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Jade empire xp5/17/2023 ![]() Oh, yeah, and as a side bonus, the game features a 2-D scroller style airplane game where you pilot your airship and fire your weapon straight up toward a variety of aerial enemies and hazards that cross the screen and generally try to ruin your day. In fact, every time I load it up and play, I angst over how much fun it is… and how it’s the one game amongst all of BioWare’s RPGs that never got a sequel. For me, this outstanding combat system makes the game incredibly easy to just drop in to and play. I personally think it’s mild enough that once you get the hang of it almost anyone could have fun with the system and be successful in the game. Now, of course, those who are traditionalists and would rather have the stats decide things (this also includes people who just aren’t that good at action games) I suppose this is probably frustrating. Unlike latter-day BioWare offering Dragon Age, we are truly rewarded in Jade Empire for dodging, and knowing when (and from where) to use our different martial arts styles and their different unique powers. It lacks the elaborate combos that we might see from Devil May Cry or similar games, but it interweaves level-ups and equipped items just like a more traditional RPG. Even Mass Effect with its shooter based game-play doesn’t explore the potential as deeply as Jade Empire, which plays successfully like some kind of action game, only with distinct RPG elements. The reason I keep revisiting Jade Empire, attempting to jump off for the third time, is because of the interactive game-play system. Oh, and why can’t we ever have a philosophy of neutrality in these games? Wouldn’t that be fun? Maybe not. evil slider, as well as competing philosophies (in this scenario, we might wish for more than two that are so diametrically opposed). Sliding scale morality systems are always going to be imperfect in general, of course, while we’re on the subject… but I almost feel as if Jade Empire could have benefitted from a dual system having both a good vs. The complex motivations that would drive a practitioner of the Closed Fist according to the game’s story ultimately don’t matter points are accrued by being a jerk, just as always. Unfortunately, while the idea of two philosophies competing against one another (Open Palm and Closed Fist) sounds compelling, and a refreshing departure from someone merely being good or evil, light or dark side, it amounts to the same thing. The game’s outstanding feature, however, is not the party members, the story, the voice acting, the graphics… or even the interesting-in-theory morality system of competing philosophies. Its relatively simple story progression doesn’t lend toward diverse side missions undertaken in far-off locales. In this respect, I hardly think that Jade Empire is the gold standard for WRPGs. Although many of these characters follow what we might call the “BioWare Rules” in terms of their personality archetypes (although Dawn Star is unconventional, she still reeks of Carth Onasi, doesn’t she?) they’re predictably detailed, with a diverse set of backgrounds and motivations. We slowly accumulate a group of loyal followers, whose personal story develops through conversation options between major plot developments in the overall story. Jade Empire offers a highly interactive game-play experience (more on this later) that is settled on the solid foundation of classic BioWare RPG structure. ![]() Smooth emulation aside, I immediately fell in love with the title. I never played the game when it was originally launched on XBox, and only got into it after a friend recommended that I fork over the cash to buy it on the XBox Originals in Marketplace. The first thing I’ll say is that this game holds up better than most other original XBox titles with graphics that are bearable, at least, and smooth play on the XBox 360. In the interests of saving the integrity of the game for anyone who never played the original release, I’m going to avoid serious game spoilers here, even though the game has been out for six years now. ![]() Newcomers to BioWare’s camp may have missed this jewel. Longtime WRPG fans will remember the title from its 2005 debut. Continuing this month’s theme of BioWare inundation (spurred, of course, by the release of Dragon Age IIand the Arrival DLC) today I decided once again to play a little Jade Empire. I’m sure, if you read my columns often, you’ve noticed that by now. Every so often – because I like old games better than I like new ones, or so I’m told – I like to revisit a classic game. ![]()
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