Was Jade Empire bad?

[Volourn]

"The combat wasn't only pretty awful, but also the shallowest Bioware has ever done. And that's some kind of feat. "

 

Kiddin' right? ME2 and KOTOR had way worse and more shallow combat.

 

JE is underrated. One of BIO's better games by far espicially role-playing wise. The combat was hell of a lot more fun than the piece of crap known as KOTOR or the dumbed down ME2 that's for darn sure.

[Morgoth]

Nah. ME2 is the first Bio game where combat feels right.

 

JE on the other hand was a mere button mashing fest. The story was also predictable, and I don't care much about role-playing.

[Wrath of Dagon]

I don't know about PC, but combat was good on the Xbox. It's a fighting game for people who suck at fighting games, i.e. RPG players. Not as complicated as a real fighting game, but enough meat in it to go with the rest of the gameplay, and give some variety without having to pull off difficult combos. Also deciding on using focus/chi attacking/defending seemed surprisingly tactical, especially against boss characters at high difficulty setting. The small world was obviously due to the game not being really a full game but a cut and hastily finished rump of a game, my first experience with a non-quality Bioware game.

[Kaftan Barlast]

Why all the JE hate? At the time it was Bio's best release. Beautiful setting, addictive combat, morally ambiguous choices & consequence, epic score, charming characters, wire-fu awesomeness. JE had it all. The resolution of the quest where you return the orphanage keeper to the Tien's Landing ruins and choose to spare the fellow giving the ghost children some measure of peace, is one of the most poignant moments in gaming history, IMO. The tragedy of their watery death, the vengeance of the girl, the forgiveness of the boy...followed by the amazing theme. Even now, I'm getting warm fuzzy feelings thinking about it.

 

Again, you are right on the money, brother Jags.

 

 

Nah. ME2 is the first Bio game where combat feels right.

 

 

The jerry speaks the truth. The combat in ME2 is really good, essentially its Gears of War without the dirt. Blasting droids with the pistol is awesome, they explode and drop just the right way.

Edited February 2, 2010 by Kaftan Barlast

[Volourn]

"JE on the other hand was a mere button mashing fest. The story was also predictable"

 

Nowhere near as predictable as ME, DA, or KOTOR.

 

 

And, if you just 'button smashed' in JE you would auto lose. Button smashing is KOTOR, DA, ME, BG, and the like. All you did in those games was smash buttons.. err mouse. L0LZ

 

 

ME2's combat feels wrong unles you think dumbed down ME1 combat feels right.

[skuld1]

Baldur's Gate. What GDM means is that JE was not considered worthy of a sequel, even with Bioware's history of farming out sequels to Obsidz.

 

'Not considered worthy' might be too harsh as Bioware did work on a JE sequel (at least once for certain, possibly more than once). If they considered it truly unworthy they would not have even bothered to attempt a sequel.

[Morgoth]

"JE on the other hand was a mere button mashing fest. The story was also predictable"

 

Nowhere near as predictable as ME, DA, or KOTOR.

 

 

And, if you just 'button smashed' in JE you would auto lose. Button smashing is KOTOR, DA, ME, BG, and the like. All you did in those games was smash buttons.. err mouse. L0LZ

 

 

ME2's combat feels wrong unles you think dumbed down ME1 combat feels right.

Well, it was a clicky-clicky fest then. I mostly didn't even bother slowing down the time, or using transform spells or any other options, as the game was so easy and enemies so quickly defeated that I only had to slash on with my sword.

ME2 otoh actually forces me two switch weapons, and use some occasional feat/power/disruptor.

[Pidesco]

The combat in ME2 is really good, essentially its Gears of War without the dirt. Blasting droids with the pistol is awesome, they explode and drop just the right way.

 

 

Everyone tells me that it's awesome in co-op, but Gears of War combat blows chunks when playing solo...

[I want teh kotor 3]

I can't believe I'm about to agree with LoF on something, but...

 

I liked JE. I'm also a Bio fanboy, so that's that. The combat was fun, and, for the most part, the choices weren't Hitler/Ghandi options.

Edited February 2, 2010 by I want teh kotor 3

[Baeus]

To me, Jade Empire was a game that somehow was much greater than the sum of its parts. The combat system was rather basic, the story short and simple, and the choices between Open Palm/Closed Fist still did fall into noble self-sacrificing kitten-rescuing saint/murdering cannibal nutcase territory a little often, and characters who were supposed to be epic badass warriors who could make an empire tremble could barely handle a single starving bandit in combat when they joined your party. But somehow, when it was all mashed together, it turned into something terribly fun.

 

The atmosphere, the music, the humour, the occasional Open Palm/Closed Fist choices that did stray outside the good/evil box, and the spiffy characters all combined for me to make a game that made me sit up and think "Wow, that bit was really cool" on a frequent basis. It's still the Bioware game that I've played through start to finish the most times.

 

As for the maps being small. Sure, that's true, but what did you ever find if you strayed outside the key areas of the large maps in NWN. A crate and a few giant rats. Yay.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Baeus

[~Di]

I really enjoyed Jade Empire. I loved the locale, the cool music, an interesting and somewhat different story, the colorful palette. Loved the combat! Fast and furious hand-to-hand, leaping, rolling, back-flips! Great fun! Companions were fun, too. Not the deepest companion back stories, but adequate for a relatively short, fast-paced action RPG. A fun little romp. I play it every so often, and still enjoy it!

[Pop]

I do agree that the music was pretty great - loved that theme song. Maybe the best stuff Jack Wall's done outside of the Uncharted Worlds song from ME1.

 

It also had brevity going for it.

 

Otherwise, it was bollocks.

[Hurlshort]

It's a solid game. Not my top Bioware title, but nothing negative to say about it myself.

[Azure79]

I was disappointed at first. I was expecting something along the lines of a more classic wuxia novel and not the more mystical/magical setting of JE. But it definitely grew on me.

 

The combat was really easy, but mixing things up with the martial, chi and transformation styles made it more entertaining. Characters were likable overall and all had their moments. And of course the music was great.

[jaguars4ever]

"JE on the other hand was a mere button mashing fest. The story was also predictable"

 

Nowhere near as predictable as ME, DA, or KOTOR.

 

 

And, if you just 'button smashed' in JE you would auto lose. Button smashing is KOTOR, DA, ME, BG, and the like. All you did in those games was smash buttons.. err mouse. L0LZ

 

 

ME2's combat feels wrong unles you think dumbed down ME1 combat feels right.

Well, it was a clicky-clicky fest then. I mostly didn't even bother slowing down the time, or using transform spells or any other options, as the game was so easy and enemies so quickly defeated that I only had to slash on with my sword.

ME2 otoh actually forces me two switch weapons, and use some occasional feat/power/disruptor.

JE & ME1/ME2 are the Bio titles that actually require significant user input in their combat as a threshold prerequisite. If you stand around in JE or ME1/2, you're dead. Not so much so in BG1/2, NWN, KotOR & DA with the (lame) auto-attack. That's one of the reasons why I find JE & ME1/2 combat to be more intense then their other games. You're the one actually fighting - not your AI. This sweetens the rewards for success and makes more bitter the penalties for failure.

 

Go JE & ME combat! Go!

 

EDIT: Also, the real-time aspect of JE/ME combat no doubt adds to its intensity. Good call Bio. You're the best thing to come out of Canada since Shania Twain.

Edited February 3, 2010 by jaguars4ever

[RPGmasterBoo]

JE & ME1/ME2 are the Bio titles that actually require significant user input in their combat as a threshold prerequisite. If you stand around in JE or ME1/2, you're dead. Not so much so in BG1/2, NWN, KotOR & DA with the (lame) auto-attack. That's one of the reasons why I find JE & ME1/2 combat to be more intense then their other games. You're the one actually fighting - not your AI. This sweetens the rewards for success and makes more bitter the penalties for failure.

 

 

Now you're going into absurd territory. Both games feature real time combat, the others are turn based. As real time combat goes in their respective genres Jade Empire and Mass Effect were both crap.

 

Have you ever played a dedicated fighting game or shooter?

 

Seriously, its okay to like something but claming that its good when Cadillacs and Dinosaurs from x years ago had more options than Jade Empire (or if you want a more recent example - Oni), or Max Payne and other shooters having more intense and responsive combat than ME. Btw basic combat options (combos in JE, weapons in ME) could be spammed without ever having to bother about anything else. I used the same combo throught the entire JE and only the assault rifle in ME.... That is not balanced combat.

 

I found the whole deal less intense since I'm much better in shooting than at balancing a bunch of stats,pells, weapons etc.

Edited February 3, 2010 by RPGmasterBoo

[jaguars4ever]

JE & ME1/ME2 are the Bio titles that actually require significant user input in their combat as a threshold prerequisite. If you stand around in JE or ME1/2, you're dead. Not so much so in BG1/2, NWN, KotOR & DA with the (lame) auto-attack. That's one of the reasons why I find JE & ME1/2 combat to be more intense then their other games. You're the one actually fighting - not your AI. This sweetens the rewards for success and makes more bitter the penalties for failure.

 

 

Now you're going into absurd territory. Both games feature real time combat, the others are turn based. As real time combat goes in their respective genres Jade Empire and Mass Effect were both crap.

 

Have you ever played a dedicated fighting game or shooter?

 

Seriously, its okay to like something but claming that its good when Cadillacs and Dinosaurs from x years ago had more options than Jade Empire (or if you want a more recent example - Oni), or Max Payne and other shooters having more intense and responsive combat than ME. Btw basic combat options (combos in JE, weapons in ME) could be spammed without ever having to bother about anything else. I used the same combo throught the entire JE and only the assault rifle in ME.... That is not balanced combat.

 

I found the whole deal less intense since I'm much better in shooting than at balancing a bunch of stats,pells, weapons etc.

I don't have much interest in those kind of games. I'm an RPGer. So, not too many dedicated fighting games or shooters for this SoCal homie. But JE or ME shouldn't be classified in those respective categories, as combat isn't their sole focus. They're roleplaying games, and excellent ones at that. When I first picked up JE, I said to myself: This is like Chinese KotOR but with Street Fighter combat! (Or in the case of ME: KotOR and Halo had a baby!)

 

Just because your girlfriend cooks and cleans for you, doesn't mean she's in competition with the maid. That's not her job. Her job is to have sex with you. Likewise, the maid won't outperform the g/f in the bedroom. Well, at least mine doesn't.

 

You see, even though your babe isn't a specialist, she offers good loving, fine dining, and elbow-grease scrubbing in one 55kg package. That's what I think about JE & ME.

 

JE > Street Fighter

ME > Halo

G/F > Maid

Edited February 3, 2010 by jaguars4ever

[Raithe]

JE > Street Fighter

ME > Halo

G/F > Maid

 

I'm half surprised you didn't mention the possibilities of the G/F in the maids costume Jaguar..

[jaguars4ever]

JE > Street Fighter

ME > Halo

G/F > Maid

 

I'm half surprised you didn't mention the possibilities of the G/F in the maids costume Jaguar..

That's what the expansion pack is for.

[Raithe]

JE > Street Fighter

ME > Halo

G/F > Maid

 

I'm half surprised you didn't mention the possibilities of the G/F in the maids costume Jaguar..

That's what the expansion pack is for.

 

 

Opening up DLC in a whole new way?

[ramza]

Actually, I liked it but I would say it's one of the worst Bio games.

 

The story was typical of Bio, the graphics were very nice, the setting was a welcomed breath of fresh air. Now, the game was obviously made for the consoles and shouldn't have been ported to the pc. The game was too much action oriented and the combat was just about mushing buttons/clicking the mouse. I didn't like how short was the game's length.

 

Overall it was a nice and acceptable experience, but nothing as memorable as Kotor or BG.

 

Oh and I didn't see the plot twist coming. I was really surprised!

Edited February 3, 2010 by ramza

[Volourn]

"Have you ever played a dedicated fighting game or shooter?

 

Seriously, its okay to like something but claming that its good when Cadillacs and Dinosaurs from x years ago had more options than Jade Empire (or if you want a more recent example - Oni), or Max Payne and other shooters having more intense and responsive combat than ME. Btw basic combat options (combos in JE, weapons in ME) could be spammed without ever having to bother about anything else. I used the same combo throught the entire JE and only the assault rifle in ME.... That is not balanced combat."

 

I have. And, JE is better. It also has more combat options than your typical asction by far. And, the combvat is balanced just fine minus one or two abilities. But, guess what? Every game ever created that gives you multipel optionsn in combat have some unbalance. NOT one avoids it.

 

There is no way anyone could name a perfectly 100% balanced game and be telling the truth.

 

 

"Actually, I liked it but I would say it's one of the worst Bio games."

 

Actually, it's one of their better games.

[vault_overseer]

I thought I liked it when I played it, but everytime since then that I've tried to replay it, it bored me to death.

[Majek]

I kinda liked JE, but again PC had a bad port. And so much wasted potential in that game.

Edited February 3, 2010 by Majek

[Orogun01]

"Actually, I liked it but I would say it's one of the worst Bio games."

 

Actually, it's one of their better games.

It's only one of their worst because die hard BW's fans ignore Sonic completely and that leave us with a slight shorter number of masterpieces to choose from.