Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic III Done Right
iGeekOut
Even though it has been more than a decade since the release of Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the series is still considered to be one of the best that have ever come out. In my opinion, this series frankly still beats many of the “newer” offerings in the RPG genre. This series was so popular and successful, that it actually helped to impact many of the games that followed (for example, the Mass Effect series). The ability and versatility to choose your own path and have it directly impact the interaction of NPCs with the player, as well as the overall outcome of the game, cannot be praised enough in gaming circles. This feature has almost become a necessity in any new RPG style game (or at least in those that are going to be hugely successful).
This series is still so popular, that the question of “When is KOTOR 3 gonna come out” has never really died despite numerous official comments. There was a resurgence of this desire when Disney purchased Lucasfilm, but yet no official announcement has been made one way or another. (This is not to say that there hasn’t been one, just that I have not heard it…I am trying to keep my hopes alive.) Based off of this lack of word, and my overwhelming desire that it actually be made, I am going to lay out how I think this game should be done, and why.
Publisher:
While Bioware did a pretty decent job with the first Knights of the Old Republic, and Obsidian Entertainment just about knocked it out of the park with the second, I think it would be a good idea to go in a different direction with the third. A viable (and intriguing) option is to have Bethesda do the next iteration of this game. Bethesda has shown that they can do some fantastic open world RPGs in the past, and frankly KOTOR should be an open world game much in the same vein as the Fallout series. Think of the possibilities, you can wander around the galaxy, and much like you receive the karma and reputation in the Fallout series, you would receive the Force points (light or dark side) and the corresponding reputation to go along with it.
Platform:
I really don’t want to bring up the console wars, and which type of gaming system is better than others. In my opinion, I think that all the systems have their good points as well as their bad. By releasing the game on all available platforms this will allow all fans to enjoy the game in their own ways, while still allowing for the mods that make many of these types of games so enjoyable. On the plus side, there are now some mod releases being made available for systems other than PCs, so this type of a differentiation between systems may one day be a thing of the past. At least, one can always hope…though that is highly unlikely. In fact, this aspect of creating platforms for mods on consoles is something that Bethesda is working on even now, and a major point for letting them take the helm on this new project.
Story:
For those who have not yet played the original games, beware – there are spoilers ahead. Ideally, I would love to see the original storyline completed. As you may remember, the first Knights of the Old Republic ended with Revan heading off to confront the “true threat” that was hanging out somewhere in the galaxy. The Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords ended with the Exile also heading out to rejoin Revan to confront this threat. This threat has not been adequately identified, and has not yet been addressed. Could the threat be a resurgence of the True Sith? Personally I think that would be fantastic (and also canonically viable) since it could potentially open up the Star Wars universe for the Jedi Sith wars that have been alluded to for years. Best of all, since the gaming material still remains cannon after the Disney acquisition then this means that there are still plenty of “established” conflicts left to explore.
Characters:
It would be highly interesting, in my opinion at least, if they actually created a “Skywalker” character to play as the main character. Now, before anyone gets too upset with me, let me explain. The Skywalker name has long been associated with the Star Wars franchise, and yet as far as I know there has been no mention of the Skywalker’s prior to the events of The Phantom Menace. It would be interesting to introduce a new Skywalker that helps establish that there has long been a link between that family and the force. Considering that Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader) and Ben Solo (Kylo Ren) both fell to the Dark Side, and even Luke Skywalker has had his brushes with it, it would provide an interesting link to the current and ongoing movies, as well as provide a bit more back story for this relatively new dynasty of Force users that have been shaking the galaxy for the past 60 years in the movies.
DLC:
In this day and age of gaming it seems like you can’t really go that long with any kind of a game and not provide some sort of a downloadable content (DLC). Well, it almost seems like a no brainer for this proposed game. Beyond the standard kind of DLC (i.e., fully customizable light sabers, and star ships) you can also create “planetary” DLC. This would be rather simple, every DLC would be a new planet with inherent side quests, goodies, and so on. Release one every six months or so and you should have a steady source of new and interesting places to go and see where the story never really ends. This would be even better if you introduced an online play aspect as well. With every new DLC you could release a new force power and an additional 10 levels of experience. This would allow plenty of room for growth, and allow the game to remain fresh at the same time. Additionally it would also allow newcomers join in, and not get smashed right away as often happens in other online community games.
Well, that’s what I would like to see as a game if there was ever a new edition of Knights of the Old Republic III. About the only thing that I can’t really decide on is what I would call it. Personally, I think that the Knights of the Old Republic III: Force War would be a good one, but that only makes sense if you were going up against the True Sith. What are your opinions on the matter? Please leave a comment and let me know.
