At least IGN thinks so, with a 9.9/10: http://xbox.ign.com/articles/602/602787p1.html
(only the 2nd review so far, OXM gave it a 9.4/10)
Anyone currently reviewing it and want to drop some not-so-thinly veiled hints? Is IGN on the level? Did BioWare really pull it off to this degree?
Edit: More reviews coming in now that the embargo is lifted. 5/5 from GameSpy.
One of the 1UP guys posting at GAF didn’t think what he saw was 9.9 good for what it’s worth. I should have it soon. Looking forward to seeing how it is.
–Dave
I’m reviewing it for Game Over Online.
If it can be said to have a serious flaw, it’s that it’s way way way too much like KOTOR for its own good. The combat’s pleasingly different, but the rest of it is basically Knights of the Really Old Republic, right down to a light side/dark side path system.
You mean story-wise too much like KOTOR?
Otherwise, with no inventory management, pixel-based combat etc., I’d think that it would be very different.
I mean, the whole quest-subquest-ethical path-conversation tree thing. When you’re in a town, it feels like a skinmod for KOTOR.
It’s a good game. I just played the stone bejesus out of KOTOR2 not even three months ago and I feel like I’ve been down this road before.
So you mean that is more RPG-like than Platformer-like?
I don’t trust IGN’s reviews. IGN isn’t in the game reviewing business; they’re in the business of telling players what IGN believes they want to hear. Wouldn’t the entire world just be crushed if this ultra-hyped, swan song Xbox RPG received less than a super high score which lets all the fans rest in peace at night, knowing that the stars are aligned, and one of the last big releases on the Xbox is indeed one of the best games ever, etc. IGN delivers the ideal, not the truth, about games. They’re just so easy to hate.
Anyway, Jade Empire is still not reviewed as far as I’m concerned. We’ll have a better idea of the quality of the game when the purported embargo is lifted on Monday.
I’m glad I skipped KOTOR2, if JE is basically a skin mod with a much improved combat system. I’m really hoping this one turns out special.
Now about Dragon Age…
There was a whole string of Infinity Engine games that all looked and played pretty much the same, and were all excellent. What’s wrong with a few KOTOR-alikes?
Well thats a shity review, not very well thought out either. Exactly how much thought did you put into that “skin mod” line. Or is that going to be your cool tag line, I see you’ve got the beginning and ending worked out but having a wee bit of trouble with the meaty middle aren’t you?
Unlike KOTOR, Jade Empire gives you three choices Light (ambiguously so), Neutral , and Evil (ambiguously so). And that there are three different endings deopending on what you chose.
Thats not even taking into account the martial arts. Please keep this anti-Bioware FUD and baseless tripe to yourself. (Hey I know you gave KOTOR PC a 93% rating so don’t bother quoting it).
Your site gave Disgaea an 84% rating? Now that’s just wrong.
Wow so tell me, how is Jade Empire? I mean you’ve obviously played the whole thing already, right?
But seriously, a 9.9? I know it’s a cliche, but with a score like that Jade Empire damn well better give my dishes a blowjob, or something.
edit: good god
It’s a strange thing to consider, but I believe David Clayman may have underrated Jade Empire at a 9.9. […] I almost feel like going back and lowering the scores of every other RPG on Xbox.
How about you not do that, and we’ll live with your anemic 9.9, thanks.
Well, maybe they can lower the score on Fable…
Uh, yeah. And he works for the guys who wrote the strategy guide to Phantom Brave and Nocturne. I would think he knows what he’s talking about. Who are you, again, Xero?
I love that you accuse him of anit-Bioware bias AND use an obvious sample that he isn’t in the same sentence. :roll:
Nothing at all.
Easy, killer. If I was posting chunks of my review verbatim, you’d have a case. I’m not, so you don’t. Take a deep breath.
Actually, I wrote the Phantom Brave guide. A third of it, anyway.
And you’re still sane?
I’m sold! If that’s the game’s big flaw, then sign me the hell up.
Jesus, I wish gaming really was in such a blinding golden age that one could legitimately say that being like KotOR is a bad thing.
Well, that’s kind of what I meant by “if it can be said to have a flaw.”
“Dude, it’s way too much like this other game that was crystal meth on a DVD.”
Yes, because KOTOR was the pinnacle of RPG design and couldn’t be improved in any way.
Seriously though, bioware games are engaging, polished, atmospheric, and well written. But they sacrifice breadth for depth. They’re more like adventure games with RPG elements tacked on. They’re very good adventure games with RPGs tacked on, admittedly, and I’ve enjoyed the hell out of every bioware game ever made, but there’s definitely room for improvement in core game design.
Not that I expected to see any from their action-rpg, but I have my hopes for dragon age.
While this is a common argument against many console games that pass themselves off as RPGs, I don’t think it can be quite as convincingly applied to a developer who was almost solely responsible for the resurgence of the genre in the late 90s, along with Black Isle–with whom Bioware was intertwined at Interplay. And your statement of course begs the question: What do you consider an RPG?