Posted on: February 19, 2015

dubird

Games: 61 Reviews: 9

Lots of eye candy

I played this on xbox when it came out, and overall I enjoyed it. However, the story and characters don't have the depth I've seen from other Bioware games, and the time it took me to get through the story was about a third of what it would normally take me with an RPG. The morality system seemed rather simplified compared to other games like KotOR, and while it did make a minor difference, being that the choices were very black and white made it seem rather weak. While I don't regret playing it and I did have fun, it's not a game I'd replay for the story unless this special edition expands on it. The one thng I would say is worth getting this game for is the setting. Beautiful environments, good voice acting, and absolutly stunning landscapes made this game worth playing for me. Combat was nothing special, but it didn't drag out or make you feel overpowered, and interactions with NPCs and your companions was well done. So, not my favorite game, but I did enjoy my time with it.

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Posted on: June 9, 2020

polysquirrel

Verified owner

Games: 285 Reviews: 28

The Bioware RPG I return to the most

Granted, this is made easy by the number one complaint everyone has with this game: it is just too small, too short. Not particularly short by today's standards and it's length is just right for the story it tells, but when compared to other RPGs, even those without an open world, it suffers pityfully. The world it created is enchanting, one would like to explore it more; the story is not completely linear, but it's nowhere near to AAA titles. It has however something most of later games under EA have not: a soul. While not epic and lacking in secondary themes, the quests are astoundingly good: not a single FedEx and very few pure kill quests. Instead you will have a chance to star in a theatrical play with a political subtext, search for a husband for a bandit leader, participate in a cultural debate against an outlander (voiced by John Cleese!) and many more, very often moving your heart. I refrain from mentioning what you'll face in the main plot, but it is likewise suitably varied, and in most cases offer multiple resolutions. No grind here, no artificial padding, the game never becomes stale. While you sadly get only a single follower to fight with you, the overall set of companions travelling with you is second to none, with only Dragon Age II coming close: a mad sciencist (who "makes things fly and things explode"), a drunken giant of a man always looking for a fight, a demon, a tight-lipped cynic with a suspicious past, a mysterious agent with the intention of single-handedly toppling the system, and all of them have an interesting backstory with ties to the plot. It's not perfect. It introduces perhaps the best morality system of any game and then completely fails to follow it, reverting to the 'unscrupulous asshole or saint' dihotomy. Most dialog options lead to the same reply. The fighting styles aren't balanced, fighting is simplistic (install the 'Jade Empire in Style' mod, it helps!). None is however so bad as to detract from the melancholic story.

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Posted on: November 8, 2020

Pherim

Verified owner

Games: Reviews: 25

Great Setting and Story, but...

...I didn't enjoy the combat, despite the many different styles that were available, so I switched to the easiest difficulty setting at some point. Really, it was the refreshing setting, the well-written characters and the fascinating story that kept me going, and I'd say it was worth it. The world is where this game really shines. Heavily inspired by Chinese mythology and culture, this is far from the average fantasy world you have seen so often. The graphics, while definitely dated, do a great job in bringing this world to life. You may not visit a huge number of places throughout your journey, but they are all unique and have a great atmosphere to them. I never doubted that there really was a great empire behind the boundaries of where the game allowed me to go. The story is compelling and full of mystery and intrigue. You meet very different and interesting characters along the way, many of which have their own agendas and goals, some of which may not fully coincide with yours. And not everyone is who they appear to be - in fact, barely anyone is. There are many twists and surprises, some of which you see coming, some not. Not all of them were equally strong, but overall it is a very fun journey. Yes, it is fairly linear, but I didn't think that was a big problem. The morality system is very similar to Knights of the Old Republic, but from what I've seen (basically, the "good" side), it is a bit more ambiguous and subtle. In fact, when I played through KotOR I with a dark side character in my second playthrough, I ended up hating the story because of how little sense it made and how badly written the "evil" choices were most of the time. I think that this kind of thing was avoided in Jade Empire, though I cannot be sure. Maybe, some day I'll do an "evil" playthrough, but I somewhat doubt it. Oh, and the music is very good. It fits the world and atmosphere perfectly, and is in itself a nice change from the usual generic fantasy music.

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Posted on: October 26, 2013

ylebout

Verified owner

Games: 256 Reviews: 8

Good. Could have been better

As said a bit everywhere, tTaspects, but some negative ones too. The positive one is for sure the universe. The samurai/martial arts universe, and the east mythology, is attracting. The combats/characters mechanism reflects smartly some cliché about this universe, which makes it fun. The characters and dialog are interesting, the quests are well written. The graphic engine (the same as Knight of the Old Republic (KOTOR) is ok and the design is colourful. We're not at the level of Okami (on Wii) but it's still quite nice. So, what's wrong then... The biggest negative point is the scenario of the main quest. If you have a small video game culture, you'll know since the first paragraph how it's going to end. If you add to this the fact that the whole game is VERY linear, you end up with very nice character and quest dynamic but you can't get caught by the plot. Sad. The other negative points is the character-building that is a bit too simple, which makes every character look the same in the end. In short, nice universe and some good ideas in the fights, but poor scenario and character building.

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Posted on: June 30, 2014

Neolithicwolf

Verified owner

Games: Reviews: 2

Incredible Story

The story is fantastic. If you're primarily playing for the story you will definitely be delighted. The combat, however, is somewhat lackluster. The 'rock paper scissors' model they attempted falls flat and gets incredibly boring after you've done it 3000 times. There are areas where monsters respawn over and over and all you want to do is pull your hair out and wish for a 'sneak' button. It was really really nice not to have an inventory to worry about and it worked out well. I've asked myself a hundred times why I'm finding rat spit and ogre dung instead of just coin, and why the bandit mercenaries that have robbed thousands of gold only have 12 silver a piece on them. That's all eliminated in this game and believe me, you will NOT miss it. Overall, my only disappointment was the repetitive and boring combat. Everything else, voice acting, inventory, story, quests, side quests, leveling mechanism, it all worked well. If they did a sequel, I'd only like better combat and a little more complexity in the statistic system. Everything else is five stars.

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