And to give you an idea of the scope, we can tell you that there are ten worlds to quest through (including Tatooine, the Sith world, the Jedi Academy and the Wookiee homeworld Kashyyyk), each teeming with life, power struggles, NPCs and unique objects. It may be that we gain something into the bargain, as Knights will feature an old favourite in consol RPGs - mini-games - like racing swoop bikes and manning laser turrets. We just hope that doesn't mean they’ll sacrifice the rich detail and vast immersion we’ve come to associate with Baldur's Gate.

The only bad news is that the game will be appearing on Xbox first, this autumn, with the PC version planned for the following spring (partly so as not to clash with the release of Galaxies). Of course the 3D engine will take all this to another level both tactically and visually, with Jedi versus Sith battles featuring the full acrobatic treatment. Though, is that your actions throughout the game will take you closer to the light or dark side of the Force, echoing Planescape: Torment's ground-breaking character development system.Ĭombat is also set to reprise the Baldur's Gate tradition of real-time fighting with the option to pause while you select tactics, use objects and special powers. There’s also a choice of three different races. The classes available include soldier, scoundrel, scout and, more promisingly, bounty hunter or Jedi guardian. In typical AD&D mode, you create a main character before going off questing with a party of adventurers of differing skills and personalities.

The story is set 4000 years before the films, when there were thousands of Jedi and thousands of Sith warriors, charging through the universe like light-sabered samurai.

Playing a Wookiee potter or working in a Tattooine light saber shop is all very well, but Knights Of The Old Republic will have something that Galaxies won't: a marvellous single-player story set in a world designed solely for you to explore, and with so much depth you'll need to depressurise after playing it. While The Whole world has been getting excited - and rightly so - about Verant’s amazing online RPG Star Wars Galaxies, BioWare has been quietly toiling away at 'the other' most exciting Star Wars game ever devised.

Kotor 2 feat list