Jade Empire

BioWare's firstparty Xbox RPG is finally here, but is it as stunning as we all thought? Our full review tells all.

	Version Xbox	Developer BioWare	Publisher Microsoft	Genre RPG

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Your character has three primary statistics, all of which play a huge role in their development and performance. Body, Spirit, and Mind represent your Health, Chi, and Focus, respectively. Health is exactly what it sounds like, Chi is your magic, and Focus is required for certain styles; all weapon use needs Focus, for example. This setup leads us to the core of battle, and both the incredible benefits and unfortunate missteps.

During combat, you can switch between five different Styles on the fly, all mapped to the directional pad. Any Styles not mapped can easily be selected by holding down one of the directions on the pad, which causes the full style list to pop up. There are five Styles to choose from; martial arts, support arts, weapons, magic, and demon transformations. Each Style has three individual sub-categories that can be upgraded with points obtained from each level-up. Increase in Chi Damage, Reduction of Chi Cost, and Duration Increase generally represent such sub-categories.

You will accumulate different Styles by finding and buying them; there are dozens to be located and experimented with. Therefore, the possibilities for deep combat should be endless. Unfortunately, the basic mechanics of the combat simplify the process to childlike proportions. All combat essentially boils down to mashing the A button for the regular attack, occasionally tapping the X button (power attack) to break through an enemy shield, and pressing B to dodge around and block. That's it. It doesn't matter what style you use, it rarely matters what foe you're facing, and you can easily complete the game by performing the exact same repetition.

There are Harmonic Combos, that have you beginning a combo with one Style, then quickly switching to another to finish the combo before time runs out. Unfortunately, these are entirely unnecessary for the most part, and while there are power-ups to get during battles, it adds only a small shred of strategy and intrigue to a very simplistic battle mechanic. You may also inundate your attacks with Chi, making them "Chi Strikes," which is effective but a mostly cosmetic application.

This is the true downfall of the battle system, and the largest drawback to the game. It's too bad, because the potential of such a nicely designed combat format simply isn't realized. Lastly, the free-roaming camera only amplifies all of this, which can be troublesome throughout the game.

However, one fact still remains: it's fun. At least, it should be for most fans. Combat is still fluid, ratcheting up the speed and power of your favorite martial art, rendering enemy's helpless with the fantastic support abilities, wreaking havoc with the transformation you're most partial to...it's all just very, very entertaining.

Outside of the combat, everything else is wonderful. There are tons of side-quests to tackle, Techniques (permanent enhancements to your stats) are everywhere, and the world is full of people to see and things to do. Much like KotoR, you have a choice as to which path you wish to follow, the Way of the Open Palm or the Way of the Closed Fist. Basically, Open Palm followers believe in peaceful solutions while Closed Fist followers think force is the best tactic.

Each side-quest and certain parts of the plot will present you with choices, and whichever you choose will dictate the path you tread. Your conversation skills will increase in direct relation to your primary statistics, and you may use Charm, Intuition, or Intimidation to persuade NPC's to see things your way. And while there is no inventory in the literal sense, you will obtain Essence Gems to equip on your Dragon Amulet. These gems will enhance your basic stats and/or conversation skills, and some may add something special (100% extra experience from bookstands, for example).

Thus, the inherent depth of the production is significant. There is just tons of stuff to do, although the game inexplicably becomes much more linear during the last third of the game. With so many extra quests to undertake, interesting places to explore, Styles to utilize and master, and different paths to take by choosing to follow either the Open Palm or Closed Fist, the game virtually pulses with depth.

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