E3 2004: Jade Empire Hands-On & Media

BioWare's latest epic shines on the show floor. Tears of joy ensue. Brand new screens.

Update: Video coverage added.

BioWare's last effort, the critically acclaimed Knights of the Old Republic, sent the gaming public in a tizzy with its unique combat system, innovative gameplay, epic story and a great cast of characters. Instead of spending its resources on the inevitable sequel, Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, BioWare opted to work on its own original property and hand the reigns of their newfound Star Wars franchise to Obsidian. The result is Jade Empire, a Xbox exclusive, and a truly unique game that borrows elements from their freshman Star Wars effort with a fresh take on the RPG genre.

Taking on the guise of a master martial artist, our demonstration followed the exploits of Furious Ming, one of the seven playable, customizable characters. More ambigious than Knights of the Old Republic, you're still allowed to make various decisions, bad and good, that impact the storyline as it follows a general plot. The emphasis is not about making a character defined as either bad or good, but obtaining over 30 unique fighting sets and interacting with your environment as you work your way through the game.

In addition to fighting skills, you will be able to customize both armor and initial character stats, and take on an entirely different form as demon creatures whose chi you capture after they're defeated. The demonstration featured two different demon entities - a toad and some hairy beast named Chai-Ka, with more to be playable in the final build.

The combat dares to push this RPG into a different genre altogether. Almost. It's all real-time, allowing you to use customizable sets of skills to dial up deadly combos without waiting to watch them play out. You can charge certain skills to deliver a blow capable of demolishing an entire enemy, or use two skills in tandem, known as a "harmonic combo", to deal out pain in stylish, powerful fashion. All of this is in addition to a bit of BioWare magick known as "Focus" which allows the player to slow down time for a limited bit of time. This unique take on combat never leaves a dull moment, but still retains the distinctive aspect of strategy that has followed BioWare RPGs before Jade Empire.

Although still heavy in development, the demo showcased was outstanding from a visual standpoint. It utilized a unique, soft lighting scheme that along with its colorful, distinct art direction lent from Chinese literature, art and films. The floor demo was incredibly smooth, even with various character on screen and special effects at full force. The varied moves, all motion captured from real martial artists, are incredibly fluid. Not to mention the detailed facial expressions and lip syncing that benefit from the motion capture experience. Even at this stage, Jade Empire sure is a looker.

BioWare is aiming for a Q1 2005 release date, leaving them plenty of time to fine tune their engine and sprawling storyline. Even so, Jade Empire is fun, fluid and visually pleasing, and is shaping up to be one of the premiere Xbox titles heading into next year.

Will Federman
Staff Writer, Kikizo.com