Does anyone else feel like a majority of the empires "light" side choices are completely arbitrary and more often than not "not as evil" as the dark side option?

 

And sometimes the light side options are more evil than the dark side options.

 

Let me explain. In particular, let's look at the rebellion on the 2nd planet. You are given two options, poison their water to torture them for a week before they die, or just kill them instantly.

 

The torture option is clearly the darkest option, but poisoning peoples water to kill them in mass to inspire fear and chaos is still "dark". A true light side option would be to refuse the quest, or to allow the player to stop the rebellion through either focused assassinations (such as offing the leader), or akin to the light side options for the cult, cultivate good faith from the rebellion using your words or actions. Hell, you could poison the water with a weakened version, blame it on the republic and come in to save the day with the antidote. You are still being deceptive, but you are ultimately saving the lives of hundreds of slaves.

 

The other thing I mention you see in korriban. When you are given the option to tell the Jedi the truth about his manipulation before freeing him, or allowing him to go back to the jedi with the trapped information.

 

How in the world is telling him the truth, betraying the sith and the empire as a whole, and setting up a trap for their trap a "light" choice?

 

 

This isn't me saying the game is crap, I'm rather enjoying it on the most part (arguments for another thread), but does anyone else feel that the light/dark options are merely arbitrary, and that the "light" is just "less dark"?

Sure light is "less dark". For the Sith, atleast. I actually expected it to be even darker, because some of the options are.. dare i say it.. too jedi-like.

Yes, this dude just betrayed you, tried to kill you and now is begging for mercy. You spare him. Because you're a good guy. but you could at least kick hiss *** a little more, don't just let him go!

 

But I still go light-side. Mostly because dark seide choices seem excessively evil =)

But less evil shouldn't mean good. It should mean dark I instead of dark III. When you allow "the flame" to live its because you are showing mercy, which is a good choice.

 

Killing people less gruesomely shouldn't reward ls points, they should give 25-50 ds instead of the 100-150 for the other choice.

 

I'm also disappointed the "nice" convo choice which usually says "it will be an honor" or "I'll do my duty" ends up being "I CAN'T WAIT TO KILL EVERYONE!!!"

Light/dark is supposed to be relative to the allegiance. A Jedi with Dark V may not be lighter than a sith with Light V, but it'll be close. So yea, for the Sith, light means not being a total ***.

Oh yes, the summary phrases sometimes seem too different the the actual voiced replies.

I remember in one dialogue there was an option like "Aw, why so frightened?", but insted my character went "YOU REEK OF FEAR!". I mean really...

Might be a Spoiler down there.

 

 

 

 

 

Meh, my only real light side choice I've had issue with so far is when they gave me light side points for being greedy, taking the credits from the sith lady to kill her husband, who was already a traitor and renegade sith lord, then install her son as a puppet ruler in his father's place. Then I seduced the newly made widow and it gave me light side points Like killing her and her son was so much worse.

Would Judge Dredd be considered Light Side or Dark Side?

 

Is it wrong for a lion to eat a helpless sheep?

 

Do I get good karma for eating tofu and bad karma for eating crunchy chicks? Er wait...

 

Is it light side or dark side to pull a vegetable off life support?

 

In the end, I don't believe that "light side" and "dark side" are arbitrary placeholders for "good" and "evil," because every society has a different definition of what good & evil are.

 

With that in mind, I believe that "light vs dark" is more of a personal thing that varies with the individual. For an Imperial Agent, who's job is to eliminate troublemakers without questions (for the greater good of the Empire), then "mercy killing" may well be "light" for them - especially when compared to torture.

 

And keep in mind that the people in the Empire are still people, and if saving the lives of it's innocent citizens from the Republic means blowing up a Republic troop transport, then is definitely "light side" for an Imperial to do exactly that.

Empire "Light Side" choices are much more "Lawful Neutral" than anything.

 

Take for instance choosing to spare The General in the Black Talon quest. Yes, you're not outright killing him, but you are pretty much condoning him to being horrifically tortured (he even says this when you take him prisoner) followed by what will probably be a painful execution once they're done with him. This is the light side option but purely because you're not killing him on the spot.

 

Another example is the power cores quest on Hutta. You're asked by some starving work hands to find them some wasted power converters in the rust yards, charge them up and return them so they can be traded for food. As you're about to charge them up the Foreman appears and tells you that his family will be killed by his employer if any more power is lost (his employer being the person you've been fighting this whole zone). The LIGHT SIDE option is to not do it, but you are therefore condeming the slaves to slowly die of starvation. The DARK SIDE option is to get the slaves what they need to live, even if you let the Foreman go so he can get his family out. Again, you're deemed "Light" or "Dark" purely on the knee jerk consequence where you stand rather than what occurs afterwards.

 

The issue with trying to slap a generic Black and White label on a game that is very much grey in many places leaves it looking more like Lawful Stupid versus Chaotic Dumb which is why Paragon v Renegade in Mass Effect worked much better. You fight for a tyrannical militaristic dictatorship but you don't need to be a dick about it.

Edited December 28, 2011 by WhoDaresWins

If you play Light Sith in your mid 20's to 50's.. you do become pretty light. I won't say anymore but yeah.