KotOR 2 - Retrospective @ TechRaptor

TechRaptor takes a look back at Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords in a new
short retrospective article they posted a few days back.

Obsidian are one of the most interesting developers, they are consistently brilliant and consistently flawed, time after time exhibiting the same strengths and weaknesses. Knights of the Old Republic 2: The Sith Lords is possibly the most Obsidian game ever made. It is, in fact, the platonic form of Obsidian games (don’t get the reference? Go dig out a philosophy text book).

What does this all mean? Well, let’s start with what Obsidian are good at – because they are a really talented studio (and one that I have a lot of love for). They are brilliant at building upon ideas, taking known things and putting their own spin on them. They excel at playing in the playgrounds of others, which is why a sequel to KOTOR was the perfect fit.

This isn’t just a positive though, there is a flip side. Obsidian have shown time and time again that they have some problems building things from scratch. That’s just not where their main skill set lies, what they are good at is implementing interesting systems and filling up games with masses of amazing writing. Their latest game – South Park: The Stick of Truth – may seem to be a counterpoint to them having problems building things from scratch, it is actually somewhat emblematic.