Favourite Video Games #6 - Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic

I don't play as many RPGs as I do first person shooters or real time strategies. I guess I never really got the hang of the whole side-quests and levelling up side of things. However, that's not to say that don't play RPGs - I think one of my favourites is Bioware's Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. It's a Star Wars game done right, a prequel done right, and an RPG done right (for my tastes anyway).

Knights of the Old Republic takes place four thousand years before any of the films, meaning a whole new cast of characters and a conflict between the Galactic Republic and a Sith Empire spearheaded by Darth Malak. The player assumes the role of an unnamed soldier/scout/scoundrel loyal to the Republic and their growing number of companions, who escapes from the Sith-controlled city world of Taris, learns the ways of the force on the lush planet Dantoonie, and ultimately embarks on a mission to find the 'Star Forge' believed to be the source of Malak's fleet. The game takes you on a variety of planets, including the desert world of Tatooine, the forested Kashyyk, the oceanic Manaan, and the volcanic Korriban.

The game is fairly linear, but each world offers a myriad of side quests. Speaking as a writer, I'd have to say that the main protagonist seems like a blank slate, but it's an RPG so that's expected. However, it's the other characters who make the game great. My favourites include Jolee Bindo, a grumpy old "grey" Jedi who has both Light Side and Dark Side Powers, and HK-47, an assassin droid who gets all the best lines.

I recommend the PC version over the console versions. Like many (but not all) the games on this list, it's available on Steam and doesn't cost much.

While the Star Wars games are a thing of the past, what with Disney's closure of LucasArts back in 2013 and the licensing in the hands of Electronic Arts, this one is a strong indication that the Force is still with us.