10 Star Wars games with cool and twisting stories
Here we decided to remember the best Star Wars games. Sometimes you just want to fly away to a galaxy far, far away, and not all this.
Without further ado, let's get started.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (2003)
The famous role-playing game from the BioWare studio. 19 years ago, the developers had complete creative freedom, screenwriter and writer Drew Karpyshyn and the invaluable support of LucasArts. These factors allowed the studio to create not just a good RPG, but one of the best games in the Star Wars universe. The events of KOTOR take the player 4000 years ago to the events shown in the classic films.
The main character was a nameless soldier with amnesia who woke up on a ship attacked by a Sith fleet. With the help of the Republic pilot Carth Onasi, he escapes from the ship in an escape capsule and ends up on the planet Taris. Here the player will have to find the legendary Jedi Bastila Shan, who was also on the cruiser, and is now captured by a bandit group. The girl has a rare gift of combat meditation, with the help of which the Republic manages to hold back the onslaught of the Sith. A year before the events of the game, she and several Jedi managed to defeat the powerful Sith Lord Darth Revan, who in the past, like Anakin Skywalker, exchanged his green sword for a red one. Now his student Darth Malak has become the new dark lord and is hunting for Bastila in order to use her abilities for his own purposes.
The player will have to deal with many conflicts, master the force, become a Jedi (or Sith), meet many characters and explore the lore of the expanded Star Wars universe. A cool plot twist back in 2003 made your jaw drop, and the main characters were memorable on par with the classic characters of the saga.
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords (2004)
BioWare did not have time to develop a sequel, and head writer Drew Karpyshyn was already working on Jade Empire. The creation of KOTOR II was undertaken by the newly created Obsidian Entertainment, consisting of people from Black Isle Studios. The main plot and game design were entrusted to Chris Avellone, who was featured in Fallen Order.
In spirit, the sequel was much darker and grimmer than the original. The story starts five years after the events of the first KOTOR. The premise with the main character, who wakes up on a ship and does not understand how he ended up there, completely copies BioWare's script moves. The protagonist himself is an exiled Jedi who lost his powers after controversial actions in the Mandalorian War. On the ship he discovers a strange old woman, Kreia, and a smuggler. They tell how the new evil and dangerous dark lord Darth Sion keeps the entire galaxy in fear. The world of KOTOR II clearly resembles the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth episode. The Jedi Temple was destroyed, and the remnants of the order scattered to different planets. Our goal is to bring them together, discover their past, fight back the dark side and restore the Jedi Order. Or join the Sith and create real hell for the inhabitants of a distant galaxy.
Despite the seemingly banal plot, the game is talentedly written and worked out to the smallest detail. Multiple plot twists, the revelation of the Mandalorians, the mystery of the immortality of the Sith and secondary quests leave a pleasant impression.
The game's release in 2004 was not without problems. Fate or not, people from the Black Isle are constantly not allowed to complete their projects. KOTOR II was supposed to hit the shelves in 2005, but the publisher flatly refused to give the developers additional time, and as a result, the project came out unfinished. Locations, quests, decorations and level development went under the knife. This in turn influenced the final opinion about the game itself.
Star Wars: The Old Republic (2012)
The third KOTOR did not happen; instead, a multiplayer project appeared in the setting of the old republic. BioWare took over the development, and the author of the first game, Drew Karpyshyn and Daniel Erickson, were entrusted with managing the team of screenwriters.
Large-scale by the standards of 2012, the MMO offered the player a truly new experience. SWTOR felt more like a true single-player RPG than an online project. Like in Dragon Age Origins, each class had its own large-scale plot and story. By choosing the dark or light side, the player was given his own set of quests, available planets and characters.
The plot here is presented not with text footnotes, but with real voiced dialogues with branches of answer options. It will take a lot of time to talk about the scenario of each class for the dark and light sides. In short, this is a real continuation of the first two parts, and the events take place 300 years later. A large-scale war died down in the galaxy, which slowly turned into a cold one. The Jedi and Sith built schools to fill their ranks with soldiers ready to fight for the future. The Republic is trying to restore its influence, while the Empire is diligently expanding its possessions. The player will have to choose the side for which he will fight.
Over the years, The Old Republic has shed the shackles of an MMO, becoming an almost single-player RPG. The developers focused all their efforts on the plot and setting.
Star Wars: Jedi Knight: Jedi Academy (2003)
Highly rated Jedi simulator in which the player can use both a laser sword and the force, and firearms. The game's plot is a sequel to Star Wars Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, the events take place ten years after the ending of Return of the Jedi. The Emperor and Darth Vader fell, the second death star was destroyed, but the Empire does not want to give up and continues to fight (no «First Orders» or other nonsense here). The main character is Jedi Academy student Jaden Korr. He, Luke Skywalker and other remnants of the Jedi Order arrive on Yavin IV to study the Force.
The main character will be trained by two legends of the expanded Star Wars universe — Kyle Katarn and Rosh Penin. Along the way, Luke talks about a new growing danger in the galaxy in the form of the cult of the Reborn. These are followers of the Cult of the ancient Sith leader Mark Ragnos, who died approximately a thousand years ago. One of the community members is going to return the dark lord with the help of the scepter of Ragnos, which is capable of absorbing and releasing Force energy. We have to stop the Reborn and prevent the Lord of the Sith from returning from the other world.
What development of the Star Wars universe do you like?
The world of Jedi Academy is full of traitors and hypocrites. Each character has their own goals and motivations. You can never really tell if your companion will be loyal to you until the very end (except for Luke Skywalker, the personification of true kindness). The choice of ending deserves special mention. The hero can join the dark side and create real hell for the newly revived Jedi Order. Or become a real Jedi, defeat the villains and defend the peace of the galaxy.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008)
A third-person action game, the key feature of which was the script written directly by George Lucas himself. Gameplay-wise, it's a graphically enhanced Jedi Academy with a greater emphasis on using character abilities. The game takes place between the third and fourth episodes of the saga. Darth Vader continues to execute Order 66, scouring the far reaches of the galaxy for surviving Jedi. On one of the planets he discovers another master... and kills him. In the house of the deceased, he finds a child who contains enormous power, and the Dark Lord decides to spare the child and raise him as his own successor.
As the years passed, the young man grew up and acquired a new name, Starkiller (it is noteworthy that in the draft script for the fourth episode, Luke had exactly that last name). Vader invites the student to wait for the right moment, overthrow the emperor and rule the galaxy together. In the meantime, fly, kill the remnants of the Jedi and gain your mind.
Ultimately, Vader decides to go against Palpatine and sends the student on a mission. But the Emperor turned out to be smarter, and revealed the secret intention of his right hand: he orders Starkiller to be executed. Vader complies. Well, there are still many more deaths and resurrections...
Despite the participation of Lucas himself in the development, the plot of The Force Unleashed turned out to be more like an extended fan fiction than an independent story. There are interesting characters and memorable story twists, but the stupid main character does not inspire sympathy or empathy.
The sequel The Force Unleashed II looks like even more nonsense. The plot there is on par with the eighth episode, and against its background the script of the first part looks tolerable and very exciting.
Star Wars: Republic Commando (2005)
If all previous games were tied to the history of the Jedi and Sith, then this game reveals the history of the clone troopers. Republic Commando is a tactical first-person shooter. The story takes place during the second and third episodes of the saga. The Delta clone squad, having undergone special training, is sent on its first mission to the planet Geonosis. Their goal is to kill the separatist leader of the trade federation, San Fak. Having completed the task, they are tasked with destroying a large spherical cruiser. Here the soldiers had to split up and demonstrate independence in carrying out a large-scale task.
A year later, they are sent to inspect the Executioner ship, with which the Republicans have lost contact. Here they meet mercenaries and combat drones. The detachment did not expect such powerful resistance, and almost died while carrying out the mission. At this time, a Republic ship under the command of Captain Talbot approached and saved the main characters, killing all the enemies. After another year, the clones will go to a large-scale battle on Kashyyyk. Here they will have to fight the troops of General Grievous.
Republic Commando perfectly reveals the history of the clone wars, allowing the player to directly participate in it. The plot will not be complete without interesting moments, tragic losses, and familiar characters. Addictive gameplay and beautiful visuals for 2005 only cemented the status of an excellent game.
Star Wars: Battlefront II (2017)
The plot tells the story of the loyal Empire commander of the elite imperial squad «Inferno» — Iden Versio. Palpatine has fallen, but the imperial troops do not intend to give up and are fighting the Alliance rebels. At the head of her squad, the main character participated in the Battle of Endor and personally saw the destruction of the second Death Star. Later, she realizes that there is no point in fighting further, and retreats along with the rest of the Empire's troops. Immediately after the battle, the Cinder Protocol was activated. An operation involving the destruction of numerous planets in the galaxy through changing their climate. Eden and her partner did not like this plan, and they decided to thwart the last plan of the Sith Lord. Within minutes, the Imperials recognized the heroes as traitors and sent troops to eliminate them.
Realizing that only resistance can stop the forces of the Empire and prevent «Zola,» the heroine gives the latter valuable information in exchange for shelter. Lando Calrissian invited the fugitives to join the Alliance forces, and they agree. In the future, the player will have to save planets from the Imperials, simultaneously rescuing Han Solo, blowing up factories and eradicating Imperial forces in the bud. In the finale, the heroes of the story will have to survive the battle on Jaku, where the bloody war will end.
The script of Battlefront II cannot be called outstanding. There are no memorable characters, and the conflict is far-fetched. But still not bad.
Star Wars: Empire at War — Forces of Corruption (2006)
There were even strategies based on the Star Wars universe. Empire at War tells the story of the civil war between the Rebels and the Empire between the third and fourth episodes. The player will have to choose the side for which he will fight. It is noteworthy that a really good script was brought into the game with the Forces of Corruption add-on, and I would like to talk about it in more detail.
The story begins at the end of the Battle of Endor. Empire at War then introduces us to a new character, smuggler Tiber Zanna, who was imprisoned for stealing a valuable holocron from Jabba the Hutt's former employer. After being behind bars, the hero starts a riot: with the help of Han Solo, he escapes from captivity on the Millennium Falcon. Once freed, Zann set about creating his own syndicate, the Consortium, which would be able to demonstrate what he believed was a force comparable to the Imperial and Rebel forces.
As the campaign progresses, the protagonist's organization provides patronage to worlds that suffered during the Galactic Civil War. In order to strengthen his strength and position, Zann convinced the Night Sister adept Silri to decipher the holocron. She «partially» (withheld some information for personal gain) helped him with his request by joining the Consortium. Tiber decides to sell the artifact to an imperial agent, but finds himself in a deadly trap — the Dark Side does not negotiate with criminals. In the future, the holocron will lead the main character to the secret weapon of the emperor, who has already been killed by Darth Vader. Zann would successfully resist the forces of the Empire, gain the support of the rebels, and then betray them, nearly destroying the Millennium Falcon.
The story in Forces of Corruption is gripping and continues the events of Episode 6 nicely. In the game, in addition to the characters familiar from the movie saga, characters from the old republic are also mentioned.
LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga (2007)
The Star Wars games from LEGO are a unique retelling of a familiar story, but with humor and an extraordinary approach to storytelling. The player can play through the game with different characters and watch the story from unusual angles. In LEGO Star Wars you can ride vehicles, complete bounty hunter missions and have fun with friends in co-op mode.
The Complete Saga is perfect for any player — both for a fan of the saga and for a beginner who is not familiar with the work of George Lucas.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter (2002)
If you want to try yourself in the role of the mercenary Jango Fett, then you are welcome to Star Wars: Bounty Hunter. The game became a prequel to the second episode: it tells why the leader of the Mandalorians turned out to be a donor for the clone army.
The story of the game begins with a special order from Count Dooku — to kill Komari Vos, the leader of the Bando Gora gang. The reward is several million credits. The only catch is that the task was still considered impossible; the mercenaries did not return alive. But Django is not afraid of this; he takes on a dangerous order. Following the trail, he ends up in the underworld of the galaxy, where the senator covers factories for the production of prohibited substances. Along the way, the Mandalorian will meet other mercenaries, and, not wanting to share the spoils, will begin to eliminate competitors.
While completing the main task, the main character will visit an interstellar prison, a jungle planet, get bogged down in the Hutt conflict and fight with another Mandalorian hunter Montross. Having made his way to the secret base «Bando Gora», Django is captured and meets Komari Vosa. As it turned out, she is a student of Count Dooku, she knows about all of Palpatine's plans, which is why such a substantial reward was placed on her head.
Star Wars: Bounty Hunter is quite a difficult game. There are a lot of enemies, a lot of places where you need to jump, difficult bosses and the logic of the levels is not always clear. At the same time, the game perfectly reveals the world of assassins and the past of Jango Fett.
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Of course, these aren't all Star Wars games that have a great story. Also worthy of mention are Star Wars Jedi Knight: Mysteries of the Sith, Star Wars: Dark Forces, Star Wars: Rebel Assault 2 — The Hidden Empire and other projects. Let's continue to remember the games in the comments together!
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