I'd say it's a direct sequel. AND a prequel.

Ironically, KOTOR II retcons KOTOR I, giving the latter far more meaning and depth than Bioware dreamt of giving it. KOTOR II is a sequel, but in a lot of ways, it's really more about what happened before and during part I...

Oh, and you'll find that the Dark Side is more attractive in II than it was in I. Mostly because now the Dark Side is more than just "I'm an a**hole." The damndest thing is that, in a lot of ways, the Dark Side option can sometimes lead to making the galaxy stronger than it was before. Whether that's necessary, or worth the price, is a different question, one which II revels in exploring.

Yeah, and KotOR games are more heinous than most when it come to Dark Side actions. Kashyyyk alone, man.

I think you will like KotOR2, if you can get past the glitchiness. It's much better written, but it's also a much darker game.

We shall see!

I finally beat it!

It took 35 hours, according to my savefile.
It took 40 hours, according to Steam.

So somewhere in the middle is the time I actually spent with the game.

Excellent! What are your impressions? Did you have to stab Bastila?

I attacked her twice, and then talked her into joining with me :D Though I was irritated enough with her to want to stab her.

I think I got DS points twice, or maybe three times, during the game. Both were by accident...

Sometimes that can happen.

So, what class did you go? Soldier/Guardian? How was the fight with Malak?

Actually, I was Soundrel/Guardian. I didn't really feel like playing soldier at first, but I really love bashing in people's heads with lightsabers, so...

The fight with Malak was PAIN... the first times. I had to buff myself up to be able take his attacks head on. Then I used Force Speed to run around and kill all his 'extra health'. After that, it was a walk in the park, still, that was probably the second most difficult fight in the game for me.

The most difficult was on Taris, fighting with the Sith Governor, or whatever he was.

But the most frustrating thing was actually getting to the last planet. The game tends to freeze up sometimes when playing movies. Going from Tatooine (that's where I was then) to the final planet brought up 5 or 6 movies without the possibility to save. Took me half an hour to get past it. First time everything went smooth, but I died in the fighter attack!

Which game do you like the best out of KotOR and Mass Effect? I found that the characters in KotOR were much better. The quests were also much better in every way. All sidequests in Mass Effect were pointless garbage. But the battle system was better in the latter, and the feeling of exploring a completly unknown universe was very pleasing. Also, Mass Effect had fewer glitches that made me want to tear my hair.

That

Is

Terrible

Not really - you basically can't botch your build irrevocably in KOTOR games since all Jedi classes are so bloody strong.

And I can't really decide between KOTOR 1 and ME - KOTOR 2 curb stomps ME in everything important, though.

EDIT: Ah, ok.

I meant the cutscenes thing.