Step into the role of an aspiring martial-arts master and follow the path of the open palm or the closed fist. In this multi-award-winning action-RPG, your choices and actions will determine the fate of the entire Jade Empire. Will you prevent the destruction of this beautiful land, or will you c...
Step into the role of an aspiring martial-arts master and follow the path of the open palm or the closed fist. In this multi-award-winning action-RPG, your choices and actions will determine the fate of the entire Jade Empire. Will you prevent the destruction of this beautiful land, or will you crush it beneath your heel? Are you a warrior who uses his strength and fighting mastery to bring peace, or will you instead use your power to bring pain and ruin?
The choice is yours.
The Original Award Winning Jade Empire
An incredible, engaging story that makes you the noble hero or the treacherous villain!
A wealth of fascinating characters to interact with.
Beautiful, mysterious lands to explore, discover, and save...or conquer.
A rich blend of role-playing and exciting real-time combat.
New monsters and enemies.
New fighting styles.
Customizable, intuitive controls including support for game-pads and keyboard/mouse.
Increased graphics resolutions and new visual effects.
gameplay:
+ fast and fun for the most part
+ lots of different fighting stiles
- shallow
- camara can get in your way
- ranged enemys (ghosts) are annoying to fight
- some skills are broken (paralysing fists or that golem)
characters:
+ you get a whole party
+ most of them got some sort of personality and a backstory
+ 3 romance options
- romance is too forced at some points
- sometimes they act silly
story/plot:
+ interesting
+ nice twist
+ some funny quests
- some chliches
- at points implausible
- the game tries to hardcore suck your d*** at the beginning (nonstop "wow you are so amazing" "wow you are so good locking" it is so annoying and stupid)
- presentation was oafish at points (you will know what I mean if you played the game)
in the end what sells the game is its setting (fantasy late medival china) if you like it you propably will like this game if not then stay away fromm it
Well, it's not perfect, but Jade Empire is definitely a memorable title. The combat is satisfying, with a focus on martial arts with a bit of shape-shifting, edged weapons and magic thrown into the mix. It may get a bit repetitive and have a few cheap encounters near the end. You'll also unlock new fighting styles up till the end of the game, and won't get many opportunities to upgrade them as much as you'd like...
The writing is really great overall, the story and side quests are engaging, constantly inciting you to get deeper in this world. The fact that it is set in a rich Asian-inspired setting really makes it stand among other similar RPGs (yet, it can feel like a rather stereotypical representation of Chinese culture at times, which might upset some people). Keep in mind that it's a dialogue-heavy game: it is not uncommon to spend 10+ minutes to listen to what a single NPC has to say! The decisions you get to make often boil down to choosing between being a white knight or a giant douche, but it's okay.
The follower characters are all well-written and likable in their own way. Some have tragic backstories and developed personalities, others are perky comic reliefs, and some are both at the same time; it's one of these games where you just end up really caring for your team. Unfortunately, since some of these guys are rather useless in combat (especially the fighters, whose abilities are really underwhelming compared to yours) it is more than likely than you'll never use some of the followers.
In the end, the biggest problem of the game may be that it does not give you the occasion to visit as much of the titular "Jade Empire" as you'd like, with only three accessible cities and a few forests to visit, which is a shame. The last chapters also feel really rushed, even though they're still satisfying and take to time to properly close every story arc. Still, an awesome experience which I would recommend to pretty much anyone.
I find the fighting in this game a chore. Step one: click enemy to death, repeat 10 times - and now for round two of this multi-stage fight, repeat step one! The game is also phenomenally bad at explaining the combat mechanics to you, you're mostly in the dark about what effects or even what damage output your different fighting styles/weapons will have.
Apart from that, you're - once again - the chosen one and saviour of the world. Your party members sort of stumble into your company and then simply stay around even in the face of certain death, for whatever reason. Granted, some do share your motivations to see things through to the end, but several are just more or less along for the ride.
Despite what the game and some fans tell you, decisions you make in Jade Empire are simply and exclusively good or bad. The 'open palm' / 'closed fist' 'philosophies' are just a reskin of the KotOR light side / dark side binary moral system.
Probably I'm feeling more disappointed about the game due to this clash of the setting looking different, but the contents staying all the same. Add to that the less than great game mechanics, and you have a pretty mediocre game. It was nice enough to play once, but unlike other RPGs, I won't play this one again.
Great game, I try to break it down why.
The world is unique and intriguing, even while it is only pseudo-open. But this freedom is rarely missing, because the journey is great, and the whole setting has a charm that guides you till the end.
NPCs are actually interesting and fun, sidequests and companions too, bringing their own drama and comedy. It is actually visible that the creators cared for them. (Hint: check the objectives in certain parts of chapter 6.)
The story starts slow, the first chapter is rather about familiarizing with the controls and the setting. But then starts picking up and opens to show that it has actual depth. There are things that look like plotholes, but are actually explained coherently. Besides being an amusing adventure, it can give some thoughts if you have open ears to metaphors.
The skill system is solid, character development is enjoyable, added with some collectibles as well.
Combat is the weakest point, even while it is not actually bad, it is not very well balanced. The martial styles are a bit too weak, which makes fights against ghosts/spirits more difficult than it should. Transformation styles are a bit too strong, but eat Chi super fast, so they are rather novelty. Support styles are rarely useful, because the change between styles is not very comfortable.
However it is still fun, there is just enough variety of the enemies and the comat styles to enjoy it.
The minigame is not for everyone, but it can be entirely skipped, or the difficulty separately adjusted, so not a big deal.
Graphics are dated, but did not age so badly, due to the high quality of the design. Voice acting is varying between solid, very good and great, while music gives a non-annoying background.
I had two bugs (a camera tilt and a denied sidequest), both could be resolved by loading the latest saves (which are plenty, because there is a good autosave system).
I was thinking if I should give 4 or 5, but I enjoyed it so much, I couldn't give less.
The twin brother of Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic.
While similar in structure, it's actually more action-oriented. Inspired by ancient Chinese mythology, Jade Empire delivers a great experience to WRPG fans looking for that early 2000's story-driven RPG experience.
This game is unique in that with so many different ways to play, there is essentially no "wrong" way. You can play the game in any way you want, there is no hard build as any build you build will succeed and bring you to the end of the game.
The music, the atmosphere, and the general feel of the game are fantastic, I couldn't recommend this game more. For such a low price, this is an experience you will never forget.
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