Yes, I forgot for the first eight hours or so which in game time must've been a few days. Revan did not rely on the Force to rescue Bastila and get off Taris. I do remember the underwater portion of Manaan and the Firacis shark.
Oh he was definitely in the war of Exar Kun. He was either in his early 20's or even in his late teens like most warrior cultures. There are other characters that definitely fought in that war like Jolee, Kreia, Vrook, Dorak, and it is said Darth SIon is from that time.
Well I like Darth Sion too. He and Darth Malak are similar in a way. Both prefer to use brute strength, and both have depth. In the final confronttion with Sion on Malachor he himself says he prefers Darth Malak over Revan. I agree Revan seemed to be the headstrong one of the two. It could be because like Exar Kun before him, he had a thirst for forbidden knowledge according to Dorak.
Yeah I can see the Exile writing tell all book called 'Revan the man behind the mask.' As for fans who bash K1 and prefer K2. THey forget if it wasn't for the popularity of K1 there wouldn't be a K2, and I believe since K2 never attained the universal claim that K1 did, that is why LucasArts never produced a third game.