Jade Empire

"Jade Empire Review: Beware the Hype"

Jade Empire, the latest release from Bioware has been long anticipated by the gaming community, and I've been one of those eagerly anticipating its release. Now let me say right off the bat that I have been a big fan of Bioware's previous efforts. Knights of the Old Republic ranks right up there about my favorite games. But I have to say, that on this occasion, the product did not live up to the hype. That doesn't mean Jade Empire isn't a good game, but just be aware that is in NOT the perfect 10 that some people (and gaming sites) will have you believe.

Gameplay: 4/10

I probably should break this into two categories because Jade Empire does some things very well gameplay wise, but others VERY poorly. The GUI and menu system is streamlined and easy to use. You can map fighting styles to your D-pad and the buttons all have logical functions. The GUI gives you all the relevant info but doesn't get in your way. All in all solid stuff.

Where the gameplay falters however is in three KEY areas; first, the combat. When I heard JE was going to use real time combat I was excited. The turn-based system in KOTOR just seemed clunky and out-dated. JE does a good job of presenting a real time combat environment. What it does NOT do is make that combat any fun. The game "boasts" about all the possible styles of hand-to-hand, weapon, and magic combat. However, you will quickly find yourself relying on one or two for most of your fighting. The enemy AI is pathetic and defeating them will prove very little challenge. You simply hit A to perform your basic attack, repeat until they block, then hit X for a heavy attack. If they try to hit back, simply jump over them with B and repeat the process. It's that simple. This tactic works on EVERYTHING from simple grunt enemies all the way up to bosses. I beat the final boss using only two styles. Midway through the game I found myself trying to mix up styles to make things more interesting... it's not worth it. I found it much more work than fun to try and flip your styles around during battle when all you need is one. In short, the combat is too easy, stale, and the variations ultimately mean little in the end.

Another area where the gameplay falls short has to do with the morality system. In development we were promised more diverse moral choices, not the simple "light side/dark side" we got in KOTOR. And sure enough, we have new philosophies here, The Way of the Open Palm and The Way of the Closed Fist. However... I'm afraid that "Way of the Open Palm" is just Tho Fan for "Light Side" and "Way of the Closed Fist" means "dark side. There was no improvement here. You still have the same simple moral decisions to make based on the concepts of "good" and "evil". In fact I'd say it was a step backwards because the interactions with your companions and much simpler than they were in KOTOR 2. Yes I was a big fan of the "influence" system, and yes I know Obsidian made KOTOR 2, not Bioware. But it was based on a Bioware concept that they should have been able to improve on. There were no complex moral choices to be found. If there were, I certainly did not notice them. You could rescue a group of slaves or slaughter them. You could close the dam and save the town, or you could leave it open permanently and condemn the town. Simple, simple stuff, not the "ambiguous" choices we were promised.

Finally, there is the distinct LACK of any kind of character development. You have six basic characters, three male and three female. You can NOT modify them in any way, except of course for their name. They look the same throughout the entire game. No costume changes, no armor, helmets, etc... nothing. I found this VERY disappointing. In an RPG, part of the appeal is in making YOUR character. In this way, Bioware was forcing you to play THEIR characters, not yours. Also, there is basically no inventory system and no room for customization. In KOTOR 1/2 for example, you could trick your character out in all kinds of headgear, armor, and weapons. Here, all that is gone, replaced by a single character model and VERY generic weapons. You get an amulet and gems, but all that amounts to is very basic stat buffs on your THREE stats, very weak in my opinion. I understand Bioware was trying to streamline things to broaden the game's appeal, but I don't think it was worth losing these kind of options.

Graphics: 9/10

No complaints here, Jade Empire looks fantastic. My only small gripe would be that there were not enough combat animations. Both the in-game and movie cut scenes look fantastic, the backgrounds are wonderfully rendered, and the characters look and move realistically. A definitely graphical triumph.

Sound: 9/10

Again, no real complaints here. The music is absolutely fantastic. It is appropriate to the setting and really helps set the mood and tone for the game. The voice acting is also outstanding, something that means a lot to me personally. For me, if a game doesn't have voice, it's not trying hard enough. There's simply no excuse not to have it these days *cough* Nintendo *cough*. Sometimes the sound gets redundant during battle, but again that's a small gripe.

Story: 6/10

I am a person who lives for an epic story, something that sucks me in and doesn't let me go. In that aspect, Jade Empire left me wanting. It's a good story, with a good curve towards the end, but it's not spectacular. It was fairly cliche and never really took me by surprise or made me WANT to keep playing to find out what happens next. A great story sucks you in and never let's you go. Jade Empire never grabbed me, and believe me, I wanted to be grabbed. Hopefully the next story in this setting will improve. Also, the game is FAR too short. I finished the game for the first time in just under 24 hours, and at least an hour of that was idle time while I was doing something else. It really does feel too short to me. A great RPG should fall somewhere in the 35 to 40 hour range for a first playthrough. As could be the mantra for Jade Empire, it was solid but not spectacular.

Furthermore, you are stuck on a rail the whole game. In other words, it is completely linear. Yes there are sidequests to do, but the path of the game is completely straight. Go here, do this, move on to the next place... lather, rinse, repeat. I found it very frustrating to have no choice in how I go about doing things. I was left feeling like I was watching an interactive movie, not playing a game. Also, you get these teasers during the (far too long) loading screens. They talk about places like the Prosperous East, the Hills of Six Scrolls, The Wall, and the Barren Plains of the Horselords. I kept going through the game hoping to see these places.... and I never did. I found that VERY disappointing. Of course the practical part of me understands that Bioware was just laying groundwork for locales in future sequels, but I found it very disappointing to hear about places I was never allowed to see.

Summary:

If you're saying to yourself right now that this review was too focused on the bad and overlooked the good, you have a point. Yes I focused on the game's faults. I did that because its strengths are easy to recognize and have been illuminated by many others already. What I wanted to do was try to bring to the forefront the weak points that prevent this game for being as truly great as everyone seems to think it is.

There has been a lot of debate in the gaming community in the days since this game came out about how good it really is. I hope some of you out there find this review useful to tell you if it is or not. For me, this game is all about potential unreached. It's right on the edge of something great, but never really gets there. When I got to the end I couldn't help but think that I didn't get my money's worth out of it. Is Jade Empire a good game? Yes, without a doubt. However, if you grab it thinking it will be the best RPG ever, prepare to be disappointed. It just doesn't live up to the hype. If you grab it expecting a solid RPG, you'll get just what you expected.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 04/18/05