So with that understood...after having read some of the drooling professional reviews written about the game, in which absolutely nothing negative can be found in several thousand words to say about it, I thought I'd post my list of annoyances, here. They're just that: annoyances. If you find yourself recoiling in horror, reread my first paragraph, above. And remember the forum rules.
Also, this isn't just for me--it's for anybody who has any complaints. Feel free to post your collection, or comment reasonably upon those of others.
1) Cut scenes that switch around the position and location of your party members. I take a bit of time to get my troika in order. Since I usually play some combination of Mission, Bastila/Canderous and my scout, I'll have B/C on point to go ram a melee weapon into intimate locations where it really doesn't belong. This also places them several feet in front of the others, shielding my ranged attackers. -But then, along comes a cut scene in which somebody addresses my party, and when it finishes, my PC is often out in front, or even moved several dozen feet away into another area. I realize that is meant to reflect developments that have occurred, but since I'm (supposedly) in charge of at least my own character, they would never willingly make some of the ridiculous ground moves they do with an obvious battle coming up.
2) Party interaction. I'm traveling somewhere, when suddenly a get a picture of one of my team members looking rather constipated, with a caption underneath reading "X appears to have something to say to you," or words to that effect. Oh? Well, you're Bioware; you know something about sound. Ever hear about using a voiceover to interrupt our travels?
3) The effete upperclass. One of the things I disliked about the BG series (and I love that series) is the way people of wealth were stereotyped. I'm not channeling Milton Freedman or Ayn Rand, gods forbid, but do we really need NPCs who talk and act like Thurston Howell III? What would be wrong with having rich residents who acted as the rich usually do--which is to say, just like everybody else, except when they're vigorously defending their right to own huge amounts of money? And that would be a lot better for roleplaying purposes, IMO.
4) Non-quest quests. Normally, when you get a quest, it's obvious: you've been solicited to accomplish something, whether for the sake of good, of evil (well, often in Troika games, at any rate), or for some reward. I speak to an android shop owner, and suddenly I discover a quest to own one of her droids, which isn't for sale. Since I'm going to get the droid later, in any case, why list it as a quest in my journal?
5) Simple-minded puzzles. There were a couple of more interesting puzzles in BG2, though nothing very taxing on the brain cells. KotoR seems to be aimed at the puzzle-solving skills of pre-adolescents. Too few of 'em, IMO, and nothing worth really thinking over. A shame something more challenging, like the riddle chests of Betrayal at Krondor, wasn't introduced.
6) Too easy! Am I the only one who finds playing and winning a snap on the normal level of difficulty? That wasn't something I could say about either BG title when I tried it for the first time, and certainly not for BG2/ToB.
