Well, my eagerness to add another game to the collection proved to great, hopefully I’ll be able to see this one to completion. Jade Empire is a game that I have been salivating over since the first details were revealed nearly two years ago.

Only three hours in I am finding the best aspects of the game play are the mixing of the deep support and combat styles ala Knights of the Old Republic with more action orientated fighting in a similar vein as Dead or Alive. While the camera and targeting system are stiff and can work against you the combat is slightly forgiving and can be adjusted for those with less than twitchy reflexes. The environments and character models are top notch and it is easy to get lost in just exploring the the world about you.

The game is laid out in the same manner as Bioware’s previous game, Knights of the Old Republic, in that you are presented with a series of moral choices that influence the outcome and trajectory of the story. Typical for me I am attempting to play the game as saintly as possible, though there exists the possibility to be cruel or just a boring fence sitter committing to neither the good or bad paths. What really makes this game unique is the setting.

Taking place in a mythical far distant past of China, replete with mysticism, myths, and monsters from the nation’s folklore. The attention to detail is incredible from costumes to scenery the game feels as if you are in a Kung Fu epic like Once Upon a Time in China or House of Flying Daggers. The only thing that serves to set the experience back is the voice acting. The dialogue is top notch and the voice acting is done extremely well but the voices themselves are misplaced. For example, the first character you encounter opens the conversation with a long Southern drawl; not exactly what I was expecting to hear.

Though I have heard the game is on the shorter side, particularly compared to the 45+ hours that was Knights of the Old Republic, I am still looking forward to seeing where the game goes and how it will end.

This entry was posted on Sunday, August 14th, 2005 at 9:49 pm and is filed under Video Games. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.