Jade Empire Reviews

Yet another trio of fairly positive reviews have hit the web for BioWare’s martial arts Xbox RPG, Jade Empire. The first is at The Adrenaline Vault with an overall score of 4/5:

This was an amazingly solid title and is well deserving of a good deal of the surrounding hype, but I might have entered the game knowing too much. I liken it to my first screening of The Matrix, completely unaware of what lay before me or seeing Sixth Sense that first time, when you didn’t know that M. Night Shyamalan was going to throw a curve ball right at the end. Every aspect was there to make it a stellar title and that was accomplished, but I couldn’t help wanting or expecting more since everyone had made it out to be so huge. Don’t allow this last paragraph of what I’ve said to take anything away from the game, it is a stellar title and easily competes with the best RPGs on the Xbox. As such, I’m sure that it will appear on quite a few (Top Ten) lists of best RPGs on any console but for it receiving the nod as a (Perfect 10) title? I would hate to think that anything out in the world is (the best) and has no room for a new (Perfect 10) and 9.9 cuts it too close.

The second is at Game Vortex with an overall score of 95%:

With Bioware’s history of genre-defining RPGs, Jade Empire has a hard legacy to live up to. There are still some rough patches, but overall Jade Empire is a fantastic RPG and is sure to be one of those games you keep coming back to numerous times.

And the third is at GameArena with an overall score of 8.5/10:

As you can see above, there’s little to Jade Empire that is actively disappointing. And in a lot of respects the game suffers more because it’s consistently “impressive” in most areas, rather than being spectacular in just a few. The story line is fab, the visuals are a lift over KOTOR, character list is impressive. But the well meaning martial arts system won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, and the linearity of the game may put some people off. Absolutely a must-have for BioWare fans, but if you’re expecting a full-on 3D fighter mixed in with a RPG, you’ll be a little let down. Like Shenmue, despite high expectations Jade Empire lacks that extra oomph to break into superstar territory.