Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic

Relevance to Films:
4,000 years before rise of Galactic Empire (time frame of first movie). Galaxy is not divided into factions. Rebel forces fight against the Empire. Conflict resides in differences between forces of Sith and Republic. Other influences exist in Mandalorian powers, and alternating planets species. Jedi race is mercilessly hunted. Jedi Masters make up a council to best decide their fate for future.

Graphics:

Crisp for time of release (2004). Edges of objects do not interfere with texture of immediately adjacent objects. In certain positions, character outlines become strangely angled and break lifelike illusion. Faces are rather specific in their structure, but convey a general shapiness in design style, typical to older developed games. Facial structure quality decreases as character grows more distant from intended target. Minuscule detail on items, mostly pixelated when viewed up close. Objects usually small made larger in relation to character distance reveals blurriness. Great detail given to objects in far off vision, though distance to objects does not vary if objects are purposefully set as background ornaments. Odd shadow display under characters at times, as if illuminated in stadium. Shadows spread under character in each four diagonal directions, unrealistic in terms of natural shadow placement, especially in natural sunlight. Clothing sticks to avatar body, and does not move freely on character. Generic lines and outline to armor and clothing, small detail given to makeup of clothing.

Storyline:

Begins with cut-scene of two Sith Lords, Revan and Malak, two all powerful entities, and their chase of the Star Forge. Character given to player (the avatar) is recent recruit of Republic, mysteriously transferred to Bastila Shan's ship, same day she is taken and held hostage on Telos. Past of the avatar is unknown. Renowned pilot of the Republic, Carth, joins the avatar after escaping the seized ship. Bastila's safety, as she attains a vital key to success in war, is essential to the prosperity of the Republic. Bastila harbors power of Battle Meditation, allowing her to see what her opposition is going to do before they do it. Carth and avatar must save Bastila from gang control and escape Telos before Malak destroys planet. They free Bastila and flee Telos in the Ebon Hawk seeking refuge on Dantooine. Bastila meets with members of Jedi Council and reveals a bond she shares with the avatar that connects their feelings and insights. Council decides to make avatar a Jedi, in hopes that with Bastila's help the whereabouts of the Star Forge, an extremely powerful weapon capable of turning the tide in battle, will be found. It is the primary objective of the avatar to locate Star Maps, contained on different planets around the galaxy, to discover actual location to Star Forge. Travelling to Tatooine, Manaan, Kashyyyk, and Korriban to retrieve these Star Maps, Malak becomes reoccurring threat. Ebon Hawk eventually boards Leviathan, Malak's battle ship. Bastila is again taken hostage. After visiting final planet, the coordinates to where Bastila is being kept lead Ebon Hawk to an Unknown Planet. Bastilla has fallen to the Dark Side, and now lends powers to  Sith. The avatar then travels to location of the Star Forge in attempt to stop both Malak, Bastila, and the use of Star Forge.

Gameplay:

Role Playing Game (RPG). Avatar is fully customizable. Appearance portrait fully customizable. Name: customizable. Able to play as male or female. Choosing an avatar class: Soldier, Scout, and Scoundrel, sets difficulty of gameplay from easiest to most difficult, respectively. Combat personalization is distributed between Attributes, Skills, and Feats. Skills break down: Computer Use, Demolitions, Stealth, Awareness, Persuasion, Repair, Security, and Treat Injury. Attributes Break Down: Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma. Soldier Feats: Armor Proficiency: Light, Medium, Heavy, Power Attack, Power Blast, Blaster Pistol, Blaster Rifle, Heavy Weapons, Melee Weapons. Scout Feats: Armor Proficiency: Light, AP: Medium, Flurry, Implants, Rapid Shot, Blaster, Blaster Rifle, WP: Melee Weapons. Scoundrel Feats: Armor Proficiency: Light, Critical Strike, Sniper Shot, Blaster, Blaster Rifle, Melee Weapons, Sneak Attack I, Scoundrel's Luck. Experience gain grants higher levels, topping out at level 20. With each level increase, player gains points to spend on new Attributes, Skills, and Feats for their avatar. In game experience propels the avatar down the path of light, or the path of dark. Conversations with computer controlled  Non-Playable Characters (NPC) dictate how you are viewed around the galaxy, and the plot line the player will follow. Combat is in constant motion, not turn based. Primary attacks reoccur, while secondary attacks (Special Attacks) are manually used by the player. Weapons are broken down into: Blaster, Rifle, Heavy Weapon, Melee, and Light sabers. Only Jedi use light sabers. Each style of weaponry has upgradeable components to strengthen the damage of that particular weapon. Armor is broken down into: Light, Medium, Heavy, and Cloaks. Only Jedi use Cloaks, Medium and Heavy armor is attainable using Feat points when levelling up.   

    
Obstacles:

Much of game includes solving puzzles to advance plot. Many times, light side or dark side affiliation aids or makes tasks more difficult. Rarely is an objective complete by simply killing X number of enemies. Often times, most obvious solutions are not necessarily best. Many upgrades to weapon and armor pieces are subtly hidden throughout planets walked among by avatar, and expedient gameplay will make player miss hidden  treasures.

System Interface:

Made for PC and XBOX, compatible for XBOX 360. Easy navigation between main title menu, options menu, and save/load screens. Several files open for use, no re-writing previously saved files. In game controls easily managed in actual time, or by using the select button to pause action and strategically plan attacks.