In 2005, BioWare released Jade Empire to some amazing reviews, even garnering game of the year awards. However, it took two long years to bring the masterpiece to the PC and a lot has changed in action RPGs. Sadly, the once-great Jade Empire has only received minor updates, offering little to fans that experienced it.
This doesn't mean the game fails to impress. The story and characters hold attention and keep players attached to everything that happens to their hero. The setting flawlessly captures a blend of China, Japan, eastern religions, anime and every kung fu movie cliche imaginable to create a world difficult to escape.
On the flip side, Jade Empire lacks the punch it used to have, thanks to a few nagging flaws. Surprisingly, the problem lies not in the controls, a common issue with ports from console to PC, but in the graphics and camera. The camera has several problems, especially in a few tight spots where it points downward. This offers a nice view of the wooden and cobblestone floors, though not the best view when battling enemies. It proves easy to fix (simply leave and reenter the game), but this becomes annoying. The graphical problem does not reside in the game itself, where all of the amazing art design of characters, buildings and wilderness shine (including many anime references such as Myazaki-esque ghost masks). Rather, the video suffers due to its low resolution. For whatever reason, it was not enhanced for the PC.
BioWare tossed in a few extras to make the game more appealing, such as four new styles of combat and the updated in-game visuals. Two of the new combat styles require searching out specific scrolls.
Nevertheless, this is a slightly improved version of the same game that Xbox fans enjoyed in 2005. Still, people should explore this aged yet satisfying Game of the Year.
Final Score: 8 (out of 10)
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