Because the wait for Dragon Age and ME2 is killing me, I recently bought Jade Empire on Xbox Live Marketplace having never played it before. I am seriously starved for some Bioware style adventuring and Rise of The Argofucks ultimately failed to fill that void (wasn’t even a methodone to ME’s heroin – more like sucking an exhaust in lieu of a cigarette).
So anyway, Jade Empire was one of the few Bioware titles I’ve never played and I figured… screw it, the release schedule is pretty dry right now and it’s bound to be a good 20 or so hours worth of awesome. And I was right. I’m about 2 thirds of the way through it if the internet is to be believed, and damn, I’m kicking myself for never buying this before.
The combat system is a bit, well, basic. It’s button mashing, and there are no items to use or anything like that. So in terms of its hacking and slashing, it’s nowhere near top drawer.
But, the story… simplistic as it is, is beautifully told and technically well presented. Every minute of this game is a joy to behold. It’s rather heavy on procrastination, every area being stuffed to the gills with sidequests and other distractions from the main plotline. But doing them never feels like a chore, as is the case with so many western RPGs. They’re smaller, fleshed out little stories that compliment the overarcing quest, sometimes subtly and thematically, sometimes directly. This is how an RPG should be structured.
Visually, it’s bloody gorgeous. I’m not exaggerating when I say it still holds up well against current gen titles. You can tell it’s an Xbox 1 game, but it’s a very lovely looking one.
Anyway, um, I have to go and do work and stuff.
