Warning: Spoilers ahead.
When I first started playing Star Wars: The Old Republic, I was told to roll an Imperial Agent because it had the best story. I’m not sure if I agree or not, but I can say this with certainty: it is one of the most complex storylines in the game, if not the most complex. Although slow to start, the build-up eventually pays off and after Alderaan, it’s a rollercoaster ride into uncovering the truths and lies from both the Empire and the Republic, and learning where your loyalties actually lie.
Initially, I had difficulty getting into it – the agent is not an iconic Star Wars figure and Imperial Intelligence is not an established entity in much of the Expanded Universe (legend or not). It also has one of the most dialogue-heavy starts, making it less action-oriented than the other classes. This is not to say that it falls flat on its face – there are some one-on-one encounters and an assassination attempt (in addition to the other missions) to keep things moving. It’s also makes sense for this story to be more focused on dialogue – even though you can always choose to kill everyone in your path, there seems to be far more depth to the character when bargaining or reasoning with the NPCs to avoid direct confrontation.
Much of the plot in Chapter 1 involves hunting down and breaking up a terrorist cell, going from the small units on Dromund Kaas to the larger cells on Tatooine, before finally confronting “The Eagle.” The catalyst for all of this is the death of Darth Jadus, a Sith Lord who briefly made you his personal agent (whether you wanted to be or not). Unsurprisingly, it turns out that The Eagle is merely a pawn in a much larger game – Darth Jadus faked his death so that he could operate freely and has been using both The Eagle and the agent to cause chaos so that he can rebuild the Sith with his goals and dreams.
Chapter 2 is set up perfectly for the chance to flirt with being a double-agent. Between Darth Jadus’ activities and the information from Watcher X about the brainwashing program, there’s a huge incentive to permanently swap sides. However, it’s immediately crushed by the Republic SIS agents using the brainwashing rather than trusting that the agent has turned. One of the more interesting aspects though is that after being brainwashed, the agent is unable to inform Keeper of what’s actually going on in the dialogue choices. Unfortunately, I think that this further reinforces how difficult it is to actually join the Republic – different puppet, same masters.
The most difficult decision was the confrontation with Darth Jadus: pretend to join him so you can take him out later (at the cost of thousands of civilian lives) or refuse to work with him and let him get away. In my first playthrough, I chose to join him but this time, I let him get away. Disappointingly, there was no major difference and the only reason to pay attention to the dialogue in future playthroughs is to go for the third option, which may be the most fitting: talk Jadus down. Another difficult decision was to let Ardun Kothe live or die. It was very tempting to kill him outright, which I did in my first playthrough, but in hindsight, it also made sense to let him go because he is essentially the Republic version of my agent – someone being manipulated by Hunter.
Although the agent gets the same number of companions as the other classes, much of their inclusion feels forced. Part of this is due to the solitary nature of the agent but it’s also frequently reinforced by the constant reassignment throughout the story:
- Dromund Kaas: Keeper, Watcher Two, Lodenth, Fixer Twelve, and Watcher Three
- Taris: Ardun Kothe, Hunter, Saber, Chance, and Wheel
- Belsavis: Kanjon Slyke, Chaney Barrow, Ohta, and Paarkos
With each assignment, the agent is expected to work with the new team, rather have the two teams work together. If there had been an option to kill or refuse to take a companion, I would have eliminated Kalliyo and SCORPIO and refused to take Vector and Temple. The only companion that made any sense to keep around, aside from his healing abilities, is Doctor Lokin, who was formerly Fixer Fifteen and thus Imperial Intelligence. Lokin’s premise for joining the agent seemed the most likely as well – working together to keep each other’s secrets seems perfect for what is, essentially, a spy story.
The ending was fantastic but left me conflicted. The brainwashing aspect made it immensely difficult to remain loyal to the Empire or to join the Republic. (Ironically, I specifically left Ardun alive this time in order to see the Republic ending but by the time I got there, I just couldn’t take it!) The third option, which is the one I ended up choosing (again), was to keep the Black Codex and remain solo; however, the only side that promises to contact you later is the Empire and I don’t recall a way for you to refuse this. Another thing that I found disconcerting is that if you choose to give the Black Codex to the Republic, you get lightside points. How can that possibly be the “good” decision when Kothe and his team used your brainwashing against you?
Additionally, I found it curious that you were unable to join the Star Cabal. Even though they’re just as manipulative as the rest of the factions in the story, their vision seemed kind of…enticing. A galaxy without Force users running around mucking things up? I’m okay with that! What’s more confusing is that earlier, there’s a dialogue option where you can jokingly suggest joining, but Hunter says they don’t take converts. However, at the end, Hunter claims that you could have been good for them, so why doesn’t this option exist? I suppose that by taking the Black Codex for yourself, you essentially become the Star Cabal, but it’s so ambiguous that there’s really no satisfaction in it.
Despite my conflicted thoughts about the ending, what makes the (male) agent’s story replayable for me is, oddly enough, the romance with Watcher Two. I don’t often play Bioware games for the romances, but there’s something completely endearing about their star-crossed relationship, particularly with follow up in the class missions on Rishi. Unlike the rest of the companions, neither gifts nor special dialogue are required to obtain affection. It’s probably the most genuine romance in the game and I was surprised at how much it added to the character, even though it was such a minor part of the story.