#Jade empire martial styles series#

A deity, responsible for both the people's water supply as well as the dead, has been killed by the emperor for in the hopes of a quick relief from a drought. From the language to the martial arts ethos to the bits of regional religion we cull from discussions with the locals, 'Jade Empire' gives you the feeling that its makers have tried to capture not only a particular look and feel, but a philosophy as well.ДЄs the story progresses, we learn that a civilization founded on a balance between nature and the spirit world has been plunged into discord. Still, 'Jade Empire's' fighting may be the closest thing to Zen I've experienced in a fighting game.ДЄnd that may explain why 'Jade Empire' works. That's a fault fighting game enthusiasts can't ignore. A player can go through the game using just one or two styles. But if there is any one fault it is that some styles are simply too powerful. easily controllable, than one would expect from a role-playing game. The fighting experience is in real-time and more fluid, i.e.

#Jade empire martial styles series#

A chi-based move, calling up Heavenly Wave puts your character through a series of moves that looks like he (or she) is drawing up energy through the Earth, unleashing New Age-y sound effects and briefly warping your view of the game.

More importantly, Heavenly Wave looked beautiful when executed. My favorite fighting style, Heavenly Wave, was hardly effective in take down combat, but it's ability to slow down opponents made it a great set-up when used with the appropriately-named Leaping Tiger.

There are a number of fighting styles ranging from weapon-based fighting to more magically influenced styles powered by your orphan's 'chi.' Up to four styles can be mapped to the Xbox D-Pad's controller and are meant to be used in conjunction to trigger what the game calls 'Harmonic Combo.' The game's graphics are at their best when conversation gives way to fighting. But don't get too comfortable: Dark flying contraptions, belching black smoke, occasionally fly overhead to turn scenes of harmony into hell. The quality of light is always changing, from sun rays streaming through storm clouds to dusky sunsets.

Wildflowers individually sway in the breeze. Environments run from rural villages to a teeming city. Other Eastern philosophies like reincarnation and the spiritual and mental qualities surrounding the practice of martial arts appear in dialogue and convenient little signs posted throughout the empire. Karma is a big deal in 'Jade Empire.' Your character can choose the path of good, 'Way of the Open Palm,' or evil, the 'Way of the Closed Fist,' and there are repercussions. In one early scene, the player has the choice of either saving a fishing village's livelihood by releasing an upstream dam or keeping the dam up to avoid any bad karma from spirits whose grave lies near the dam. The quests your orphan undertakes shape how the story unfolds. It needs to be with colorfully named empire inhabitants such as Sagacious Zu and Gao the Lesser. There's often a sense of humor in the give and take between characters. They may prattle off a story about the land or, perhaps, request assistance in fending off thieves or rescuing a lost object.ДЇortunately, 'Jade Empire's' writers have avoided the creaky role-playing game dialogue boilerplate - a pox on 'Lord of the Rings' and their 'thees' and 'thous' - for natural sounding and evocative dialogue. In typical role-playing fashion, encounters with these non-playing-characters, or NPCs, drive the story. This sets the stage for a journey through a large setting of villages and cities populated by a typical array of farmers, townspeople and more nefarious folk and spirits.