The baddest droid in the galaxy is ready to get to work.
The psychotic murder machine HK-47 is easily the most memorable character to come out of BioWare’s 2003 Star Wars RPG Knights of the Old Republic, as evidenced by his appearance in virtually every Star Wars RPG since. He was loyal, dedicated, hard-working, unfailingly polite and unflinchingly homicidal. He wasn’t just willing to kill for you, he wanted to kill for you. Badly.
HK-47 has already turned up in Star Wars: The Old Republic, thereby eliminating him as a companion, but the ever-creative gang at BioWare has come up with an imaginative way around that sticking point: HK-51!
“Buried deep beneath the icy surface of Belsavis rests an army of the deadliest, most feared machines in the known galaxy. Thought to have been lost when an Imperial freighter was destroyed, they have recently been rediscovered by a group of renegade Sith Lords,” The Old Republic website explains. “Now both the Sith Empire and Galactic Republic seek to control these dangerous weapons for themselves. Those who are brave enough to venture into the wreckage will emerge with a powerful new ally.”
The trailer doesn’t actually show the new Slayer of Meatbags in action but it’s a safe assumption that HK-51 will share more than a few behavioral traits with his older cousin. Any droid can pull a trigger, after all, but that uniquely endearing way with words is what made ol’ 47 special. Without that, what’s the point?
HK-51 will be available for recruitment “in the very near future.”
