[Vampyr]

I only played KoTOR a little bit, not really enough to get a feel for how the entire game was, but from my experience it felt like Mass Effect was the natural evolution of those games. A mostly on-the-rails RPG with dialogue trees and decisions that impact the end of a quest.

In that regard, it has a lot going for it. So far I have only been playing through the Bounty Hunter story (each class has it's own main story line, and there are 8 classes), and it's been fun.

Just like Mass Effect you get companions as you progress through the story (first one is around level 10). You can have 1 companion with you at any time, and they can fight/tank/heal for you. They will also have input during conversations, and will either disapprove/approve of your decisions. I believe they are even romanceable.

Around level 15 you get your space ship, which, just like the Normandy in Mass Effect, houses your crew, your gear, and lets you fly around the galaxy. In addition there are real time space battles which are quite fun and look amazing from a graphics standpoint.

It's hard for me to recommend it as a single player game, especially with a $60 price tag. It does have qualities of an MMO that some people will probably find really annoying. Having to wait on quest items or enemies to respawn, or having to deal with enemies you just killed respawning on your way back.

But there's such a huge amount of stuff to do. After I finish my Bounty Hunter I still have 7 other story lines I can play through. Sure all of the side quests are shared, but there's plenty of original content as well, especially when you factor in playing dark side or light side.



edit: I actually own KoTOR on steam. Maybe I'll play it some and get back to you on how similar they are.