Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun the first time through, March 28, 2007
Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars
Jade Empire: Special Edition is a lot of fun. The milieu is a fresh breath of air from the typical fantasy setting and the combat is certainly more dynamic. Instead of issuing commands and then waiting for the computer to resolve dice rolls behind the scenes, the combat is pure real-time martial arts. You jump your character in and out, dodge, roll, and have to actually connect when you strike. It brings out an urgency and involvement that is sometimes lacking in RPG combat.
The graphics may not be at the level of Oblivion, but they're crisp and pretty. Plus the game runs on a system that's not quite state-of-the art without issue. Apart from a few bugs (sometimes the camera angle gets stuck, easily fixed by a quick reload), Jade Empire runs smoothly.
The game has limited replay value, though. This is simply not as in-depth or large a game universe as Knights of the Old Republic or the Baldur's Gate series. You have a small starting town, which there is no point revisiting once you finish the introductory chapter. After that, there's a somewhat larger town (Tien's Landing) and then the Imperial City. Again, once you leave the town, you probably won't have any reason to ever go back. And the Imperial City is the same story: once you've wrapped up everything and head to the Imperial Palace, you won't be going back to the City.
That's a shame because the game feels so linear as a result. There's side quests in each urban location, but nothing that really makes you feel like you're forging your own destiny in another world. You won't be doing anything equivalent to rescuing Anise's castle in BG2 or acting as a hit man for the Genoharadan in KOTOR.
So my final verdict is that this is definitely a good game. But will I dust it off the shelf every few months, eager to give it another go (like I do with BG2, Kotor, and even Fallout 2)? That I can't be so sure about.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Top-Notch Bioware, May 6, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
I'm a PC-only gamer, so when Jade Empire came out for Xbox I had my fingers crossed, hoping Bioware wouldn't leave me in the dust on this one. Two years later, I am not disappointed. If you've played Knights of the Old Republic, Bioware's Star Wars game, you'll find everything you liked about it here, albeit in a sometimes streamlined form.
You play as a martial-arts prodigy in a fantasy version of ancient China, the titular Jade Empire, filled with magical flyers, menacing demons, and all manner of sorcery foul and fair. But something is rotten in the Empire, and it's up to you and a band of adventurers to find out what. You can select from a number of characters, both male and female, each of whom is balanced for a specific fighting aspect - be it speed, strength, or magic use. Your character starts as a martial arts student in the sleepy little town of Two Rivers, but you soon discover that you are destined for a greater role in the Jade Empire.
The story is great - very engaging, with well-voiced characters (look for John Cleese as Sir Roderick and Firefly's Nathan Fillion as Gao the Lesser) whose elaborate backstories directly influence the game's storyline. You can choose whether to follow the altruistic Way of the Open Palm or the harsher Way of the Closed Fist through the choices you make during the game. Each philosophy opens up different subplots and abilities for your character. As in previous Bioware RPGs, the storyline features numerous side-quests and a complex series of central quests, all with multiple solutions.
The art direction is fantastic, capturing a diverse and compelling Eastern-Asia stylistic fusion. In terms of graphics, some of the environmental textures show their age, but the beautifully designed locales and characters shine through. It's the kind of game that you just want to stop and look at for a while. Bioware has significantly expanded their palette of faces, and I rarely felt that I was encountering the same character over and over.
The action-style fighting gameplay is fast-paced and engaging, though it can seem almost too easy at regular difficulty. Your character can learn a variety of different styles, from magical fire and ice attacks to double-handed swords and axes to good old-fashioned punches and kicks, and switch between them during combat for the best advantage against different opponents. I actually found myself using only a small selection of the game's numerous styles, and not switching very often. Still, the fighting looks great (Bioware used motion capture technology and professional, real-world martial artists to create the game's fighting styles) even if it lacks a bit of challenge. The game uses a simple 3-stat mechanic - there's Body, which influences Health (HP), Spirit, which influences Chi (spellcasting, replenishing health, and certain special attacks), and Mind, which influences focus (fighting with weapons and a slow-motion bullet-time ability). The give-and-take between the three stats in battle creates some interesting engagements, and each stat is also linked to the conversation skills of Charm, Intuition, and Intimidation, which can affect encounters with other characters.
In summary: If you want a great-looking game with an engaging storyline, compelling characters, and fun (if a bit easy) martial-arts combat, Jade Empire is the game for you! Highly recommended.
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Jade Empire SE, March 27, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
This is a stable game with excellent graphic and a very good story line. The controls are simple and easy to learn. Unfortunately it is a bit on the short side, it took me only 14 hours to finish the game my first time.
There are a number of subplots, but they don't take long to complete. The romantic subplots for male characters are good and varied, female characters have only two options.
While the story is a bit lacking for replay, the combat options are keeping my interest. I have just started my third game. My wife completed it once and is likely to play through it again soon.
Personal Rating
Graphics: A
Stability: A
Controls: A
Combat Options: A
Character Customization: C+
Story Depth: A-
Story Length: C
Replay Value: C+
Overall I give Jade Empire SE a solid B.
I honestly found the Rhino Demon exclusive combat style to be of little value. But it is a cool little bonus that is fun to play around with once or twice.
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