot, for the life of me, spec a Tusken-proof team, and I've tried repeatedly. Once again, these inexplicably invincible insurrectionists dominate the day. More the fool, I.

I think for me it comes down to the ignominy of the matter. In Battlefront I'm a trained solider, battle-hardened on the blood-stained sands of countless worlds, and effortlessly bushwacked by rug ruffians. In Jedi Knight Academy I'm an aspiring Jedi knight who's downed battalions of Stormtroopers, and who is coming to grips with slaying Dark Jedi themselves! Only I can't handle the ragtag raiders from down in the Dune Sea. And in KOTOR I'm a deity of ability, effortless mowing down rooms of Sith, putting down Dark Malak himself with but a few hits- but Tusken Raiders are harder to hit? Am I interpreting that right? Sand People make for more competent duellists than the erstwhile Dark Lord of the Sith? Some part of that is undeniably hilarious, but the rest is achingly sad. And frustrating. Good thing these guys are stuck to their sand Tipis, they'd be worse than the Mandalorian menace if we let them loose in the stars!

Who can say when it was that every single disparate Star Wars game developer sat down and collectively decided that this particular enemy archetype was going to the bane of this franchise from every corner, but I lament that day with a passion! I can only assume that this curse extends further than the game within my ken too. Masters of Teras Kasi? I'll bet that Hoar can wreck the player with a hand tied behind his back. (Wait, no, the Tusken Raider from the game is called 'Hoar'. That's literally his name, I'm not calling him-) New Lego Star Wars? I bet the raiders swarm and demolish you in freeplay like biblical locusts. And Jedi Fallen Order 2? You heard it here first, but I'm betting Cal's greatest yet-to-be-fought nemesis wears a tatty cowl and caws like a hog in an orgy.

Mod Review: KOTOR- 'Brotherhood of Shadow: Solomon's Revenge'

 There are worst fates than death.

It's been a very long time since I've sat down and spoken about my thoughts regarding a mod, but it's been so very long since I've played through a huge mod that wasn't another Bethesda title addendum. And that's obviously because Bethesda games naturally lend themselves to mod creation with their accommodating engine and easy-to-learn creation tools. Trying to match the scale of a big Skyrim mod on any other game is like an uphill struggle where the entire climb is a constant overhang- it just ain't happening. But then there are always those who will push themselves through the trials and tribulations, and the more beloved the initial property is, the more likely those people are going to be inspired to come out of the woodworks. And it doesn't get more beloved than Knights of the Old Republic.

I recently did a full playthrough of KOTOR in memorandum of the game that was before it's memory is entirely washed away by the action-adventure remake dangling on the horizon, and seeing as it might be one of the last go-arounds that I give it, I thought it only fair to play that highly rated huge quest mod which people always rave about; 'Brotherhood of Shadow: Solomon's Revenge'. And much of my attraction came from sheer amazement at the fact that yes, this is an entire meaty questline added into the framework of a 2003 aged game that really doesn't feel like it has the sort of versatility to accommodate for that. But coming out the otherside of a ten hour playthrough (yes, the mod took me ten hours- it's that substantial) it's hard to convey just how utterly impressed I was with the scale that Silveredge9 was able to accomplish. The mod took this creator 3 years to complete, by account of their own FAQ, and the results are humbling. On the mod page you can see it advertised as a KOTOR expansion pack, and it certainly has the heft to justify that title.

The entirety of this mod, which is technically two narratively connected mod questlines bought together, is designed to place itself during the final act of the game where all the big secrets have been revealed, so from this point onwards I'm going to proceed with a SPOILER warning so that I don't have to go all 'he who must not be named' going forward. In it's size it essentially acts as a bloat to the later half of the game allowing the player to really ingrain themselves in the identity of Revan as they explore the war he perpetrated and the lives he effected along the way. Even more crucially than that, however, the mod serves as a vehicle to tell the particularly long and draw-out storyline of this mod's OC, a pale Twi'Lek Dark Jedi called 'Shadow'. (Which is also why the mod needs to happen in the last act of the narrative. Shadow takes up Bastilla's spot in the party selection screen.)

The way that the first part of this mod, Brotherhood of Shadow, works is largely by reusing and changing existing maps from the base game and throwing in new textures, new NPCs and a few new models in order to create a new storyline. Conceptually simple but elegantly performed. You'll certainly noticed the reused areas, the appropriated sound tracks and how every NPC seems to shun Galactic basic, (so that the existing in-game alien speaking sounds can be used instead of having to go and find actors) but this mod manages to successfully remix them into the deck of a new ship called the Orion, and explore a intriguing and mysterious enemy who is visually and conceptually arresting, totally not like anything we'd seen before KOTOR and much more fitting in line with the lovingly created Sith Lord weridoes from Knights of the Old Republic 2. Choosing that ponderous slightly-unsettling void theme from the prison box area to be the theme of 'The Brotherhood' was a truly inspired choice too; it makes you feel like you've stepped into an alien world space, totally beholden to their laws and playing to their pace once they seize control of the narrative. In story alone, I think this first part of the mod is fantastic.

But then we get to the gameplay. Now I understand how it is; a mod creator is not a tried and tested game developer who has teams of feedback and second opinions to help them fine-tune the fiddlier bits of design such as balancing. We just have our ideas about what sounds cool and what we felt should have been in the original game. I imagine our Mod author here found KOTOR to be too easy, probably felt that KOTOR II's decidedly tougher edge fit better and wanted to bring that to the first game. But let's just say that in trying to make a 'challenging' experience, this mod crosses over into eye-brow raising difficult curve territory right fast. First off, the mod deprives you of your party. In a party-based RPG- they remove everyone else. Then the mod conjures situations that will make you question if this was even designed with the hardest difficulty (what I play with) in mind. Basic enemies with eerily high stat sheets, boss fights in narrow corridors with minimal prep time. And on the later end there are encounters that I can't even begin to defend and to me can only be the result of someone who lamented the fact that KOTOR is an RPG and not an action game. Putting the player in a circle of sword wielders to be cut to death expecting the PC to be built to the exact specifications you've designed your PC is a frankly amateur design faux-pas. (I'm lucky I invested in a least one CC, because that is absolutely not a given in a free-form RPG like KOTOR.)

Solomon's Revenge marks the second mod in the collection, and this is when the scale explodes into truly mind boggling territory. Practically all the naked limitations that were present in the first mod have been entirely leapfrogged. Not only is there voice acting, pretty good voice acting at that, but there are custom maps! I can't even comprehend how that was achieved- and a lot of them look great, a couple in particular look genuinely incredible! I think it was about now when I started to note the author's writing prowess which, apart from one early typo (wrong version of 'To', I do it myself all the time) was seriously good. It was confident and expressive, and whilst I could tell that KOTOR II's standard was sort of the aim, especially in some of the later 'weighty' dialogues, I think the quality doesn't quite reach that high. But that, in turn, brings it pretty neatly in line with KOTOR 1's standard anyway, so what I'm trying to say is that it fit. The character felt strong, the narrative grabbed my attention, and I pondered the story of the central companion, Shadow, for a while after the credits. If only it all wasn't so self indulgent.

Now again, trust me when I say that I absolutely understand where the 2009 author of this mod is coming from, but I'll bet even they, when looking back at this script, can cringe and concede: "Yeah this goes on about 50 pages too long." The basic idea was to tell this sweeping narrative that, occasionally through your eyes and sometimes through the eyes of a third party, would tell the story of events leading up to the Jedi civil war. Fair enough. But this game lingers to the point of having flashback scenes for every single significant event mentioned in the timeline, all of which are playthrough sections with that signature questionable difficulty balancing and a regular hijacking of your personal agency. In that way, this mod actually reminds me a lot of those beginning 8 hours of Knights of the Old Republic 2, in that everytime you think the game is going to open up and give you your freedom, it seizes the narrative for another highly orchestrated procession of scenes. Not that I expected some Bioware sized second game area out of this mod, just the freedom to play the character I'd built throughout the game would be nice. (The flashbacks regularly switch out the player character, which is very impressive technologically because I didn't even know KOTOR 1's engine could do that, but still rather annoying.) 

Shadow, or the other 5 names you're going to know her by at the end of this thing, is the protagonist of this tale, not really the player. And her story is surprisingly engaging given she's the only member of the main cast without a proper voice actor. (She's voiced totally through pre-packed alien grunts) However, self indulgence raises it's head as nearing the end of this story her scenes of personal revelation, specifically through flashbacks and back-and-forths with Solomon, drag heavily. Conversation and argument points are stated and restated until they're bleeding out of your ears, battles inexplicably reset themselves several times over, and the final monologue stabs at your patience as an ostensibly dying man embarks on a mile-long monologue to make Shakespeare blush. For the final hour and a half of play I was begging for it just to end, as the mod had entirely outstayed it's welcome. Yes, that might have coincided with the absolute flurry of enemy-spam boss fights hosted one-after-the-other with inane mechanics even worse than KOTOR's vanilla Malak fight, which was such a shame after the mod featured one truly fantastic finale-feeling boss fight at the head of this unsolicited boss royale.

All that being said, though the presentation was flawed and the plot far too lingering, what was actually accomplished was incredible. We get to see the Taris promenade turned into a battle zone, (with rather questionable tactical cohesion considering both armies are literally standing in front of the other and blasting) we get to face Mandalore in a one-on-one duel set in a strikingly epic bridge that looked to be a custom map, (Loved the design of Mandalore) and we even get a glimpse of the ancient conquests of the original Infinite Empire. All that is rather haphazardly wrapped around a decently written overarching plot with characters that I'd personally consider to be memorable. So would I recommend this Mod for a KOTOR lover? Absolutely, I think it's a total must play! But would I say the same for a newcomer trying out KOTOR for the first time? No, it's too unevenly constructed, and unforgivingly balanced for that. And would I play it again? Maybe... it depends what I would do with the mod on a second playthrough. I know there are two paths, good and evil, and I am curious as to what would change for the second path, but I also don't know if the frustration and bloat is worth enduring again just to see the other side of the narrative. Still, a very impressive mod overall and certainly worthy of it's legendary title in the Star Wars KOTOR modding community. Let's call it a B+ in my arbitrary, largely meaningless, rating system. Seems apt. Oh, and the 'plus' is because the mod does what Bioware failed to do and gives the player the chance to earn and wear Revan's robes. At least the author knew what the fans wanted there. 

Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic Review

 The force can do terrible things to a mind

Ever a creature given to totally inane and wanton flights of fancy, just last week I was enveloped by the inexplicable and singular desire once more to play through Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic in it's entirety; something I haven't done since before the inception of this blog. Only this time I wanted to do it with the finest that the community had to offer, dripping with the best of the best mods that the game could boast- until I found out that some of the big one's are totally incompatible with one another, so then I had to pick and choose. At it's core, however, I was still playing the KOTOR game which I fell in love with all those years ago and crowned highly on my list of favourite games ever. Do I stand by that designation, even today? Does the game still stand up enough to warrant the renewed interest around it in the light of the Knights of the Old Republic Remake, and have my recent gaming experiences at all reshaped how I look at KOTOR? Let's discuss.

'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic' was a title from the Bioware golden age set within the Star Wars universe and coinciding with a series of Dark Horse comics set in an era of the Star Wars mythos still totally unexplored by Film or TV. If you've never had a chance to read the Knights of the Old Republic comic series, I would definitely recommend it, as even amidst the pretty decent quality Dark Horse Star Wars run, that collection in particular stands out as absolute gems. (I remember being helplessly hooked to the series back when I was a kid.) Released in 2003, KOTOR was a RPG that benefitted from Bioware's work with the exceptionally well-received Baldur's Gate games, as Bioware found a way to translate the Third Edition of D&D into a Star Wars game just as they had done with Baldur's Gate and Second Edition D&D. Of course, for your average Star Wars fan, the origin and basis of the mechanics was perfunctory, all we cared about was that this was a Star Wars RPG and it played good.

Using a D20 combat system linked with your typical attributes-stat-sheet set-up, KOTOR is built for real-time, round based, combat encounters with a limited number of feats and force abilities available at the player's discretion to add strategy and moment-to-moment decision making. The effectiveness of these powers, the likelihood of scoring hits, and the activation of crits, are all decided on behind-the-scenes dice rolls further influenced with bonuses granted from the stat sheet. When I first played this game I stumbled into it's systems having no idea what a D20 system was, and came away no more elucidated, yet incredibly I finished the title on the hardest difficulty with a character I can only assume was horribly sub-optimal; which is to say that the systems Bioware established here are decently complex if you want to get into them, but accommodating enough for an actual child to work them. I can attest to that from personal experience.

Coming back to the game after having learned of CRPGs and beaten the considerably more difficult Baldur's Gate games, I can appreciate the slight layers of complexity that allow for a decent amount of flexibility and distinct player builds. I won't lie to you and say there's a crazy amount of build variety on display here, even the six classes (three Jedi, three non-Jedi) are only really sliding scales from 'high mana user' to 'low mana user', or 'heavy weapons guy' to 'small arms man'. But that ankle-deep complexity works in the game's favour, as it gives you more time to focus on the act of playing the game rather than the interim moments of reading ability sheets and deciding how to approach each encounter. You won't have any truly taxing fights that challenge the limits of your creativity and resourcefulness, but you will spend a lot more time in the thick of combat and exploring the Star Wars Galaxy. 

Speaking of, KOTOR delivers us a version of the Star Wars universe that we had never before seen in any of the movies. An era set thousands of years before the prequels, wherein the Republic was not yet the de facto government of the universe, and crimson-saber wielding Dark Jedi could be expected in the hundreds as they spawned from a Dark Side fuelled Sith Empire. This is a Galaxy both familiar and unfamiliar, with technologies comparable to the Star Wars we love, but with a medieval twist that grants a more fantastical and mythical taste to the narrative. You have protocol and astromech droids looking decidedly more alien, newly designed fleets of Republic and Sith battle ships that adhere to the impractical-but-shapely philosophy of normal Star Wars starships and a more 'honorbound Knight' twist to how force wielders dress that I find instantly evocative and iconic. KOTOR looks the part of a Star Wars Era flawlessly, no doubt helped by the work Dark Horse did on shaping the world in their stellar comics. 

KOTOR tells the story of the return of the Sith Empire heralded by the legendary Jedi war hero Darth Revan and now succeeded by his traitorous former apprentice Darth Malak. You play a lowly Republic contractor inexplicably thrust into the middle of this conflict only to slowly discover that you might have more a role to play in this war than you'd ever of guessed. The narrative of this game is widely praised as one of it's greatest aspects, and it is for such good reason. Bioware's writers perfectly played off the beloved 'farmer to hero' trope that Star Wars lives and dies for and twisted it into grander, evolving beast with one of the greatest rugpulls in gaming. These writers took Star Wars, imbued it with another genre (swords and sorcery) and created a darkly majestic storyline that KOTOR fans still giddily discuss to this day; all over fifteen years before 'The Mandalorian' launched. If only this story could have served as the bar for narrative writing in the Star Wars universe going forth, we wouldn't still be having discussion about whether or not Star Wars has the depth for intelligent stories. (It does, and KOTOR is a masterful dip into the very crest of that lake.) 

One who has played any games from this studio before will likely be able to guess the structure of the game. After an introduction world you are set free on several planets, most of which are iconic in the source material, and you must engage complete questlines on each planet in order to serve the greater plot, which in this case is tracking the location of some mysterious powerful weapon called 'The Star Forge' which is giving the Sith Empire a domineering edge in the war for the galaxy. Each planet gives us a self-contained story delving into the state of the universe from this corner, one touches on a once cloistered ocean world now turned in a fulcrum point for the entire war thanks to it's exclusive production of the healing substance 'Kolto', another tells of the struggles of the tribal Wookies of Kashyyyk against slavery, all present the player with choices and consequences for how they want to shape the Galaxy they are saving. Now admittedly, these are choices in the very black and white 'Light Side', 'Dark Side' variety (for the most part. There are a couple of morality stunters packaged in there too.) but they still provided the freedom to be the Jedi that you want to be, a hallmark of great Bioware design.

As a Bioware RPG, you can expect a lionshare of the writing weight to be placed on characters and their interactions with the player, both as members of your party and people you meet in the frontiers, that is just the Bioware way. But even recognising that high Bioware standard, I have to admit that KOTOR in particular does a simply marvellous job characterising even the individuals you brush past for a single quest line over the whole story. Characterisation in the writing is so good that there are some standout characters you'd love to stick around more, and whom make me rue the fact that KOTOR is one of the only RPGs of it's type not to feature an end-slate 'where are they now' slideshow during the credits. Of course, this expands to most of the companions too, who are all classics for their contributions. (Even if I think that from a gameplay standpoint, there's a couple too many companions for them all to have unique talents and you're probably going to end up ignoring at least two for the entire game.)

I must say, however, that whilst many of the characters are personable and likeable, from the headstrong Jedi prodigy Bastila Shan to the scrappy Twi'lek rascal Mission Vao, (and the lovably blood-thirsty assassin-Driod HK-47, of course.) I don't think most of these characters boast incredible depth to them or anything. Which is fine, they serve the purpose that they need to well enough and aren't cardboard cutouts because Bioware simply would never write 2 dimensional characters like that, but in terms of character writing I don't think Bioware placed the bulk of their efforts in these people. Which unfortunately means that for the characters who aren't immediately ingratiating, such as the annoyingly testy Carth Onasi and the conceptually exciting but physically bland Canderous Ordo, it can be a chore to hang around them long enough to learn what their character growth journey shapes up as. (I know people out there like Canderous but I can't help it: I find his war stories incurably boring.) 

What I love about KOTOR is the way it takes a fresh period of Star Wars history and makes it yours, to explore, to redeem, to corrupt, to adventure within; and it does so in the familiar pattern that Star Wars fans love. We have our own team of ragtag adventures that smuggle across an iconic disc-like ship and who are thrust into an exciting journey to stop a galactic tyrant. It's like a full Star Wars film just for you, and I buzz for that sort of personal attention. Of course, I also adore the way it takes that step that not all RPGs do, and gives the player their own spot of purpose within the world so that events we're shaping feel like they have consequence to us! They were clever about it too, obfuscating the connection with typical 'nobody from nowhere' set-up that we come to expect from our RPGs nowadays, only to flip the script in the final act; I love watching the big scene where it gets revealed every- time!

In contrast, my griping points about KOTOR are few and utterly unrelated to the narrative which I think is actually one of the best that the Star Wars universe has ever enjoyed. I think that the force powers lack in choice, not that I'm wanting for a D&D sized spell book but there could be more goodies to look forward to in the last five levels of levelling beyond just upgrading some powers to auto-win CC variants. I dislike the lack of fast travel points outside of the ability to transit back to the Ebon Hawk, which in itself can only be done in certain arbitrary locations. Pazaak is fun, but about as deep as a pond once you realise it's a modified version of Blackjack with all the special features removed. And I despise the enemy spam in the final level, along with the tedious 'unique mechanic' of the final boss fight, but then I have an entire blog ranting about my thoughts on Bioware final level enemy spam, so I don't need to go into any more details on that here.

I think KOTOR shows us how an absolute icon, legend of a game can be a lean and tight experience with great ideas behind it, rather than being some bloated 100 hour adventure that's dripping with endless sidequests and extra routes and stupidly large dungeons. It actually surprised me several times how quick and sweet some of KOTOR's dungeon areas were and how much more I enjoyed them because of that, rather than having to endure a total slog through identical corridors like some more contemporary RPGs prefer. (I love you, 'Pathfinder: Kingmaker', but you have a problem.) When I finished KOTOR, I had a 42 hour save file; and that's only because of a huge 10 hour-long mod which I installed and played through on top of the base game; (Which is the reason for the robes I'm wearing in some of these screenshots) a thirty hour game can be a legend too.

None of which is too say that KOTOR is a totally polished experience, because beyond some levelling short-comings, this game has bugs, some of which are pretty bad. One I've seen consistently, as in every time I've ever played, is the bug in which character questlines (all of whom require a notoriously fiddly approach event to trigger) just don't start, or how Mission's entire plotline will break if you open an empty room in a key plot area before her quest is started. I have never managed to play every companion quest line in a single playthrough, and in fact only finished Juhani's, and thus did them all, in this most recent playthrough that I did for the review. Also, it took hours of fiddling to learn how to get this game working on 1080p, betraying the need for some sort of basic update patch that this game has been wanting for over a decade now. I don't know who the licence holder is for this game these days, but they've got to show this game some love. It's a classic!

In summary, Knights of the Old Republic is a revered and worthy gem of Bioware's glory days that excites and impresses today just as it did back in 2003. A classic that might show it's age on a technical front, but effortlessly holds its fun factor even against the titles of today. It's plot is iconic and involving in all of the best ways, and it's characters have just that right level of heart to latch onto yours quicker than you'd expect. It's gameplay systems are robust, if a little bare, and the size of the game is neat enough to be experienced in a a much more sensible timeframe than most modern RPGs demand. With all this taken to account, it hardly takes any deliberation at all to say that 'Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic' is worthy of an A Grade and an express recommendation because classics like this deserve to be played more. Whatsmore, you really should give this game the time of day before the PS5 Remake turns it into an action-based Souls-like in the near future. (They literally said 'God of War' and 'Nioh 2' are inspirations. What the heck does that even mean for a party-based Stat-sheet roleplayer?)

Why we need KOTOR 3.

 The force can do terrible things to a mind.

There's a lot of hopeful thoughts that goes into being a fan of the game's industry; lots of pinching those cheeks and wishing upon stars, lots of bold assumptions, and just heaps of tickets for various, destined-to-be-derailed, hype public transport. It's all a part of the experience, we're teased a game and left to fill in the blanks for ourselves, usually to everyone's disappointment once the real thing launches. Unless that game is Elden Ring, apparently, but I wouldn't know about that since I haven't played Sekiro yet and it appears I have an unspoken rule to only play a Souls Game when the next one has come out. (As least for Sekiro and Ring that practice won't cut me out of some thriving online scene.) All of which is to explain that whilst we graciously accept the gift that is the upcoming Knights of the Old Republic Remake with one hand, we must grasp and grab for a threequel with the other; because it's about darn time that we get things back on track.

Which isn't to say that I'm not stoked on KOTOR being remade. It's literally my third favourite game of all time, I love the very concept of a numbers-action-rpg based Star Wars world, I adore the story and I grow all nostalgic about the cast. All I bemoan is the fact that we don't have more of that game, and now with a full remake it's highly likely that we will get that so much more which we need! (Provided it's still a stat-based action RPG game. Which it is going to be, right? They wouldn't take that away from us- would they?) But everything we're going to see made, and even the additions I hope they'll throw in along the way, all fall under the category of 'expectable content'. We know the breadth of this story; we know the major players, the winners and losers, the places we'll mostly visit and the strange trails we'll face there, and most of all we know that galaxy shattering twist in the third act. It's all expected; and what I'm looking for is the unexpected.

KOTOR 2 often doesn't get the praise it deserves as a supremely well written Bioware RPG, and that's mostly because the unfinished nature of the story and world stand out on full display. Like every Bioware game expect for Mass Effect, number 2 takes the brunt of studio complications from around that time, with efforts split so much that entire sections of the narrative had to be narrowed down into railroad sections and, apparently, the endings of the game were totally chopped off the package. Which is to say that KOTOR 2, whilst a good game, doesn't quite live up to being the successor to KOTOR that we needed all those years ago, and this remake is only going to fuel the flames for a new title even more. Now could this lead to a KOTOR 2 remake which fixes all the problems and restores the original vision? Almost certainly not, but I would spin like a top if that did happen; what's more likely is we're going to get a return to this world for something totally new.

And when you look around at the state of Star Wars gaming right now; that really is what we need right now. Back before the Disney acquisition, Star Wars was one of the healthiest gaming franchises you could think off, working with dozens of contracted companies, all of whom were eager to work on the licence, and putting out enough content to sooth every possible player itch. Then the unthinkable happened and all of that was halted, or straight cancelled, on the spot in favour for EA exclusivity. What we have right now is a much narrower market for these sorts of games that typically has a high standard of quality to them (I think it's been a while since a truly godawful shovelware title with a Star Wars label on it was published) but less wide appeal. Sure, Jedi Fallen Order was a great game and a ton of fun... provided you liked tough action Souls-like games: Otherwise you'd be crap out of luck.

From a wider perspective, we need different genres and game types to spice up the fandom of Star Wars once again and reach out to people who'd otherwise never be interested in the franchise. It's a goal I think all franchises with loft aspirations should shoot for, but one that not many have the reach to ascertain. Would people really buy a Fallout-themed Virtual Novel? I mean I would; but what about actual normal people out there? Probably not. But a Star Wars one? Well, Quantic Dream are going to put that question to the test themselves when they release 'Eclipse' a couple of years or so from now! Diversity expands your reach, which expands the fan pool, which increases resources to make even bigger and better games. A perfect cycle of symbiotic dependency. But also very clean, and spreadsheet-friendly. What about the more specific reasons why KOTOR 3 needs to happen?

 Because D&D-esque mechanics translate super well to the Star Wars brand! With all the sci-fi weaponary, Jedi arts and Lightsaber duels, this seems like a world absolutely made for numbers-RPG games and we rarely get to see that taken advantage of. I'd love to see a Star Wars game take this to an extreme, like Pathfinder does, where you can have entire class builds and specifically generated wave encounters, all to push players to the brink of their talents. We've only touched upon the potential of D&D Star Wars with the KOTOR titles and it's a well of infinite possibility if only it were given a chance. Can you imagine the incredible medieval themed super-boss Sith Lords we could be fighting in a totally expansive Role Playing game with Baldur's Gate level scale to it? We can shoot for that sort of project in this modern age, if only Disney will give such an idea the go ahead.

And then there's the health of the franchise as a whole. Right now there's only really one avenue of this incredibly big series that is holding everything together: the time immediately following the Galactic Civil War. The Clone Wars have been tapped dry, the sequel Trilogy is dead-on arrival and The High Republic has it's fans, but is still largely niche among the Star Wars universe. (Maybe 'Eclipse' will change that, maybe 'Eclipse' will further cement that franchise segment's ostracization from the rest of the community) The Old Republic is there, it's proven, it's loved, and it has such a space for new stories that is seems silly not to work it. You have a period of Jedi-Sith warfare, of European Medieval thematic influence, rampant endemic betrayals and a general darker shade on the world of Star Wars that isn't explored nearly enough.

 

Knights of the Old Republic Remake

 The Force can do terrible things to a mind

So I ain't above admitting I got a little teary-eyed when I saw this, and maybe I was partaking in a bit of silent screaming too, (The showcase was at night over here) but can you blame me when this was the bounty of the night? Again, after a year of meh showcases I had no interest in another and skipped Sony's offerings, only to end up missing what is pretty solidly the best overall showcase event of the year. Ain't that just the biggest kick to the nads? And best of all, pretty much everyone came away with their "wow" moment. The single game which drowned out all the others and stuck with them in their dreams. It just so happened that the game which achieved all of this for me, was the game which the show kicked off with. Show all the cool new sequels and side projects you want, Insomniac, because Aspyr media won me over the second they showed off my main man, the one and only, Darth Revan. It's Star Wars time, baby; and we're going back to the heyday.

You have to understand how big this reveal was for me. Knights of the Old Republic is my third favourite game of all time, a literal masterpiece that I worship as such, the only news that could have struck me harder would have been another Bioshock game or a Metal Gear Solid 3 remake. Even with the endless rumours, which I suppose are now confirmed leaks in hindsight, detailing the existence of this project; a large part of me didn't believe. Or maybe I just didn't want to believe, because part of me loved the old games as they were and sees any attempt to 'remake' them as an attempt to fix what isn't broken. Maybe that pessimism will return again some day, and mar my feelings towards this remake, but it hasn't happened yet and I'm just giddy. Giddy, and shocked, and excited, and indignant. All these shades of anticipation grip me at once and it's doing a number on me, let me tell you! I don't even know how I'm finding the calm to sit down and write this. How are my fingers finding the right keys without shaking? (With trouble. I'll say that much)

And whatsmore this is a remake, not a remaster. Originally there was speculation on this front, considering Aspyr were responsible for a remastering of Kotor 2, it would make sense for them to turn their talents on the original; but I suppose with a prize this vibrant to hand, the prize of the greatest Star Wars game ever made, the team couldn't contain themselves with anything less than the whole hog. (I don't rightly blame them.) This is going to be a proper game, worthy of standing tall in the modern age of gaming. A tall undertaking, and one that just sends shivers up my spine to so much as consider. And yet, I hope that Aspyr are acutely aware of the precedent they've set themselves to follow by going this route. PlayStation has been home to some of the greatest remakes of all time, such as the gorgeous Demon Souls, and the genre bending Final Fantasy VII. Does Aspyr have what it takes to adapt and evolve content as well as those other titles could? I suppose this will be their proving.

If only we were respected enough to have a trailer, like a proper trailer, but instead we have to deal with a teaser somehow even more insubstantial than FF7R's original reveal. (At least in that footage we got to see a classic scene from the original remade) In fact, if we break down the actual marketing material itself, then what we got is literally no better than the model showcase videos that Unreal Cinema put out on Youtube for their upcoming serialisation of the game. (I assume that's still happening and hasn't been hit with a cease and desist. That would suck if it was.) In fact, if I really want to be nitpicky, I might point out that the trailer missed a genuine opportunity to sing to the fans even in it's stark presentation. What we got was a hooded figure who lights a red Lightsaber and then brings it to their face to reveal the iconic Revan mask. Fine. But how much more visually heartstopping would it have been to have the Red saber alight, there be a pause for the monologue, and then a purple saber alights in his oft hand. Fans would go wild for there was only ever one Sith who was depicted with both, and we wouldn't have had to end on that rather awkward 'guarding' animation to reveal his face. (What? I'm a mega fan of these games, I can get petty!)

What we know now can be counted on one hand; the game isn't ready to be shown off and we're not even allowed to be told basic details. Right now everyone is making it out like we're several years away from the actual birth of this Star Wars game, and I'm happy for that because 2022 is getting ridiculously crowded as it is. What we have been told is that Aspyr are reshaping themselves with a lot of new faces in order to make this work, apparently including developers of the original Knights of the Old Republic. I wonder if that means they're angling to get the same voice work done too, because I cannot imagine seeing Bastila, or heck, Carth with a different voice. (Imagine if Carth didn't sound like a whiney arse for the entire game? Nah, that'd be sacrilege.) Interestingly, the producer of the game has specifically stated that the story and characters are staying the same (although I'm willing to bet money on that really being 'mostly') so we might see some gameplay evolutions this time around.

As we are probably early enough to still make predictions and/or demands; I would like to take this time to say the following: For the love of god leave Revan alone. I understand the allure of a character as larger-than-life, yet mysterious, as Darth Revan. The Jedi who broke the backs of the Mandalorians and rose to become one of the greatest of his day, only to disappear and come back as one of the most terrible Sith Lords in history. Those burning questions of "What corrupted him out there?" "What did he see?" have stayed with us for nigh twenty years now. (Even though after meeting his master in Kotor 2, it seems decently clear that, if she were that creepy back when they still knew each other, his breaking bad might be a natural reaction to living with her in his life for several years) That mystery is what makes Darth Revan. And his iconic hold over the story, as this figure that haunts the background of events, is perfectly balanced to making the game's strongest moments land as powerfully as they did. So don't ruin that with 'flashback missions' or prolonged explorations of Revan's lost years. (Although I wouldn't complain if they touched on that in some post-launch DLC. I'm talking about the narrative balance of the core product right now.)

As for the things that I would want; for one I want a completely different play style. I adore the turn based combat and would want nothing else for Kotor, but I need this new game to differentiate itself to the same extent that FF7R did, so real time action is a must. I'd love for the storylines nearer the end to be buffed up so that we can get a better sense of the state of the world in the face of the big twist, specifically how perceptions and opinions shift. (Just a beefier third act in general would be nice) I'd never say no to a few more worlds being added into the great chase, but something tells me that's extremely unlikely. There absolutely needs to be more clothing options, specifically the ability to get that mask which we weren't allowed to do throughout the first game without mods. And I'd simply love it if companions were rewritten around the Ebon Hawk to interact with each other more so that the crew feels more like a family, similar to how Mass Effect Andromeda treated it's team. (One of the few things that game did better than it's predecessors)

But my wants and needs are ultimately insubstantial in the wake of the great Lucasfilm beast that lords over this project, because regardless of this game being several years out, there are so many hands in the kitchen for this game I wouldn't be surprised if it's every feature has been laid out in full for months already. Speaking of parties that are involved, why in god's name did Sony have to stick their heads where it doesn't belong? That just means yet again the Sony boys have swooped in and nailed exclusivity of another game that played best on PC in it's original form, why must you guys torture me so? (Oh and GIVE ME PERSONA 5 ROYAL!) It's been a good run for Xbox, they managed to buy up some studios and tease a year of exclusives from studios who are either unproven or have a shakey history; (Bethesda) but Sony have crushed it with this event. Banger after banger, crowned with the holy grail of remakes, all exclusive to the PS5? Pfft, it's over man. Now all these guys need to do is actually find a way to make and sell their consoles and the new generation will be theirs! (Imagine that) Still, if I must, and despite the fact that Disney had the funds to pay for this entire development cycle if they so wished to, (tight-fisted creeps) I will offer 'thanks', through gritted teeth, to Sony for making next gen Revan a reality. (Hope you liked my appreciation, that's all you're getting of it.)

Knight of the Old Republic: Rumors Swirling

 Don't do that. Don't give me hope.

MrMattyPlays got something to tell the world, does he? And it's not related to Fallout? Why then, that only leaves- no, it couldn't be. I can't get myself excited like this, not to be let down once more; what point is there in persisting if reality springs back to knock the wind out of you time and time again? What's the point in any of it anymore? But then if we don't have hope, then why do we continue at all? Damn it all, I may actually be giving into the rumours, the welling of the chorus, the whispers on the nape of the wind, all telling tales of an incoming game which is the second best news that Star Wars fans like myself could hear right now. That after all these years of missteps and failures, with the mess of the modern Star Wars world before us, hope will lie in an upcoming remake of the classic game: Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. (But still no word on that actual threequel which we've all been asking for. Stepping stones- I guess)

Now I certainly haven't said this nearly enough on this blog (though right now I'm actually wondering if I've said it at all) but Knights of the Old Republic is quiet literally one of my favourite games of all time. I place it third on my top list, in fact, as easily the best RPG out of the dozens that I've played and loved, pretty much making me a prime member of the target audience for this prospective remake. I rate Kotor above Dragon Age, FF7, Fallout, Wasteland, all of those formative roleplaying games of the genre, and to be honest a good chunk of that adoration arrives merely from the property in question and how Bioware-of-the-day managed to grab ahold of Star Wars and make something that felt deeply personal and cleverly crafted from it. These were in the blessed years before Disney, because everyone knows this sort of game would never have been made under their stifling grasp; it's just antithetical to the whole 'make everything boring' model they've got going over there. As a a relic to how better Star Wars was as a free agent, Disney would never allow anyone to touch back upon the Kotor days, would they? And yet-

We're far away from an official announcement, Disney's Star Wars is still well aboard delivering us that awful looking 'High republic' era of storytelling which looks to just retell the Old Republic in a manner lacking the ambiguity which makes those stories so interesting. What made The Old Republic great was the fact it was an era ushered in with a fantastic comic book story and a fantastic game at practically the same time. Both were darker in tone, but rekindled that adventurous spirit of old school Star Wars; and even going back to revisit either of them would signal a Star Wars landscape that's got a bit more legs to it then we originally thought. And whilst that may seem impossible, leakers and in-the-know commentators seem to be telling us that gears are moving somewhere in the background, willing to prove all of us naysayers wrong that Disney will in fact go the distance and- hire someone else to do the work for them because they're still personally clueless when it comes to Star Wars.

In fact, one such commentator, this MrMattyPlays who I've mentioned, seems to believe he's narrowed down the actual studio that has been hired to covertly make this Kotor remake. And given that he's an even bigger fan of Kotor than I am, (I think I recall him saying that he replays it every year) I'm willing to concede that he likely has a more ready finger on the pulse of this franchise. MrMatty has in the past signalled out Aspyr Media as having worked on improvements and a complete mobile port of Knights of the Old Republic 2. In fact an actual reporter, Jason Schreier, seems to be convinced that this is definitive, and pretty much public, news at this point; pointing out that Aspyr has ported "A bunch of Kotor Games". (I'm assuming that's a misquote. There's only 2 Kotor games as I recall. Can 2 be considered a 'bunch'?)

And yet there's no word on the remake. Why? Why not celebrate this and raise a flag of glory to let the Star Wars fandom know that there's an actual future in the series that they know and love? Is it because things aren't quite so straightforward? Perhaps. I've also seen news, though without any publicly available announcement it's hard to say where these specifics come from short of just saying Aspyr is the leakiest ship in the industry right now, that Knights of the Old Republic is going to see a complete reworking of it's gameplay to move away from the turn-based-but-actually-free-action hybrid gameplay of the original and into something more action adventure. I'm not sure what that entails, but I honestly do like the idea of changing up the gameplay to the point where this isn't just a supplanting of the original game. If this is true then both games can coexist with differing merits instead of one just becoming the definitive, and I like that.

What I don't like is reports that elements of Kotor 1 and 2 are being rewritten in order to fit into the new Disney canon. Good lord no, forget that idea; scrap and burn it to the ground alongside the rest of the Star Wars universe. Disney's new canon is directionless trash, no one should have to disform themselves in order to fit into that narrow-minded scope. If anything, Disney's canon should be morphing to fit around the more interesting and less rigid concepts of Kotor, opening the way for less predictable stories to be told as we go forward. Why not let us explore a world where Jedi's can't always be relied upon, or where the people that you trust can be more than they appear to be? I don't think that's much to ask from a storytelling standpoint but Disney certainly don't seem willing to embrace it if any of their works is an indication of what to expect. 

But even in the Disney cabal of mediocrity, there has sparked some more promising tidbits to get all excited over. In particular I saw one tweet by director James Gunn, noting the trending of Kotor and commending it; calling Kotor the best game ever made and his favourite Star Wars product. (Never through I'd be of such similar minds with James Gunn.) Now of course, Mr Gunn knows about as much regarding the inner workings of Aspyr and Disney's game licencing department as anyone else, but as far as signal-boosting goes you can't get bigger than someone on the verge of releasing a hyped up superhero movie. At this point, even if Kotor wasn't being remade, the suits in charge would have to get on it else risk wasting the plethora of free press literally lined up outside their door.

All this has me in the mood to give good old Kotor another run through, as it truly is that Star Wars adeventure that never gets old. Even as the elements which founded it steadily fall to ruin, Star Wars becomes lame and Bioware falls off the wagon, the original product glimmers with potential, and if something truly is due to come from that then consider me beside myself. And for anyone who needs that fix right away, I direct you to Unreal Cinema on Youtube who are currently creating short movies on Unreal Engine 4 that tell the events of Kotor in a fantastically updated visual style. (And apparently they've got permission to do so from LucasFilm, so that's exciting!) I may be of two minds in the world of remakes and reboots, but even I have to stop and appreciate it when something with remake potential enters the crosshairs. Just, you know, don't fudge it up.