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Crunchy in milk · 07-11-2010, 01:05 AM

Running through Jade Empire again (PC). I first played this (to death, my disc literally died) when it was released on the original xbox.

I think I may just be destroying many of my fond memories of the game. I still love the setting, and despite its age the game world is still beautiful to look at in places. The delivery of the story though, and in particular the dialog, they're mere shadows of what you get from Bioware's more recent titles.

For all the flak Mass Effect 2 gets for its simplistic dialogue options, Jade Empire's dialog is like a kids colouring book by comparison. Everything is black and white and you only get 3 crayons to colour between the lines.

The combat is equally awkward, I'm starting to think that one of the reasons Jade Empire is having to wait so long before a revisit, despite the IP's popularity amongst the development team is that Bioware haven't gotten their hands on an engine that can deliver the kind of martial arts that are needed.

Its a shame because I truly love the 'outlaws of the marsh' feel of the Jade Empire setting but I guess its not mainstream enough. Better to make more Dragon Ages and Mass Effects that are easier to swallow.

07-11-2010, 01:05 AM	#1951
Crunchy in milk delusions of adequacy Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 1,403	Running through Jade Empire again (PC). I first played this (to death, my disc literally died) when it was released on the original xbox. I think I may just be destroying many of my fond memories of the game. I still love the setting, and despite its age the game world is still beautiful to look at in places. The delivery of the story though, and in particular the dialog, they're mere shadows of what you get from Bioware's more recent titles. For all the flak Mass Effect 2 gets for its simplistic dialogue options, Jade Empire's dialog is like a kids colouring book by comparison. Everything is black and white and you only get 3 crayons to colour between the lines. The combat is equally awkward, I'm starting to think that one of the reasons Jade Empire is having to wait so long before a revisit, despite the IP's popularity amongst the development team is that Bioware haven't gotten their hands on an engine that can deliver the kind of martial arts that are needed. Its a shame because I truly love the 'outlaws of the marsh' feel of the Jade Empire setting but I guess its not mainstream enough. Better to make more Dragon Ages and Mass Effects that are easier to swallow.