Breja: It's just strange to me to imagine anyone really thinking they wouldn't be playing a Jedi in this game. I think that was pretty much an obvious and well advertised selling point (like I said, it's in the title). So it's hard for me to think of it as any kind of bait and switch.
Time4Tea: We seem to have different perspectives on it. Player choice is something I really value in an RPG. If an RPG is going to set out by giving the player a choice of character classes, then that choice needs to be meaningful.
First, that paragraph did not concern my feelings on player choice, but was meant to refute your assertion that the game somehow fools the player that they won't be a Jedi and makes it a surprise, when it was in fact always the obvious focus and selling point of the game.
Second, I also greatly value player choice. It's just that I don't extend my expectations of having a choice to the very core setup of the game. It was just always absolutely obvious to me that, even when playing the game for the first time, that I'm going to become a Jedi eventually, and that this is only a choice of my characters background. I'm sorry, I just can't imagine feeling blindsided by this.
Breja: I'm sorry, I don't want to be dismissive of your opinion, but "I have to play one of the eponymous cool space wizards who have always been the main characters in this franchise" seems to me like a bit of an odd complaint to have.
Time4Tea: Firstly, there's more to Star Wars than just Jedis. As mentioned, there are whole Star Wars movies/games that barely even feature Jedis.
Yes. KNIGHTS of the Old Repbulic isn't one of them. Doesn't aim to be one of them. Isn't meant to be one of them. It's like complaining that Batman Arkham Asylum is about Batman when there are also plenty of comics about Robin and Nightwing.
Time4Tea: Secondly, it's not so much that I don't like the idea of playing as a Jedi. It's more that I resent being offered a false choice.
The illusion of who your character is at the start, his identity being false, is central to the whole story. As is interacting with the teachings of the Jedi (seemingly) completely from scratch.
Also, the choice isn't meaningless - it does define your character for the first, quite substantial chapter of the game. And once you become a Jedi, you're given choice of class AGAIN. So I really don't see this as some terrible design counter to player choice.