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review: So I'm not usually the type who falls into the hype of a video game. It does, however, happen on occasion. Jade Empire is a decent game. It's not a great game by any stretch of the imagination. You can select your character at the beginning--male/female, strong/fast/balanced. As you play the game, you get your requisite level-ups to max out your stats and just do some general ass-kicking.
This game was made by the same people who made Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (KOTOR), and like KOTOR, Jade Empire gives you the option to be evil or good. While I'm sure this provides great replay value, like Fable and KOTOR, the scope of the game is so small that it fails to create a desire to see what would happen differently if your alliances were different.
The story is tried and true. The laughs are conventional, and the gore is an afterthought. The supporting cast of characters are predictable. The graphics, needless to say, are stunning.
And now the stuff you really want to know: the gameplay. As you level-up, your character can improve his fighting styles and acquire new ones. You use the D-pad to switch between styles. There are three categories of styles: support, weapon, and magic. You can switch styles on the fly if you have the style you want assigned to the D-Pad. If you don't, you can always switch styles in the middle of combat, essentially pausing the game, and then return to battle. If you start an attack off with a support style, you can then launch into a martial or magic attack that completes a "harmonic combo" giving you better dropped items from the creatures. I tried doing the harmonic thing--to use the game as the programmers envisioned it--but I found myself returning to just wielding my staff <snicker> and beating the bejesus out of characters. Even on the "Master" (most difficult) setting, the game really posed no challenge. Rarely, would I become defeated in battle--and if I were, it's nothing that a quick recalculation of strategy couldn't best on the restart.
The stages in the game are horribly short. There is never really anywhere to explore--everything is really straightforward. The dialogue trees are insipid, but I'm certain that those in the ten-to-thirteen age range would find them tricky.
All in all, I beat this game in about sixteen hours--and that's not even an accurate count. A lot of that time was just the game running and me watching King of the Hill re-runs. If I had had to do something besides repeatedly push the A button and then jump out of the way, I bet I would have liked this game. As it is, I feel like a punk for falling for the hype. (jeremy.07.05)
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