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Jade Empire
by Jolex Del Pilar
Sunday, September 28 2003
Bioware attempts to bring gamers into a world of magic and martial arts with Jade Empire.
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Title:
Jade Empire
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Platform:
Xbox
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Publisher:
Microsoft Game Studios |
Developer:
Bioware |
#
of Players: 1 |
Genre:
RPG
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Origin:
United States
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Expected
Release:
Fall 2005 |
Grapevine:
Jade Empire has been in development for over 2 years. |
In the past couple of years, Bioware has been just about as hot as any developing house can get. First Baldur's Gate, then Neverwinter Nights, and then of course the recently released Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, it's been hit after hit. What's their secret? Only Bioware CEOs Greg Zeschuck and Ray Muzka really know, but it probably has to do with the Bioware team's ability to constantly improve and innovate with each successive title they've released.
Jade Empire is Bioware's newest project and it's already garnering all sorts of hype and praise. Based in a mythical version of China, the game takes players through a world of magic and martial arts. Instead of Jedi, or wizards, players will have to create their own martial arts character to adventure with. Although not much is known, player customization should be fairly varied. Some character traits that are known to be configurable are attacking style (light and speedy, or heavy and slow), gender, and even facial features.
Not much is known about the plot except your character is a martial arts student who is sent to investigate the appearance of evil spirits at a nearby province, close to your school. We're sure the story will evolve into something fairly epic down the road.
Combat in the game will differ from KOTOR in that instead of letting the computer handle the duties, with minimal input from the player, Jade Empire will feature a real-time combat system in which the player has vast control over the characters actions. This includes being able to execute combination attacks, and special counters, very much like combat is handled in games like Shenmue. Of course, it won't be as limited as the moves system in Shenmue. Jade Empire will feature over 30 styles of traditional martial arts including weapons styles. Once you've defeated enemies (Boss characters), Bioware has informed us that you'll be able to ask your enemies to help you in your quest. How this is implemented exactly is still a question, but nonetheless, very intriguing.
Best Candidates to Make a Digital Cameo in Jade Empire
In terms of exploration, Jade Empire shares a lot with KOTOR. It features a very similar camera system, a third person view, and the same dialogue tree system that was utilized in KOTOR. The trailer shown at the Tokyo Game Show this month showed off an early version of the game, but from what we saw, Jade Empire is already looking to be one of the best looking RPGs in recent memory, KOTOR included.
The only negative thing about the game is the fact that it's at least a whole year off from its official release. Although it's been in development for over 2 years, most optimistic estimates put the game's release sometime during Fall 2005. Considering the development time of both Baldur's Gate, and KOTOR, we wouldn't get our hopes up until at least Q4 2005. That being said, whenever Jade Empire does see the light of day on the shelves of your local game retailer, expect it to be a very well made and polished product. It's what we've come to expect from Bioware, and from what we've seen so far of Jade Empire, nothing is set to change those expectations.
--- Jolex Del Pilar
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