Jade Empire: Special Edition PC
  • Publisher: 2K Games
  • Release Date: Feb 26, 2007
Metascore
81 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 29 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 29
  2. Mixed: 5 out of 29
  3. Negative: 0 out of 29
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  1. Pelit (Finland)
    95
    Offers excellent drama in fresh, new settings. Hopefully, the unwashed masses will come to understand its greatness. [Mar 2007]
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  2. GameZone
    93
    It has style, depth, drama, and action all compact into one lengthy RPG.
  3. Computer Games Magazine
    90
    Few games in the genre tell a story this well, and fewer still combine that intriguing tale with such absolutely superb game mechanics. [Apr 2007, p.66]
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  4. PC Format
    89
    Translates remarkably well to keyboard control. [Apr 2007, p.72]
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  5. PC Zone UK
    89
    With a great story, tons of missions, beautifully rich settings, satisfying fighting and brilliant characterisation, all swaddled in over 20 hours of play, Jade Empire has transcended its Xbox roots to reincarnate itself as a high-kicking, epic RPG for PC. The chi is strong with this one.

User Reviews

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User Score
8.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 119 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 22 out of 28
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 28
  3. Negative: 3 out of 28
  1. theshonen8899
    6
    If you had trouble playing Mass Effect you will probably have trouble playing Jade Empire. I'm a huge fan of KoToR, Mass Effect 2, and Dragon Age Origins but Jade Empire only resembles these games in it's technical aspects. The narrative is bland and the setting/characters are an alarmingly stereotypical depicting of Asian culture. The PC version also has many technical problems with the nearly impossible to navigate menu. Personally I think the graphics were pretty good for it's time but that's coming from a KoToR background. Basically, if you are KoToR fan like me who was expecting a similar game in Jade Empire, you may be disappointed.… Full Review »
  2. kache
    10
    A little weak on the story at some points, but with amazing gameplay and incredible atmosphere, thanks to the good music and level design. Bioware experience© at it's finest.… Full Review »
  3. C.J.
    9
    A fantastic game. After playing Mass Effect, I went out and bought every BioWare game I could find, including Knights of the Old Republic and Jade Empire, simply because I couldn't afford to have missed these brilliant games at the prices they are being sold for now. Having a strong interest in Chinese history, Jade Empire appealed to me immediately. As with Mass Effect, Jack Wall has produced another hit-and-miss soundtrack, with slow, drab tracks followed by thunderous, spectacular masterpieces. The yu pipes and taiko drums prove to be the saving grace here, and the Ancient China-based theme of Jade Empire certainly benefits from their presence. The graphics, whilst not brilliant, are more than adequate. I did, however, play the "Special Edition" PC version, which has been obviously heavily modified as opposed to its Xbox counterpart, so my perspective may be somewhat skewed. I found the characters enjoyable, with vibrant colours and intricate clothing designs making them all the more appealing. I was surprised to read that my personal choice of character, Monk Zeng, was not even in the original release of the game! Good thing then that BioWare had the presence of mind to return him to the cast for the Special Edition release. Voice acting is above average, which is always a plus with a dialogue-heavy RPG, and there are familiar voices involved. I believe I even heard Nathan Fillion in there, whom I had no idea did voice acting for games. There were also no bugs, crashes or sudden errors of any kind here, which plagued my experience when playing through both of the KotOR titles. On the negative, I found Jade Empire's one and only major flaw to be the combat system, which was far too basic. The AI was not particularly brilliant and the combat move sets for each style were very limited. This alone strikes one point from my final score. Nevertheless, if you enjoy BioWare's other renowned high standard RPGs like KotOR, you should certainly not miss this game. For $10 (Australian), there's really no excuse.… Full Review »
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