If you don't rush through Jade Empire, and try to enjoy it instead of critcizing it, you'll find the best RPG on Xbox
User Rating: 8.7 | Jade Empire: Hisui no Teikoku XBOX
Note: Yes, 5 is still average for my reviews. Also, this review is now finished. Jade Empire, despite its constant praise on other sites, has been called a disappointment far more than once around Gamespot. I disagree with everyone who says this game doesn't meet hype. It is everything that it was promised to be, and if you don't enjoy what that is, I feel sorry for you. Because I'm currently enjoying the game more than I have ever enjoyed Knights of the Old Republic. The atmosphere and story of Jade Empire is not it's only good trait, but it certainly is the best one. Combining the style of martial arts movies with the unique beauty of ancient mythology (chinese, in this case) it manages to make a creative and familiar world that brings enjoyment simply from playing in. The characters are all unique and have good backstories, whether they're serious or humorous, and another thing is that the character design is incredibly good. You may sometimes be able to tell the personality of a character just by looking at them. The only thing that's really weird is the gore, you'll be fighting with no blood at all, despite the use of weapons like swords, and then all of the sudden you'll pull off some harmonic combo and see something that would make mortal combat jealous. It's unsettling, not to mention unbalanced, I just turned the gore off because instabilities like that bug me. Jade Empire has a different style of story telling as well, which feels real, unique, and familiar all at the same time, and still manages to make you feel like you're in control of what you do and say. Of course, story isn't everything. (even though it's a whole lot in this game, if you've played KOTOR this will be familiar to you) And in a hybrid genre that has become known as the lowest, weakest kind of RPG, Jade Empire uses it's Legendary Strike style to kick the crap out of everything ever labeled "Action-RPG". In RPG elements, it only has 3 stats, with the only complexity coming from multiple styles to master. In the action game part, it has multiple styles to use, all of which feel unfulfilling unless strengthened. Together, they form a great balance between Yin and Yang, open palm and closed fist, and black and white. It feels like the whole game has just the right amount of depth, and that it's incredibly customizable while being so simple. Sure, it's a little on the easy side, but not by much. And if you don't find it challenging enough, you can always switch the difficulty to grand master. The only way to enjoy this system is to take it in as one whole, not two separate sides, and not criticize the game for what you think it lacks. Another part of Jade Empire that could cause disappointment is it's length. If you just rush through and don't take your time, you'll finish in less time than it will take someone who wants to go slow and enjoy the expierience to get through chapter 2 out of 7. I didn't finish all of the sidequests, though I finished a lot of them, and the game came down to 25-30 hours for me. Jade Empire has a huge amount of side quests, and it rarely ever makes you feel urgency to go to the next part of the main story soon. That, of course, isn't even counting the replay value for going back and starting as a new character, making a few different choices. If there is a flaw to Jade Empire, it is simply that the game from chapter 5 and up will not be as enjoyable as what it was like before. That is because, no spoilers included, the game becomes much more linear after chapter 3. MUCH more linear. This would seem like a very big deal, but in reality, it isn't. Believe it or not, chapters 4 through 7 are a relatively small portion of the game. The most time you spend in the game will probably be on 1-3. The thing is, after chapter 3, the rest of the game feels scrambled together and distinctly unpolished when compared to how it is early on, but of course, thats only compared to early on, because the early game in Jade Empire is one of the best role-playing expieriences I have ever seen. The graphics in Jade Empire are great. With plants moving aside as you run, spectacular lighting, and very good character models. It all moves at such an unbelievably good frame rate too. But, when you get into the first loading zone, you might be thinking about whether or not you'd trade it all away. Just have a good book handy when you're about to go through a door in Jade Empire, you'll probably finish it by the time you can countinue your asian adventures. Overall, Jade Empire isn't a game for critics. It isn't someone who just likes to beat games as fast as they can. It isn't a game for people who only love action games or people who only love RPGs. It isn't a game for people who don't want to go through loads of dialogue and story. And it isn't a game for people who like complicated games. Everyone else will probably enjoy Jade Empire. And if you do enjoy it, you will probably love it. 
