 | | Jade Empire is a single player martial arts-heavy RPG, exclusive to Xbox |
|
Jade Empire is BioWare's follow-up to the immensely successful RPG Knights of the Old Republic. It uses an almost identical mixture of epic plot-lines, in depth character interaction and complex dialogue choices each with their own rewards and repercussions. It only really differs in two areas; the setting for one, as long gone is the Star Wars vibe, and secondly the combat, which I'll go on to speak at great length about further down.
This time the setting is mythical ancient China. While I would never dream of spoiling anything important regarding the deep and rich plot, I will say that you begin the game as a promising young martial arts student, training under an old and wise master on a remote island. Soon enough, after being sent on your first mission, your world is rocked to its very foundations, and you're thrust into the big bad world to set right evil deeds.
To go into further details would border on criminal, but set your sights firmly on the likes of Crouching Tiger and Hero, as Jade Empire is pretty much those sorts of films brought to life on the Xbox, via the (somewhat spruced up) KOTOR engine. Is it as good a game though?
Asian Beauty
The graphics are hugely improved, I will say that much. The engine appears to be heavily upgraded since we last saw it in
action, and it's amazing how far this thing has come since Neverwinter Nights. Here the various revamps push it up from an average looking title to quite the stunner.
 | | This one sure is a looker, and a big step up from BioWare's last game |
|
The environments are gorgeous, the fighting animation is considerably improved and the art direction in particular is impressive from beginning to end.
Where it loses points is the frame-rate, which isn't necessarily low, merely uneven, constantly jumping all over the place. In fact, even the top down scrolling shoot 'em up mini-game suffers stuttering lapses.
Also, while the characters all look considerably better than in BioWare's previous outings, they also still feel someone rigid and lifeless when out of combat, which is a pity for a game so steeped in well realised personalities. Still, this is a beautiful game for the most part, and there's little else to fault here.
The sound isn't quite as impressive as the visuals. On the one hand the music is perfectly suited to the setting, but it lacks spark and is easy to ignore, while the voice acting is variable in quality too. It can be wonderfully rich and impressive when it wants to be, but at other times comes off as flat and cartoony, and is made all the more worse by the decision to use full-on American accents in what is a positively non-American setting.
 | | Locations range from tiny villages to eerie caves to imperial cities |
|
One thing that brought a smirk to my face was the use of actor Nathan Fillion of Firefly semi-fame playing a rival pupil in the game's opening scenes. Monty Python fans will also be pleased to hear that John Cleese also shows up for a small, yet hilarious role towards the middle of the game.
On the whole, the game sounds pretty good, but it's far from it's primary selling point.
While discussing technical merits, it's worth mentioning that the load times are considerably longer than I'd like in this game. Thanks to some ingenious map layouts, they pop up much less frequently than they could have done, but it's still one of those unfortunate games where you occasionally decide not to visit certain locations due to the thought of that load screen blocking your way - a feeling I'm sure all RPGers know on some level.
The Jade Empire Strikes Back
 | | Character interaction is as good as ever, with the trademark romance sub-plots |
|
Leaving all that aside though and getting down to the important stuff, in terms of good old playability this is classic BioWare from beginning to end. I've been a big fan of theirs for many years now, and immediately felt right at home here. The dialogue choices at your disposal are suitably impressive as always, with the relentlessly-cool ability to make far-reaching alterations to both the characters and the gameworld merely through which options you pick.
This is further emphasised by the fact that this plot is one of the best I've yet seen in a game, exploited by the Canadian developers strength at delivering a smart, mature experience that never patronises the player.
Perhaps most pleasingly of all though, that good old dark/light side dynamic is present and correct once again. Not only will you be torn between the usual good and evil decisions that you'd expect, but there's also a pleasing amount of "grey" choices to contend with too, giving the conversations a lot more depth.
Shitty Wok
 | | You'll fight walking, talking animals on occasion, an aspect I wasn't too fond of |
|
While all that (arguably more important stuff) is fully intact, the gameplay disappoints in one or two areas. The party members who have always made such an impression in these games are alive and present, but you can only take one with you at any time, and they are completely AI controlled. In fact, they are surprisingly cack when it comes to combat, and are only really here for plot purposes...some of which are rightly fascinating, others merely filler.
I never really felt a huge affinity to more than 1 or 2 in the same way I did in KOTOR (let alone its outsourced sequel). The emphasis feels set more on you for the most part this time, and this was something of a shame in my book, especially after seeing the powerful influence system of The Sith Lords in all its glory and how much that added to the party interactions.
Also simplified is the statistical side of things. It lacks the more thorough customisation elements of BioWare's previous games; you have a few XP points to spend on levelling up, but that's about it, and the implant/clothing choices of KOTOR are heavily reduced to almost nothing via the new "gem" mechanic.
Nope, Jade Empire is a very simple RPG in comparison to is cousins, both those from BioWare and other companies alike. This is something to know before going in.
I Know Kung-Fu
There's a damn good reason for all this toning down of the stats mind you. Combat is this game is no longer governed by the rolling of invisible dice you see...Jade Empire is for all intents and purposes a beat 'em game too, one that relies more on your "twitch" skills than how many experience points your character has.
 | | Hot lesbianic kung-fu cat fighting |
|
While not perfect, the combat in Jade can stand head and shoulders above pretty much all of BioWare's previous games, and indeed many RPGs in general. Sure, the amount of moves is incredibly limited when compared to the likes of Soul Calibur or Ninja Gaiden, but the feel and real-time nature is as close as we've seen to such games in this genre. While your moves, damage and speed are affected somewhat by your stats, it remains fully interactive and real-time, and for the most part works well.
Instead of the feats and Force powers of KOTOR, you now have different fighting styles at your disposal. Each one offers its own uses and strengths, and can be swapped in and out at any point during a battle as needed.
One of my favourites for instance - "Thousand Cuts" - is a great 1 vs 1 brawling style, ideal for fast paced bitch slapping against fellow humans. But for a more defensive edge, I like to switch in "Spirit Thief", a style that lacks any damage dealing abilities, but with every smack around the face, steals your opponents chi power, allowing you to heal yourself and pull off more special moves.
 | | You can also wield a variety of weapons in Jade, all of which are a riot |
|
There's a whole ton of these different styles on offer, some you begin with, others you can learn through various quests and party members, plus you even have limited use of weaponry and creature morphing abilities. All of these provide differing advantages against specific enemies throughout, and they flavour the game with a minor tactical element.
While the combat is rather cool, and certainly the most original thing to be found in the game, it still remains incredibly easy to win most battles though, lacking any huge challenge for the most part. Many of the same tactics work for the majority of your fights, and although it's great fun to bounce around in real-time for once in these games, it doesn't by any means feel like a perfected combat system that all future RPGs will aspire to.
With some further tweaking and improvements down the line however, I foresee great things for this style of play, and to improve the experience immeasurably, I would recommend even averagely skilled players ramp the difficulty up to full on this one.
The End
Finally there's the game length. This is a tiny game in comparison to some RPGs, and can be clocked in at about 15 hours if you put enough effort into it. Of course, by working through the tons of optional side quests, you can happily add another 5 hours to that figure, and the choice of characters, plot decisions and the dark/light playing style certainly add the need to play through it a second time too. Still, it worries me to see games getting so much shorter and shorter these days, especially by a company renowned for its epically long titles in the past.
 | | This is Death's Hand. Not the nicest guy on the block... |
|
In the grander scheme of things, one has to wonder if BioWare are treading water a little with this title. It's another fine RPG as we've come to expect from 'em, but other than the new fighting system, is pretty much business as usual.
Perhaps I'm being a bit negative here though considering how much I dig this game. While I have occasional criticisms, they are minor shortcomings of yet another BioWare classic. Jade Empire is a wonderful journey, ripe with beautiful locations and a mesmerising story - something we never see enough of in video games.
No, Jade Empire doesn't deserve the jizz-tastic 9.9/10 rating that IGN recently
awarded it, and I wouldn't even say it's a better game than KOTOR, but then again as a Star Wars geek I was always gonna say that. This is an awesome RPG and another exclusive winner for the Xbox, one that's bound to please both followers of BioWare, as well as KOTOR fans desperate for more of the same.
I'm just anxious to get some real info on BioWare's Unreal III powered first person RPG, in the hope that that game starts to push their work into a more daring and exciting place. Because between you and me, since Neverwinter Nights all BioWare titles have felt like modified versions of the same (albeit magnificent) game.
