Biowares Next Game: Jade Empire. Xbox Exclusive

Spoiler:



















As soon as he let Gao The Lesser over hear his conversation with you, I knew Li was setting me up. Why would the Glorious Strategist make such a foolish mistake, unless he wanted Gao to rat on him. Even though it was perdictable I still liked it. It helped justify Li's title.

 

What a great game!

I like the fighting better than in KOTOR, it's easier and more free.

 

As for the limited edition, I think it's just the game with an extra character and some documentaries.

I've got the Limited Edition and I'm not sure whether there's anything more to it other than some very interesting "making of" documentaries. It didn't SEEM like there was anything more to the game itself, but I've never seen the normal version, so I dunno.

It's fascinating to see the documentaries, because they show that the development team were really trying to make something unique. It's clear they did a lot of original research to create their world. Yet, ironically, the product they deliver is strikingly similar to STAR WARS. I don't actually think that the reason that this game feels like KOTOR is simply because they made KOTOR, but rather because a huge amount of Lucas' source material for STAR WARS is largely the same stuff that Bioware used for JE.

Some have suggested that, though it is remarkably similar in theme and style, to KOTOR, it scores over its predecessor because of better game play, better graphics, and a more complex array of "path choices". While I agree that the combat system is a vast improvement over at least the original KOTOR, and the graphics are marginally better, the "complexity of moral choice" thing is way overblown. It's really not that hard to see what choices will bring you more "into the blue", and what will push you "towards the red". There simply are more shades of grey. And, because the sound engineering and vocal performances on KOTOR are richer, while the graphical advantage of JE is only marginal, KOTOR, I think, just nudges out JE for its overall ability to immerse you in its world.

 

I loved Jade Epire, good job Bioware. Nice storyline, and the game looked great. The only complaints from me is the camera and the game's length.