Jade Empire – XB – Preview 2

An orphaned child, spirited away from an
invading army, raised in a martial arts school in a remote area of the world by
a mysterious teacher … destiny is reaching out and a new path is about to be
revealed.

Life at the school in Two Rivers was almost
sedate. The training was intense, but for Zhu Ming, also known as Furious Ming,
it was a world in which he could display his gifts. Little wonder he was the top
martial arts student at Master Li’s school, which was tucked away in a remote
corner of the Seat of Heaven.

But the world evolves and not all of the
changes are for good. There is a rumor of spirits unable to cross over to the
celestial plains of the ancestors, spirits driven mad by their entrapment, and
wandering the land.

And then, one day, a pirate ship arrives in
the harbor, and brigands wander into the village. They are looking for
something, or someone. The captain of the pirate ship is one of the Lotus
Assassins.

Ming is sent to head off the attack while
Master Li rushes to aid a fallen student, brutally attacked.

It is at this moment that destiny reveals the
first steps to the new path.

Jade Empire is a BioWare-developed,
Microsoft-published title, exclusively for the Xbox console system. Microsoft
arranged for a media tour of BioWare’s Edmonton studios and afforded a hands-on
look at the first hour, or so, of gameplay in this pending title. GameZone was
invited along for the trip, and had the opportunity to delve into the world.

The game set-up in the previewable portion was
somewhat linear with a musical score that drove the intensity of the action and
hinted at more to come. While there were five playable avatars, bridging four
central styles of play (speed, strength, magic and balanced), during the
opening  chapter of the game, there was little to distinguish between the
classes. Male or female, the action and combat played out the same at this
stage.

The story is deep and involves a world that
was on the brink of disaster. Drought had ravaged the land and Emperor Sun Hai
was watching his world fall apart. But just when it seemed the Empire was lost,
the Emperor suddenly brought water to the land. Rivers rose and rain fell and
the world was revitalized. But something else happened as well. The Emperor
became more reclusive, and ever by his side is Death’s Hand, a formidable masked
warrior who heads the Lotus Assassins and is the general of the armies. Spirits
seem unable to cross from the world of the Jade Empire to the ethereal realm,
and corruption is raising its head in many ways.

It was in the Land of Howling Spirits that a
child was found and spared the sword, spirited away with Master Li and raised in
the martial arts school. The child was found at a monastery (the Temple of
Dirge), and though clothed in mystery, it seems as though this child has a role
to play in the world, and in the ultimate destiny of the Jade Empire.

Players are able to choose from one of five
different avatars – two females and three males.

The game begins with a sparring match, which
serves as a tutorial to the combat and movement system. As players gain combat
styles, they are displayed in while tied to the D-pad. Select a skill and punch
the corresponding trigger. The A is a quick attack, X is a more powerful attack
(which can break through defenses, but powers up and leaves the player
susceptible to attacks), the B is to block, and the Y button is a focus button
which slows the world down while you move at seemingly regular speed for as long
as your power bar allows it.

You can combine attacks effectively, use both
weapons and martial arts styles, and should the game be too tough, you can
pause, change the difficulty setting and resume. There are three difficulty
settings in the game. Along the way, you can collect drops from NPCs and mobs to
replenish your health or ability bars. You can transfer chi over into health
points, or power up your attacks with chi.

The game begins in the village of Two Rivers,
but quickly expands beyond its borders. After the pirate attack is foiled, and
its true purpose revealed, there is a brief encounter with a fellow student,
which seems to have repercussions waiting down the road, and then Master Li
tells you more about yourself, and sets you on the path.

It was shortly thereafter that the gameplay
available came to a halt. But the taste was tantalizing enough to create a
hunger for more.

Graphically Jade Empire is stunning. The
combat animation is superb and the character development is well done. You will
gain money, which you can use to buy skills. As you fight, you gain style
points, which can be used to level skills. The array of skills you receive is
very good, and while this early glimpse failed to really distinguish between the
classes, it is apparent that each will be capable of advancing through this
fantastic world.

As you journey, you will pick up followers.
The followers are essentially an NPC that goes with you and helps. You can
interact with them and they have full histories, which may have some bearing on
what you are getting in to. When you speak to NPCs, you do have dialogue
choices, which seem to run from kind to somewhat arrogant. These choices are
likely what determines whether you will follow the Path of the Open Palm, or the
Way of the Closed Fist.

The AI of the game was very good on the part
of the follower. In a fight with multiple targets, the follower was more than
able to hold her own, avoiding falling cannon fire and engaging the enemy.

BioWare stated flat-out there will be romantic
characters in this world, and in the hand-out book, the Emperor was listed under
the villains and monsters category, which means that from the humble beginnings
in the remote school, there will be an intense and challenging path to walk to
the endgame.

The music of the game, in the area opened up
to the media, seemed to always border on an urgent tempo. It worked during the
combat, when it was easily ignored by the challenge of the action, but was a
touch intrusive during the scenes leading up to the fights.

This is a game that is big on action, and you
will have to be smart during combat, otherwise you may find yourself on the
losing end. You can save at virtually any point in the game, and the game also
has auto-save points. There are side quests and mini-games sprinkled throughout
the levels, and the load times were minor.

Jade Empire is a single-player experience.
While one hour of a game that is likely to have more than 30 hours of gameplay
is somewhat limited, the core of the game was presented and it looked terrific.
BioWare refuses to be stagnant and always seems to push so that its next
developed project is better than previous works. With the body of work behind
it, Jade Empire is definitely following very tough acts, but even this early
look was enough to show that it may indeed realize expectations, and be an
amazing adventure.