Reviewed by CL on 1/10/2007
Although I beat the game about a month ago, I decided to wait to write my review of the game. I wanted to just let the experience sink in and didn't want to make a judgment on the spur of the moment. However, after a month, my feelings for this game are just as strong as they were the day I beat it.
Perhaps the easiest way to describe how awesome this game is to go to look at IGN's Xbox reviews. Do you see what game is at the top of the list? That's right, it's Jade Empire! When I first saw this, a little bit of the Halo-fan boy in me said, "What?! No way! There isn't any game better than Halo!" But after playing through Jade Empire, I must retract the previous statement. Although I still think that Halo is a better game, the two games can't really be compared side-by-side because they both excel in their own ways. I'm sure everybody is sick of having every game compared to Halo, so I'm going to stop doing that from here on out.
Jade Empire is a unique mix of action-adventure and RPG. The intricate and engrossing story follows you through ancient China as you unravel a mystery conspiracy involving Gods, Emperors, assassins, ghosts, and almost anything else you can think of. As you progress in your quest, you gain levels which earn you stat bonus points which can be used to improve your character's various abilities. You're abilities are broken into two categories. The first category basic things like hit points and magic points and they function in the standard RPG fashion. The second set of abilities you have are different fighting styles. For example, you can learn a martial arts style where you fight with your hands or you might decide to learn a weapon style where you use things like swords or staffs to fight. To make things even more interesting, there are transformation styles where you can morph into a monster to pulverize your opponents. These various styles can even be switched mid-fight for some devastating effects. I should take a moment to comment the combat system in Jade Empire. This is not your typical RPG combat. In Jade Empire, unlike most RPGs, the combat occurs in real time and the attacking, dodging, and blocking makes it feel more like a Tekken fight than a Final Fantasy battle. Some people have said that they find the combat repetitive, but I really enjoyed it and it was a plus rather than a minus in my book.
Jade Empire really begins to get interesting when you see how your decisions affect the flow of the game and story line. Most decisions you have in the game either benefit the "way of the open palm" or "way of the closed fist" (light and dark side respectively for all you Star Wars fans). You are rewarded in different ways for making different choices. This seriously adds to the replay value of the game. I initially played through the game as a goodie-two-shoe trying to please everyone. This got me following the way of the open palm but I was seriously tempted to play thought the game a second time just to see what happens if I chose the way of the closed fist. And since the game takes about 25 hours to play through, that's serious bang for your buck in the entertainment department.
Finally, I'd also like to address the fantastic audio. Jack Wall has done an amazing job with the score of this game. The ethereal Asian sound really does transport you to a magical far-away place and magnifies the gaming experience a hundred fold. I loved the music so much that I immediately got the soundtrack and now I listen to it at school, in the car, and pretty much any chance I get.
I hope that this modest review by a modest man has helped you get a better understanding of the great gaming experience that is Jade Empire. If you only play one game a year, this is the one that I would have to recommend to you. The experience you will have playing through Jade Empire will remind you of why you love videogames in the first place.
