Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for iPad 1.0

Overview

Star Wars Knights of Old Republic, KOTOR for short is one of, if not the most beloved Star Wars video game in the franchise. It offers a compelling story with multiple outcomes, a morality system that weighs on heavy decisions, and you add that with Wookies and lightsabers and you still have barely scratched the surface of this title. KOTOR’s story is truly one that was a long, long time ago over a thousand years prior to Luke blowing up the first Death Star. The developers at BioWare had done a tremendous of creating a galaxy that truly felt like a Star Wars universe without the use of any original Star Wars characters.

If you’re a returning player to the game and are wondering how it plays on an iOS device, you can breathe a sigh of relief. The UI has been changed to better accommodate the touch screen controls, but other than that the game feels nearly untouched from the PC to the iPad. The game runs incredibly well on iOS devices. I was able to play for over 45 hours without experiencing any major bugs or issues. The game doesn’t handle quite as well as it does on a PC, but if you’ve never played the PC version, than you won’t even know there would be a difference.

The game plays similarly to RPG titles like Baldur’s Gate or Dragon Age, where you’ll create and customize your own character, recruit, mentor, and develop individual relationships with crew members that you find along your way, and a combat system that allows you to pause the action to carefully and strategically place your next moves. It’s hard to even depict what the greatest aspect of this game is, because it executes such a flawless attempt to create a Star Wars story that stands up to the original trilogy without feeling like it’s just a makeover from the original design. If an aspect of the game did have to be picked to stand on-top it would have to be the story. The plot is extremely immersive and manages to grab your attention throughout the entire game. Bioware did an excellent job with fully voice acting each and every NPC. Though some of the NPC’s speak an alien language that will require you to read the subtitles, it’s easily accepted as the alien languages are so convincing that it just adds to the immersion.

Story aside, any fans of pen and paper games as well as the Americanized RPG titles like Dragons Age will quickly be able to adapt to the combat of this game. Hardcore RPG fans can even get as in-depth as checking logs on dice rolls to calculate the success rate of every trigger pull or swing of a lightsaber. You’ll be able to equip and customize weapons and gear for your entire crew as well as developing each of their skills. For example, you can either train your droid companion to be a killing machine with blasters and flamethrowers, or deck him out with tech advancements that make him comparable to R2-D2 hacking into a system to shut down all the garbage compactors in the detention level. If you’re not into checking dice rolls, stats, and leveling characters it’s really no issue as the game offers a smart auto-level option that will keep your team competitive without slowing down the action.

Installation

Star Wars: Knights of Old Republic for the iPad can be download on the App Store for $9.99. Requires a iPad on iOS 6.0 or later.

Interface

The interface has been revamped to better suit the touch screen controls. For a game that has so much going on within menus, combat options, and items, it does an excellent job making every ability, item, and selection easy and smooth to use.

Pros

• Offers one of the most intriguing and unique Star Wars stories across the board.
• Combat and Story has real depth and meaning.
• Choices depict light or dark side consequences.
• Plays just as well on the iPad as it did on PC

Cons

• None

Alternatives

If you enjoy RPG titles that offer unique stories that revolve around your decision making, as well as offer strategic and rewarding combat you’ll also most likely enjoy the Baldur’s Gate series. It takes place in a D&D world and has more dated graphics, but offers the same enjoyable gameplay. It’s also available on iPad as well.

Conclusion

Overall KOTOR strikes a marvelous balance of hardcore authenticity and accessibility for nearly all fans of the Star Wars universe and fans of the RPG genre. The game has received nearly endless praise ever since its initial release on the Xbox and PC. The game has been wonderfully ported to the iPad giving you a great reason to replay the experience and If you’re a fan of Star Wars or even just a fan of the American D&D style role-playing games, this is without a doubt a must own item.