Jade Empire: Special Edition

Listen, i get it. Jade Empire has its flaws. Its limited. Its not going to appease a lot of Old School Bioware fans that need their deep DnD system. But this game right here still has Old School Bioware written all over it. Its systems may not have been the deepest but they are far from shallow. The world and its lore are beautifully realized, the characters are memorable, the quests interesting, the dialogue is great, there are minigames and overall this is very much a "console KOTOR with an asian setting." For all the things that Jade Empire did wrong the things it did right it did well enough to have reached cult classic status in the hearts of some gamers (such as myself). If you like games like Knights of the Old Republic and you appreciate games like Mass Effect but think they could use a bit more of an oldschool approach when it comes to roleplaying your character then you should absolutely give this game a try. Because of nitpick reasons and limitations that a lot of new and old games both acclaimed and disliked also share the game has never got the attention it deserves. No its nothing for hardcore RPG fans. Its nothing for CRPG fans that need a deep DnD esque System but its certainly not a shallow piece of work. One can tell its a game that came out between Kotor and Mass Effect. Its kind of oldschool Bioware and its kind of newschool Bioware. Just love the game for what it is and dont hate it for what it isnt. Kotor Fans are surely going to enjoy this one.. if you can live with hack n slash esque combat. You dont think this can be called an RPG? fine. I mean you are wrong but okay. Dont call it an RPG then. I call it a great game.

I love this game and its setting. It was my first introduction to eastern philosophy and religion years ago. I'm particularly fond of the karma system, which I thought was done better than KOTOR. The game also ran better on my PC than it ever did on my xbox/xbox 360 with fast loading times. I used both an xbox one and a gamecube controller, both work marvelously. If you like KOTOR and want something a little more action-packed, buy dis

I played Bioware games since Baldur's Gate, and this was the most fun I had with any of them. In true Bioware fashion, the dialogues can be absolutely delicious (Egregious Prevaricator anyone?), and it's full of memorable NPCs (I'm looking at you, Lustful Lao, Zhong, and Qi the Promoter). Looking at the overland map, you can clearly notice that the game was intended to be considerably larger that it was, which is a shame, as it left me hungering for more. It is a love poem to the martial arts genre, sometimes with meme levels of hilarity, and a truly unique gem of a game.

Just finished this. A nice departure from the usual trappings, though at times the game feels... well, not unfinished, more half done and squeezed out to shipping. Thats not a terrible thing though - one of its strengths is the fact that with a simplistic combat system, the game isnt too long (I spent maybe 24 hours on it), but compared to other games of the genre (and Bioware games in particular) the last couple of acts feel heavily edited down. If you find you don't ever seem to have the time to fully enjoy something like Kotor or NWN, maybe give this a shot. The look of the game is top notch, as is the OST, and some of the characters are pretty memorable. Similarly if the mentioned flaws are putting you off, but you enjoyed other bioware games, give it a shot. However, if you're looking for a full on action game, this is probably not for you! Oddly would have made a great animated series as well.

This game has perfect potential for a remaster! (unlikely to happen, sadly) Overall it's like a worse Dragon Age Origins, with its own special flavour. I enjoyed myself, but I suspect that was heavily based on my knowledge and love of wuxia movies. (if only they went for some of the more gonzo aspects of Wuxia!) The story structure and companion design is typical Bioware, to a fault. I found the NPCs to be quite uninteresting and the romance very tacked on. If you've played any BioRPGs, you'll recognize the template immediately. DAO especially is exactly this, but far better. The story itself wasn't super surprising or deep, it worked fine for what it was meant to do. The visuals are "charming". I really enjoyed what they achieved with the limited technology, the game certainly delivers on "fake China" in spades. Unfortunately the level design is cramped and doesn't fit terribly well with this style of RPG, the backtracking somehow feels more tedious if it's from this camera angle and the restricted spaces can make combat quite frustrating. Speaking of combat, it's a mixed bag. At times it feels real nice, you're jumping around and dispatching hordes of enemies with swift punch and kick combos, or elemental waves and so on. Unfortunately the various styles, despite there being so many, don't feel as unique or useful. I hoped leveling up would change the combo structure, or add new abilities. But because there are so many styles, the higher levels just increase stats. They're also clearly unbalanced, I was very much overpowered in the second half of the game and the only challenge I faced were the various glitches and unintentionally frustrating obstacles and bad design. Speaking of frustration - the game uses a out-of-combat save system, but also saves at certain points. I wish there was a more frequent and consistent system of checkpoints instead. At some places the game saves when you expect it to and in many (super frustrating) places it doesn't - forcing you to fight long multi sequenced battles with many cutscenes inbetween over and over and over. The very first battle on the beach is incredibly frustrating - you're still learning the system and you have to finish all the stages in one go. The shmup sequences were interesting and unexpected, but also not quite polished and therefore not quite enjoyable by themselves. In summary: Jade Empire is still pretty interesting and worth playing - if only for the reason it's oneof its kind. 3/5, +1 if you're a Wuxia fan. Be prepared for occassional bad design, repetition and frustration. Fortunately it's not a long game, you can enjoy it in a few afternoons.