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Jade
Empire
Score: 9.0 / 10
It’s not easy to write a review of Jade
Empire. For all its scope and depth it’s hard to be succinct and
maintain a reign on the amount of detail and number of words so I don’t
A) put you to sleep and B) give away all the details. (With apologies to
IGN and GameSpot, I usually start nodding off halfway through their
reviews.)
Jade Empire is a rollicking good role-playing game, set in a very
fleshed-out game world, replete with fantastic gadgets, villains, hidden
destinies, ghosts, comedy, giant toads and drama. Plus, it’s developed
by BioWare one of the most respected developers in the industry and,
like Pixar Studios, have yet to produce a real stinker. Go now. Buy.
Enjoy.
If I’ve kept your attention this long I consider the review a success!
Are you up for
BioWare simplifies character creation down to picking one of six
characters and allocating a few experience points. Over the course of
the game your chosen character starts to reflect your choices but at the
outset there’s no hemming and hawing as you try to choose the correct
accessories.
After choosing a character you find yourself in a training
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school headed up by Master Li, a man with a
past that’s about to catch up to him in a very spectacular manner. It’s
in a very compressed time that the plot points – restless spirits,
ancient secrets, etc. – are revealed and the journey commences, complete
with a host of side quests and many twists and turns. However, you’ll
really have to play through Jade Empire a couple of times to experience
all there is to see and do.
The journey itself can be played (roughly) one of three ways: neutral,
closed fist or open palm. (Basically indifferent, good, and evil.) Most
of the choices that establish your path occur during conversations. Many
times your character’s facial expressions are an indication of what path
a particular response will push you toward, but the actual explanation
of the paths is explained in-game with a bit of philosophy which I had
to listen to a half-dozen times before I understood it. It is comparable
to the Light/Dark balance seen with the Knights of the Old Republic
games, but Jade Empire’s sliding scale isn’t so cut and dry – tough
choices have to be made.
Easier to understand but maybe just as nuanced is the combat, which is
definitely more about strategy and execution than straight-up
button-mashing. I could repeat the manual’s description of how combat
works – assigning combat styles and transformations to the D-pad,
maintaining your chi, evading opponents while being locked onto them to
perform some stylish and deadly martial arts moves – but I didn’t
understand it until actually booting up the game and playing it. I won’t
confuse the issue here, but I will say it does take some practice and as
long as you think strategy and evasion (particularly when facing off
against multiple foes) you’ll have much better chances at survival. Of
course, leveling up your skills and character abilities doesn’t hurt
either.
Discovering how everything works in Jade Empire is a joy. Not just
because the progressions is so much fun but also because the backdrops
and characters are so lavishly detailed and lush. Although my TV at home
is relatively small by today’s standards and at least six years old, I
found myself just walking through some environments so I could check out
the view. It’s gorgeous! (Graphics are not everything but Jade Empire
backs those visuals with an engaging experience so I’ll allow myself to
gush a little bit.) BioWare also comes through with an awesome audio
package. Heck they even invented a language! Almost without exception
each line of dialogue is delivered with perfect execution. The
soundtrack also deserves some praise.
Jade Empire isn’t looking to convert role-playing fans to fighter fans
or vice versa; they’ve created a game that should attract gamers,
period. There will be those that claim the various genres are diluted
somewhat so that they can be forced together – the fights aren’t up to
“pure” fighting games – but even the (optional) overhead scrolling
arcade sections (think of the old arcade classic, 1942) just seem to fit
and compliment each other. Great fun, high replayability, good control,
attention to detail, interesting story, high production values, and a
great gameplay experience – Jade Empire comes recommended.
