BioWare promised that Knights of the Fallen Empire would be a "return to cinematic storytelling", but was it? In our review we talk about what they did right, what they did wrong, and what felt odd.

Knights of the Fallen Empire, taking place immediately after the events of Shadow of Revan and the events on Ziost, thrusts the player into a familiar BioWare scenario, on a ship that was ambushed and is about to fail... catastrophically. After some dialogue you meet Emperor Valkorian and the story truly starts.

**SPOILER WARNING**
Just as a refresher, during the original Jedi Knight�s storyline, you, the Knight, �kill� Emperor Vitiate. Of course, in true Star Wars fashion, he isn�t dead, but he stays dormant for a while. Almost two whole expansions, until at the end of Shadow of Revan his soul awakens and he uses mass mind control to take the planet of Ziost under his complete control. Now people from all walks of life, all classes, such as Agent, Warrior, Bounty Hunter, and Inquisitor must fight off the Emperor and save the galaxy. You fail, and he consumes the life force of Ziost and retreats into deep space.
**END OF SPOILERS**

After some brief negotiations Emperor Valkorian (Vitiate) asks if you and Darth Marr (current head of the Dark Council) would join him. Marr refuses, in typical Sith style, and you are faced with an option, kneel before Valkorian, or refuse. Either way, the story progresses and five years go by before you return to consciousness.

I have played through all of the base story content up through my first few Star Fortresses, and I have made my initial verdict of the new expansion! It�s good, far improved in both the story and character areas. The new areas are interesting and I didn�t feel like I was grinding� until the Star Fortress. The Star Fortresses are the �end-game content� for now, until the next episode of the expansion releases sometime in January.
One bonus about the Star Fortresses is that they require you to go back and play Heroics on old planets. I liked going back to Nar Shaddaa, and with my slightly overpowered medic companion, they were fun to solo.

Overall, the experience was great, but it still has room for improvement, maybe with some breaks in between chapters to head off and do something slower paced. It went by too fast, and I wish that there was more of it to play.

I�d give it a 8.5/10 MSD.