Recent reviews by Grumpy Mumbles

So I finished Knights of the Old Republic II.
Gotta say. Not as good as KOTOR I. Overall kinda disappointing. I played full light side.
TLDR: Planets lack depth (except for one). Setting felt dull. Story forced altered gameplay choices too many times. New powers and better UI. Get it on sale if you liked KOTOR I.

The game put me through way too many scenarios where I was forced to play characters I did not care for. This felt like unnecessary padding to the game. From a gameplay standpoint, I felt that this also ended up forcing me to use playstyles that I did not want to (for example, multiple ranged characters or no force users). I guess it kinda keeps you on your toes, but all it ended up doing for me was force me to keep extra items for those scenarios and because I didn't care for the characters, I skipped most of the dialogue. KOTOR I did this too, but to a lesser degree.

Story wise, I also felt that the game was lacking. Darth Nihilus was built up to be this great menacing threat, but he ultimately had his screentime cut by Darth Scion (who admittedly had a really great ending). All but one of the planets had zero depth to them. The one exception was Nar Shaddaa, the first planet I went to, thinking it would be boring. As soon as I arrived, I was instantly choked with quests to complete in this large, sprawling landscape. Classic KOTOR. Good stuff. When I finished Nar Shadaa, I blinked and finished up two other planets. Every planet after Nar Shaddaa was short and lacking in any real depth. Onderon was pretty cool, but I wanted more. In KOTOR I, each planet had plenty of quests, plenty of characters, and plenty of things to explore and learn. Prime example. Korriban in the first game is this huge and imposing Sith homeworld where you must infiltrate the Sith Academy. You interact with students, teachers, temples, etc. You have to complete assignments and bicker with your fellow apprentices. Fun stuff. In KOTOR II, you wander around, run through a cave, get a little bit of nostalgia as you explore a small part of a the Sith Academy from the first game (only destroyed now), and then leave.

The quests that were there were good though. Just like the first game, the reasons for doing most of the quests felt like something the main character would actually care about aiding with. BUT, WHY WAS THERE ONLY ONE MURDER MYSTERY AND YOU DON'T EVEN GET TO SOLVE IT?! KOTOR I had two, and you even act as a lawyer in one of the cases. I also really disliked the ending. It kinda just.. ends. You do a thing, beat the bad, a thing happens, and then it ends. When KOTOR I ended, the ending cutscene led one to wonder about what's next. What's next in KOTOR II is given quick exposition at the very end.

Setting wise, KOTOR II was.. less cheery I guess, but not terrible. You play on a few of the same planets from the previous game, only different. The setting of KOTOR II is this galaxy ravaged by two consecutive wars. First the Mandalorian Wars, and then the Jedi Civil War. As a result, there is this constant atmosphere of fear and misery in all the planets you visit. It... It's different. I don't want to say it's bad... I get the reason behind it, but it still makes the game a little less fun. Maybe I would have liked it more if there was more to interact with, as with the first game.

GaM3pL4y wise, KOTOR II is an improvement on the first. They add some more Force powers, which is neat. The UI is cleaner and better looking. The boss combat kept me on my toes, even though I was on Normal. Maybe I didn't minmax my character well enough. Force Storm is still really strong.

I'm going to play through it a second time on darkside, but if they end up reworking this game in addition to the first one, then they need to add a whole DLC's worth of content. I recommend playing this game if you liked KOTOR I and it's on a good sale, which it often is.