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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The only problem is that the combat is extremely simplified by the aforementioned issues, which belies the underlying theme of a game absolutely brimming with verve. You will complete your adventure in 20-25 hours, which seems a bit short for the genre, but it never drags and rarely feels rushed.

The story works very well, and has a few small twists and turns to keep you on your toes. The sheer volume of extra missions to undertake may cause the player to lose their focus, becoming more intent on wandering around and completing everything they've accumulated in their Journal. However, this is the beauty of this style of RPG: open-endedness and freedom. Besides, when the game begins to limit your freedom for the sake of the plot, it's almost a welcome change. The flow and pacing of the game could be questionable, depending on what you enjoy, but the overall presentation is beautiful.

The biggest problem with the game setup is the interminable loading times. When exploring large areas, it's not so much of a problem, but when you're forced to go back and forth between smaller sections, the extremely long load time can be outrageously frustrating. The Auto-Save function pops up in all the right spots, though, so that's one saving grace.

Surprisingly enough, Jade Empire is a fascinating enigma. All the pieces are in plain view, and if the developers took more time to enhance the combat with the depth it deserved, cut down on those ridiculous load times, and made the camera a little less problematic, the rest of the game would've taken care of itself. Why? Because a lot of it is borderline flawless. It had the potential to be the best RPG of this generation, and one of the best of all time.

Instead, it simply remains the best RPG on the Xbox, which isn't saying much considering that Fable, albeit an excellent RPG in its own right, is its only real competition.

However, let none of this dissuade you from giving Jade Empire a try. The world on display is vivacious and teeming with life; you will always have something to do or somewhere to go, and the satisfaction you get from completing a quest exactly the way you want is nearly unmatched. Above all else, the game is an absolute blast to play.

And in the end, isn't that the most important thing? Don't kid yourself: it's unfortunate that it didn't reach its full potential, but Jade Empire is a mostly glorious production, and it deserves to be enjoyed by all RPG lovers.

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