The aftermath of
Knights of the Old Republic saw a dramatic shift in the Jedi population, leaving your character as one of the last remaining Jedi Knights in the galaxy. Little else is known about your character other than you were exiled from the Order for following Revan in the Mandalorian Wars. Because of your long exile, your connection to the Force is weak and your light-saber is gone.
Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords lets you jump into being a Jedi from the start -- or at least a recovering Jedi. At the game’s start, you are completely shut off from the Force. In addition, your light-saber is missing. This means that you will spend a significant amount of time trying to rebuild both your connections to the Force and your weapon. Just how long this takes depends mostly on how you plan on going through the story and the choices you make.
You’ll start the game as one of three distinct Jedi classes, each with their own abilities. These initial classes will remain the same from the previous game. As you advance through the game, you’ll be able to access unique Prestige classes that will be alignment specific. The Dark Side player will be able to choose from Sith Lord, Sith Marauder, and Sith Assassin, while the Light Side will host the Jedi Master, Jedi Watchman, and Jedi Weapon Master classes. Prestige classes are mostly tweaks of the initial three choices, but unlock powers that are unique to each.
Given the complexities of the original’s narrative, which unlocked multiple paths for you to follow, The Sith Lords supplies plenty of plot twists and mysteries. While some are a little confusing and don’t quite carry the same impact as the previous game, the narrative is still very good and better than anything to come out of the recent “Star Wars” movies.
Not long after your quest begins, you are given the chance to address key points from the original. Who betrayed whom? Did your character submit to the Dark Side? These choices set the initial groundwork for some of the game’s later plot elements as well as setting up the entire game.
Cast members from the last game return and will help fill in the blanks as to what happened since the first game. Fan favorites like HK-47 and Carth make a return, as do a few others. While some may not have as large of roles, it’s still like seeing an old friend -- a testament to the character development set up in the first game. A cast of new characters are introduced in The Sith Lords and are even more likeable than the first cast given the influence system and expanded side-quest system.
How you choose to play the game has the biggest impact on the events in the game. More choices and side-quests are offered this time around. As with last time, you will be able to choose your own path through the game. Will you choose the way of the Light Side, or take the quick and easy path in pursuit of the Dark Side. Choices aren’t as easy to make. A few choices are obvious as to where they fall on the Light/Dark scale, but others fall into the gray area. One choice might seem like a good idea at the time, but could turn to a bad one somewhere down the line. To further complicate things, your choices also impact your party members and their personal plot lines.
The overall result is a game that is even deeper than the first. So much of the hows and whys of things are based on what you are doing at a certain time that it’s impossible to see everything in one pass. More side quests are available and will now span several planets, requiring some travel time in order to complete them.
