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From the people who brought us Knights of the Old Republic comes another genre-blending game with a fabulously twisting plot. If you own an Xbox, you should own this game. It is not only the best Action RPG on the Xbox but one of the best RPGs played in recent memory.
For those who have played KOTOR, this game will be instantly familiar. At the offset, you pick a character and are thrust into a world of moralities. Unlike KOTOR, the morality system is a little more complex for the most part. Instead of focusing on good and evil, your character has the choice of being endlessly helpful, understanding and tolerant of everyone (in other words believes in the power of the human spirit) or someone who reveres strength. As an example of this strength concept, there is a decision early on about a dam that is open and has caused problems for a town because the sailors are land locked. A wine merchant wants the dam to remain open so he can make a killing off of the sailors. If you follow the Way of the Open Palm you would probably close the dam so that the town can prosper in what is should be doing. If you follow the Way of the Closed Fist, on the other hand, would decide that if the town were strong they will survive this current hurdle and that it is only that, a hurdle. It gets a little more tricky than that and does open some areas for roleplaying your character and deciding what you would really do in that situation. Bioware is also wonderful at making you think about your decision as they give you new information just as soon as you make a decision that might change how you feel about the situation.
My only complaint with the system is that while they say that the two paths are different from looking at things as good and evil, there are still some instances where there is a "good" and an "evil" way of doing things. I might have rationalized why I would be doing something that way, yet I would get points from the side I didn't want because it was clearly delineated as "good and evil choice." So, that's a bit frustrating given that their system isn't supposed to be good and evil. But, overall the system works well and really makes you think.
I didn't really care for KOTOR because of the battle system and that is probably the reason I'm enjoying Jade Empire much more. The fighting system is simple yet deep. As you progress you will learn different martial arts style that you can map to the D-pad for quick and easy access. And you will be constantly changing your styles as the techniques to defeat enemies will constantly evolve. Some monsters are immune to certain attacks so you will have to experiment and find the best ways of devastating your foes.
On the simple side, the combat is really about rock, paper scissors. You have a quick attack and a time-consuming attack (and a knock back attack that really only helps when you are surrounded and need some space). When someone blocks you use your time consuming attack, otherwise you mostly use your quick attacks to offset their own long attacks. It's pretty simple and easy to used to. However, some battles can become a button masher either way you look at it. But it's still exhilarating and fast with many ways of deciding how you want to play. Do you want to focus on using weapons, martial arts, magic, transformations? A little of the above? It's all up to you.
The game is beautiful most of the time. The art style is impeccable and really helps create a full-flesh universe. Since it's based on oriental myth, it doesn't take place in the Orient as we know it but a mythical world that incorporates themes from oriental culture. Because of this, the desiginers are free to create whatever their imagination can make. And it's beautiful. There are some places that I stood for awhile and just looked because it was so surreally beautiful and soothing. It made me wish that sometimes our world wasn't so industrialized and that we could go back to what was a more simple beauty. It was that affecting. However, sometimes, the backgrounds look painted on. Some of the hills and areas that act as blockades for where you can't go aren't that well designed. Also my character's body type makes me laugh because his pecs are super large and his abs are indented in his body that I laugh whenever I see it.
The game moves impeccably fast as well. Your character runs and I mean runs through the areas. The framerate is great. But, like KOTOR before it, the game stutters sometimes when you are running and turning the camera. When the camera pans, the game flutters sometimes as it tries to take in everything that happens. In battles, the game hardly ever stutters. And the battles can end up having a good dozen or so enemies fighting you and your partner so they can get pretty hectic and the graphics engine does a great job keeping the motion moving.
Aurally, the game is a treat. You will find some cameo voice actors that are immediately familiar (look for John Cleese in a hysterical role). The music is well done and has a wonderful oriental bent to it (of course). Also, Bioware hired a real linguist to help create the fictional language used in the game. It is very familiar to oriental language but isn't real. It was created solely for this game. And that's amazing.
Unfortunately, my problem with the dialogue in the game is the same problem I had with KOTOR. It's great and all but all too often the plot developments and dialogue becomes a "talking head" type situation where anyone who has something important to say gets a close up of their face while their lips move and the dialogue is heard. This is unfortunate for me because I get impatient sometimes and will just read the subtitles and skip through most of their dialogue. It's never "dynamic" in cutscenes like in some RPGs I've played (hands down the best use of dialogue in an RPG goes to FFX that used dialogue to move the plot but it wasn't a novel dialogue, it was like movie dialogue). The dialogue in Jade Empire is sometimes like a novel. So, for those who aren't interested in talking heads delivering dialogue this might get annoying after a time. But the dialogue is genuinely well voiced and excellent.
My only other complaint is the load times. While not as annoying constant as Fable where each and every small zone no matter how small had to be loaded for a good 5-10+ seconds, it still is a pain when you have to go through zones for a quest. For instance, in the beginning of the game you have to go through the town to the school (a load screen) to get a quest, go back to town (load screen) to talk to someone, then back to the school (load screen). And it's unfortunate because the actual quest takes maybe a minute, but a good 20 seconds of the time is spent in load screens. That's a uncharacteristic load time though as generally the areas are big and don't usually require many loads. Although another incident where it is very noticeable is in an arena combat situation where before and after each arena battle it has to load for a good 5-10 seconds. The kicker is, some of the arena battles are over in about a minute or much much less and yet you have to deal with two load screens comprising a good 10-20 seconds. So, in some areas it can be annoying and definitely pulls you out of the game when you should be pulled further in. And, it becomes especially annoying considering that games like Halo 2 are seamless after the original load.
Overall, though, this game is gold. It's perfectly plotted and paced and has Bioware's trademark in excellence stamped all over it. It ranks as one of my favorite games this year so far along with God of War and Psychonauts. I would definitely recommend buying this game. There are some problems that I have noted but you know regardless of the problems, this is an excellent game with an excellent story. And, at 22+ hours, this adventure is worth taking.
**NOTE: You should definitely pick up the Limited Edition of it if you can still find it. For the initial run they are all Limited Edition and after they are gone, you will only be able to get this, the standard game. The Limited edition has a new character and weapon style and a making of as well as some other fun things. Same price, so definitely check out the limited edition over this version if you want the game.
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I've loved most of the Bioware games over the last several years. Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic, Neverwinter Nights, the Baldur's Gate series and all the spin offs based on that same engine by Black Isle. So while I hadn't really tracked the development or feature set of Jade Empire, and I haven't been playing many games at all the last year or so I decided to pick it up.So I got it home, tried it out, and got into the old pattern of a week-long, late-night playing spree until I reached the end.
It was good.
The characters and writing were pretty decent. The quests were pretty varied (although I got really sick of ghosts and spirits by the end). The dialog was funny at times. You had choices about whether to be good or evil throughout the game. It definitely had an Eastern flavor and philosophy throughout. There were some really original segments and nice cinematic sequences and some fairly well-done plot twists. But overall I'd say the story and characters were just decent not as good as an average novel. Not quite as good as Knights of the Old Republic. And not innovative still plagued by the same issues that have affected previous games in the genre (e.g. no real freedom to make choices to avoid big plot quests or go in your own direction, not much subtlety in the good/evil choices and rewards given for being either as good or as evil as possible, smashing barrels and boxes and urns around towns and houses to find loot without any consequences).
Where the game really shined was in combat. Your character is skilled in Kung Fu, and starts with 2 fighting "styles" that he or she can switch between at any time. Each style is relatively simple in it's own right. There's a basic attack. You can sequence 2 or 3 attacks in succession before needing to pause a second. You can block. You can "power attack" which takes a second to warm up and leaves you open to regular attack but can break through an enemy's block. And there's an area attack that knocks foes down but doesn't really hurt them. And you can roll and flip around to evade enemies. That's it. So basic strategy is "rock, paper, scissors." Block beats regular attack power attack beats block regular attack beats power attack (during warm up).
So in the beginning of the game you get used to this strategy against one opponent or a few at a time. But before long you start learning new styles. There are new "martial" styles (different forms of kung fu), there are support styles which tend to hinder opponents and set them up for finishing combinations, there are magic styles that usually let you blast enemies at range, there are weapon styles, and there are transformation styles (which let you become a big baddie of some sort for a short while to kick some butt).
Each of these styles has the same categories of moves described above... but very different versions. E.g. with the dire flame magic style, the basic attack fires a small flaming projectile at your enemy, the power attack fires a large flaming projectile that immolates the enemy for a time and makes it impossible for him to attack back, and the area attack summons a dragon to breath flame in the area.
So the core mechanic of the game stays fresh throughout, since you're continually collecting new styles, trying them out, learning their strengths and weaknesses, and investing your limited pool of points into improving the ones you like best. Then at some point you start to really experiment with the "hamonic combinations" in which you have to use a support or magic style, get someone with the slow power attack, then quickly switch to a martial style and hit them with another power attack to finish them off and produce a power up. This can be fun, and it very efficient when fighting large groups of enemies at once.
I have to admit at times I really felt like a bad-ass kung fu master during the game. Start with my "Flawless" staff style, then switch to "Spirit Thief" to suck up some of their spiritual energy, then flip over their back and use "Thousand Cuts" for some quick punches, then finally to "Stone Immortal" to encase my enemies in rock. The switching between styles is very fast and natural and before too long I became very familiar with many of the styles, and I could recognize and name the styles that foes were using against me. This really brought scenes of kung fu movies to mind such as "Ha you don't think you can beat me using "Leaping Tiger" style do you?" or "Ahh, Tempest style. You must be a master who follows the way of the closed fist and I must take care to avoid your vortex area attacks."
And in the end that's what makes a game memorable. The way it made you feel when you were playing it. This game made me feel like a Kung Fu master in a way that straight fighting games with never could.
-Mike Arcuri
Best Deals for Jade Empire - Xbox
I brought this game for my sister for Christmas. I called her on her day off from work and was told "Can't talk now, I am playing." I was surprised by her reaction. She doesn't normally sit down and play a game and then finish it so quickly. So when she brought it over for me to play, I was looking forward to it. Needless to say, I was not let down. I spent all my free time immersed in a wonderful story that had me in a trance. The beauty, the story, the adventure. I highly recommend this game for all, it was a truly spectular pleasure to play.Honest reviews on Jade Empire - Xbox
I thought this was an overall great game. Great storyline, though a bit confusing and disappointing/sad in the end. The Only thing I really criticize was the fighting and the number of styles and how they are earned. The Buttons for fighting have been seen a million times. You press one or two buttons (mostly one) and thats how you defeat everyone. The other thing is that when they said you would learn transform skills by fighting many of a creatures, I assumed you'd be fighting more than one or two before the game activates it at a planned moment. I expected to be able to into a wilderness and find many many creatures that respawn and attack again. Also, there were too few weapon styles. You end up using only 1 or 2 kinds of weapons. My last criticism is the lack of things you could buy. More armor, more weapons, less gems. I know I've made the game sound terrible by now but truely, great storyline, excellent graphics and sound, average stats system, good variety of styles and ememies, etc. If you like RPG's, buy it, you'll like it.Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for Jade Empire - Xbox
Here's an example of how good this game is. I bought an xbobx for this game. Its just that worth it.once the menu screen shows up on your screen, I promise, you will be immediatly anchanted. The music is so deep and overwhelming, sorrowful and yet noble. And the visuals, although choppy at very rare times, are heavenly.
When you start out, you will of course pick which character you want to use for your adventure. There are plenty to choose from, ranging from fast-fisted warriors to huge barbarians. This just begins one of the greates aspects of the game character customization. True, it may seem simplistic at first, but through the game you can gain so many styles and techniques that for one moment your character will be beating the heck out of his opponents with brute force, and then seamlessly meld into movments as graceful yet deadly as Crane.
Magic aspect aside, the martial arts are fairly true-to-life. For example, if you are using a longsword, the stance has you holding it above your head (note that not all styles have you doing this, just the one in Jade Empire). Now, when fighting someone with a spear, you might want to switch to either hand-to-hand or a weapon with a longer range. This is because the way that you hold your sword, its takes an extra 1/10 of a second (which in martial arts is precious time). The enemies spear can take advantage of that, and then your dead.
You start off in your martial arts school. When I saw this, i couldn't believe how beautiful it was. It was so peacful and enchanting. Even subtle details were payed attention to, such as the students going through REAL forms and excersises from Tai-Chi Chuan and the Lohan system.
The names are great. Furious Ming. Wu the Lotus Blossom. Gao the Greater (and lesser). Segacious Zu. I mean c'mon thats just classic.
And perhaps most importantly the story. Thats right people, there IS something MORE important than graphics (although Jade Empire's are phenomanal). This is an RPG after all. At first, it seems pretty formulated. I was a little dissapointed. But, don't lose heart. Very soon some amazingly creative and origional writing comes into play. The story is great.
Sadly, there is one thing that I just really do not like about this game at all. For starters, there is the Airship transportation. Its just a remake of Space invaders with a Chinese twist. Very big letdown there.
Secondly, all of the close-ups can get tiresome. I mean, with envoirnments so beautiful, I want to see more than just some warriors face, no matter how cool he/she looks.
But, despite these factors, I still give this game a 5 out of 5. And here is why.
Bad things about the game 2
Good things about the game 100+
Bottom line; If you have an XBOX, then there is no excuse not to have Jade Empire.
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