the.ronin 5 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Jonesin for some Kung Fu RPG goodness, I found myself bored one night and picked up Jade Empire Limited Edition, used, for well under 20 bones. I gotta tell you it is well worth it. The difference between the standard and limited edition is that the latter comes with a new monk character. Other content on a 2nd CD include a "making of" which is actually well worth the 30-some minutes to watch and some demos on Mechwarrior Lone Wolf and Forza Motorsport. This proclaimed crown jewel of Bioware is the best compromise I've found to the plug-n-play friendliness of Fable / KOTR and the mind boggling detail of Morrowind ... although it certainly leans more towads Fable / KOTR. Where is does a fine job of differentiation is the sheer degree of grey areas between "good" and "evil" ... or in this case "The Way of the Open Palm" and "The Way of the Closed Fist," respectively. Specifically, there are areas where you may actually find yourself eerily drawn towards a darker inclination ... and not simply because you are tired of running back and forth between segments to complete “open palm†tasks. I currently find myself having infiltrated the heart of the dark Lotus Assassins chambers – the ###### who burned my simple village and kidnapped my master. Having convinced them that I am one of their own, I have been tasked to become involved in all manner of internal sabateour and power-play. I am granted opportunities to unleash my Kung Fu goodness on a variety of ranking officers and I actually am feeling inclined to kill them on the spot despite my otherwise impeccable open palm-ness thus far. It’s very interesting. Jade’s combat is starkly different to KOTR in that it is all in real time. You have a the ability to switch between a variety of martial (physical), magic, and support (magic which slows or stops the enemy) “styles†... various reviews will claim that you can easily handle the game with one style and a lot of jumping around on the default difficulty. And they’re right. But it is quite enjoyable nonetheless you seemlessly string together “harmonic combos†of “spirit thief†(draining chi), “stone immortal†(turning them to stone), and unleashing a “thousand blades†(super fast and many many hand strikes) on their pathetic selves. Very cool. The story line is what draws you in. Granted, I quickly found myself skipping through the lengthy text ... although EVERY dialogue with non-playing characters is voice-overed very very well. Notwithstanding, the storyline is complex and very southeast Asian-esque replete with all the soap opera drama one would expect in such an epic setting. At this point, I honestly do not know who to trust and am wondering if my old master has actually set me up this whole time from scratch. He claims to have saved me as a little boy and last remaining “spirit monk†... but I am now wondering if he actually has trained me to become an instrument of unspeakable evil. Hmmmm. And all this for 17.99!! Kick ass. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sup 0 Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Jade Empire is one of the best character oriented RPGs I've ever played. A bit short for a Bioware game, but excellent for every minute. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
the.ronin 5 Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 Jade Empire is one of the best character oriented RPGs I've ever played. A bit short for a Bioware game, but excellent for every minute. ← Sup, I think it's also one of the only Kung Fu RPGs out there ... at least that I know of. A lot of the reviews also complain about its length ... but as someone who typically plays the first three levels of most games and end up shelving it, I'm finding Jade Empire to be a good length. Then again, I'm also a sucker for missions. I'm afraid to admit I even undertook a task where I was a last-minute substitute actor ... playing a woman Ashamedly, I am also finding myself wasting ridiculous amounts of time on this game when I should probably be cleaning dishes or other more productive chores hahaha. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sup 0 Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 Yeah, there aren't too many matial arts RPGs. Not good ones, at least. Anyway, once you finish JA there's always waiting for the developer's next game, Mass Effect... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
the.ronin 5 Posted January 25, 2006 Author Share Posted January 25, 2006 Anyway, once you finish JA there's always waiting for the developer's next game, Mass Effect... ← Good lookin' out, Sup ... but that's an x360 title. No dice on the $400 duckets. I did manage to best the emporor last night ... WOW nice twist of plot there!! The enemies in the after-world are no mean feat ... and I'm thinking this wasn't going to be the only plot twist. I will say this about replay value ... knowing what I know now, it's driving me to play again inclined to The Way of the Closed Fist! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sup 0 Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 I will say this about replay value ... knowing what I know now, it's driving me to play again inclined to The Way of the Closed Fist! ← Yeah, there's a great amount of replay value in all of Bioware's games. It's really amazing how open they make what are essentially linear rpgs. (As for the x360, if you're lucky Mass Effect will come out after the first price drop. Either way, rumor is Jade Empire 2 is going to be a PS3 release...) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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