Yeah like HangTime said, the first part of the game isn't the best. However if you like Star Wars I'm sure you'll find that first part interesting. Its when you leave Taris does the story start to really take off.
WHat makes KotOR 1 a really good game and much better than the second one is the direction. Coupled with a good story of course, but its how they paced the game and introduced everything just at the right time that really made it amazing.