1. Jade Empire Gameplay
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1. Jade Empire™ Features: Experience an epic story and journey with unforgettable characters across a graphically beautiful, fantastic new world inspired by the myths and legends of ancient China. Jade Empire will immerse you in a deep, rich storyline from BioWare, developers of the Mass Effect and Dragon Age series.
2. Nov 27, 2020 Jade Empire Special Edition Pre-Installed Game. The Original Award Winning Jade Empire. An incredible, engaging story that makes you the noble hero or the treacherous villain! A wealth of fascinating characters to interact with. Beautiful, mysterious lands to explore, discover and saveor conquer. A rich blend of role-playing and exciting.

Jade Empire roundhouse kicked its way onto iOS this week, prompting a great deal of excitement. Here is a conversion of a forgotten gem from the developer of Star Wars:Knights of the Old Republic - one of the greatest RPG games ever made.

Indeed, what makes Jade Empire's arrival on the App Store such a big deal is the fact that the mobile conversion of KOTOR turned out to be brilliant.

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Jade Empire shares many of its core elements with KOTOR - it was built with the same engine and released just four years later. Surely it would be a similarly great fit for mobile, then. Right?

Well, no. I've spent only a little time with Jade Empire on iOS, but I can tell already that it's no KOTOR. It's not even a question of the quality of the game itself - that's for a review to reflect upon - but rather the fundamental nature of the conversion.

A long time ago... 2013 to be exact

A large part of the reason why KOTOR, in all its complicated glory, worked so well on mobile back in 2013 was because of the kind of RPG it originally was. While watching it in action might suggest a third person adventure with frenetic (if slightly stilted) combat, it's actually quite a laid-back, hands-off experience.

In particular, battles are semi-automated affairs that are more about your party set-up and strategic decisions than any sort of manual dexterity. If things aren't going your way, you simply pause the game, have a think, reshuffle your equipment or party approach, then resume and watch your new plan unfold.

Needless to say, this played out pretty well on an iPad screen, where the touch interface suits 'slow and deliberate' better than 'quick and reactive'.

Fighting style

Conversely, while Jade Empire shares its DNA with KOTOR, they're quite different beasts. KOTOR was a PC game first and foremost, but Jade Empire was a more streamlined action RPG for the console crowd.

You move your warrior around the battlefield and hit buttons to dodge, block, and initiate attacks in real time. You can switch to varying styles and pull out weapons - again, in real time.

Jade Empire Gameplay

This hasn't been mapped particularly elegantly to mobile. You're given a clunky set of virtual controls with which to engage in these (relatively) fast-moving battles. It's a bit of a mess, and flipping between attacks and modes feels clumsy.

There's an MFi controller option, but any time that's a solution to a mobile game's control issues, I'd argue that game has failed.

I (don't) like the way you move

Even basic movement is handled differently across both games. In KOTOR, you simply swipe up to start moving, then swipe left or right to steer your hero.

In Jade Empire you have to manipulate a virtual stick, and there's a creaky analogue system for differentiating between walking and running. There's an option in the menu to make your hero auto-run, but that gives you the turning circle of an oil tanker when wandering around villages.

It's all perfectly usable, but it's another area of frustrating disconnect between the game and the player. Over many hours, that might well lessen - but it's just as likely to force some to give up.

Jade Empire Free Download

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Little blame should be apportioned to the conversion specialists at Aspyr here. Bringing Jade Empire's mobile conversion in line with KOTOR's would have required a fundamental rewiring of its mechanisms, which I suspect was entirely impractical - and quite probably impossible.

Besides which, the game remains a sound one - if very much a product of its time. Also, I wouldn't deny that it's a good thing to see it on mobile. Jade Empire was always something of a black sheep in the BioWare family, and it's occasionally seen - somewhat unfairly - as a failure. That record deserves to be set straight.

It's just that I don't think playing the game on mobile does Jade Empire's legacy much good. This was originally supposed to be a more streamlined, accessible take on the KOTOR template, and on mobile that's not the case.

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Jade Empire: Special Edition is an award-winning action RPG from the makers of Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Experience a unique combination of fast paced martial arts action with a gripping, character driven story set in a mythical land. Each decision builds your reputation, changing the course of interactions with other characters and followers. Take the role of a master of martial arts, and recruit followers to your cause in an interactive, living world.

Embark on an epic journey with fascinating characters across a graphically beautiful, fantastic new world inspired by the myths and legends of ancient China. Sinister events upset the peaceful harmony of an isolated martial arts school, drawing you into a story that unfolds with drama, action, and adventure. Detailed followers and other non-player characters enrich the adventure by providing comic relief, rivalries, flirtations, and hostility. Stare in awe at the sweeping views of the lush environments, sheer vertical drops, and overpowering scale that provide the visual backdrop to the story. Confront wild outlaws, evil magicians, demonic incarnations, and other foul villains that protect the Jade Empire’s darkest secrets.

Game Features:

• An epic experience with a rich blend of role-playing and exciting real-time combat.

• “Special Edition” version of the game with additional content.

• Elegant touch controls designed from the ground up for a mobile screen.

• Jade Empire: Special Edition for mobile is the full experience, with over 40 hours of gameplay.

• Achievements for the first time!

• Full MFi extended controller support

• A streamlined user interface custom-made for the touch screen helps immerse you in the action and exploration.

••• Note: This game is compatible with iPad (3rd generation), iPad Air, iPad mini (2nd generation), and iPhone 5 and newer. THE GAME WILL NOT RUN ON EARLIER DEVICES! •••

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