Mengde: It’s sub-par if you expected another KOTOR. It plays VERY differently, and has to spend much of its time setting up the plot (instead of having an already-existing one like in KOTOR). Also, I have heard the plot goes kinds downhill at the end, but both KOTOR games had the same problem, so I’m not complaining.
Oh, and the demo sucked (so a lot of people think the final game sucks).
IonMage: The normal running-around is like KOTOR. The menu is also similar, but there’s no real item screen. Instead, you equip gems, up to three at a time, which add to some attribute but often deduct from another. There’s also techniques, which do much the same thing.
Combat is done in real-time, and starts the instant you get close to an enemy. You have up to one ally at a time, and you can either set them for combat (they fight alongside you), or for support (they increase one of their abilities, but all the enemies concentrate on you). The A button performs a quick attack, which can be comboed but cannot break through a block, while the X Button uses a strong attack, which is slow but can break through a block.
The B button blocks, which stops quick attacks but does nothing against strong attacks. You can also press the B button and a direction, and you will roll and flip in that direction (the only way to dodge strong attacks). The Y button slows time down, but quickly drains Focus. The black button allows you to power up, increasing your damage but draining Chi like crazy. The white button can heal you, at the cost of Chi.
You bind styles to the d-pad (up to four at a time). Martial styles use no weapons, and don’t do a LOT of damage, but can damage almost all enemies. Weapon styles do lots of damage, but drain Focus with every attack, and cannot harm ghosts. Support styles do no damage outside of Chi mode, but can stun enemies, or even drain Chi. Transformation styles turn you into different enemies, which do lots of damage but drains your chi within five seconds. And finally, Magic styles use chi with every attack, but can be fired like projectiles and can inflict status effects on enemies.
There, my overly-complicated write-up of the combat system (I haven’t touched the levelling system at all, fortunately. That would take another paragraph).