Another Handful of Jade Empire Reviews
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Visually Jade Empire is a striking masterpiece, presenting luscious visuals, vibrant colour schemes and an over-saturated style that is both understated and dreamy. Both the environment and character models are nicely detailed and there's thankfully a lot more variety then with BioWare's previous Xbox release. Without doubt the biggest attraction comes from the simply sublime animations that perfectly capture the graceful nature of the Martial Arts and delicately highlight the subtle differences between various fighting styles. Again criticisms come from the typically suspect cut-scenes which could benefit from more thought and greater direction, but as a whole they're a marked improvement from those witnessed in Knights of the Old Republic.
The second is at Wham! Gaming with an overall score of 9.8/10:
Role Playing Games rarely come in this kind of package. Individually; the Graphics, the Sound, and the Gameplay in Jade Empire are all some of the best if not the best you'll find on the Xbox. Taken as a whole, this is a game you must check out because people will be talking about it, and it will still be great 10 years from now.
The third is at GamePro with an overall score of 4.5/5:
There are just enough rough edges--erratic frame rates, astronomically long load times, and the aforementioned camera problems--to suggest that Jade Empire may have benefited from a few extra months of development polish. But no matter. In the end, the game is still hopelessly engrossing and thoroughly replayable. What were you expecting? Hey, this is BioWare we're talking about here.
The fourth is at Next Level Gaming with an overall score of 98/100:
Well, add this to the early Game of the Year contenders. I don't just mean Xbox game of the year, or RPG game of the year. I mean the whole thing. This is the type of game that will simply suck days out of your life while you're playing it, and forgetting about the rest of the world around you. BioWare has that effect on you, and Jade Empire is yet another reason why. For me, this is one of the best games I've played this year, and quote honestly now sits upon the top of the list of best RPG I've ever played. And while I am not a big RPG player, that list included games like Lunar and Knights of the Old Republic. I gotta move those aside, there's a new top dog in town. Simply put, games like Jade Empire are the reason I still play video games at the age of 32. Because every once in a while, something thing fantastic comes along. RPG fan or not, this is a game you have got to have. If you don't have an Xbox, get one. And then make this your first game purchase. Masterful work by the minds at BioWare!
And the fifth is at Game Revolution with an overall score of "B+":
Despite its generally underwhelming fighting system and lack of depth, this is a solid, satisfying action epic that Xbox owners shouldn't hesitate to try. It's great to see a developer fully embrace their craft by building such a thorough world and adventure from scratch. I hope others will take the cue and get jaded themselves.
