Next week sees the hotly anticipated release of Dragon Age: Inquisition, the third instalment in the Dragon Age franchise and developed by long-time RPG enthusiasts (and – to some – pioneers), Bioware. But in the years before Bioware turned focus onto their own IPs they were developing licensed titles for publishers other than Electronic Arts.
A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…
The game’s storyline followed the footsteps of an unnamed protagonist who finds himself at the centre of a galactic war between the Galactic Republic (accompanied by the Jedi Order) and the devious Sith Empire, and gathers a crew of heroes and thieves from across the galaxy to ultimately save or conquer the galaxy, whilst simultaneously trying to solve the problems of everyone he/she meets along the way (in traditional RPG fashion). The main story is actually a lot more twisty-turny than that and complete with Bioware’s beautifully written dialogue and excellently delivered voice acting, but – on the off-chance that you haven’t actually played the game in the last ten years (which, by the way, shame on you) – I will reserve some of the finer details. Needless to say the story has one particularly exciting twist which cleverly sets up the game’s final act, and it will leave you hopelessly trying to realign your jaw.
The writers seed it throughout, making the reveal all the more shocking when it eventually surfaces – comparable even to the iconic father/son twist in The Empire Strikes Back. The game takes place across many of the core worlds from the Star Wars mythos such as Tatooine, Kashyyyk and Korriban and also adds further depth to familiar species (the Wookies, for example, whom you can choose to help escape from forced slavery).
There was a whole bunch of reasons for the KotOR’s immediate success, such as the amazing visuals or the addictive, exploratory style of gameplay. It was the first Star Wars RPG for a long time and the first to utilise a fully 3D engine. The combat was fun and easy to navigate, combining the best of both Jedi and Sith abilities, and the character customisation was as diverse as it needed to be (the same system of which would later be tweaked and carried over to Dragon Age). The in-game characters, as well as (again) the epic voice acting and excellent storytelling, made KotOR a unique – and dare I say perfect – Star Wars adventure.
Lucas Arts soon saw that there was a franchise to be made here and began development on a sequel not long after the launch of the original, which would be headed by Obsidian Entertainment (assisted by the team at Bioware). The game would be entitled Star Wars - Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, and would serve to be the final single player experience in the KotOR series.
'Together we can rule the galaxy!'
We will also be delivering a review of Bioware’s latest release, Dragon Age: Inquisition, soon after it launches!