Jade Empire: Special Edition Reviews

BioWare’s Jade Empire: Special Edition is the subject of three more fairly enthusiastic reviews. The first is at UGO with an overall score of “A-“:

If you missed it the first time around or just didn’t have an Xbox, Jade Empire: Special Edition is definitely one to check out. Don’t let the fancy visuals fool you either; if you’ve been putting off upgrading your older PC until Vista is stable, know that the game’s minimum system requirements are more than reasonable. You really can’t go wrong with Jade Empire; the story is compelling, the combat endlessly entertaining and the well-voiced characters you’ll meet and travel with have richly detailed backgrounds that are worth digging into. There’s even a flight combat minigame in the style of Galaga! There. You’ve heard enough. Don’t run, don’t walk… leap with catlike agility to your game retailer of choice and get yourself a copy of Jade Empire: Special Edition to see for yourself.

The second is at Eurogamer with an overall score of 7/10:

It’s still got a spark, undoubtedly, but faced with a two year porting process which has tacked on precious little content and fixed none of the problems highlighted by reviewers of the original game, it’s impossible to rate this game the same in 2007 as we did in 2005. Jade Empire has aged better than we expected, and we still recommend it to anyone who hasn’t played the Xbox original – it’s just that two years on, our recommendation is a little more muted than it was the first time round.

And the third is at PALGN with an overall score of 7.5/10:

In spite of its shortcomings, Jade Empire: Special Edition does provide an enduringly good time. The world is rich, detailed and different enough from what has gone before to justify its existence. The lack of dwarves and elves is a big help, even though most of the fantasy stereotypes turn up under different names. Streamlined inventory management and a fun combat system that melds well with the martial arts theme all combine into a good, solid CRPG.