Jade Empire (Xbox)

The game is graphically stunning- lush and colourful environments with a distinctly Chinese feel to them: tall, angular hills covered in narrow, steep sided paths; mist shrouded forests and beautiful sunsets abound. Each character is well drawn and defined, with very distinct personalities. Even the player avatars have some degree of uniqueness about them- as opposed to the slightly generic feel of Bioware's previous triumph, KotOR. The most noticable aspect of the graphics, other than their detail, is the wealth of colour- the game is beautifully rendered in swathes of (appropriate) colour, rather than the common mix of drab browns, olive greens and grey.

Sound is equally good- music being a mix of Chinese music and some western classical sounds. The music fades in and out, changing tone effectively when needed- setting moods well. Character voices are very good, the acting all well above average for a video game. Much of the dialogue is convincing, and some of it very funny. The characters will pass remark on events occuring around them quite often and do appear to shift their viewpoint on the player character from time to time based on actions.

The biggest element- gameplay is just as good. The game is evidently modelled on the basic design of KotOR, even down to the handy hints that appear on loading screens. The interaction is identical, but far less linear- conversations do appear to occasionally change the flow of the game. If this has any impact on endings I have yet to see.

The action is intense and very cleverly executed- many Martial Forms exist in the game: physical, suport, magical, transformation and so on. Each Form manifests special abilities: from punching and kicking to swinging weapons, summoning monsters, throwing bolts of fire. This shows the research and dedication by Bioware- drawing on the old tales of thousands of Kung Fu styles, some very esoteric: the Magical Forms are extremely dramatic. It is quick, easy, and vital, to switch between styles in the real-time combat- resulting in great strategy and fast action at the same time. The combat elements of the game are easily worthy of most fighting games. Throwing together succesful combinations of styles produces not only visually stunning results but a great sense of satisfaction too- get it wrong and you can easily be defeated in seconds. Get it right and you can flatten the opposition with a huge amount of style.

Exploration is excellent- the environments are vast, fantastic to look at and full of hidden nooks and crannies that invite exploration to discover new Forms and items- even missions.

Added onto this excellent formula are a set of mini-games, effectively old-school 2D shooters. These can be skipped if the player wishes, but are good fun for a quick blast. Once unlocked they can be played at any time.

The plot of the game is detailed and reasonably imaginitive but it does share some of the mainstay elements of RPGs- your character has a shrouded background that not even he or she is fully aware of; at least one other character has similar elements and may be far more aware of what's going on than you are. These all work well to produce a grand, glorious Kung Fu soap opera.

A morality code exists in the game- like the Light\Dark elements of KotOR and the morality in Fable. This system focuses on philosophies of approach: does your character believe in strength and direct action, or in circular supportive solutions to problems? again this has some links into folklore (and even the hard\soft schools of martial arts). This system is more malleable than that of KotOR- having more in common with Fable. The emphasis makes some styles work better for your avatar than others. As a result there are often multiple solutions to the problems and encounters in the game, encouraging replay and exploration.

On the downsides- there are few. The game can become repetetive in feel after a while, again like KotOR, simply due to its nature: talk to this person, find that person and talk to them, they send you on a mission to find a widget, you need help to get the widget so you talk to someone else, they help you if you solve a problem for them- and so on. If this happens just turn off the game and go back to it in a day or two- repetition gone!

Overall Jade Empire is a game I simply do not have any regrets over buying- depth, intrigue, characters you can care about, exciting realtime combat and stunning looks and sound have resulted in a game that would be good no matter what its setting. Add in the fantastic background of Chinese myth, folklore, kung fu comics and movies and the result is a wonderful game. As ever with RPGs this is possibly not for those who aren't looking for a long-term game or want more combat than anything else- whilst there is an enormous amount of combat there is also a very large volume of conversation and problem-solving. However, if there is any RPG that could attract any gamer, not just the RPG hardcore, it's Jade Empire- a great balance of gaming styles produce an RPG that genuinely begins to live up to the epithet `Role Playing', not just number crunching. Fantastic and absolutely recomended!

I've played it through twice now without getting bored and I'm sure there are still a couple of side plots that I haven't discovered. Believe the hype, this game is that good, okay it doesn't have the freedom of Morrowind/Fable but this is the tiniest of gripe and shouldn't put you off in any way.

Jade Empire, by Bioware standards, is a very streamlined game; you do not have to control much in terms of leveling up and equipment (In Jade Empire you only have to bother about weaponry and bonus gems for your amulet!). Unfortunately, this will disappoint many Bioware fans expecting another KoTOR game, and with the reams of dialogue, it won't tap into the major market of gamers who just want mindless action. There are also various other problems which prevent Jade Empire from reaching the lofty heights of KoTOR: It is too short, weighing in at about 20 hours; there is not quite enough time to become attached to the characters or the world, and so a lot of the weight of teh story is lost in translation. You are also unlikely to feel as gripped as you may have been by KoTOR, though Bioware would always face the challenge without such a recognisable universe to draw on: everyone knows what a Jedi is, but following the idea of the Water Dragon and Chinese morality is somewhat harder for a western audience. Also, the new real time fighting system has its flaws; it looks cool, and when you're used to it, it works well. However, it is possible to get through teh game using a handful of styles and very basic tactics, so you could get bored by the end of the game.

However, there are a lot of great points to the game making it worthy of a 5 star score IMO. The combat, for all it lacks in depth, does offer a lot of exciting styles and harmonic combos. Most of hte time, it does the job, and occasionally you will create an excellent and thoroughly enjoyable fight sequence.

The characters, despite rather strange names ('Sagacious Zu', 'Furious Ming') are, on the whole, very interesting and add greatly to the game, though you can only take one partner along with you at any one time, so you lose a lot of the banter between characters (such as that between Mission and Bastila on Taris in KoTOR). The enemies are often very interesting; both from an artistic and gameplay point of view too. The world itself has some utterly beautiful areas. The architecture, graphics and scenery can be stunning, and the art direction is gorgeous. It's thoroughly enjoyable to run through a lot of the areas in Jade Empire. The adventure and story itself is also of a very high standard, however, the lack of length in the game makes a lot of this feel rushed as you do not grow so attached to the characters. Had the story been given another 10 or 20 hours to unfold, the revelations and twists in the tale would have had far more impact and made far more sense. Finally, there are some excellent set pieces in the game, particularly a major showpiece near the end.

Overall, Jade Empire is an excellent adventure title. It is an excellent stepping stone into Bioware style RPGs if KoTOR or Baldur's Gate on PC seem a little daunting, Bioware fans will probably be disappointed by its simplicity, and it's not nearly long enough, nor does it have enough areas. For all of these failings, the game is of the highest quality. It is beautiful, the storyline is interesting, there is plenty of minor comedy throughout (John Cleese's cameo is excellent!), the thousands of lines of dialogue are pretty much all well acted, the gameplay packs a punch and it can get very addictive.

It is not really an option to miss this game if you like adventure titles at all; it is great fun, despite its various failings, and I have great hopes for the promised Jade Empire 2!