I just picked up this game (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic). is it any good? I'm looking forward to giving it a try.

if anybody has played it, do you have any tips?

Yes. Also, if your a noob, then try a sentinal or Guardian class. Also try to plan for either all light or all dark.

KotOR is a truly great game. As Sir D said, the gaurdian class is a good pick for someone who is new. Light side players tend to be more effective in melee, while Dark Side players are better as force users. Light side is easier, so you should probably try it first.

Guardian is a great class to try first. Force Jump is awesome. I have not yet played through as a consular, and I will *never* play through beginning as a scoundrel (I hate the small frame body type), but I hear a scoundrel-consular is a great dark side pick.

I recently picked this game up myself. Are there patches needed? If so, where can I get them?

"Is the space pope reptilian?" [img]tongue.gif[/img]
You can pick up the V1.03 patch here ;)

[ 05-31-2005, 06:49 PM: Message edited by: Hivetyrant ]

It's a decent game, but it's gameplay isn't anywhere near the Baldur's Gate series in scope and depth. Don't buy into the hype and you wont be disappointed.

[ 06-01-2005, 12:29 PM: Message edited by: Rataxes ]

Worth playing. I had a good time, and have played it through about 2 1/2 times so far. The manual says this but it's worth re-emphasizing: talk lots to everyone. The NPC storylines are quite interesting, and the right conversation responses can net you light and/or dark points that you need. I also highly recommend the persuade skill to assist in your conversations.

Tips (no spoilers, since the manual tells you about becoming a Jedi):

One tip to remember right at character creation is that although you have to spend your feats and force powers when you level up, you do not have to spend your skill points. This is handy for a Soldier or Scout that wants to eventually be good at Persuade. The best way of doing so is actually not to spend any points in the Persuade skill and save points until you switch to a Jedi class. All 3 Jedi classes let you spend 1 skill point for 1 point in Persuade, but Soldiers and Scouts need to spend 2 skill points for 1 point in Persuade.

Another is that, as with many RPG's, you can wait to level-up if you choose. (Level 2 is the only level-up you are forced by the game to take.) The max level is 20, so if you want a character that has more Jedi levels (and therefore less levels in your starting class) you can choose to try to get along as a lower-level character until you become a Jedi. You don't even lose XP when you class-change (as you would in Baldur's Gate 2 for example) so the only drawback is the annoyance of surviving as a lower-level character until then. You can use the tables in the manual to plan out how many levels of your pre-Jedi class and your Jedi class you want based on the number of feats and force powers.

I was just eyeing this game today. Is the gameplay pretty much like NWN? That would be a plus for me. The only SW game I've played is Jedi Outcast 2, which I couldn't get into for some reason.

Better. Much better. Imagine Ali versus Inoki, then imagine him versus Foreman. That's the jump in gameplay.