Jade Empire Review April 22, 2005 Jakub Wojnarowicz

Overview

Page:: ( 1 / 5 )

Editor's Note: We apologize for the lack of screenshots, but the review system was unable to take them.

BioWare has, after Blizzard, perhaps the most solid reputation and uninterrupted string of smash hits in the gaming industry. There is no doubt that they have revived and sustained RPGs for the better part of the last decade. Which, of course, makes reviewing their latest game - Jade Empire - all the more difficult.

After all, are you comparing Jade Empire with the typical RPG? With what you expect from BioWare? With how it compares with console RPGs? If it's "as good" as Knights of the Old Republic, does that mean it deserves as high a score, considering that games have gotten better in the meantime? Does the unfamiliar setting take away from enjoyment compared with the well-developed Star Wars universe?

These are all questions that nagged at me the whole time I was playing the game. There is no doubt that Jade Empire isn't as good as Knights of the Old Republic. Few games are or will be, but the question is where you decide why Jade Empire doesn't stack up, and how much of a difference it is.

Jade Empire

The game takes place in a fantasy universe based off Chinese history and mythology, though not actually China itself. The Jade Empire is an ancient land where the people love their Emperors, especially the latest one who is credited with saving the country from a prolonged drought. Recently, however, there have been disturbances like bandit attacks and reports of ghosts. The people are also afraid of Death's Hand, the Emperor's right-hand man and the leader of the Lotus Assassins.

The player's character starts as the best student of a martial arts master in a far-off province in the Jade Empire. Predictably enough, events are set in motion which force him to leave tutelage and embark on his quest, which will occupy him most of the game. Jade Empire isn't as long as Knights of the Old Republic - perhaps 15 hours - and this is mostly due to the fact that the story revolves exclusively around the central character. The plot doesn't deviate at all from the main story and while side quests do exist, there aren't character-specific ones and they're not nearly as abundant as they were in previous BioWare RPGs.

If Knights of the Old Republic was RPG-Lite, then Jade Empire is barely an RPG at all. It's such a tightly-focused story that it seems more like an old-school adventure title that happens to have combat and character stats. There are items, but they're even more limited than in Final Fantasy, never mind KOTOR or Baldur's Gate.



SIDEBAR: Balance your stats. You don't want to swing towards too little of Focus, Health or Chi.

Gameplay

Page:: ( 2 / 5 )

As the player, you control only one character and are allowed a single companion who does his own thing automatically. The companion can be told to engage in active mode or passive mode. In active mode, he fights like you do, while in passive mode the character will generally give up some bonus, like Chi recharging or extra damage when wielding a weapon. In fact, even with the very simple skills and stats system, the game won't permit the player to handle the levelling of his party members.

Character progress is very similar to Knights of the Old Republic - based on stats and experience. There are fewer character stats to modify but more skills. The skills are each sub-divided into three upgrade paths. For martial skills, these will include a speed bonus, a damage bonus and a chi bonus (where the player gets extra damage if he expends chi). There are five kinds of skills - martial, magic weapons, support and transformation. Martial skills are your basic hand-to-hand combat, weapons skills use a weapon for extra damage but drain Focus. Magic skills drain chi, but generally permit ranged attacks through the use of magic. Support skills do no damage but have beneficient side effects, like slowing the enemy, shocking him in place, or stealing his chi. Finally, transformation skills permit the player to shapechange into certain beasts that he has defeated.

All in all though, it's a remarkably simple system - too simple. There's little need to develop more than one martial, magic, and weapon attack. There are two good support attacks worth getting - one thunder one which shocks enemies and freezes them in place, and the spirit thief to recharge your chi. Everything else is superfluous.

Combat

The combat system is also very simple. Basic attacks are generally quick. Power attacks break through blocking. There are dodge moves to avoid power attacks. Each kind of combat skill is capable of a basic or power attack. Chi can be used to do extra damage, and Focus mode is like Force Speed - your character becomes super quick and the game slows down so the player can keep up with him. Certain kinds of enemies have certain invulernabilities - some, like golems, may be immune to martial and support attacks, but vulnerable to weapons. Others are immune and vulnerable to other kinds of attacks - you get the idea. Jade Empire's combat is definitely preferable to the KOTOR system of basically watching the fight happen, but because there is only one character it lacks the tactical depth of combat.

In terms of twitch action, it's really too simple and not all that satisfying. The tactics and strategies are too obvious, and there are clear exploits that just abuse the AI. The shocking attack is deadly even against the final boss, who, if you remember to keep hitting him with it between your regular attacks, won't be able to move. Against groups, it's all a matter of using area attacks if you're in trouble and dodging a lot while picking on one foe at a time until he's down.



SIDEBAR: Be sure to watch the credits in full when you finish the game.

General

Page:: ( 3 / 5 )

Fortunately, the story and presentation are done wonderfully. Though BioWare falls upon its formulas, it delivers them nicely. However, given the very lite RPG aspects, the heavy story presentation and linear, formulaic plot, we sometimes felt we were playing Final Fantasy rather than a real RPG. In fact, one could argue that Jade Empire is a hybrid between Knights of the Old Republic and a Final Fantasy game.

The overarching plot is thought out well and its exposition is almost perfectly timed. The endgame feels a bit rushed but otherwise we couldn't be happier with how the story develops. It has interesting twists and the mysteries of the quest are pursued consistently and hints are given often enough to keep the player interested.

Where the writing fails is where it failed in Knights of the Old Republic. The choice between good and evil, light and dark - or in this case, Way of the Open Palm and Way of the Closed Fist - is a little too obvious. At times, the response choices in the game really go out of their way to point out that "this is a really bad thing to do". At other times, the player's "evil" choice inflicts casual cruelties for no apparent reason. We can accept evil - the Enron board was clearly evil and self-serving, but it did so with a purpose. Too often, the purpose for being evil in Jade Empire is a petty reason and offers little to no extra reward over the good path. At times, the game will surprise the player with an interesting choice, but all too often it fails to give a compelling reason to do something cruel. Then again, this isn't a problem unique to Jade Empire, and to be fair, this game handles it better than most.

Overall, the plot experience is the most satisfying part, especially if the player plays his intended role as the good guy. The bad guy part BioWare needs to keep working on.

Beautiful

Jade Empire's greatest asset may be its graphics engine - it is truly stunning. A further refinement of the technology used in KOTOR, it delivers breathtaking scenes without effort. Grass is plentiful and is waved away by the footsteps of characters, special effects are impressive and yet subtle enough to fit in. Character animations are quite stunning and it's clear that true professionals were used for the motion capture.

The modeling is very impressive. Particularly interesting is the portrayal of demons and buildings and other characteristic features of China. Textures aren't as high-resolution as they would be on a PC, but they serve adequately and, thanks to the glow/bloom that is ever-present in the game, they hold up quite well. Jade Empire may in fact be the first game that actually uses bloom properly, since it gives a very dreamy fantasy feel to the whole experience, which fits the setting perfectly.



SIDEBAR: Cartman's hippie hunting episode is one of my favorite South Park episodes ever.

Ballistics Report

Page:: ( 4 / 5 )

Pros

Plot
An interesting plot with twists and turns and mysteries. The BioWare writers fall back on some formulas but still manage to deliver an intensely compelling experience.

Graphics
One of the best-looking games on the Xbox and a monument to how and when bloom lighting should be used.

Sound
Acceptable speech, good effects and music that blends in perfectly with the setting.

Manual combat
Though it could have been pulled off better, the idea of manual combat in an RPG is long overdue.

Setting
The Jade Empire is unique, vibrant and interesting. It is difficult for a company to create a new franchise in a new world, but BioWare has succeeded.

Presentation
Slick, polished and delivered with a bowtie. BioWare brings it all together - graphics, story, speech, music - and reveals it with perfectly timed exposition.

Cons

Shallow gameplay
The RPG aspects are very lite, the combat could have definitely been done better. The lack of sidequests, especially for party members, is really bothersome.

Good/evil Dialogue
Though the main story is written very well, parts of the dialogue - especially the YOU ARE MAKING AN EVIL CHOICE *HINT-HINT*NUDGE-NUDGE* parts could use some subtlety. Just a tad. Oh, and there must be an incentive and reason for being cruel. Most gamers aren't natural sociopaths.

Final Verdict

Page:: ( 5 / 5 )

Of course, this doesn't stop Jade Empire from sucking the player in from the very start with its breathtaking artwork and presentation. The story, though it does fall on some BioWare formulas here and there, is still rich in mystery and engrossing, featuring one of the better villains in recent years. Jade Empire is very capable of drawing a player in for a 10 hour marathon play session. Of course, after 10 hours, you're done two-thirds of the game. Don't skip the credits at the end though, they're very worth it (as they are in most BioWare titles).