Approximately five years after the events of the original Star Wars : Knights of the Old Republic , the Jedi , nearly brought to an end by the Sith, are on the brink of extinction. The galaxy is in turmoil and the Republic no longer has the strength to protect its worlds. Sith Assassins are hunting the one they believe to be the last of the Jedi, the one who holds the key to the fate of the galaxy – You!

Using over 30 new Force powers, you can turn weak-minded enemies against one another in combat with Force Confusion or see through doors and view character alignment with Force Sight. You can also explore and battle your way through seven diverse worlds, including the mining colony of Peragus and Telos, a wasteland being rebuilt after its destruction during the war in the original game.

After creating a Jedi from the start with access to specific Jedi abilities, you can split your party to use several characters from your team for concurrent side quests. Tasked with protecting the Old Republic and the Jedi Order from its ultimate demise, you will be challenged with choosing the light side of the Force or surrendering to the lure of the dark side – as the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance. As in part one the driving force behind the Star Wars story, the battle between good and evil, runs through Sith Lords as strongly if not more strongly than before. Every decision you make can and will have consequences and as you progress through the game making decisions for good or bad your character will sway either to the light or dark side of the force.

The bulk of the game consists of three main elements: running from place to place across huge detailed environments finding stuff; talking with the games immense cast of characters by making dialogue choices and fighting with the copious variety of enemies. The controls and interface in KOTOR 2 are very similar to those of the KOTOR 1 so if you know the first one you should find adapting very easy.

Graphically Knights of the Old Republic was fairly impressive and KOTOR 2 does push these boundaries even if it is only slightly, but when you are running around solving puzzles and getting immersed within an excellent story this isn't always priority number one. Everything looks nice enough and the frame rate on Xbox seems pretty steady. Sound-wise this game really comes to life. Another incredibly put together set of voice acting clips feature highly in the game and give the characters real life plus a classical score provided by Lucas Art's Mark Griskey adds to the atmosphere consummately.

To bring this review to a conclusion I would say if you played the first installment and wanted more, then KOTOR 2 is as good as, if not slightly better than, the original. Although there has been a switch in development team you would never notice and the experience created in the first game is evidently as rewarding in part 2. My main gripe would be that all the way through the title you cannot get away from the déjà vu feeling. KOTOR 2 is just a bit too similar to the original and the extra features only pepper the game rather than taking the play off in a whole new adventurous direction.

• Sequel to Star Wars : Knights of the Old Republic , winner of over 35 worldwide “Game of the Year” awards.
• Deep, new story set in the same popular Old Republic timeframe.

• Seven immersive worlds – travel to completely new environments and locations featuring new visual effects such as rain and snow.
• Over 60 new feats and Force powers with stunning new visuals.
• Many new offensive, defensive, and passive feats to customize your character.
• A variety of new weapons with new upgrade options – use the wrist mounted rocket launcher to devastate your enemies.
• Hundreds of new characters to meet and interact with.
• Form your party with up to 10 different characters, each with their own personalities and motivations.
• Six new classes like the Jedi Weapon Master and the Sith Assassin allow you to specialize your mastery of the Force.
• Enhanced combat system featuring more combat options and strategies plus hundreds of new character combat animations.
• Over an hour of new, fully-orchestrated music written by LucasArts composer Mark Griskey.
• Fully voiced with the same high-quality talent as the first game.
• Downloadable content for Xbox Live available at launch.
• Developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the development house founded by members of the Fallout, Icewind Dale, Baldur's Gate, Dark Alliance, and Planescape: Torment teams.

8.5 out of 10

Click Here to View KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords Screenshots