A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, there was a publisher named LucasArts that starting creating Star Wars videogames for all types of players; fans of racing games and simulations, strategy titles, action/adventure mixes, and 3D shooters, even some for those little handheld tikes. Gamers of all kinds have been catered to. However, there is one genre that has been lost and forgotten.... up until now! Developer Bioware and publisher LucasArts have taken up the gauntlet in order to try and craft not only the ultimate Star Wars RPG but the best RPG this year! KOTOR will be featured only on X-Box (May) and PC (Fall), so if you want experience this ground-breaking game, you're going to have to own one of these bad boys, because LucasArts has no plans on releasing this on any other platforms. Production on the title began back in 2000, and discussions started in 1999 making this three years in the making, and presently in its final stages of development. The team working on KOTOR is no less than 40 with Bioware working on the story, the engine and the game; while LucasArts is working on the sound and voice work. The two game giants are actually doing a superb job in that the core game is 40-60 hours long. Not including the minigames and sidequests.

The game takes place 4,000 years before Episode I, and drops you in the middle of ever going war between Jedi and the Sith, whose conflict as usual threatens the whole galaxy. The head Sith warrior, Darth Malak, is a ruthless, unrelenting, evil fellow who lives up the title of Darth and causes havoc and death throughout the galaxy. Traditionally, you fall into the mix and become a key figure in deciding the fate of the universe. But when I say "you decide the fate of the universe" I mean it. In addition to holding this responsibility, you also have the ability to turn to the light side of the force, or let the anger, the pain, and the suffering take over and join the Dark side of the force.

The combat system has been a very big question that has been circulating around the internet for months. Those questions can now be answered and put to rest. The combat system will cater to many different gamers, with it's choices of Real-time, Turn-based, or Middle-ground.

Real-time combat: You fight in real-time with everything happening in real-time. The attacks that you are allowed to do are based solely on your character's abilities and proximity.

Middle-ground combat: You can pause the game at anytime in the fight in order to choose your next attack more cautiously; allowing for more strategy and also a higher chance of surviving a battle unscathed.

Turn-based combat: Turn-based in just a variation of the featured middle-ground combat system.

Something not so traditional to RPGs are the attack animations. Attacking an enemy will feature animations that vary depending on the character. For example, a lightsaber attack once performed will leave the computer to choosing whether you hit, miss or if your attack was deflected (like other RPGs), and depending on that choice, the game will then pick an animation for the opposing character perform to show that you missed, hit, or got deflected. This, Bioware said, makes the game look more real, rather than what the conventional RPG does, like Final Fantasy, wherein you jump forward, attack, and jump back with an icon appearing over your enemy saying "miss" or the number of life points taken away. This adds to the realism of the game and allows you easier access into being immersed into the game.

One of the major features of this game is the customization of your character, along with the ability to align yourself with the light or dark side of the force. When you get the game you have the ability to create and customize your character to your likeness from scratch. From the clothes, to the hair, to the class of character. However, if you don't feel like taking the time out to do this, you can just pick a name, a gender, and a class and hop right into the game. The character classes range from bounty hunter, soldier, scoundrel, scout and Jedi Guardian, just to name a few. But be careful when choosing. The character class affects your characteristics. Let's discuss the main character class: the Jedi Guardian. The side of the force you align yourself with depends on your choices in dialogue as well as in-game, such as attacking innocents. However, the side of the force you're on and the way you act can affect your chances of getting the various sidequests featured in the game. For instance, if you terrify someone, and the very same person who you scared half to death was a sidequest offerer, guess what: you possibly just lost the chance of getting a new item. But oh no! You had to go and try to kill him! But don't worry all you Sith players out there. The same thing will happen to those goody-two shoes Jedi. If you're not the low down a dirty type of Jedi, and try to get a sidequest from someone who has vile, shadowy features, odds are, they're not going to go to a bunny loving Jedi for help. Another feature you have all been waiting for..... Force powers! Oh yeah! Bioware says that there are going to be a whopping 46 force powers! 46! However, you will not have all of them at your disposal. The force powers that you learn will depend completely on what side of the force you align yourself with. So choose wisely young Jedi.