Almost as good as the first
User Rating: 7.4 | Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords XBOX
KotOR II makes some real improvements over it's predecessor, but in the end the game doesn't live up to it's predecessor's legacy. Those who played the orignal KotOR will appreciate some of the changes to the HUD, most especially the ability to switch between ranged and melee weapons with having to go to the menu screen. Also, for those who got really tired of the apparent "force static cling" that kept jedi-robes stuck to their character, it's nice to see the new animation that lets those robes flow realistically. It's also nice to see some of the characters from the previous game show up again. Especially since a couple of those characters are still playable in your party. Other than the new robes, the graphics are about on par with KotOR I, as is the gameplay. Where KotOR II both shines and falls short is in it's story. The plot is exceptionally, and by the end you really care about some of the other characters in your party. However, the last seven to ten hours of the game doesn't really fall in with the plot at all. There are missions that seem as if they should have considerable backstory, but come at you with no explanation as to how or why. And one of the major villains goes almost completely undeveloped. Add to that an ending that is completely anti-climactic and you've got a game that's just not everything it could have been. It almost appears that the game was rushed to market and major portions of the plot and character development were just left out. 
